Well, it looks as if the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins might just have let the cat out of that bag.
From NFL.com:
Meet Rod Denny, who earlier this month was in Hampton Roads, Va., for his 16-year-old daughter's volleyball tournament. During a stay at a local hotel, Denny spotted [Redskins defensive coordinator Jim] Haslett during breakfast. As a lifelong Redskins fan, Denny couldn't let such an opportunity pass without at least saying hello.
The innocuous greeting eventually turned into a meeting of two football minds, during which Haslett apparently divulged the team's offseason philosophy. It just happens that Denny has his own fan blog devoted to the Redskins under the nom de plume of "Rodskins" and later wrote a fan post detailing his conversation with Haslett.
The "fan blog" referenced in the article is SB Nation's Hogs Haven. Exactly two weeks ago today, Mr. Denny wrote a FanPost on that site detailing the long conversation he had with Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. Lord only knows what Haslett was thinking, but he apparently told Denny some serious insider information on what the Redskins plan to do, and are already doing, to upgrade their quarterback position this offseason.
This is from Denny's FanPost:
According to Haslett, [Redskins general manager Bruce] Allen has some connections with some people in Indianapolis and mentioned discussions surrounding Peyton in a Redskins uniform have already begun behind the scenes.
That, my good friends, is what we call tampering if it is indeed true. It's a big no-no in the NFL, even though, apparently, everyone does it. Denny's story was so believable that, according to NFL.com, it caught the attention of Redskins beat writers.
The Washington Post also called, and Haslett again rejected the notion that he had inside knowledge of the team's plans at quarterback.
"I don't know what our plans are," Haslett said. "I worry about the D."
This all came as a surprise to Denny, who insisted he wasn't trying to play "gotcha journalism."
"When I saw it was getting this much publicity I felt bad, and my wife got on me about it too," Denny told WLZL-FM last week, via The Post. "I had no intention of going undercover or getting him in trouble or anything like that."
Denny, a pastor from Charlotte, N.C., added that he wasn't bothered by Haslett's denial.
Chris Weinke used to play quarterback in the NFL, and, truth-be-told, he kind of sucked at it. From 2001-2006, Weinke played for the Carolina Panthers, tossing 14 TDs and 26 INTs during that span. He has the distinction of being the only starting quarterback to 'win' his first game as a rookie (Week One of the 2001 NFL season), and then lose the remaining fifteen. His career QB rating is 62.2, putting him in Curtis Painter territory.
Weinke is perhaps better known as the 28-year-old college quarterback who guided Florida State to a 1999 undefeated, national championship season after undergoing spinal fusion surgery. The same surgery Peyton Manning had back in August of 2011.
Weinke's throwing arm went dead after he was blasted by then-Virginia defensive end Patrick Kearney during a November, 1998 game.
"I lost everything, full atrophy in my throwing arm, the nerves that control my right arm were damaged,'' the former Seminoles quarterback said. "My head was awkward and I got involved in a head-on collision.
"I had total nerve regeneration. So I had to in essence re-teach myself to throw.''
For some, they are viewing the Weinke example as one that bodes well for Peyton Manning, and perhaps it does. However, it's important to point out just how silly it is for anyone to say, 'If a 28-year-old Chris Weinke can come back from spinal fusion surgery and play college football, then a 36-year-old Peyton Manning can surely return and play professional football!'
Dumb logic. Dumb, dumb, dumb-dumb, dumb-ditty-dumb-dumb, dumb.
Somewhere, Matt Ufford is drooling at the prospect of Peyton Manning wearing neon and silver.
According to Dan Pompei, the Chicagoan sports columnist who does a weekly Sunday piece for National Football Post:
Based on the buzz around the league, the Seahawks could be the early frontrunner for Peyton Manning, assuming he is released. Pete Carroll needs a quarterback and is believed to have a strong interest in at least exploring Manning. The Seahawks could offer Manning an attractive scenario. They have a young team with some fine skill players to put around him. They play in one of the league’s loudest stadiums. Manning wouldn’t be subject to the same kind of scrutiny in Seattle that he would in a lot of other markets.
Pompei also makes the argument that Seattle's team physician, Stan Herring, is one of the country’s preeminent specialists for spinal injuries. Reggie Wayne might also go with Manning as a "package deal."
Former Colts quarterback and Manning friend Brock Huard has already penned an open letter to Peyton, practically begging him to come to the Pacific Northwest. Mike Florio also thinks the Seahawks will land Manning.
Personally, I'd have no problem with it.
Well, Manning-Watch '12 certainly just got a little more interesting.
If you happen to be rooting for Peyton Manning to finish his career as a Colt, Jim Irsay is doing his best to put a small smile on your face and/or make the situation even more intense. The Colts appear to want #18 back in the saddle:
"We can make it work if he wants to be here,’’ Irsay said today. "We’d be excited to have him back and finish his career with us.
