The Indianapolis Colts are looking ahead to the offseason with more questions than answers right now. They've finally put together a great offensive line to protect their quarterback and have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The thing they're lacking, though, could be the most important of all, as they don't have a starting quarterback now that Philip Rivers decided to retire after just one year with the franchise. Luckily for them, they do have plenty of options to dig deep into the market.
However, the Indianapolis Colts know pretty well that top-notch quarterbackcs don't grow in trees. They know a thing or two about legendary gunslingers, so they don't want to mess up with the guy they bring on next.
That's why head coach Frank Reich decided to reach out to a familiar face to get some honest advice on who should take the realms of their offense next. Apparently, he called Peyton Manning to seek his advice.
Frank Reich Consulted Peyton Manning Over The Colts' Next Quarterback
“After Philip retired, I started going, 'OK, here’s all the quarterbacks who could be out there. And as we’re talking about who’s going to be our starting quarterback next year, yeah, I called Peyton and asked him his opinion on some of the guys. There’s no doubt when you’re seeking counsel from other people -- you might seek counsel from three or four people -- but the level of expertise and dependability of their perspective, when you hear from Peyton, it obviously carries a ton of weight. It carries a ton of weight," Reich told the IndyStar.
“Whatever percentage of all the other (outside) opinions matter, which is a smaller percentage of the overall picture, Peyton’s percentage is going to be higher because of who he is. Peyton’s great. When he has a really strong opinion, you know it’s strong. And if he didn’t know a guy as well, he’ll tell you, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen as much of that guy," he added.
Reich elaborated by lauding Manning's personality and the way he tries to evaluate other people and other players, as he constantly tries to talk about their best traits rather than focus on their flaws:
“He’s got that quarterback gene in him, that he generally wants to speak positively. He doesn’t want to be overly critical of quarterbacks, because he knows how hard the position is to play. He would typically emphasize their positive traits and then you’d have to almost, well, he wouldn’t bash guys very hard," he concluded.
Well, we couldn't think of a guy better suited to talk about another quarterback than Peyton Manning, one of the greatest to ever do it. And, who knows? maybe even he could put the pads back on and give it a shot at his third Super Bowl ring.
