Prior to Thursday’s game, Colts owner Jim Irsay told the NFL Network that the only way Peyton Manning wouldn’t play for the Colts next year is if he does not recover from the neck injury that has kept him out all season.
Irsay’s Colts then showed he wasn’t joking with an unlikely come-from-behind 19-16 win over the Texans that seriously jeopardizes Indy’s chances of landing the top pick in the NFL Draft, which is universally expected to be Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
Perhaps the only good news for the Colts is that they may now avoid the potentially awkward locker room situation that would be created with two alpha quarterbacks in the locker room. When the Packers were left with no choice but to shove Brett Favre out the door in the form of his “retirement” in favor of Aaron Rodgers, it didn’t work out well for anyone. Especially the public, which had to endure like four more Favre retirements.
And I guess that’s about it for the good news for Indy. The whole Favre-to-Rodgers transition is working out pretty well for Green Bay, in case you hadn’t noticed recently.
Right now there can’t be anyone happier than fans of the Rams and Vikings, who suddenly find themselves in the Luck derby. Of course, both of those teams have selected quarterbacks in the last two Drafts in Sam Bradford and Christian Ponder, so they will be dealing with the same potential awkwardness as the Colts should they end up in the top spot.
Then again, having seen Bradford and Ponder play, I’m pretty sure it would be worth the awkwardness.
