As we begin to make the transition from the playoffs to the off-season, I’d like to start posting links about once a week about what’s going on around the league, as well as my reaction and analysis to the news. This is designed to give you, the readers, a one stop shop for the week’s news as well as one guy’s quick reaction. As with all things, this column will likely go through some evolution over time, so please bare with me.
Greg Cowan of Colts Authority thinks Peyton Manning deserves better:
“First, one should note the obvious irony of Irsay telling Peyton Manning to “keep it in house, in our family,” while talking to the press at length about the situation. If Irsay wanted to keep it “in house”, his response should have been something along the lines of, “This is a trying time for everyone in the Colts family, but like a true family we will get through it together. I will sit down and talk with Manning about his concerns, but I won’t be discussing it in the media.” It would have, in many ways, sent the same message, while completely avoiding any chance at creating a back-and-forth media battle between Irsay and Manning – a battle, by the way, Irsay will never win.”
Shane: This may be one of the most volatile situations in the NFL right now. Irsay has said, no, insisted that Peyton Manning will be their quarterback moving forward since it became apparent Manning wouldn’t be playing for the Colts in 2011. What happened? As time passes, it seems more an more apparent that the Colts will be Andrew Luck’s team in 2012, not Manning’s.
Dennis Allen and Raiders put final touches on a 4 year deal (CBS):
“The Raiders joined this year’s Tampa Bay team as one of the four teams to allow at least 30 TD passes and 5.0 yards per carry in a season, a distinction last reached by the 1952 Dallas Texans. The Raiders also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season.”
Shane: Translation; the Raiders just want to slow the opposition down. Frankly, Dennis Allen’s defense was the reason the Denver Broncos were in the post-season at all, and he’s been rewarded with a coveted NFL head coaching position. It’s clear that the Raiders want to get back to being a dominate defense, but Allen will also need to put together a more consistent offense if he wants to stay in town longer than his predecessors.
Darrelle Revis saying that Rex Ryan “didn’t know a lot of things” in an interview with Rich Cimini:
“Revis said he talked to Ryan after the season.
“Basically, he didn’t know a lot of things that were going on behind the scenes,” Revis said. “It was just so much stuff. I’m really not going to get into it because some of the stuff is real deep, but he didn’t know a lot of the things. He wanted people to say things to him. But obviously it didn’t come out. It came out on the field.””
Shane: While I hold to the opinion that Rex Ryan’s very confident view of the Jets is largely misled, the Jets recent implosion has been nothing short of spectacular entertainment. In America, we love reality television and sports. This episode has combined the two in a way I didn’t think possible. Why isn’t there a PR guy for the Jets in charge of calling every coach and player, telling them to shut up?
