Manning Mania Has Makings of Mirage

This isn’t the surefire Hall of Famer. This isn’t the Super Bowl MVP. This isn’t the same Peyton.

If the Colts, with a fan base flush with Manning jerseys, are willing to yank the plug on him it speaks volumes. That’s even without hearing reports saying he’s not there yet, and having trouble making all the throws. It’s a backwards-looking direction, and such choices are rarely winning moves.

Agonizing for our SoFlo Sea Mammals, who have, along with all of us of course, endured a horrific post-Marino hangover. The idea of snagging a few stellar bonus years out of Peyton is alluring. This was the #5 scoring defense in football. The cupboard on offense is far from bare as well. If we could lock in a maestro for this offense, we would immediately be a playoff contender.

But there are of course a few directions to go in the search for that maestro. If the Dolphins’ “spidey sense” is tingling about RGIII, few would blame them for betting the house on him. Perhaps another rookie has caught our eye, one that should be available when our pick rolls around, or lower if we trade down?

Then of course there’s Matty “Bang Bang” Flynn. We believe he will be the next starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. We’ve been way too quiet about him. If you’re Joe Philbin, heading into your first ever job as a Head Coach in the National Football League, your worst nightmare is a quarterback who can’t run your offense. What a happy coincidence that you’ve had a several season head start in prepping Flynn to run that offense. Couple that with his performances in live action, and it makes far too much sense. We love him. We think he’s smart. We think he’s got swagger. He may not be the prototype 6’4″ poster boy, but we believe he would put this team in the end zone. And of course there’s the bonus of being able to use our 1st rounder at another need position (DE/OLB or RT perhaps).

Or of course we could try option 3, whipping a few more good years out of the old horse Peyton. We could grab a QB in the 2nd or 3rd to groom behind him. We would of course be curious to see if he had anything left in the tank. However, misfiring on this would set the franchise back a few years. Ask yourself, does Philbin have that luxury in his first ever stint as an HC?

We don’t think he does. We hope, and indeed we think, that the Sea Mammals will make the hit-the-ground-running choice. There are rookies, and the learning curve that almost always needs to be navigated. There’s a stud veteran who’s now failing physically and turning 36. Then there’s a 26-year old with very little wear on his arm, who knows the offense like the back of his hand and has already excelled (granted, a small sample size) against live, NFL action.

Of course it ain’t our call, but at the stroke of midnight on March 13th we’d be throwing a boatload of sand dollars in Matt Flynn’s direction.

GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @thebottlenose