Manning and Irsay have engaged in an intense chess match for weeks and now we're likely witnessing Irsay calling Manning's bluff. It's funny and quite hypocritical that Irsay was upset with Manning for not keeping his thoughts "in house", yet Irsay has now decided to one-up (again) Manning and relay this information to the press.
According to Irsay, if Manning truly wants to remain a Colt, the door just swiftly blew open for perfect harmony to exist:
"I want him to be able to make the choice. We would love to have him back here if he can get healthy and we can look at doing a contract that reflects the uncertainty of the . . . healing process with the regeneration of the nerve.’’
"There’s no question it can be worked out if he wants to be here,’’ said Irsay, who has concerns over Manning’s long-term health. "It can work if he wants to come back and can get back to being the old Peyton.’’
This isn't the first time Irsay has been vocal about the decision being in the hands of Manning, but now the entire world knows. Irsay called Manning a "politician" for his interview with Bob Kravitz, but this is politicking at its finest.
Lovely readers, remember last week when yours truly wrote a little article over at SB Nation Indiana discussing the possibility of Peyton Manning playing for the Houston Texans next season?
Remember that?
I do. My favorite comment for that article came from reader BobInBlue, who wrote:
This
is stupid.
He got two recs for that stirring rebuttal, and, on some level, he is probably right. It is stupid. So stupid, in fact, that it might just friggin happen! From Bob Allen of KTRK-TV in Houston, via PFT:
"Someone I know who is close friends with the Manning family says Peyton is definitely interested in possibly coming to the Texans. Peyton will be released by the Colts early next month and will be a free agent. The person who knows the Mannings says Peyton wants to play on a team that has a chance of going to a Super Bowl, and the Texans fit that description."
Unlike some of you, I want Peyton Manning off the Colts roster in 2012. I want him to win another ring, and he has no chance to do that in Indianapolis anytime soon. I would be excited if he landed in Denver. If he wound up in Washington, Arizona, or Seattle, those places are fine too.
Houston? The Texans? Jesus god no.
I might just projectile vomit on my keyboard if I ever see the news 'Manning Signs With Texans' flash across my TV screen. Like, vomit every time I see it.
It seems the heat, specifically in the Twittersphere, that Bob Kravitz was taking after calling Peyton Manning's right arm a "noodle", was just a little too much for the Indy Star journalist.
On Friday, Kravitz did his best to clarify the comment, stating that he "misspoke":
"I do that sometimes on radio, especially when I haven't had my coffee. I was trying to be funny, flippant, basically saying you don't spend 35 million bucks on a quarterback with a noodle arm. In my head, I was thinking, 'He used to have a laser rocket arm, now it's closer to a noodle arm.' "
I can understand a harmless mistake and we've all had our fair share of bonehead comments. However, I think it's rather surprising that a respected journalist could use such a descriptive term (everyone knows what a friggin' "noodle arm" is...) only to later claim that he was basically messing around. Under these circumstances, that's not exactly a harmless mistake. We are kind of talking about a man's career here. So when you write in a town that currently has a ginormous media magnifying glass hovering above it, you really should try to practice some self-restraint and avoid such "funny" comments. Especially if they aren't, you know, totally accurate...
Yes, the Manning face.
Before there was Tebowing or Bradying, there was Manning face. No, this is not the face Peyton Manning makes while having sex. At least, we hope it isn't. It's the face Peyton makes when he's really, really, REALLY pissed off after a Colts loss.
Well, it turns out, a very gifted, enterprising, and obviously unemployed artist named David Rappoccio has taken the Manning face and placed it onto every single NFL team logo.
Every. Single. One.
The results are nothing less than pure genius.Here are my personal five six favorite, but you can view all of them at Dave's Art Locker. Special thanks to Deadspin for letting us know of this lovely Friday treat.
The influence of Tony Dungy's coaching tree is still not lost in Indianapolis. Though Jim Caldwell was sent packing last month, the Colts did retain former Dungy assistant Clyde Christensen, demoting him from offensive coordinator to quarterbacks coach. However, Christensen isn't the only former Dungy coach that will work in Indy next season.
According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports, Chuck Pagano has tapped Charlie Williams as his new receivers coach. Williams was part of Dungy's original staff in Tampa Bay back in 1996, when Herm Edwards, Rod Marinelli, and Lovie Smith were also assistants under Dungy.
Williams' connection to Pagano is through Butch Davis, the former head head coach for the Cleveland Browns, U. of Miami Hurricanes, and North Carolina Tar Heels. Interestingly, Davis' coaching tree has been blossoming of late. Pagano worked with Davis in Miami and Cleveland, and newly hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano also worked with Davis at Miami. In fact, Schiano recently hired Davis to be a 'Senior Defensive Assistant' with the Bucs.
Kind of funny how it all comes full circle.
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