With three teams watching their playoff aspirations pass before their eyes still seeking their first win of the season heading into Week 8, it's not often you begin seeing those who don't believe they can bounce back and make a push down the stretch jockey for sole possession of the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. And with a super-prospect at the QB position in Stanford's Andrew Luck who's the consensus number one overall pick for the second consecutive year and has drawn comparisons to John Elway, a team tanking the season for a player with the potential to be one of the all-time greats isn't unlikely.
Though any team coming off an unsuccessful season and in the middle of a rebuilding period would like to plug a young quarterback of Luck's caliber into their franchise, Luck could however decide to pursue his senior year in college if he's not satisfied with the team who gets the first overall pick. And while he would risk leaving a bunch of money on the table and the chances of getting hurt, it wouldn't be the first time Luck ditched being the first overall pick as he chose to return to college last year despite his head coach Jim Harbaugh heading to the pros to coach the San Francisco 49ers. Some sources have even gone as far as saying Luck would consider pulling the same move Eli Manning made in '04 when being drafted first overall by the San Diego Chargers who he refused to play for which eventually led to a trade to the New York Giants.
Those three teams who remain win-less are the Miami Dolphins, the St. Louis Rams and the Indianapolis Colts. But only the Dolphins and Colts are rumored to be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes as the Rams are unlikely to draft another quarterback given it was only a season ago that they selected last year's Rookie of the Year Sam Bradford first overall. The Miami Dolphins on the other hand are in desperate need of a quarterback having started both Chad Henne and Matt Moore this season with little to nothing to show for. Meanwhile in Indy, the Colts have been without arguably the best QB in all football since the beginning of training camp when it was learned that Peyton Manning would need neck surgery for the second time this year. The news of Manning's injury prompted the front-office to sign veteran QB Kerry Collins who agreed to come out of retirement, but would be benched in favor of backup Curtis Painter after only three weeks.
The Colts' failure to tally a win this late in the season was something nobody saw coming and proves just how dependent the franchise really is on the great Peyton Manning, perhaps more so than any other team is with their star player. Even the New England Patriots who were without Manning's arch-rival Tom Brady in '08 were able to finish the season 11-5 with then backup QB Matt Cassel under center when Brady went down during the season-opener with a knee injury that put him on the shelf for the entire season. But just how much is Manning's absence to blame for the Colts' dismal 0-7 start? Many are pointing the finger at the Colts defense or the lack thereof following their most recent loss on Sunday night in which they were dismantled by a final score of 62-7 to the New Orleans Saints. The critics have said Manning's health wouldn't have changed he fact that the D still gave up 62 points when really Indy's offense would've been on the field longer if Manning was healthy, thus preventing less chances for New Orleans to score.
Manning's 2011 campaign hasn't been ruled out just yet as doctors say there's still a chance he can see live action this season, but with the team already out of playoff contention come Manning's return, why risk bringing him back with the possibility of him not being at full strength and hurting his neck again? While the Dolphins selecting Andrew Luck is a no-brainer if they're given the opportunity, the question of whether or not the Colts should do the same is in the air. With an aging Peyton Manning at the helm could we see Indianapolis steal a page out of Green Bay's book by letting Manning show Luck the ropes much like Brett Favre did with Aaron Rodgers?
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