Peyton Manning's Arm "A Noodle"

"On Wednesday evening, Ryan Wilson passed along a report that Peyton Manning's arm "is a noodle." That description was not complimentary. And neither is the the description of Manning from NFL Network's Michael Lombardi. Lombardi, appearing with Bill Simmons on "The BS Report," said that Manning "can't throw the ball to his left (CBS Sports)."

Guys who have caught the ball for him says he has no velocity on the ball, and the reason he can throw to his left is because he loses feeling when trying to throw across his body. That is really not good news. Manning still has a month to get his arm right before the Colts have to decide to cut him, but it's looking more and more likely they are going to.

For now structurally Manning is fine, but the nerves aren't and if he can't get his arm back then he is going to be done. I have no idea how long that might take, but I have to admit I am rooting for him to make it back. He is one of the greatest and I would love to see him back in the NFL again, and not be forced into retirement.

Colts Hire Chuck Pagano

I love this hiring by the Colts. Chuck Pagano will bring a toughness and change into Indy. He's a defensive mind and is a 3-4 guy which means there are a lot of changes coming. The Colts obviously have a lot of decisions this offseason and other than Peyton Manning, Robert Mathis is a free agent.

If Pagano were to move into a 3-4 like defense, that would make Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (if they signed him) outside linebacker pass rushers like James Harrison and Lamaar Woodley. Which would be a pretty good start. They would need to address the defensive line which they would need to find a guy to plug up the middle (Casey Hampton will most likely be available) and two bigger defensive ends.

Now onto Manning, with more and more hirings/ firings I either think 2 things are going to happen. 1. He's released, 2. He retires. Let's not forget that he has a neck injury and Peyton right now, doesn't even know whether he can play or not. The Colts are in a position where they need to rebuild, rather than retool, which probably means Reggie Wayne is gone.

Rob Lowe Says Peyton Manning Is Retiring

Yup... Rob fucking Lowe.

Here's his tweets...

"Hearing my fave, #18 Peyton Manning will not return to #NFL. Wow. #Colts," Lowe tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

"my people are saying Manning will retire today."

"#Colts fans, let's hope my info is wrong," Lowe tweeted. "Don't like being wrong, but this time... I'm hoping #NFL #Manning"

I guess Rob Lowe is close with Colts owner Jim Irsay, but I'm called bullshit on this. Archie Manning is denying this, and you would think he would know if his son was hanging it up.

I have a question, why does no one ever bring up the fact that Rob Lowe made a sex tape with 2 girls and one of them was 16 years old?

Colts Fire Jim Caldwell

Colts head coach Jim Caldwell was fired yesterday as the Colts continue to clean house. This was actually a bit of surprising news, because most people assumed he was coming back and reports were that Manning wanted him back. That has been leading to some reporters to think this could be the end of the line for Manning with the Colts.

I disagree. I don't think it really matters who the OC or HC are for a team that has Peyton Manning. He runs his own offense, and makes audibles on almost every play anyways. The only way I can see him NOT being in a Colts uniform next year is if the Colts just don't feel he is going to be healthy enough to be their starter.

Robert Griffin III Makes A Smart Decision

With Matt Barkley and Landry Jones making the worst decisions of their life, it's good to see someone make the right one. Robert Griffin III is going pro and leaving after his junior year at Baylor.

I have been leading the march that if I were the Colts I would take RGIII over Luck because I simply think RGIII will be better. He doesn't have Cam Newton size but he has Cam Newton ability. He has a cannon, is deadly accurate and has Mike Vick speed. However, he isn't a running QB, he is a QB that likes to throw first and use his legs second.

RGIII put up incredible stats this year, he threw for 4,293 yards with 37 touchdowns and only six interceptions, and his completion percentage of 72.39 percent was just shy of national leader Russell Wilson of Wisconsin (72.82). Griffin also ran for 699 yards and 10 more scores.

The only and I mean ONLY advantage Andrew Luck has over RGIII is his size and look of "prototypical" NFL QB. Luck is 6'4 and 240, RGIII is 6'2, 220ish.

