Peon's Place

We knew what this season was coming down to. Why the Colts signed Peyton Manning, one of the best quarterbacks of all time, to a 5-year 90-something million dollar contract after 2 recent neck injuries, is beyond me. But with Andrew Luck from Stanford “Luck-ily” falling into their laps, what happens to their veteran?

Nearly four years ago, when the NFL announced that Indianapolis would host the Super Bowl in 2012, you couldn’t blame fans for being excited. Back then, Peyton Manning was 32, and had never missed a game in his dominant NFL career. He was coming off another stellar season, in which the Colts finished 13-3 and took their fifth straight division title. His Colts had won the Super Bowl the prior year, over the Chicago Bears. The dream of Manning marching off the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, hoisting the Lombardi trophy in front of an adoring home crowd, seemed very real.

Now, the dream has been shattered, in a way that no one saw coming. The only Manning who might be winning a Super Bowl in Indy is Eli, Peyton’s little brother, whose Giants will play my San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship game (New England hosts Baltimore in the AFC title game). And just as the city he turned into an NFL powerhouse enjoys the spotlight that comes with a Super Bowl, it’s entirely possible that Peyton may have already played his last game for the Colts.  Read the rest of this entry » Peyton Manning or Not, th…

In fact, the 49ers increased their lead across the entire division and they didn’t even play this past weekend, all thanks to the Cardinals, Rams, and Seahawks losing their games.

Seattle Seahawks (2-4) – A new quarterback, but still old problems. They lost to the Cleveland Browns (next up, Niners!) 6-3 in a game that looked more like a baseball score than an NFL game. From Tavaris Jackson to Charlie Whitehurst, the Seahawks are lost. So much for rolling off that playoff season last year.

Arizona Cardinals (1-5) – Larry Fitzgerald can’t throw the ball to himself, guys. You threw your defense away for an unproven quarterback in Kevin Kolb, and where has that gotten you? Patrick Peterson, your top pick cornerback replacement, has been burnt so many times that I’m running out of bread.

St Louis Rams (0-6) – One of the true contenders in the Suck for Luck contest (but let’s be honest, they’d be better off trading the pick away and to stick with Sam Bradford), the hapless Rams are worse off than every other team. They even traded for pro bowl wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, they have an excellent running back in Steven Jackson, and they still can’t put it together. Heck, the New Orleans Saints scored more points on Sunday night than the Rams have scored all year.

No, rest assured, the San Francisco 49ers (5-1) are not only stuck with the inability to draft Andrew Luck next year, but they’ll have to face the Green Bay Packers and likely the Saints in the playoffs. Fortunately however, they’re looking like a lock to win 2nd/3rd in the conference, with a possible first-round bye for the wild card games. The Niners still have to play their divisional rivals twice each, and that’s going to be an easy 6 wins (11 total), plus the Cleveland Browns this weekend (12 wins), and have to face the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Ravens. Even if all three of those games are a loss, the 49ers are projected to end with a 12-4 record, which surely will be enough for a top 3 spot.

Ever since Andrew Luck backed out on his first-overall pick for the 2011 NFL season, we are now wondering how, and more specifically where, he is going to place next year. Maybe he just didn’t want to end up on the Panthers, as Cam Newton did instead?

Luck already has a storied college career with a list of accomplishments too long to list, although some highlights include being the runner-up for the 2010 Heisman Trophy and being named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Some scouts have been calling him, “The best prospect they’ve ever scouted,” and he has been drawing comparisons to former #1 overall pick Peyton Manning. Whoever finishes with the worst record in the upcoming NFL season will have the opportunity to draft Luck, and here are some of my predictions.  Read the rest of this entry » The 2012 Suck for Luck sw…

Alex Smith was the No. 1 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL draft. With that selection came huge expectations that Smith has been unable to meet. Simply put, Smith has never measured up to his high draft status and has been a big disappointment.

Following the 2010 season, the odds for Smith returning to the 49ers were astronomical. The 49ers’ management didn’t want him back, Smith had no desire to continue playing in San Francisco and the fans despised him. Somehow, when team owner Jed York and GM Trent Baalke brought Jim Harbaugh aboard as the new head coach, the thick block of ice between the team and Smith melted.

Although Smith is not officially a 49er due to the lockout, it is a virtual certainty that when the labor impasse ends, he will be signed and start the year as Jim Harbaugh’s quarterback. Harbaugh has frequently praised Smith and even given him a copy of the playbook, even though he was unsigned.

Read the rest of this entry » Will Alex Smith have anot…

If you know me personally, you know that I am not a fan of college football. My dad took me to Stanford games as a kid, against Notre Dame (who always won) and UCLA (who always lost). I wasn’t really big on football at the time, and since red is far from my favorite color, I always cheered on for the other team. Typical me, right?

Last night was, I believe, the first college football game I have ever watched from beginning to end on television. Why? Well the futures of Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh, starting QB and head coach of the Stanford Cardinals, may be influenced by my NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers.

We’re a coin-flip away from seeing the Stanford coach heading to the 49ers, with a slight possibility of moving up draft picks to capture a new franchise starting quarterback as well. After the blowout (40-12) against Virginia Tech last night in the Discover Orange Bowl, I’m really excited.

Read the rest of this entry » Good luck with your futur…

With the ass-whooping that Stanford handed to Virginia Tech last night, coach Jim Harbaugh is the most wanted football man in the country – well, besides his quarterback Andrew Luck.

In my opinion, Jim Harbaugh has 4 options. Options 1 and 2, after last night’s win, are a coin-flip / quarterback decision difference.

1. Jim Harbaugh will stay at Stanford for another year, with his quarterback, and compete for the national title in college football next year. He’s a god amongst men in Palo Alto, so why not? Sure, maybe he has outgrown the team, but certainly not outgrown the chance for a title.
2. Jim decides to go to the NFL, and right next door in good ‘ole San Francisco is where he stays, with the 49ers who are in need of a head coach after axing Mike Singletary. He gets paid a crap load of money, and follows in the footsteps of Bill Walsh, once Stanford coach-turned-49er coach who built a memorable dynasty for the team. Here Jim Harbaugh tries to make the 49ers move up their 1st round draft pick from #7 to #1, and draft Andrew Luck. With Harbaugh + Luck in San Francisco, the 49ers could see Super Bowl highlights for the next 10 years, or more. What will the 49ers need to do to grab the first overall pick for 2011? Well for starters, obviously, they cough up their #7 pick to the Carolina Panthers. They also trade next year’s 1st round pick (which may be substantially worse than #7 overall if the team does better with this possible combination of new player/coaching staff). To make it seem tempting, they throw some other draft picks to Carolina, such as a 2nd round pick this or next year. Unless Carolina needs players and not picks, maybe we can give them Nate Clements? Hahahaha!!
3. Jim Harbaugh takes his dream job coaching at Michigan, where he was as a player. He’s still popular, but he needs to rebuild a college team again, and his opportunity for being an NFL coach closes for the next 4-5 years. Two weeks ago, or even two days ago, this seemed like the likely decision, but now not so much. If he wants to stay in college, it’s more likely that he will play for the title next year at Stanford.
4. He goes the way of the NFL, and moves to Denver to play for John Elway. He has Tim Tebow as a quarterback, and he’ll attempt to build that team up.

Given the possibilities, this is what I see as the Stanford head coach’s future, at this point. It seems as if Andrew Luck will only go to the NFL if Jim Harbaugh leaves Stanford (by way of the NFL or by going to Michigan), or he could stay if Harbaugh also stays.