UPDATE - 9/8/2011 - Peyton Manning is out for 2 to 3 months minimum - My prediction is he is done for the entire season.
I felt Peyton was going to sit out 4 to 6 weeks but never saw this coming, another surgery. ESPN's Chris Mortensen confirmed on twitter that Peyton Manning underwent cervical fusion surgery on his neck Thursday morning. If you drafted any Colts players I'd make trade offers before their stock hits rock bottom. The Colts should go run heavy which increases the value of Addai but no one knows if he is "bad enough" to handle stacked boxes. In the event the newly acquired Kerry Collins does better than expected he could end up being a decent QB2 in the right match-up.
UPDATED - SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2011: CBSSports.com is now reporting that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning could potentially miss 4 or 5 games of the 2011 regular season, saying:
"I can tell you the coaches are preparing for a longer period of life without Manning..." - Mike Freeman CBSport.com
The problem here is that Manning is seeking additional sepcialists for his neck due to his slow healing progress which does confirm an earlier report by ESPN.
The bottom line is this, we now can assume that Manning will AT THE VERY LEAST miss his Week 1 start against the Texans, and the chances of missing more games is certainly NOT out of the question at this point.
It's time to find a replacement, or make a trade is possible.
Read my original post below regarding this news, and please leave your questions below for advice on what to do. They've already started pouring in.
Five days ago I did a write up talking about the signing of Kerry Collins—you can read here—and discussed the reasoning behind the signing was due to Peyton Manning's status for Week 1 being in jeopardy—well that status hasn't changed one iota since.
The most recent report comes from Profootballtalk.com when Manning was asked about whether he was worried about his consecutive start streak:
"Absolutely not, no," he said. "I have to be able to competitively play. I have too much respect for football." Manning also still doesn't know if he'll be ready for the opener. "I know everybody’s into predictions and everybody wants to have the breaking news, but I just can’t give you any more than what I’m giving you. Just do me a favor, please don’t ask the linemen and receivers how I’m doing, because it annoys them and they get mad at me."
Another interesting report came from Alex Marvev on Twitter which Marvev reported that the Colts activated Manning from the active/PUP list.
So, what does this and all the other news reports mean?
Well, for one, it means you are reading too many news reports that are too close together, and too speculative which is why your brain currently hurts more than it would after a three day binger of nothing more than cheap Vodka and RedBull.
But more importantly it means that Manning's start in Week 1 is still in jeopardy, despite Manning wanting to start ONLY IF IS CAPABLE TO DO SO.
Remember, the NFL and their teams have up to roughly 5pm Friday to give their final injury report for each given week of play ( the Colts square off in Houston at 1PM EST on Sunday, September 11th), and coaches have up to one hour before game time to adjust or activate those players who aren't on the PUP list.
As it stands right now, Manning doesn't look as if he will be ready which means you should adjust your roster accordingly.
If you drafted Kerry Collins, I would NOT give him the nod just because he plays in Indianapolis.
The guy is sure to have some rust on him, and hopefull you were wise enough to draft another true starter in the event Manning couldn't go.
The usage of the Colts' backfield could be an intriguing consideration since Houston was ranked 13th against the run last year, but it is still a bit too early to figure out.
Delone Carter continues to impress and push for the goaline back job over Donald Brown, while Joseph Addai could be an intriguing PPR option since he has been a near 50/50 split between rushes and catches in preseason, but a couple more days will provide a better gauge.
Leave a question below if you have one, and I'll answer it!
