Peyton Manning: War of Words a No-Win Situation for Manning and Colts

If Peyton Manning and Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, knew what was good for themselves and each other, they'd stay the heck off of Twitter, stay away from reporters and keep their mouths shut, at least until after Super Bowl XLVI is a wrap.  

But, of course, with hoards of folks with cameras and voice recorders in town to comb over, under and through every detail of the rematch between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, it was practically inevitable that questions about Peyton's future would arise, if not come to overshadow the entirety of the media circus in the Circle City.

After all, Sunday's game will pit Peyton's brother (Eli Manning) against Peyton's professional rival (Tom Brady) in the "House That Peyton Built" (Lucas Oil Stadium).

The two have been locking horns through the media for two weeks now. Peyton claimed this week that his troublesome neck—the one that kept him out of action for all of 2011—is fully healed and that he's been cleared to play by two separate doctors, to which Irsay responded:

Manning's politicking is certainly understandable here. He wants everyone in the NFL, the Colts included, to know (or at least think) that he'll be ready to play in 2012, that he'll still be an eminently effective quarterback and, most importantly, that his health doesn't pose a huge risk to potential suitors.

Manning's a competitor, he wants to play and he'll do whatever it takes to get back on a football field, regardless of where it might be.

On the other hand, Irsay's strategy (if you can even call it that) is nothing short of head-scratching. All indications are that he wants to dump Peyton and start fresh, with a brand-new regime and Andrew Luck stepping in as the centerpiece of the franchise's future.

At the moment, he still has a decision to make as to whether to keep Manning and pay him the $28 million bonus he'll soon be due, unceremoniously trade/dump his franchise superstar or try to rework Manning's deal so that's more feasible for both parties.

In the meantime, Irsay has done nothing but shoot himself (and his beloved franchise) in the foot by mouthing off on the Twitter machine and to the media contingent at his beck and call in Indy.

Irsay's public comments have done nothing but alienate and anger the man who's been almost single-handedly responsible for the team's success, undercut his new GM's ability to operate by diminishing Manning's trade value and upset the devoted fan base just ahead of a major rebuilding project, during which he'll need the support of the people of Indianapolis more than ever.

So, if Manning and the Colts want to maximize the amicability of their impending divorce, they'll keep quiet and reserve their trifles for closed-door meetings once the NFL extravaganza vacates the premises after Super Bowl Sunday.

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