The Colts Conundrum:Salvage The Season Or Get Really Lucky
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 8:56AM Joe Simmons 
Very rarely does a team with arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time enter a phase of self doubt. However when that man is Peyton Manning and your team depends on his expertise to get you in the right situation or play, then when he goes missing you look like you have never played the game before.
This off season Peyton had his third neck surgery. When you start talking injuries of the neck and head, it is really time to think about life after football. The Colts threw Manning a ton of cash to get him interested in playing again and despite his injuries, Manning is hell bent on returning to the game of football.
Without Manning the Colts are a shell of their former selves. The offense that was put in to give Manning more autonomy to make changes doesn't work if he isn't at the helm, or a person with his similar skill set is not at the helm. Let's face it, there aren't a lot of guys like Peyton Manning out there in this world.
However, Manning is making 23 million dollars this season and he probably won't even play a snap. If he misses the entire season, the Colts are in an interesting predicament. Chances are without Manning they will have the worst record in the NFL unless the ghost of Johnny Unitas invades the body of Kerry Collins and wills them to a few victories. Chances are that will not happen as the Reece Bobby (Ricky Bobby's Dad) look alike is prone to turning the ball over.