No Longer Their Man

Manning's ability to manage a game from
the line of scrimmage was unlike any-
body's in league history.

A 35-year-old colt is leaving his herd, but not by choice.

It was just last July, the Indianapolis Colts signed quarterback Peyton Manning to a five-year $90 million contract extension, that seemingly put the final touches on a career that would end with a horseshoe on his helmet.

But how quickly things can change.

According to multiple team sources, the Colts will release Manning rather than give him the $28 million bonus he is due on March 8 and pick up the final four years remaining on his contract, making Manning a free agent for the first time in his career.

An official announcement is expected to be made on Wednesday in a joint press conference with owner Jim Irsay and Manning, ending his 14-year run in Indiana.

The decision does not come as a surprise after Manning missed the entire 2011 season, undergoing his third neck surgery in the last 19 months - fourth overall. It was the first time in Manning's career he missed a game, playing in 208 consecutive regular season games - 227 including the postseason.

That is the second most to Brett Favre's 321 overall.

As for the the team, the Colts took a giant gallop backwards without Manning, finishing the season 2-14. It was their worst finish since 1991, when they went 1-15. But if it meant anything, it showed how valuable Manning has been to the franchise since being selected with the No. 1 pick in 1998.

Since moving to Indianapolis in 1984 and prior to Manning's arrival, the Colts held a .395 winning percentage in the regular season, a division title, won two playoff games and have no Super Bowl appearances.

Compare that to the game's Manning actually played in.

Indianapolis has won .678 percent of their regular season games with Manning under center, captured eight division titles, accumulated nine playoff wins and played in two Super Bowls.

Drafted out of Tennessee, Manning threw a rookie record 26 touchdowns, starting what would eventually become an NFL record for the most consecutive seasons with 25-plus TD passes (13). But with that instant success came a lot of growing pains. He was also intercepted 28 times that season - the only year he has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns.

Manning would lose his first three playoff starts before finally defeating the Denver Broncos in an AFC Wild Card matchup on Jan. 4, 2004, 41-10. He completed 22 of his 26 passes that day, throwing for 377 yards and five TDs.

But then came the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots.

Manning and Co. would lose to the Patriots in consecutive AFC Championship games by a combined score of 44-17. However, both of those games were played in the snowy confines of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.

A trip back to the then-RCA Dome would make all the difference.

After an early round exit against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following year, the Colts returned to the AFC Championship Game in Jan. 2007, hosting it for the first time in franchise history.

Their opponent. New England.

This time Manning would finally get the monkey off his back, overcoming a 21-6 halftime deficit and rallying Indianapolis past the Patriots. He outscored Brady 22-13 in the second half in the team's 38-34 victory and their first AFC Championship title since 1970.

The win would ultimately lead to Manning's his first and only Super Bowl title thus far, defeating the Chicago Bears in a sloppy and rainy game in South Florida, 29-17.

He was named Super Bowl XLI's Most Valuable Player.

It wouldn't be until 2009 that Manning would don the Super Sunday stage yet again. This time it came with agony, losing to the New Orleans Saints, 31-17 after starting the season a perfect 14-0 before then-head coach Jim Caldwell decided to pack it in for the final two games, planning to rest his starters for the postseason - a plan that obviously backfired.

If in fact Manning is releases Wednesday then Jan. 8, 2010 would have been his last as a Colt. It was the team's most recent playoff game and defeat, when they fell to the New York Jets, 17-16. In the game, Manning threw for 225 yards and a touchdown.

He leaves Indianapolis with a 9-10 record overall in the postseason, but holds all the franchise's passing records, including career wins (141), touchdowns (399), completions (4,682), attempts (7,210) and yards (54,828).

Throughout his career as a Colt, Manning defined preparation and hard work, even developing the signature no-huddle offense back in 2001.

Manning's best season came in 2004, when he threw for 4,557 yards, a then-record 49 TDs and only 10 INTs. But 2010 wasn't bad either after setting career-highs in completions (480), attempts (679) and yards (4,700).

The 11-time Pro Bowler has been named the AP NFL MVP a record four times in his career (2003, '04, '08 and '09).

He was the fastest quarterback in league history to complete 4,000 passes and throw for 50,000 yards. Manning guided Indianapolis to the postseason 11 times in 14 years, including seven AFC South titles over an eight-year span.

Manning resurrected a franchise in need, and will now pass the torch to someone else to do the same.

With this decision the Colts are almost assured to take either Stanford's Andrew Luck or Baylor's Robert Griffin III with the first overall pick in April's upcoming draft. It's a decision the Colts faced with Manning and Ryan leaf in '98.

That time Indianapolis chose right with Manning being arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, while Leaf threw more interceptions (36) than games played (25).

Instead of writing chapter three in the Joe Montana, Steve Young, Favre and Aaron Rodgers saga, Irsay opted for youth.

This is just one of the many moves and changes the 52-year-old owner decided to make this offseason. He has fired Caldwell, vice chairman Bill Polian, general manager Chris Polian and now is apparently ready to release the franchise's greatest player all within two months, living by his words "the horseshoe always comes first".

Free agency begins March 13, but if and when Manning is released he can sign with a team immediately, reminding us this is a business and everyone, including Manning, is expendable.

Blown Out The Door

There is not much to smile about anymore for
Jerry Angelo.

With the Chicago Bears missing the postseason for the fourth time in the last five years, team president Ted Phillips decided to begin his spring cleaning a little earlier this year.

