The Peyton Manning Saga has been very interesting one because it started with a sure-fire Hall of Famer getting run out of the city that he made tolerable and actually relevant and ended with a young quarterback with the love of America on his shoulders being traded to one of the more hated franchises in the NFL. In the midst of all this my team fumbled multiple times in the free agency to a point in which I strongly believe that they just don’t want to win. And in the midst of all this John Elway is partyboying random strangers in Denver because he took a player he hated and threw him into an awful heap while picking up a good friend at the exact same time.
When the dust settles, it will be unveiled that several teams dropped the ball on this opportunity and failed to capitalize what could have been a very rewarding series of days. Here is my list of teams that I will currently give the Idiot Card to and until they can prove themselves again, will remain on the Idiot List. Without any order whatsoever, here they are:
1) Indianapolis Colts
The Colts were nothing before Manning. They were lower than crap, a 3-13 record and no signs of improvement. They had not won 10 games since 1977. Manning pops up and in only the second season, won 13 games. Under Manning they had 9 straight seasons of at least 10 wins. Under Manning they won a Super Bowl, and twice flirted with a perfect season (The latest attempt was marred by the coaching staff and the higher-ups, leading to a demise the Colts have yet to recover from). The value of the Colts has increased by over $150 million because of Manning. So the question is: why in the hell did you drop him like a hot plate of lava? Why in the hell did you not bait other teams with his value? And lastly, why the )(**%*$* did you try to restructure a contract and convince him to finish out the career and gradually hand the keys over to Luck?
What on earth is the Colts expecting from Luck? Instant success? Even the top rookie quarterback in the past couple years, a Cam Newton, didn’t exactly hold a good record with the Panthers. Rookies never win championships unless they are in an amazing offensive system. The Colts need desperate help in every possible category, and there’s no way Luck could fix these issues---and especially not in one season, and especially without the man that ran the offense for the past decade. The Colts ruined my respect for them in a span of a week by throwing Manning away after all he had done for them. I don’t care how many surgeries he had on his neck, you keep Manning on your Colts until he decides that Andrew Luck is ready. Before the season-ending injury, he was still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Colts forgot this, and they will pay severely in their low-brow competitive division.
2) Denver Broncos
Elway hates Tebow with a passion I rarely see from owner to player. The way he talks about him, the way he seems to cringe whenever the Gridiron Savior is discussed, and the way he never acknowledged that Tebow saved the Broncos from doom last season are all small pinches of proof that Elway would rather swallow fire than announce Tebow as the potential future of the franchise. Never mind the fact that in his first full season he shocked the world by sending the Broncos to the playoffs AND (repeat, AND) toppled the Steelers in the playoffs. The Broncos tossed him to the Jets for nothing, next to nothing. Why? Whatever did he do to Elway? Besides turn the Broncos from joke to contender with faith and hope….
What if Manning gets injured again? What if Manning’s neck is still a mess? You are going with Quinn over Tebow? What if Manning doesn’t become the man he used to be? Now, I severely doubt that Manning is going to flop miserably but not keeping Tebow as a backup plan (which worked amazingly well last season) is a perplexing move. Who better to develop Tebow than Manning? Tebow is a fantastic scrambler and runner---something Manning was never good at. So what if Peyton improved Tebow’s mechanics? Then we would have a nicer, more wholesome version of Michael Vick during the Falcon years. Instead, the Broncos gamble mildly with Manning, pushed Tebow for nothing, and still face an uncertain future. And lastly, the Broncos still don’t look as threatening as they did last season.
3) New York Jets
You stupidly sign Sanchez to an extension, stupidly sign a backup quarterback, and THEN trade for a third quarterback that does not fit into your low-key offensive strategy? Tim Tebow in a Jets uniform is very similar to Steve Nash donning a Spurs uniform or Prince Fielder wearing a Rays uniform---both are good players but would not thrive at all playing for those teams. Tim Tebow is going to cost you several million that you could have spent fixing your defense that has collapsed in the past season or trying to infuse any type of offense to your organization. Tebow is a good player, and the Jets do have the cards needed to make another push, but that man is a bad fit to a system that scrapes wins like Titanic against that dreaded iceberg.
