An Old Racing Colt Becomes a Bucking Bronco

Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, is now officially a member of the Denver Broncos. The free agent signing of Manning is being looked at as one of the biggest moves the Broncos have ever made since ironically, the Baltimore Colts traded the draft rights to now-GM John Elway to the Broncos since Elway threatened to continue playing for the New York Yankees rather than play for the Colts. Although the move is seen as a big win for the Denver Broncos - and a hilarious loss for Tim Tebow fans - many analysts are puzzled that Manning would choose to play for the Denver Broncos rather than the San Francisco 49ers, a team that would have become the automatic favorite to win the Super Bowl had he joined. Former NFL players (and former 49ers) Steve Young and Deion Sanders are particularly critical of Manning's decision, especially after seeing how much money Peyton Manning will be making. Should Manning pass his physical exams every year, he will be the highest paid player in the NFL.


So did Peyton choose money over winning? Some of the morons on ESPN First Take claim the Broncos will go 8-8 and miss the playoffs even with Manning at QB, due to how terrible the defense is. Those same morons forget that the AFC West had a 3-way tie for 1st place in 2011, with the Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders all getting an 8-8 record and the Chiefs had a 7-9 record, the whole division being mucked up by the quarterback shuffle of Tim Tebow replacing Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer replacing Jason Campbell, Kyle Orton temporarily replacing Matt Cassel, and of course Bizarro Phillip Rivers replacing the real Phillip Rivers.


Of course, that doesn't really answer the question... So did Manning choose making a shitload of money over winning a Super Bowl now? All you need to hear is that the 49ers signed Randy Moss and Mario Manningham and are retaining the core of their record setting defense, which only allowed a single rushing touchdown all year. What do you think?