So Colts, be smart, trade down and take the better QB, let him sit under Peyton for a couple years and develop and fix your team with the extra picks.

So What Are The Colts Going To Do?

So now that the Colts won the Andrew Luck (or who I think should be Robert Griffin III) sweepstakes, it makes a decision on what to do with Peyton Manning an extremely uncomfortable situation.

I'm going to just assume that Peyton Manning is going to be healthy next year, but if he's not, this all goes to shit.

If I were the Colts, I would seriously consider keeping Manning and trading the Luck pick. I heard that pick to be worth 4 1st and 2 2nds, so if that were the case I would do that in a second. Manning is 35 years old and I honestly believe he would be good for another 3 years, let's not forget that the year before last he threw for 4,700 yards and 33 TDs. Sure it could be a downward trend next year, but Mannings production is going to be better than Luck's most likely. And if they are worried about a QB they could always draft a RGIII, Landry Jones or Ryan Tannehill and have him sit under Manning because all of those guys need seasoning.

Peyton Manning gives your team the best chance to win for now and near future. Yes, Luck could be the guy, but I trust Manning a lot more.

The other option is that the Colts release him, there is no way that the Colts are going to trade him. If they opt to go with Luck the organization would find a way to come to a conclusion with a buy out and then Manning could choose where he wants to go. And If I were Manning, I would go to San Francisco immediately.

These are the only 2 options I see, as I don't think they can co-exist together.

The wildcard that mucks up this equation is the firing of Bill Polian. Before he got fired I would say that Manning would be 100% back, now I believe it's around 65%.

Archie Manning Putting His 2 Cents In

"In spite of all this, there is still a very important person who does not think that the Manning-Luck duo will work out well. That man is Manning's father, Archie Manning. "I doubt if either one of them want to play on the same team," the elder Manning said Tuesday during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio's "Zakk and Jack Show," according to the Indianapolis Star (ESPN)."

I actually don't think he is really wrong. I would think Manning would rather see them build a better team around him, then deal with them building for the post-Manning-era. That being said, I am so sick of Archie Manning. I don't really care what he thinks, and I hope the Colts don't either.

The bottom line is the Colts need to ask themselves this question. With Manning back and 100% are they just a player or two away from being in the Super Bowl again, or just a mediocre team. If they are just an average team then it's time to draft Luck (or whoever they think is the top QB), and either trade Manning or let him sit behind Manning for a year or two.

If they do think they can be a top team then draft based on needs, and hope in 2-4 years there is another great QB coming out of college.

Patriots 31, Colts 24

Remember in Gladiator when Russel Crowe is still fighting in Africa and he's simply dominating his competition. That's kind of what happened in Foxborough yesterday. There was no way that the Patriots would lose. The Colts were built around Peyton Manning. Even their defense was geared toward playing in shootouts with lots of passing and little running.

The Patriots had a mediocre 1st quarter, and a bad 4th quarter, and they still won. This was a preseason game. And even the crowd at the Stadium was like a preseason game. Late arriving, lots of families and first-time visitors, early exiting.

It's hard to praise the Patriots after beating a winless team. I guess I can say that Rob Gronkowski is probably not human. He's a monstrosity.

Belichick and his assistants have plenty of mistakes to show their players this week. It's a testament to how bad the Colts are that just two good quarters from the Patriots was enough to beat them. Even so, the Pats' defense allowed Dan Orlovsky to have the game of his life. 30 for 37, 353 yards, 2 scores, 1 pick, a 113.2 rating. It's kind of scary to allow a guy like Orlovsky to put up Peyton Manning numbers, even if some of that was in garbage time.

Everyone keeps trying to figure out how good the Patriots really are. Are they good enough to win a playoff game? Are they good enough to get to Indy? Can they beat the likes of Green Bay or Baltimore? There's no way that a Week 13 game against the Manning-less Colts will tell you if they can or cannot go deep into the playoffs.

To be honest, it will come down to how well they play on gameday. If Brady is at his best, the Patriots are almost unbeatable. If he's just good, it gets interesting. If he has a bad or even below average game, the Patriots have no chance.

Patriots travel to the 4-8 Redskins next week.

-The Commodore