Peyton Manning reality thread

[ebozzz]

There are several things that I do not understand with the people who do not want Manning:

First of all, let me say that if we could get a healthy Peyton without any of his current injury concerns, I would be all for trying to acquire him. If he had already been cleared by doctors to play again, I would certainly be interested in exploring the option of signing him. The fact is that he is not healthy right now and might not be before we need to make a decision on our QB situation.

1. Us signing him is under the condition that he IS healthy enough to play.

No doubt! His health as of right now is such that there would have to be some conditions on any contract with him!

2. As several others have posted each person recovers different from the surgery.
3. It's not my money so why should I care if we sign him?
4. For all the "risk" that it is it is only a short term fix. It not like it is something that could set us back a decade. (Like a horrible coach signing or botched top ten pick. Even that is not what it use to be because of the implemented rookie salary cap.)
5. It's not like we would be giving up draft picks and therefore our future.
6. I'm sure anyone that signs Manning would only sign him if his contract were based on his health/performance/playing time (If it doesn't work out we can cut him.)

It's true that individuals sometimes heal differently but in general medical science has been able to determine what expectations their patients should look for during their recovery. It's been pretty accurate for the overwhelming majority of people who are coming back from various injuries & ailments. Medical science has said that the nerve in Manning's situation can react anywhere from completely regenerating or not at all. It has not regenerated yet and his arm has some athrophy. Sounds promising, doesn't it?

Even with his current status it sounds as if you are advocating that we take a chance and sign him. It's not your money, right? The risk is that tying up the funds and roster positon necessary to get Peyton would almost certainly hinder us from addressing the team's other needs in free agency. It does indeed have the potential to set us back if, in fact, Manning is not able to perform at the level that we need him to.

Most likely, we would not have to give up picks for Flynn either. Oh, there is some risk involved there as well because he doesn't have a significant body of NFL work to evaluate. But, he would probably not require the financial compensation that Peyton would demand which would leave some money free to target other free agents and his health is certainly not a concern.

The bottom line is when, if ever, will Manning be ready to play? Would you wait for him forsaking any other QBs until such time as there is a definitive answer? Would you target him knowing that he is not ready yet, make the acquisition and then possibly find out that he won't be able to play before the start of the season? Oh yeah, by that time you most likely will have missed on any other free agent QB of note.

7. As stated by another poster, Steve Slaton has had this surgery and he is still playing in the NFL. Some have replied: well, he isn't what he once was either. Tell me, when has Steve Slaton ever played elite at the HB position like Manning has at the Qb position? When has Slaton ever drove to be the best at his position? Answer to all of those is never. A side note to all of that is that Manning is a qb and slaton a rb. Who takes more hits? How takes more vicious hits? The rb every time.

Does Steve Slaton have to throw the ball 20+ times every game with strength and accuracy? Different skill sets are required for each position....

The whole reason Manning had this surgery is because of diminished arm strength. Even if he never regains his arm again he still has a stronger arm than what Pennington had. If we do sign Manning and he turns out to suck or ride the bench, are we in any different situation that we have been in since Marino retired? Always a franchise qb away from winning it all. Manning is someone who could step in right away and provide the kind of leadership that this team needs to takes us to a SB. I have no doubt that it wouldn't take Manning long to gain a rapport with his new teammates either.

The fact is that neither you nor I know what type of arm strength Peyton has currently. Whatever it is at this point, it may never improve. I have no doubt regarding his leadership qualities but his health status leaves me with serious doubts. That's especially true in my opinion when he realistically has less than 5 years of playing time left. If he was ready to go right now, I would be saying, "Go for it!" Waiting for him to get clearance before making a decision, especially if it affects other moves, would not be wise. Signing him with the hope that he will eventually regain his health would be plain stupid....

 

[Fin Fan in Cali]

[h=1]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/peyton-is-struggling-to-get-healthy/

Peyton is struggling to get healthy[/h]
Peter said that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is struggling to get healthy. With barely more than a month to go before the March 8 trigger for payment of $28 million, that makes it even less likely that the Colts will pony up the cash.

 

[Amartin09]

If Manning is released , IMO he goes to the Jets.
With SB 2012/13 in New York.
Big fat Ryan will do everything in his power
To go get him. Imagine the Manning family re unites in
The Big Apple and takes New York by storm .
I can just see NFL marketing the dynamic duo.
And making tons of money for Football and ratings.

Now that to me makes a lot of sense.
And I'm no Jets fan as I hate the Jets.
But really they have a better team than we
us and are clearly closer to getting to the SB than
Our beloved Dolphins.

Hate to say it but that seems like a more realistic scenario .

Sorry for any mispelled words on my iPhone traveling.

Really??? The jets are better. Even if true, only by the slightest margin.

 

[cuban_refugee]

to answer your question about how the surgery will affect his throwing is simple ... Every time he drops back to throw he will need to move his neck to scan the field and there will be times where he turns his neck too far and the plate or surgically repaired area will will have an adverse affect on the nerve root area where the surgery and plate was installed onto his spine ... everytime he takes a hit or falls to the ground the the jolt will affect the surgically repaired area ... In both cases I mentioned above can and will cause numbness in his throwing arm ... there is no getting around this!!! it's the nature of the game of football ... there will be time when manning coughs or sneezes, that he'll feel a twinge in his nerves and that can cause numbness as well ... this will happen for the rest of his life whether he plays football or not ... there are so many other instances in life where he will feel numbness in his arm, but it's too much to list here ... Trust me when I say he'll never be the same as he once was before the surgery ... my advise to you is to google or youtube Cervical Spinal Surgery and watch a small video of the Surgery Manning had, and you'll see what we are talking about ... IMO Manning may try to come back but the risk are too great .. even Sterling Sharpe has made comments about this, and he knows, because he has had the same surgery Manning has had and Sharpe retired ...

Actually, the fused site will actually be pretty strong and won't cause more impingement at that level. However, he has residual effects at that site that are keeping muscles weak. The other problem lies with the levels above and below the fusion.....they tend to become more unstable over time. So he has more chance of developing nerve or spine issues at other sites.

 

[tay0365]

This is a very tough thing to argue about, different people heal differently, athletes heal better then the average Joe, and premier athletes find ways to continue to look better then both the average athlete, or the average Joe.

Some years ago, Miami had a chance at getting Culpepper or Brees. Everyone admitted that Brees could be the better QB if both were healthy, but Brees injury was tougher to come from, and with the Dolphin's doctors agreeing the odds would be against Brees to come back to 100%, Miami took the supposed safer and healthier option, they were burnt by that choice.

This will be a much tougher decision, and even though Payton is older then Brees was at that time, and will be going through a much tougher recovery to figure out where he's at, you really don't know what you will get from Payton. The one thing we do know for sure, because of his age and surgery, he is not going to be the same Payton, but with his intelligence and heart, the team that get him still might get a 75% Payton, and that may be more then enough to elevate most of the teams that will go after him, to legitimate SB contenders in 2012.

 

[dolfan91]

Actually, the fused site will actually be pretty strong and won't cause more impingement at that level. However, he has residual effects at that site that are keeping muscles weak. The other problem lies with the levels above and below the fusion.....they tend to become more unstable over time. So he has more chance of developing nerve or spine issues at other sites.

I know your a Doctor, and thank you for correcting me ... I'm not writing with a clear mind ... My physicians have told me the exact thing you've stated in your post ... the issues with the above and below cervical levels deteriorating are more prevalent with patients that have degenerative disc decease as well ... which is common with fusion patients ... Residual effects is something I've tried to explain to the other posters about Manning and the possibility he may not be able to throw with any kind of consistency ... Thanks DOC!!!