Peyton Manning picks Broncos

It has finally been concluded. Peyton Manning has decided to switch one horse for another as he informed the three teams in the running that the Broncos will be where he is playing next season. Last night I was going to post up an article that would have said something along the lines that I think Manning may be stalling again because generally in a situation like this when you know you know. I guess Manning knew it was time and is now hammering out a contract with the Broncos which will be signed in the coming days. The predicted figures of the contract have been reported as $95 million dollars over a 5 year period. The contract will probably be front loaded with Manning getting the majority of the money over the first 3 years. The important number will be the guaranteed money that is included on the contract. This is what the Broncos would be on the hook for. Note: Peyton should be introduced at a press conference tomorrow if the deal is complete and passes with the league.

Peyton Manning - Bio

Height: 6-5 Weight: 230 Age: 35
Born: 3/24/1976 New Orleans , LA
College: Tennessee
Experience: 14th season
High School: Isidore Newman HS [New Orleans, LA]

Here is a quick run down of Peyton Manning, I will probably do a feature length post on him later with more in-depth analysis.

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American football quarterback. He played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons from 1998 to 2011. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an elder brother of current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Manning played college football at the University of Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to the 1997 SEC Championship in his senior season. He was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. From 1998 to 2010, he led the Colts to seven AFC South division championships, two AFC championships, and to a Super Bowl championship (Super Bowl XLI). He has won a record four league most valuable player awards, was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, has been named to eleven Pro Bowls, has eleven 4,000-yard passing seasons (including a record six straight) and is the Indianapolis Colts' all-time leader in passing yards (54,828) and touchdown passes (399). In 2009, he was named the best player in the NFL and Fox Sports along with Sports Illustrated named him the NFL player of the decade of the 2000s.

Manning's pre-snap routine is one of the most recognizable and parodied routines in sports.The Indianapolis Colts' almost exclusive use of the hurry-up offense has led to Manning using an array of gestures and verbal commands to call the play at the line of scrimmage rather than in the huddle.

In July 2011, Manning signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Colts. In May 2011, he underwent neck surgery to alleviate neck pain and arm weakness he dealt with during the previous few seasons. Manning had hoped to play in the 2011 season, but in September 2011, he underwent a much more serious second surgery: a level one cervical fusion procedure. Manning had never missed an NFL game in his career, but was forced to miss the entire 2011 season. He was released by the Colts on March 7, 2012.

My Opinion

You can't really disagree with Manning after all he is FREAKING PEYTON FREAKING MANNING.....FREAKING! He is a Hall of Fame QB and could be coincided a surgeon of his profession. The pick up vaults the Broncos to the top of the division and puts us on the path to the Superbowl. I personally don't like to have the expectation to win all the time and to win big (see Pats fans), I like being the underdog and coming from no where to win it, probably one of the reasons myself and others had such an connection to Tebow. Manning of course gives us the opposite approach, Superbowl or Bust has been the saying because this is a huge move. It showed huge balls from everyone in the front office. This isn't the first risk they have taken and probably not the last since they have already made a number of huge moves since rising to power. I am interested and excited about what the future holds but I do feel sorry for Tebow getting shafted the way he did. I think I will miss the 'Tebow Guns' pictures the most. Go Broncos!

I am also a but disappointed if we become the Coltcos. I like our young guys and don't want to replace them with old veterans. Maybe a select few. TE Clark would be a good addition to the TE corps after losing Fells and Rosario. Center Saturday I am not that much of a fan of. I think he is a little bit past it. The most interesting one of the group has been WR Brandon Stokley. If you remember he used to play with the Broncos before he was pushed out with quality depth at the WR position (Lloyd, Gaffney, Thomas, Decker and Royal). Three of which are now gone and the Broncos are in need of an veteran receiver again. Stokley fits the bill perfectly. Also I bet Royal now feels like an idiot for leaving.

Trading Tebow and his Market.

Since the signing of Manning the word is Tebow will be traded out of Denver thus completing the cycle of life for Broncos quarterbacks. Personally I want Tebow to stay and sit for a year or two depending on how long Manning lasts. But neither Elway of Tebow wants this. Elway wants to rid himself of Tebow and Tebow believes he has proved himself to be a starter in the NFL. The real issue I have with this is his market value and the depth of back up quarterbacks still available in Free Agency.

Note: Since writing this paragraph it has been mentioned that maybe Elway and Fox reached out to Tebow. To say what is unknown. It could be to say 'hey sit for a while' or 'we are going to trade you'. I guess we will find out soon, the latest being draft day.

First let's look at Tebow's value. It is pretty small. He had an impressive season of wins last year but not tape or statistics. It seems like we will sell quite low on him maybe getting a 4th or 5th round pick. But there are not many suitors about. The Jaguars are one but I believe they don't want a bar of Tebow. The Patriots are another, reunite Tebow with McD. But they already have Mallett as they back up for the future. There has been some suggestion of trading Tebow for Mallett. I am not against the move but Mallett doesn't have the prettiest resume (he is a douche) plus I think Bill likes him. The final team that could be possible is the Bills. They need bums in seats and are still looking for a QB to mold, Tebow could be that guy.

Backup QBs

Tebow's trade value and market has plummeted because a lot of the good quarterbacks available in free agency have been snapped up by teams. Teams which may have been interested in Tebow but no longer are or can. I would put the sea chicks and fish into this category. Plus with most if not all the good quarterbacks gone there are no viable options out there for Manning's back up. It makes sense to keep Tebow around to be a backup as he may not be great but he is better than most still available. This position is even more important with the possibility that Manning could miss significant time due to injuries.

Things you may have missed.

Joe Mays resigned
Matt Flynn is now a sea chicken
David Garrad is a fish
Daniel Fells is going to the Patriots
Dante Rosario is a niner.
OG Manuel Ramirez resigned.
Wesley Woodyard resigned with a 2 year deal.

I am glad we got Woodyard back, he is a solid player and great dude.

More will come as this situation sorts itself out. With Manning's contract, the Tebow trade and new Free Agents. It will be an interesting couple of weeks ~ Aussie.