A Note on Peyton Manning, the Cardinals, and the Rams

I honestly didn't want Peyton Manning in the division even if he were to be a Seahawk - Superbowl or not. Although the 49ers have deservedly garnered more national attention, I don't want the spotlight on the division just because a future hall of fame QB got casted-off his team and wandered this way. Suffice to say, it couldn't have worked out better for him to end up with the Broncos. Anyways, it was disappointing to see that the rest of the NFC West didn't appear to even remotely share the same feeling. Mike Sando's facebook wall nearly imploded with the weepings of 49ers and Cardinals fans at the news. In the heat of the moment I wrote a post on his wall which ended up getting a lot of likes and makes me think there are others who agreed. I thought I'd share:

Mike, you lamented:

"I was looking forward to the possibility of having him in the division, however, whether with Arizona or San Francisco."

I think that’s an unfortunate sentiment. I, for one, am happy Peyton steered clear of this division. The NFC West overall is finally becoming legitimately good on our own accord by building through the draft and signing undervalued players in the market. Adding Peyton to mix would have just created a caricature that the NFC West can only be of championship caliber by landing elite players from other teams. Even if Peyton did land at AZ or SF and that team went on to win the Super Bowl next season, do you think the rest of the league would be quick to credit the top quality defense and the various talented players that have come out of the draft? No. It would be because a Hall of Famer on his way towards the exit decided to make a stop here and grace the team with his presence, or as Steve Young says:

"He can really make a big huge difference for this team. It’s not just the one incremental step to the Super Bowl. If he can take this team to the Super Bowl, it really says ‘I did it.’"

Something special is happening in this division and we don’t need Peyton Manning to rob us of that.

Admittedly, I was being disingenuous. By saying the "NFC West overall is finally becoming legitimately good" I was really just referring to the 49ers and the Seahawks.

Yes, the Cardinals finished with a better record at 8-8 but quite a few of their games we're won in a most unimpressive Tim Tebow-esque fashion of 4th quarter comebacks. Kevin Kolb is fatally flawed and I don't expect a full off-season to result in significant improvement. Their defense didn't finish in the top 10 last season like the 49ers and Seahawks. The stars on their defense such as Darnell Dockett and Adrian Wilson are becoming old and will be difficult to replace. Even Larry Fitzgerald will be 29 once the season starts and he's being wasted in his peak with Kolb under center. Although they've got great young talent in guys like Patrick Peterson and Daryl Washington, the age of their overall roster suggests they're in a "win big or go home" mode.

The Rams are, well, they're the Rams. I know they entered re-build mode with Jeff Fischer as head coach and Les Snead as GM, but the burden of proof will still be on them to show that they can finally start drafting well overall. You know things are bad when your top priority is to keep your QB drafted 1st overall from further regressing. If the Rams can't pull it together with the ridiculous King's ransom (three 1st rounds and a 2nd) they got for the 2nd overall pick (you moron, Dan Snyder) under new leadership then I might they might not be in St. Louis for much longer.