Why Archie Manning Needs to Stop Speaking for Peyton on Andrew Luck

Archie Manning clearly cares about his sons, but he has always seemed like he meddles a bit too much in their lives. Archie led the charge back when his younger son Eli was claiming he didn't want the San Diego Chargers to draft him with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL draft, and now he keeps talking about whether or not his other son Peyton and Andrew Luck could coexist on the same roster. 

Why is he talking? Shouldn't he just keep his mouth shut and stop discussing his son's business?

No good can come of Archie speaking up about what his son does or does not want or whether or not his son would welcome Luck onto Indianapolis' roster. In fact, the only thing it can do is create more tension between Peyton and the Colts. 

I'm sure Peyton Manning has confided his feelings about Luck and his future with the Indianapolis Colts but that doesn't mean Archie should be discussing them publicly. On Tuesday he claimed in a radio interview that he wasn't sure if Luck and his son could coexist on the same roster, while on Wednesday he claimed he's sure they could.

Think Peyton and/or the Colts politely asked him to take back his previous statement? I can almost guarantee that's what happened.

The Colts will continue to act as if they will select Luck with the top pick in April's draft but it is all posturing. If they admit they can't afford to select the Stanford quarterback, they would lose all leverage in trade negotiations with other teams. 

While I appreciate Archie Manning speaking out to defend or protect his sons, talking publicly about their careers isn't going to help anything and will more than likely only do harm. He needs to stop talking and let Peyton speak to the media if that's what he wants to do.