4) Jacksonville Jaguars
You guys dropped your quarterback before the season even started—AFTER training camp. Now, why would Tebow want to play for a team that overlooked him heavily in the draft? Why would Tebow choose a team that has been in shackles for the past several years? There is absolutely nothing good that can come from being a Jaguar, and this squad did not push hard enough to get him. And if you guys were so desperate for a quarterback last season---where the heck were you in the Carson Palmer Sweepstakes!??!?!?
5) Miami Dolphins
(Takes Deep Breath)
(Screams)
Now, I said earlier in this article that I was not going in any order whatsoever. That was mostly true, but I wanted to save the last tongue lashing for the stupid franchise that has wasted my years of following. It’s one thing to skip Tebow (As well as Brees years earlier, but that’s another story) in the draft, it’s another thing to not even participate in the Carson Palmer Sweepstakes as he dangled around for several games before the Raiders got him for the equivalent of a corn dog. It’s a third thing to not even consider making a move for Manning while he was still in the clutches of the Colts, and it’s another thing to not even attempt to keep Ronnie Brown and watched him sign a laughable one-year deal with the Eagles as opposed to join Reggie Bush in the offense line.
I can forgive all of this mildly along with other baffling decisions (Dropping the Wildcat, which was your only clutch against the NFL, firing your coach when he had next to nothing to work with and was your only connection to a winning season for nearly a decade), but the sheer idea that you did not give heaven and earth to try to get Tim Tebow is ridiculous beyond belief.
Nobody wants to play for the Dolphins anymore, this franchise is flopping quite badly in a rising city. Trading for Tebow made sense in terms of improving the team financially, image-wise, attendance-wise, and lastly quality-wise. Tebow would have fit the College Football format of offense that had given the Dolphins success in the past. He would have brought fans back to that dump of a stadium. He would have given hope in the football season down south. There was no setback whatsoever in trading for him, nothing wrong could have happened. Even if he originally disappoints at first the attention and hype would have returned to Miami. We have an ex-Packer Offensive Helmer as coach---and that man put up with Brett Farve and his attempted sabotage of Aaron Rodgers! If anyone can improve the mechanics of Tebow and create an offense strategy fit to meet Tebow’s unique talents, it would be this ex-Packer.
But no, instead of looking good for Manning or even attempting to get Tebow, we wind up with a washed-up quarterback whom was cut by the Jaguars (THE JAGUARS!!!!) before LAST season. Tebow makes no sense in the hard luck New York, but would have been perfect in Florida, a football state known for its SEC-heavy fanbase and style of play. It only makes so much sense. But the Dolphins are all about destroying momentum, and now we watch a potentially great player move his way into our freakin’ ultimate rival. The Dolphins fans don’t deserve this. We have not had good news in years, and we constantly make stupid, boneheaded moves that measure an 87 on the Idiotic Richter Scale. If I see Tebow throw a game-winning touchdown against the Dolphins while sporting a Jets jersey.....I will not be surprised at all---and will most likely switch to alcohol as my new coffee.
Fire the GM. Now. As soon as possible. In a league that demands a good/great quarterback, you decided to go with a guy who had not played for a year over someone who practically saved a season, saved a franchise, and got America's attention. Since being a full-time quarterback, Tebow has posted a better winning percentage than the Dolphins, and has seen more playoff games. Worst stat of all, Tebow won 8 games in 13 starts. The Dolphins need two seasons to reach that same number of wins. I don't care if his mechanics are all wrong and if his style of play is awkward---have you seen the Dolphins try to win? Now that's awkward.
Before, the Dolphins looked like this:
Now, we Dolphins fans are reduced to this:
In this past week, the stupidity of several teams have been shown quite prominently. While the end results of next season might force me to remove the Idiot Card from certain ballclubs, as of now these five teams handled the scenarios and opportunities quite poorly. Starting from the selfish and uncaring Colts to the abysmally dying turn that is the Miami Dolphins.
I used to be in love with Tebowmania and the mayhem it caused. Now with it reaching the Jets, I don't even know what to feel anymore.
Go Dolphi-----eh, what's the point.........
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