Sports Agenda for Wednesday (3/7/12)
Big Story:
Well, the Heat beat the tar out of the Nets last night, the Marlins are still in spring training, but the only thing that could bring my sick body to work today was the release of future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and his possible future with the Miami Dolphins.
Lyric of the Day:
"The Horsemen are drawing nearer. On leather steeds they ride. They've come to take your life. On through the dead of night. With the four Horsemen ride. Or choose your fate and die."
Peyton Manning:
Yknow, I never thought I'd type the following sentence but never say never in this world.
The Indianapolis Colts have released Peyton Manning.
It just is bizarre typing that.
The man who single-handedly made Colts football relevant for the first time since Johnny Unitas laced up the black cleats.
The player who defined greatness at the quarterback position for more than a decade.
Now, he's being cast aside for the young gun, Andrew Luck.
It's almost surreal.
But, so is life in the NFL and let me take you back to a story from when he was taking team visits before the NFL Draft in 1998…
Manning was in Indy and was hearing the Colts were struggling between taking him or Ryan Leaf. (Yes, at the time there was a big debate)
So Peyton, being the competitor he is, asked to see Bill Polian (Colts GM) and owner Jim Irsay.
Manning looked at both of them and said, if you don't draft me number one, every time I play the Colts I'm gonna kick your arse.
They picked him, and he instead kicked everyone else's arse.
I bring up that story because now the fun begins….
Where Will Peyton Go?
Ah yes it's time to spin the wheel and make the deal to bring Manning into a new team.
Let's look at the contenders shall we?
Miami Dolphins – great defense, good offensive line, good number one receiver, good running back, could use an athletic tight end, just need a solid quarterback to get them over the hump.
New York Jets – good defense, decent offensive line, no number one receiver, lots of stress being measured against your brother, already have a quarterback in place.
Kansas City – decent defense, bad offensive line, two stud receivers, a solid running game, and a new head coach.
Washington Redskins – good defense, horrible offensive line, no running back, no number one receiver, bad ownership, lot of cap room.
Those are my four leading teams at this point.
Here's the drawback for Miami – new coach, may not want to give Peyton full control of offense
But, he lives in Miami in the offseason and is established down here and there's no state income tax.
Trust me, the athletes consider that fact.
If you ask me, Peyton is made for the Dolphins and the Fins are made for him at this point in time.
But….
If you ask me, there's not much that could convince me to sign Peyton Manning.
I may be wrong, but I don't want a quarterback who is so fragile that if you look at him wrong, he could lose feeling in his triceps.
Or worse.
Now, that said, if his arm is at full strength and he can make all the throws he once made….
Sign him today.
Then invest heavily in the offensive line in the draft.
Oh, and ask Reggie Wayne for a hometown discount, given that he's a former member of the U.
Can the Dolphins Afford Manning?
The simple answer is we just don't know yet.
The Fins are going to have roughly $16-17 million of cap space when free agency hits.
The Fins could give Manning a $15 million signing bonus, to be spread out over three years.
Around $5 million in base salary.
Plus $18 million in bonuses, incentives, etc.
Here's the catch, as pointed out by Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post…
If the incentives are not likely to be earned, meaning they weren't achieved in the previous year, they don't count against the cap.
If at the end of the year, the incentives are applied and the team exceeds the cap, the amount you exceed the cap is taken off from next season's cap.
So let's for argument's sake, say the Fins exceed the cap by $5 million on his incentives.
Assuming the cap increases, which it might by up to $10-15 million next season, you still have at least $10 million in cap space and keep Manning on the roster.
That's important because next year you have to sign both Kendall Langford and Jake Long to extensions.
Oh to be a capologist in the NFL huh!
Heat: (vs. Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.)
Quite a clinic the Heat put on last night huh?
When you win by 30 and you're up by nearly 40 at some points, I mean c'mon man.
Now, that said, I want to know about D-Wade's ankle.
I don't think it's serious, but at his age, those kind of nagging injuries can come back to haunt you throughout the season.
Big props to Chris Bosh on his return from personal leave.
20 points on 9-14 shooting works for me.
I also can't underscore how important he is for this team.
Without him, I don't think they can win an NBA title.
Yes, I went there.
Unless they play the Nets every night….man that team is just pure garbage.
I feel bad for point guard Deron Williams.
He's a star and a stud point guard, but playing on that team makes everyone look bad.
Why Dwight Howard would want to go there is beyond me.
Screw marketing, if I'm Howard and Williams….
I call up Mark Cuban and say clear the cap space and we'll sign with you.
Can you imagine Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and Dirk Nowitzki?
Eyikes!!!
Don't laugh, Cuban has been clearing cap space for just such a venture and it's possible if he can offload one contract that he could pull it off.
Talk about marketing!
Cuban plus those three….get out of here.
I'll be on Peyton watch all day long. He's due to hold a press conference at noon to discuss his release from the Colts. Don't know if we can carry the live stream, but we'll effort it. Keep it on cbsmiami.com and on my Twitter account @timkephart33 for the latest details.
