As Peyton Manning departs from Denver tonight en route to Arizona for the second of three scheduled free agent visits, a member of our forums accurately summed up the mindset of a large segment of Dolphin faithful.
“I just want this to end….this sucks.
“Does anyone else feel like they’ve seen this movie before, and they know how it’s gonna end?”
photo by Jeffrey Beall
Certainly a familiar refrain among many Dolphins fans. They’ve been burnt plenty of times before. They’ve gotten their hopes up only to have their heart ripped out. Most recently by Jim Harbaugh and Jeff Fisher, although — in the case of the latter — most of you are probably happy with the way things ultimately turned out.
In both cases, the media played a major role in building the “he’s Miami’s to lose” hype to a fever pitch, only to be ‘surprised’ by a sudden turn of events, which — of course — left owner Stephen Ross and/or general manager Jeff Ireland with egg on their faces.
The lesson to be learned from those particular episodes is that in many cases, these so-called ‘insiders’ really aren’t as well-informed as they lead us to believed. **Jay Glazer being the exception.
So here we are once again, with none other than Peyton Manning being the object of everyone’s affections. Fresh off his emotional goodbye press conference in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon.
And once he stepped off that private jet at Opa Locka (Fla.) airport a few hours later, it was declared by those familiar ‘insiders’ that Miami was the favorite for Manning’s services. That Manning is Miami’s to lose.
CBS-4 and WSVN did us the honor of dispatching helicopters to capture this moment, followed by an O.J.-esque pursuit of Manning’s SUV down the road en route to his South Beach home, though fans and viewers were left to connect those dots. Most were unaware that he has a home here and has been training here with former (future?) teammate, former Hurricane and resident Reggie Wayne.
Miami fans, both pro and anti-Manning, are already worked up over this potential signing. We’re the favorite after all, right?
On Friday, we learned that Manning had whittled his list of candidates down from 12 to 3. And that Manning would visit Denver first, then Arizona and finally Miami.
On que, Adam Schefter declared the Dolphins were losing steam in the Manning sweepstakes, according to his league sources.
For reference, Schefter breathlessly tweeted on Tuesday: “From the second he is released, Peyton Manning is free to sign with another team.”
On Wednesday, he was corrected: “Clarification on P. Manning’s status. He becomes free agent once his name appears on NFL waiver wire, which could be as early as 4 ET today.”
Anyway, Manning trotted off to Denver for meetings on Friday. The media’s collective sources couldn’t decide whether he left Friday night, remained in Denver alone or took a second meeting with Broncos officials. Manning eventually left Denver — whom I presume are now “losing steam” in the chase for Peyton – for Arizona Saturday night to meet with Cardinals officials.
Here’s my quick and dirty take:
Breathe, people.
Manning is savant-like when it comes to research and preparation. He will complete all of his free agent visits before he deliberates and makes his decision.
I’m very happy that Miami will be the last visit for Manning. Rarely do you want to bat first. How often has that worked out for the Dolphins?
Even if Denver and/or Arizona blow Manning away with their pitches, you get your chance to take your swing and leave the last impression while the previous two fade a bit.
On the recruiting front, everybody is so afraid of the Ross/Ireland factor. This is a conditioned response. Some of it earned, some of it manufactured. Really, all those two have to show is that a) they’re in it to win it (Ross) and b) they’ve got a plan and are willing to aggressively execute it (Ireland). I think those are givens. If you’re taking on Manning, you’re committing to winning now.
More accurately, this is about Joe Philbin, his dogma and whether his methodology aligns with Manning’s. Philbin & Co are the people Manning will be spending 15 hours a day with. Once the tone is set up top (e.g. the commitment to winning), this is the most important factor for Manning. Their collective philosophies and approaches must gel.
Other factors such as stadium, weather, community, divisional strength, etc. are largely established and out of our control. What the other teams have to offer is out of our control. The talent level of each team is about equal. All we can do is sell our program, our plan and hope that Peyton prefers it.
If Manning doesn’t choose the Dolphins, I’m confident it’s not going to be because we did anything wrong. It’s going to be simply because Denver/Arizona were simply more attractive for whatever reason. True, we do have sort of a homefield advantage, but let’s not put too much stock into that. Tons of people in sports and entertainment have homes here.
And let’s not listen to the national media, who’ve already put their uninformed “he’s Miami’s to lose” agenda out there and have their “Dolphins bungle it again” stories outlined and ready to publish.
They don’t know a damn thing.
No one except Peyton, Archie, Tom Condon and Mrs. Manning know what he was thinking going into this. And one outside that circle knows what he’s thinking now. Everything we’re hearing is pure speculation or strategic, intentional leakage.
All we can do is let the process play itself out and hope for the best.