The Jim Irsay-Peyton Manning Firestorm

Those expressing negatIvity about the concept of building well rounded teams around great QBs 2 achieve Championships have negative agendas
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013

The noise doesn't bother me,to quote the most loved Ind Colt of all time"I wanted to stay,Jim wanted me to stay,circumstances forced r hand"
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013

Peyton Manning and Jim Irsay

"[Tom] Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these [rings]," Irsay told USA Today. "Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated. 

"You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the 'Star Wars' numbers from Peyton and Marvin [Harrison] and Reggie [Wayne]. Mostly, you love this [ring]."

Reference: John Fox: Jim Irsay 'ungrateful'.

I posted this on Google+:

Jim Irsay's potshot at Peyton Manning seems boneheaded. But it may work perfectly, come playoffs. Manning was one-and-done, 8 out of 12 post-seasons.

Some reporters just latched on to Irsay's stats that Manning was one-and-done 7 out of 11 times in the playoffs.  They seemed to have forgotten that after a superb 13 - 3 record - in his first full season with the Broncos last year and his first full season after taking a year off for neck surgeries and recovery - the Manning-led Broncos were, you guessed it, ousted in the their only playoff game.

Broncos head coach John Fox chimed in quickly:

"I saw the comments. And to be honest with you, I thought it was a bit of a cheap shot... To me, in my opinion, they were disappointing and inappropriate."

Even former Colts head coach Tony Dungy weighed in:

"Jim is making this personal... I'm surprised."

Dungy thinks Irsay was deliberately trying to provoke the highly competitive Manning.

"I think that's what he's trying to do... Have him make it such a big game he doesn't perform well. I can't figure any other reason to go this way."

Reference: Dungy: Irsay 'is making this personal'.

This firestorm happens ahead of a big Sunday Night NFL showdown: The 6 - 0 Broncos, coming in to Lucas Oil Stadium to battle the 4 - 2 Colts.

Just as the Broncos and Manning found new life in each other, the Colts were quietly undergoing a similarly astounding sea change.  The Colts totally tanked, during Manning's yearlong absence.  But perhaps fortuitously or perhaps strategically, their poor record positioned them to nab Andrew Luck in the draft.  While Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson pretty much stole the limelight - what, with commercial sponsorship and all - Luck simply played superbly.  He's arguably the best of among the young guns in the NFL.

So Irsay's desire for more Super Bowl rings has every possibility of becoming a reality with the next Peyton Manning well-ensconced in their midst.

Let's go back to this little firestorm, shall we.  My weekends are often busy, and I keep my evenings for relaxing with my family as often as I can.  So Sunday Night football isn't really on my radar, as a rule.  But you can bet, I am going to watch this Broncos-Colts game.  I'm sure thousands and thousands of other fans will tune in, too.  If so, then it's score a PR win for the owner.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Irsay is trying to get Manning's goad up.  Still, there is a great likelihood that the Broncos will whale on the Colts: He is simply playing lights-out this year.  That much was virtually a given already.  But Irsay may have given the Colts an edge by planting seeds of doubt inside Manning's psyche.  No harm in trying, really.

But again Manning has played historically well in the regular season, his teams have averaged 11 wins, over 12 seasons.  So chances are Broncos will come away with a win on Sunday night.

Let's see how the playoffs shake out, however.  Irsay's apparent boneheadedness may actually take seed when Manning takes the field in that first game.  His remarkably consistent star performance in the regular season is matched by a similarly disappointing sub-.500 performance in the playoffs.

I don't have a clue what's going on in Irsay's head, of course.  But it's certainly possible that his mouthing off is both a near-term and a long-term ploy.

I'm sure it's weighing more heavily on Manning's mind now, and it will continue to do so, until he wins a second ring.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD