Stampede Blue: The Prescription for an Aneurysm

Okay, so I am making an appointment to read Stampede Blue each day, partly because the inanity is so funny and partly because I evidently have masochistic tendencies. To my surprise, BigBlueShoe had some honest insight today, debating against the idea that the Colts are a 6-10 team without Manning. But the argument he makes is disingenuous, because even in a metaphorical situation without Peyton Manning, Colts fans can't help themselves in propping up Peyton Manning. Let's digest some of the garbage, shall we?

Manning personally works with Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Gijon Robinson, Jacob Tamme, and Anthony Gonzalez to help make them better. Without Manning, these guys would not have developed.

Look, I'm not saying Manning had absolutely nothing to do with their development, but to say that they would be third string scrubs without Manning is ludicrous. Sadly, such assertions can't be proven wrong unless these players move on to another team/different QB, but the onus to prove it lies on Mr. Hyperbole.

The offensive line is a patchwork of ragtag rejects who are made to look good because Peyton is outstanding at sliding away from pressure. Also, he never gets rattled. The guy has ice in his bloodstream, and a great clock in his head.

You are joking, right? Please, please, PLEASE say this is supposed to be funny. "Ragtag rejects"? You are aware that Manning never gets hit, right? And your argument makes it seem like he's dodging blitzers left and right while carving up opponents. He's not. And you really want to say the guy doesn't get rattled when he just lost the freaking Super Bowl in part to getting rattled?! Not to mention that Peyton's modus operandi has always been looking great in the regular season then most definitely becoming rattled in the playoffs. (Here's the part where a chorus of Colts fans chime in and blame pretty much everyone else on the team besides Manning for each of his nine playoff losses.)

The offense really relies on Peyton to make everything work, and he no longer has the Marvin Harrison, Tarik Glenn, and Edgerrin James types he once had. Yes, he still has talent, but not on the same level. This will be Polian's challenge moving forward, getting Peyton more help.

The Marvin Harrison? How about The NFL's Answer to Charlton Heston (sorry, that's Ray Lewis, I forgot)? And only a Colts fan could look at the weapons he has on offense and surmise that this is the weakest area of the time and needs to be fixed so that the wonderful Peyton will no longer need to raise the playing level of his JV-squad counterparts. Maybe Polian's challenge should be investing in the Special Teams, seeing as how that was the primary factor in the Colts Super Bowl loss (aside from Manning's choke).

I'd say (the Colts would finish) 9-7 and no playoffs, kind of like the Patriots in 2002 or the Steelers in 2009.

You just had to throw the no playoffs thing in there, didn't you? I think among the reasons Colts fans don't want Peyton Manning to get hurt for is that if you plug in a competent quarterback (like Matt Cassel), the team would probably do very well. In fact, I think it would mirror the Patriots' 11-5 2008 season (although, that would mean no playoffs, so I guess I shouldn't have been so critical of BigBlueShoe's inclusion of that...nah!), especially with their seemingly annual cupcake schedule.