Peyton, Robert and Andrew have been the talk of the sports world since the minute after Eli Manning and the New York Giants clinched their 2nd Super Bowl in 5 years. NFL fans have been speculating where these three are going to go and who the better option is right now. But is all this pressure getting into their heads?
Andrew Luck is expected to live up to the high expectations he set at while playing for Stanford while RG3 (who I honestly had never heard of before the night he won the Heisman since I'm not a Big 12 football enthusiast) has to prove that he's a throw first, run second quarterback. Unfortunately and unfairly he's been looked upon as an athlete before a quarterback, which is surprising especially when you look at the fact that he was actually more accurate than Mr. Luck just last season, it's not by much but it is what it is.
You have to feel bad for Peyton Manning, too......OK, maybe not (because the guy is gonna make big bucks whether he retires or not). But Mr. Manning has been slashing and dashing for over 10 years in this league and the critics are doubting his abilities because of health and age, something that never stopped him before. It's been reasonable criticism because most athletes who face the neck injury he went through usually retire but he's Peyton FREAKING Manning. The same guy we witnessed break down the high-caliber Bears defense to win his first ring and the same guy whose team basically collapsed right before our very eyes this past season without his presence.
It'll be interesting to see where these three guys head because right now it's unknown. The only thing we know for sure is that the Colts will be keeping their #1 pick and that the Rams will try to trade their #2 pick in exchange for a receiver. But besides that, your guess is as good as mine.
All of the reporters have said that Andrew Luck to the Colts is a lock but I disagree. RG3 has been underrated from the beginning of this process and I think the Colts were drinking the same koolaid as everyone else putting Andrew Luck in a category of prospects that comes out only once in a lifetime. But RG3's performance during the combine including having the fastest 40'' time among all QB's has proven that he deserves to still be up for conversation. Don't be shocked if the Colts draft RG3 because of his athletiscism advantage over Luck.
But just for this blog, let's assume that what everyone else is saying is true and that Andrew Luck goes #1. The talk of the town is that the Redskins and the Browns are both willing to trade for #2 by giving up all of their remaining picks from this year and a 1st rounder for next year's draft. The only problem for the Rams in making a possible deal with one of those teams is that they need a receiver and none of those teams have a veteran receiver trade piece that is valuable enough to transfer over to St. Louis. So what can they do?
A. Use the new first rounder that they would get from the Browns or Redskins to draft Justin Blackmon from OK State.
B. Find a new trade partner willing to get rid of a wideout like the Eagles (DeSean Jackson) or Miami (Brandon Marshall)
Option B is very intriguing given the fact that the Eagles already have Michael Vick who has an opt out option after next season and the Miami Dolphins who are also in pursuit of either Peyton Manning or Matt Flynn. (It's crazy how everything is connected together). Peter King reported that there is a surprise team involved in the #2 pick sweepstakes and I wouldn't be surprised if Philly was making a move for Vick 2.0 -- RG3.
So let's just say the Colts draft Andrew #1, the Rams trade their #2 pick to the Eagles for DeSean Jackson sending RG3 to Philly, where would Peyton go? Everyone is buzzing about Peyton heading to the city that probably already has enough stars playing: Miami. But it doesn't make any sense to me personally. Miami is a decent team and they would easily go to the playoffs with Manning but they aren't a Super Bowl contender w/ him; there's just too many holes to fill up and too much competition in that division.
If the Jets had more cap space that would've been the perfect destination for him because he could compete with New England better than he would in Miami but I think the team that meets the criteria needed the most is Arizona. You have a proven perennial receiver in Larry Fitzgerald and a young core on defense that finished around the middle of the pack last season. The stadium, which is one of the newer stadiums in the league would be buzzing and you're competing in a division that is pretty open. The only thing you'd need to do is beat the 49ers, who aren't that difficult to decipher if you can out-throw them as New York did and stop Frank Gore from gaining yardage which opens up the field for Alex Smith to throw the ball to whosoever he desires.
My sleeper pick is the Baltimore Ravens (You know I had to bring up my team in some way). As crazy as it sounds, (and believe me it sounds crazy especially after Flacco's performance in New England) wouldn't it be cool for Baltimore to steal Indy's franchise QB after Indy stole Baltimore's team. The Ravens are the one of the most complete teams in the NFL and would solidify their shot at a ring adding Manning to the helm. He can teach Flacco some tangibles of the game and he'd be under the guidance of his ex-QB coach Jim Caldwell who is now in Baltimore. This would hurt Baltimore in their talks to re-sign Flacco and it could hurt Flacco's confidence but it would be real cool to see Peyton and Ray in the same uniform. Too bad I can almost guarantee 99.99% that this will never happen.
It's going to be an interesting NFL offseason and it all starts next week on March 8th when the Colts will decide whether to release Peyton or keep him and pay him $28 million to quarterback the team for 2 more years and then give up his job whether he likes it or not to Mr. Luck. This could be his best option because he wouldn't have to learn a whole new system but who wants to have doubts about their long-term position at a certain occupation on the back of their minds? (Just ask Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, lol)
We shall see what happens.
#RandomRamblings
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