First, let’s start with the Indianapolis Colts problems.  Yes, a $28 Million option is a huge hit to take for a player that hasn’t played in a year.  Yes, Andrew Luck is supposed to be the best quarterback prospect in over a decade.  Yes, the Colts are throwing their team in the toilet.  In case you didn’t know by now, the Colts have a HORRIBLE team.  Peyton Manning would not have turned that team into a playoff contender; their defense is just too brutal.  Because they have so many problems, they should have picked up Peyton’s option AND drafted Andrew Luck.  It’s a simple idea.  You let Peyton get beat up while Andrew Luck learns from him.  This team needs at least two years of rebuilding, so let Luck learn and keep him healthy.  There is also a possibility that Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning will be a package deal in free agency, so who is Andrew Luck going to throw to?  Pierre Garcon and an old Dallas Clark?  Who is going to carry the ball?  The Colts are amazing at drafting running backs that become 1st round busts, simply put Joseph Addai and Donald Brown are bad.  The offense was successful because of Peyton Manning, and now he is not going to be there.  I fully believe that mentoring a young quarterback is the best way to bring him along quickly and effectively; just ask Aaron Rodgers.  They should have at least tried to negotiate a new deal to lessen the bonus they would have had to pay him to try to keep him around.  All I know is that Colts fans should get ready to endure a horrible rebuild of your franchise and they should pray that Andrew Luck lives up to the hype.

Now the Saints really screwed themselves over this off-season, and I’m not going to get back into Bounty-Gate, this is strictly about personnel decisions.  The reports were that Drew Brees was looking for a contract around $23 Million and the Saints offered him $18 Million.  Brees rejected the offer and so the Saints franchise tagged him so he would not be lost as an unrestricted free agent.  He is slated to make about $15.7 Million and is extremely pissed about being tagged.  It is currently being reported/rumored that he will not sign the tag and he could hold out.  To keep him from holding out, they have to continue to negotiate a new deal here (by July 15th), a situation where Brees has all of the power.  The biggest problem is that the Saints had seven months to do this deal, and now, they were unable to use the franchise tag on starting guard Carl Nicks or Marques Colston.  Nicks was a 5th round pick in 2008 that has played in every single game since being drafted and has risen to be one of the elite guards in the game, making two Pro Bowls and being named a 1st team All-Pro once as well.  He was an absolute steal in the draft, and now he is going to make bank in free agency.  Likewise, Colston was a seventh round pick that has risen to be the teams number one receiver, but will likely test free agency and make more money.  Instead of forking over $5 Million to Brees, which would have put them $20 Million away from the salary cap, they decided to stand firm, and will more than likely lose two of their prized unrestricted free agents.  On top of this, they have created a huge public relations issue, because everyone loves Drew Brees.  Had they been willing to pay up, they could have kept Nicks or Colston (whichever they wanted the most) by tagging them and they would have kept Drew Brees happy.  This was a complete no-brainer, and sometimes I really wonder how these people got their jobs.

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