Seattle Seahawks Will Make Big Push For Peyton Manning: Great Move And Other Suitors
For awhile I’ve thought that Peyton Manning will eventually end up Miami because I wasn’t sure who else would actively pursue him, but now I’m beginning to lean towards Peyton Manning landing in the N.F.C. West-whether that is on Seattle, Arizona, or perhaps even San Francisco. According to at least one report Seattle will be in the mix for Peyton Manning.
While the Dolphins and Redskins remain serious suitors for Manning – as best we can tell – the Seattle Seahawks and deep-pocketed owner Paul Allen could also be very much in the mix. Rich Cimini of ESPN New York reports that the Seahawks will come out “checkbook blazing” in pursuit of Manning. Other reports have indicated Seattle could try to lure Manning and Reggie Wayne as a package deal.
Everyone has speculated to whether or not Peyton wants to play in a Cold-weather city or outside a dome, but Peyton has not publicly commented on that (because he was still with the Colts) so no one knows, but perhaps he doesn’t care about that stuff nearly as much as we make it seem.
The question is what is the best fit for Peyton Manning? To me. Seattle is #3 on the list. And number one and two also happen to play in the N.F.C. West.
Here is a breakdown of the favorites for Peyton Manning
#1 San Francisco 49ers-Harbaugh is a terrific coach and that defense is fantastic. The 49ers have a terrific running game and while they don’t have the best Wide receivers finding WR competent enough for Peyton Manning to make look good is not going to be all that difficult. Talks between Alex Smith and the 49ers have not resulted in a contract yet so the 49ers might even have an opening at the quarterback position. The 49ers also have an excellent special teams which will give Peyton good field position more often than not. If Peyton is serious about winning another Superbowl no team in the league offers him that same immediate chance that the 49ers do .
#2 Arizona Cardinals
I think the Seahawks actually have the better roster, but the Cardinals have two extremely appealing features. First they do play in a dome in a warm-weather city so if that is something that is appealing to Manning-Arizona is the only potentially interested team that can offer that to him. Second is Larry Ftizgerald. Fitzgerald is one of the best WR in the game, adding another component to the WR corps would not be all that difficult. There are myriad of good quality veteran WR available in free agency (including Reggie Wayne). The Cardinals also have one of the league’s best young defenses. The Cardinals have a couple of pitfalls that the 49ers or Seahawks do not have. First is that the Cardinals are very shaky along the offensive line. And the Cardinals have two young quarterbacks they still believe in.
#3 Seattle Seahawks-
The Seahawks have the best young secondary in the N.F.L. Their safeties are terrific. On offense they have spent the last two years adding talent to the offensive line and their running back is pretty good too. Lynch is a weapon in the pass and running game. The Seahawks have a good quality young defense and will be able to keep games close (whether they turn into physical run games or passing games) something the Colts defense could never do for Manning. On top of that the Seahawks have a lot of offensive weapons. Last year they signed Sydney Rice and Zach miller. They also have Mike Williams on the outside and the promising and emerging Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin. These team is loaded with offensive weapons and might give Peyton the best chance to win right now outside of the 49ers. How could you not want to play in the one of the best home-field advantages in the league. If the weather is important to Peyton though Seattle is not the best place to be.
#4 Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have a pretty good defense and enough weapons on offense, Reggie Bush could be terrific with Peyton Manning and his offense. Brandon Marshall is a good possession WR and Devone Bess is the kind of smart WR that excels with Peyton. The Dolphins also have a good offensive line so that’s not a huge problem either. The weather is great and the Dolphins will probably offer him a huge contract. The big negative: the Dolphins haven’t been able to put a consistently winning product on the field and there seems to be some dysfunction from the top down. The other negative is the new head coach might want to run a different type of offense.
#5 Kansas City Chiefs-A terrific opportunity if they open the checkbook for Peyton. They have to improve their offensive line, but Dwayne Bowe and Jon Baldwin are an intriguing WR duo. Add in playmakers like Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster and things are looking good. I’m not convinced the Chiefs will make a run at Peyton which is why I have them lower. They actually might be the ideal situation. The A.F.C. West (not the NFC West) is the worst division in football.
#6 New York Jets-I don’t think is a realistic landing option either. Would Peyton want to play with Rex Ryan? What about in that dysfunctional locker room? I don’t think “sharing the city with Eli” will be a problem. It’s that they have OL problems, a weak WR corps, and a dysfunctional locker room and are hard up against the cap.
#7 Washington Redskins-I personally believe that Peyton doesn’t want to be an impediment to Eli Manning’s chances to make the playoffs. I know that seems weak, but I think if Peyton could choose whether or not to battle for playoff positoning with his brother in the same division it would be less than ideal. Now the positives: Daniel Synder will spend the money for Peyton and they have a good defense and run game. Negatives, they play in a tough division and their WR corps is weak.
What are your thoughts?
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