Just two days after salvaging the final game of their season, beating the Minnesota Vikings 17-13, and ending a five-game losing streak, Chicago has announced longtime general manager Jerry Angelo has been relieved of his duties. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz and quarterback coach Shane Day will also not be retained. But head coach Lovie Smith will be returning to the team for the 2012-13 season.

The releasing of Angelo, truly signifies the end of an era in Bears football.

Hired by Phillips in 2001, Angelo quickly turn the Bears fate around. After finishing the 2000 season 5-11, prior to his arrival, Chicago went 13-3 in Angelo's first season at the helm, winning the NFC Central division and making the postseason for the first time in seven years. There they would lose to their divisional round matchup with Philadelphia Eagles, 33-19.

However, Chicago would finish third in their division each of the next two seasons, causing many to wonder if Angelo really was the right man for the job.

Following a 7-9 finish in 2003, Angelo promptly fired then-head coach Dick Jauron and hired Smith as the sixteenth head coach in franchise history.

In Smith's first year as the top dog, the Bears finished last in the NFC North, posting a 5-11 record. Despite the team's regression from a year ago, Angelo was able to keep his job and rewarded ownership for their faith.

Chicago would win back-to-back division titles the next two seasons and play in their first Super Bowl in over twenty years. In Super Bowl XLI, Angelo's Bears would get off to an exciting start. Rookie Devin Hester, who was drafted by Angelo just months earlier, returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, the first time that had been done in Super Bowl history.

Although, Chicago was unable to overcome their five turnovers and ultimately lost to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 29-17.

Three more postseason-less seasons would follow, even with the acquisition for Pro Bowl and gun slinging quarterback Jay Cutler.

Prior to the 2010-11 season, Angelo signed Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers to add to an already well accomplished defense and hired Mike Martz to replace Ron Turner as the team's offensive coordinator. With those moves, the Bears were able capture the No. 1 seed in the NFC and host the NFC Championship.

There they would be upended by the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, 21-14. A game they basically played without Cutler, who missed most of the second half with an apparent knee injury.

As for this season, Angelo and Co. saw the team get off to an impressive 7-3 start and hopes of returning to the postseason. That was before Cutler broke his thumb in a win against the San Diego Chargers on Nov. 20. The injury would require season-ending surgery and the former Denver Bronco was placed on injured reserve more than a month later.

Two weeks later, Angelo would see yet another one of his offensive stars fall to injury. In the midst of a breakout season, running back Matt Forte suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his MCL and would not take the field again this season. Forte was turning into one of the games most complete backs, catching 52 passes for 490 yards and narrowly missing his third and second consecutive 1,000 yard rushing season with 997 on 203 attempts.

It was Angelo's inability to provide capable backups that really ended his tenure as Bears GM. The 60-year-old saw seven of his starters go on the IR this year, including five on the offensive side of the ball.

During Angelo's more than a decade long stay he was the architect of four division winners, appeared in two NFC Conference Championship games and a Super Bowl. He leaves Chicago with a 95-81 record during the regular season, but a 3-4 mark in the postseason.

Angelo is also responsible for drafting a number of Pro Bowlers. In the last six years, he has seen 16 Pro Bowl selections for men he took on draft day, including first timers Forte and Corey Graham this season.

It is unclear who Angelo's successor will be, but director of player personnel Tim Ruskell seems to be the most logic choice as he will take over the team's personnel department until they find the now-former GM's replacement.

Martz's offense grew stagnant without Cutler
and Forte. 

For Martz, his fate was decided by Smith in what is being called "a real difference in philosophy" decision. Despite the Bears finishing ninth in the league in rushing (2,015 yards), their best total since 2005 and only the second time they have eclipsed the 2,000 yard plateau since 1990, Martz's complicated offense never flourished in the Windy City.

Last season the Bears finished just 28th in passing and 22nd in rushing under his watch. Now, Cutler will not only be face with the challenge of recovering fully from his thumb injury, but need to learn his third offensive system since joining the Bears in 2009.

Day, who prior to being the Bears' quarterback coach was the quality control coach in San Francisco, came with Martz from 49ers and now departs with him.

A changing of the guard on the South Side.

Bobby's World

Sanders was a force when healthy in his
seven seasons in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Colts decided to release their hard-hitting safety late last week.

Bob Sanders is a two-time Pro Bowler and when healthy, he is one of the best defensive players in the National Football League.

They key word is healthy though, something Sanders has been unable to do much of his career. Sanders was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and was signed to a five-year, $37.5 million contract extension. Since then, he has only played in nine games the last three seasons.

In his seven seasons with Colts, Sanders was one of the most feared safeties and top run-stoppers in the NFL. With Indianapolis trying make iconic quarterback Peyton Manning the highest paid quarterback in the league, the move does not come as a huge shock.

The Colts could no longer to wait to see if Sanders could finally stay healthy.

Although, his accomplishments will not soon be forgotten by the Indy faithful, playing his best when the pressure seem to be at it's peak. He forced then-Chicago Bears running back, Cendric Benson, to fumble early in Super Bowl XLI and then later, intercepted quarterback Rex Grossman to put the game on ice.

There will be no question Sanders presence will be missed in the locker room and by the fans in Indianapolis, but Sanders best football still might be in front of him. This offseason, assuming there will not be a lockout, a team will take a chance on the former Iowa standout and it might be a wise decision.

When watching two other AFC powerhouses, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, play, you see the impact their respective safeties, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, make. When healthy Sanders is the same type of game-changing playmaker.

It will be interesting to see where Sanders lands, and just maybe he will haunt Manning and the Colts after having him on their side for all those years.