Jim Irsay: We let Manning go because we want championships

But Trent Richardson is a budding superstar, no?

 

The Colts overachieved massively last season --- two wins over teams that ended the year with a winning record and got outscored by 20 points during the season --- and were a massive candidate for regression this year.

 

And yet they're 4-2 with wins over the 49ers and Seahawks. Go figure.

 

He converted a third and 1.

 

I'd have to look at the unedited version/transcript of the Irsay interview, but it's not surprising his remarks are considered a shot at Peyton because of the narrative "Peyton is a choker in the playoffs." Sometimes you have to be more careful how you say things (and Irsay is still having this problem with his tweets).

How difficult is it for Irsay to say this:

"Look, I know Peyton is one of the greatest QBs of all time but I had to ask myself this: Do I run out to grab a bunch of players to ensure Peyton can finish with a Super Bowl win or two and then risk not finding his successor and ensuring I have the right players at other positions, or do I let Peyton go and rebuild everywhere, knowing I have a chance to get a top QB prospect and then properly build the team around him, thus giving me a good shot at a Super Bowl dynasty?"

It's a lot harder to turn that into "Peyton is a playoff choker" than what Irsay is being quoted as saying.

 

Yes, but saying something like that requires thinking. This is Jim Irsay you're talking about.

 

I think you're probably right. I've seen Irsay gush too many fawning and even tearful words about Manning to believe he intended it as a shot at Peyton. Now Polian ....that I can see.

But it was still woefully bad judgment to say it at all. He should've known how it would be interpreted. And, as others have noted, I wouldn't bet against the possibility that the bottle contributed to the bad judgment.

 

His daily tweets are unintelligible.
He's on something or his synapses are just fried.

 

He is a classic dry drunk if not a closet real drunk.

He is also, despite being a burned out ex-hippie who was born on third base, five (maybe ten) times the man his father was.

The league is better for having Irsay involved. He's also a couple secret benders away from becoming Hopper's character in Apocalypse Now.

It's an interesting juxtaposition.

 

He could have fired Polian at any time, as he had worn out his welcome elsewhere.
Instead he lets Polian hand off the operation of the organization to his dufus son.
Knowing that he was once the dim son to whom much was unjustifiably entrusted.
He seems utterly charmless unless you've dropped a few tabs, but different strokes.