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Peyton Manning

February 10, 2012 by · Comments Off on Peyton Manning 

Peyton Manning, A divorce should come soon; Peyton Manning is not going to stick with the Indianapolis Colts.

Now begins the dance between the broken quarterback and the desperate suitors. The Washington Redskins seem like the perfect fit, but what about the Miami Dolphins or Seattle Seahawks or Arizona Cardinals?

Or what about this?

What if Manning just walked away for good? Strangely, retirement hasn’t been discussed much in the endless debate about who has been the least fair to whom: the Colts to Manning or Manning to the Colts. But what remains for Manning to prove now that he is nearly 36 and at the end of a Hall of Fame career with his neck cut open multiple times by a surgeon’s knife? What glory would he get from pulling the Cardinals to 8-8?

Manning’s injury was serious. The spinal fusion surgeries he underwent are often procedures retired players get long after their careers are done and the risk of greater injury from contact is gone. This isn’t to say Manning can’t play again after his operations. Obviously doctors have told him he can. But at what risk? Can he whip his head from side to side at the line of scrimmage as he once did? Will he be able to turn quickly and spot a receiver deep downfield, look to see his blockers or whirl around to find a tackler just before he’s hit?

A man who saw Manning late last summer said he called to the quarterback from behind and Manning turned in an awkward Frankensteinish way to see who it was shouting his name. Yes, that was a few weeks following Manning’s last surgery and presumably Manning is better. Those who saw him in Indianapolis during Super Bowl XLVI didn’t describe a stiff monster walk. But they also didn’t see Manning swirl his head the way he will need to on the field. Nor did they watch him throw. Few have seen him throw, and those who have are keeping those observations silent.

Still word leaks out. Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz, who has spoken with Manning in recent days, described Manning’s passing arm as “a noodle.”

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