Did Indianapolis make a huge mistake?

[jap1]

Only time will tell at this point, but part of me is thinking, if all these teams were able to work Peyton Manning out and were satisfied with his progress, why would the Colts release him.

Yes, I know when he was out the team sucked and they needed to rebuild that team because they were horrible all around. But if I were the GM. I would have kept Manning and rebuilt around him, thats one less BIG hole to fill.

Think about it, if they decided they were keeping Manning, it would probably mean they did not want to pick Andrew Luck. That means they would probably be open to trading out of the #1 pick. Imagine how much easier it would be to rebuild if Washington was willing to give you 3 extra 1st round picks over 3 years and whatever other picks they sent to St. Louis for the 2nd pick. If you are worried about trying to compete NOW and not in 2-3 years after these new draft picks learn how to play in the NFL, then trade those 1st round picks for established young up and comers in the league.

Maybe Manning's arm is done. But a big part of me thinks it isnt, and that part of me also thinks that the Colts were idiots for cutting him loose.

[#58ChiefsFan]

Indy made a huge mistake but not this month. They overpaid Manning and neglected the rest of the team assuming Peyton was super human. That is on Manning as well and is equally his fault. Great your the most badass regular season qb in recent history and 1-1 in superbowls. Irsay put himself in a position where he had no other choice but to get away from that nightmare contract. They put all there eggs in one basket and went 2-14 when it went to hell. We will see if they learned from this mistake when they rebuild the team around Luck.

Stay tuned because you will see the Donks in a similar situation in the very near future, if he makes it through the 2012 season....

[70 chiefsfan70]

Indy made a huge mistake but not this month. They overpaid Manning and neglected the rest of the team assuming Peyton was super human. That is on Manning as well and is equally his fault. Great your the most badass regular season qb in recent history and 1-1 in superbowls. Irsay put himself in a position where he had no other choice but to get away from that nightmare contract. They put all there eggs in one basket and went 2-14 when it went to hell. We will see if they learned from this mistake when they rebuild the team around Luck.

Stay tuned because you will see the Donks in a similar situation in the very near future, if he makes it through the 2012 season....

YEP! You got this one right.

[Xanathol]

Indy could have kept PM with or without Luck or let him go and move onto Luck, and all of it be up for debate. But put that aside - they didn't just move on from PM - they gutted their entire organization.

All in all, the fired / released / let walk their:

super bowl building GM
hall of fame QB
league starter ( and oft undervalued ) RB
league respected LB
one of, if not the best, TEs in the league
pro bowl center
one of their better WRs
shopped their pro bowl DE

and I don't know who else.

As I saw someone else post on another board, its like the football version of the movie Major League, where the owner is trying to make the team suck enough to move them.