The headline says it all. Indianpolis seems nearly devoid of quality talent. Yesterday, the Colts followed the release of quarterback Peyton Manning by cutting RB Joseph Addai, TE Dallas Clark, S Melvin Bullitt, LB Gary Brackett, and QB Curtis Painter. There is also a rumor floating around Indianapolis that the Colts are looking to trade DE Dwight Freeney, but to my knowledge, that rumor has not been denied by the Colts nor confirmed by sources.
A team going through a rebuilding phase is nothing new in the NFL. It happens every year with various teams having differing levels of success. Still, there are some rare teams that find a way to avoid the full-blown rebuilding that quickly topples sports dynasties. For over a decade, the Colts were able to sit comfortably in that boat guided by Peyton Manning.
Those days are gone. Manning has been cut, and much of the remaining talent is now being thrown out with him. I understand that the Colts have entered Jim Irsay’s rebuilding phase, but was all of this really necessary? Couldn’t this have been avoided?
The simple answer is yes, to all of the above. The workings of the NFL are often a mystery to those of us not fortunate enough to work in the innermost circles of the league, but the Colts have long presented one of the greatest enigmas of the NFL. Under Manning, the Colts won with stunning frequency but were only able to win one Super Bowl.
For those of you that have followed the AFC South closely over the past few years, especially the Colts, this day comes as no surprise. In fact, I’m shocked it took this long for the Colts to collapse, and that very feeling of surprise should be a testament to the greatness of Peyton Manning as a football player. Frankly, the Colts never put a great team around Manning; even in their best years the Colts were never a complete team.
Peyton Manning has been the leader of the Colts since 1998. Without him, there’s a dark, empty shell of a team remaining. Don’t expect the Colts to be competitive next year, and don’t bank on them winning many games the year after that. The simple fact of the matter is that the Colts only won because of Peyton Manning. There were very few differences between the Colts in 2010 and the Colts in 2011. The one glaring contrast, however, was the presence of Manning in 2010 and his absence in 2011. In 2010, the Colts won the AFC South. In 2011, the Colts won two games all season long. So yes, there seems to be some reason to believe that Peyton Manning was important to the Indianapolis Colts.
Even with Manning, the Colts weren’t a very talented team. They were an organized group of largely overpaid players that would have a hard time finding the field on most other teams. Yes, there were exceptions, but there’s no doubt that Manning has carried the Colts for a decade. There seems to be hope in the future with the drafting of Andrew Luck, but as for now, there’s a lot of unanswered questions and empty lockers in Indianapolis. Get used to it too. These types of roster overhauls don’t happen overnight, and a couple of bad decisions can derail the entire process. There’s a lot of work to be done inside the Colts’ front office. Only time will tell if Jim Irsay and company are up to the task.
