Sweet new acronym the SFL is, Amsterhammer.
First, the question on Peyton is a no brainer. I don't believe for one second Peyton is ready to retire.
So then, what Indy does with him and the first overall draft pick is a good question. The other question is does Indy have a first round pick in 2012 or was that traded off? (I am assuming they own it). Indy has some time to decide on what to do about Curt Painter who is a 3-year vet, or 7-year vet Orlovsky. They can afford to let Painter work and then evaluate after the season. My guess is neither of these QBs is their long term solution. If they feel confident in Painter or Orlovsky, they could trade down. OR Indy could trade down to pick up extra picks and THEN use the first round pick obtained in the trade to draft another QB (NOT Luck, but maybe Barkley). That avoids issues with Luck vs Peyton, and they still get another top QB (plus picks for trading down).
The other question about what Luck would be willing to do is a good one too. Do you think he would pull a stunt like John Elway (who actually had baseball as leverage) or one like Eli Manning did (with help from dad)? Elway's and Eli's reasons were understandable, even if one does not agree with them. Elway wanted to avoid working under then Baltimore Colts head coach Frank Kush, who had a rep as being abusive to players (I actually believed Kush was over the top). Then SD was, well, the SD organization we all know. But the present Colts organization seems to be a good one, and to give them the rub might not go over as positively in the court of public opinion as the Elway-Eli maneurvers did. I lean toward saying Luck would not refuse to go to the Colts, but that's just a hunch.
Another question is what's best for Luck? From what I saw last weekend, I am not so sure Luck is really ready to take a starting QB role in the NFL and be able to lead them to the playoffs. It might be best for him to learn from the best of the best before taking on that role. On the other hand, there are a handful of teams who'd love to have him and will be in a position to get him by trading up. Plus sometimes the best learning is accomplished by just doing it. Either way, I think it will work out for him. The question is again, does he want to play right away or pay his dues as an understudy for maybe 5 years?
First, the question on Peyton is a no brainer. I don't believe for one second Peyton is ready to retire.
So then, what Indy does with him and the first overall draft pick is a good question. The other question is does Indy have a first round pick in 2012 or was that traded off? (I am assuming they own it). Indy has some time to decide on what to do about Curt Painter who is a 3-year vet, or 7-year vet Orlovsky. They can afford to let Painter work and then evaluate after the season. My guess is neither of these QBs is their long term solution. If they feel confident in Painter or Orlovsky, they could trade down. OR Indy could trade down to pick up extra picks and THEN use the first round pick obtained in the trade to draft another QB (NOT Luck, but maybe Barkley). That avoids issues with Luck vs Peyton, and they still get another top QB (plus picks for trading down).
The other question about what Luck would be willing to do is a good one too. Do you think he would pull a stunt like John Elway (who actually had baseball as leverage) or one like Eli Manning did (with help from dad)? Elway's and Eli's reasons were understandable, even if one does not agree with them. Elway wanted to avoid working under then Baltimore Colts head coach Frank Kush, who had a rep as being abusive to players (I actually believed Kush was over the top). Then SD was, well, the SD organization we all know. But the present Colts organization seems to be a good one, and to give them the rub might not go over as positively in the court of public opinion as the Elway-Eli maneurvers did. I lean toward saying Luck would not refuse to go to the Colts, but that's just a hunch.
Another question is what's best for Luck? From what I saw last weekend, I am not so sure Luck is really ready to take a starting QB role in the NFL and be able to lead them to the playoffs. It might be best for him to learn from the best of the best before taking on that role. On the other hand, there are a handful of teams who'd love to have him and will be in a position to get him by trading up. Plus sometimes the best learning is accomplished by just doing it. Either way, I think it will work out for him. The question is again, does he want to play right away or pay his dues as an understudy for maybe 5 years?