Nothing But Nat – On Peyton Manning

Nat Scott is a weekly columnist for All For Tennessee. ‘Nothing But Nat’ is his column about anything and everything Volunteers or whatever he feels like writing about.

This week we are going to check in on the University of Tennessee’s most beloved son Peyton Manning (even though he is from Louisiana, he is ours).  First we must all agree to some ground rules for our discussion.  While it is not OFFICIAL that Peyton Manning is leaving the Colts, we are going to pretend that the Colts are going to RELEASE Peyton Manning and draft Andrew Luck.  This would make Peyton a free agent and able to sign anywhere he should choose.  It is highly unlikely that the Colts would be able to trade Peyton Manning anyway since the whole problem is that he is due 28 million dollars in March.

At this moment if you Google search Peyton Manning and then start typing the name of an NFL team it will complete the search for you.  Of course there are some exceptions and gliches, for instance we all know the Packers and the Patriots have no interest in Peyton Manning.  However, the point is that pretty much every team in the NFL would have some interest in Peyton Manning if he became a free agent.

The current buzz around the state is Peyton Manning “coming home” to play for the Tennessee Titans.  The message boards are lighting up with news of Peyton signing with the Titans the moment that he is released from the Colts.  While this is intriguing, I do not believe it is very likely.  The Titans already have well over 20 million dollars tied up in QB contracts and have already drafted their quarterback of the future in Jake Locker.  Manning would definitely bring a capacity crowd to every game, but if the Titans want to contend for Super Bowls they have a lot of other problems to fix besides quarterback, such as trying to get a guy they paid 55 million dollars to actually run hard.

Chances Peyton is a Titan: About 20%

Another popular destination people have discussed for Peyton is the New York Jets.  Everyone has finally found out that Mark Sanchez just is not that good of a quarterback. But really, what QB from Southern Cal has been good in the NFL?  On paper this makes perfect sense.  The Jets have a solid defense and have always been good at running the ball.  The problem is the offensive coordinator the Jets just hired in Tony Sparano.  Sparano took the offensive coordinator job with the promise he would get the Jets back to doing what the Jets do best: run the football.  Do they really need to spend all that money on Peyton Manning then?  Plus it is not likely Manning would get along with Sparano or even a guy like Rex Ryan for that matter.  I think the Jets will give Sanchez at least one more year to try to get things right.

Chances Peyton is a Jet: 10%

For some reason the public thinks Peyton Manning to the 49ers makes sense.  It does not.  Alex Smith just had the season of his life in getting the 49ers to the NFC Championship game (and possibly a fumbled punt away from the Super Bowl).  Had the 49ers had another terrible season or even been blown out by the Saints it would be more likely for Peyton to end up in San Franciso.  But for now Alex Smith’s job is safe as the QB for the 49ers.  It would be awesome to see Jim Harbaugh and Peyton Manning working together though wouldn’t it?

Chances Peyton is a 49er: 8.34%

One possibility that will not happen but would be the most amazing thing since sliced bread would be Peyton to the Cardinals.  Just ponder this for 30 seconds: Peyton Manning throwing the ball to Larry Fitzgerald.  Every secondary in the NFL just shuttered at the thought.  Problem is the Cards owe Kolb a lot of money, and nobody wants to live in a desert anyway.

Chances Peyton is a Cardinal: 4%

The final two teams on the list I am going to combine togehter.  The Dolphins and the Redskins have both struggled to find a quarterback for years.  Both teams have been pretty solid at times, but the lack of an actual QB has burdened both teams.  I mean the Redskins resorted to Rex Grossman this year.  Rex Grossman.  The Dolphins have still not found a replacement for Dan Marino after all these years.  But Dan has been doing NutriSystem commercials so maybe he could come back and play?  I actually give both of these teams the best chance of signing Manning.  Both teams are in desperate need and have at least some money to sign Manning.  While the supporting cast would not be as prosperous as other places for Manning, the teams are close enought that a really good QB could be all they need to make a deep playoff run.  The problem is both of these divisions have yearly Super Bowl contenders, but who is to say a healthy Manning would not make these teams a contender?

Chances Peyton is a Redskin or Dolphin: 25% for each team

There you have it sports fans.  Now if you have any math skills you know the percentages only add up to 92.34.  I have to reserve that much to the potential that Peyton Manning retires (cop out I know).  However, I do not think this option is very likely.  Peyton is too much of a competitor to just walk away right now.  He has to give it at least a shot.  The last thing a person like Peyton Manning wants is to wonder “what if I had tried to play one more year” for the rest of his life.  It would drive the man crazy.

Well that’s it for this edition of Nothing but Nat.  I’ll give y’all more wisdom next time.