I apprecaite the fact that everyone believes we would be "unstoppable" and Super Bowl contenders as soon as Manning would step on the field for us, but history and reality aren't on our side.
Most fans on this board want to oversimplify every facet of our team and organization to make it seem like we are always one or two steps away from winning the Super Bowl. Yet it's been 50 years since we've done it. And 30 since we've even been in the Super Bowl.
"All Star" teams don't do it. Big names gaurantee nothing. But these are the devices fans use to explain why a team isn't winning.
There are lessons all over sports history to explain how real champions win. The 1980 U.S. Hockey Team is a prime example. It's not about names, it's about every detail that goes into the mix. For all that Peyton is... there is a lot that he's not.
After 50 years of not winning it, you can't possibly believe we are only 1 player away.
For everything the Heat are after assembling their dream team, they still didn't win the championship. A seasoned team that has played together for many years won it. There is a monumental difference between getting to the championship and winning it. Sure, the difference might be quanitified in a few words. But those few words described the extra something that one team had and another didn't. And they were the only team that had it.
Peyton Manning would be a wrecking ball to the Phins organization. In one move, you would have dismissed the Philbin hiring, Sherman hiring, drafting and player acquisition performed by Ireland and Parcells and destroyed all team chemistry.
Of all teams in the NFL, WE should know what it is like to have a Peyton Manning. How many years have we prided ourselves on "Dan Marino wasn't a system QB. Dan Marino was a system." Sounds great when it rolls off the tongue. But then you realize we have had 16 starting QBs since Marino retired 13 years ago, then you can't intelligently say that it was all because of one reason.
We have had NO direction since he left. Not once has the franchise invested the money, picks, coaching staffs, the general manager and every other talking head in the organization to be at risk for annointing a new face for the franchise. Marino was the face of the franchise. And everyone in the franchise was devoted to making him succeed.
It's easy to think Peyton would galvanize the organization. But in fact, he would polarize it. He's not just a piece that you plug in. He's a piece that destroys the current puzzle. You build around him. And if we did acquire him, everything we do while he is here would be scrapped the minute he walks away.
So, you want 13 more years of futility just to feel warm and fuzzy for 2 years?
No. We've hired Philbin and we've hired Sherman. Now give them the QB THEY NEED to succeed. Sign Flynn.
Don't leave Philbin with a mess to clean up and become the scape goat in 2 years when Peyton laughs all the way to the bank.
Just MHO