Colts Officially Release Peyton Manning (QB Thread #11)

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Originally Posted by SmootSmack

What is this about Manning having great skill players around him all his life? Were Garcon, Collie, Gonzalez, Clark really that skilled or did Manning make them so?

Originally Posted by celts32

No...he made everyone on that list what they are. Even Wayne and Harrison drop a couple notches with almost any other QB.

I think you have to take each player case by case. I think sometimes in a rush to say the most obvious thing quickly (and before it becomes too obvious), it's easy to reinforce looking at the Colts as this well oiled machine instead of this group of individuals who might someday have a 2-14 season.

Dallas Clark? Dallas Clark wouldn't have been a great player on another team? Can we start there? Dallas Clark is a pretty darn good NFL player. Same with Anthony Gonzalez: his career is where it is now because he can't stay healthy, not because he was overdrafted.

Pierre Garcon? I mean, Peyton Manning didn't make Pierre Garcon a consistent NFL receiver. Garcon doesn't catch the ball consistently. He actually had his best season overall in terms of making the catch with Curtis Painter at quarterback. I'm sure this doesn't reflect on Painter as the next Manning, it's just that we can say that Pierre Garcon wasn't very good as a member of the Colts.

That leaves Collie, who was fantastic with Manning, and awful with Collins and Painter. Fortunately, Peyton Manning accomplished enough with the Colts where he won't be remembered as "that guy who gave Austin Collie a career." And frankly, I'm not all that swayed by the argument that Manning is great -- not because he wins or throws for 40,000 yards and 40 TDs regularly -- but because Austin Collie had fantasy value playing with him.