Andrew Luck: Why Colts Have No Choice but to Replace Peyton Manning

It is undeniable at this point. The Indianapolis Colts now have a two-and-a-half game lead in the race for the No. 1 pick and people are starting to talk.

All the "Suck for Luck" campaigns coming out of Miami have stopped. Their surprise two-game winning streak has, at least for the time being, turned fans' attention away from the Stanford quarterback.

Miami is more likely to focus on Oklahoma's Landry Jones or USC's Matt Barkley if this trend holds.

The only way the Indianapolis Colts don't earn the No. 1 pick is by winning a football game. They haven't been able to do that this year and after an ugly 17-3 loss to the league's most incompetent (albeit rookie) quarterback, you have to believe there is a real chance they'll go 0-16 or, at best, 1-15.

The last time they were this bad they drafted Peyton Manning No. 1 overall in 1998.

More than a decade later, it is time to cash in again.

Despite the new contract Manning signed this offseason before being sidelined indefinitely by a career-threatening neck injury, the Colts are being forced to look at the big picture here.

As Indianapolis Star writer Bob Kravitz puts it:

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The Colts' season has been so perfectly awful, they are just about ready to win the lottery again.

Tough times.

But, in the long term, happy times.

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He also struck true on the most important aspect of this other than the franchise's well-being, writing:

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As much as management would love to keep both men, maybe have Manning tutor Luck through one season, it's not practical or financially viable.

You think the Colts will pay Manning that $28 million roster bonus so he can work with Luck for a year? Either they'll pay him and trade him, or they'll choose not to pay the bonus and watch him walk in free agency—likely the latter.

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Football, as we always say, is a business.

Peyton Manning could easily warrant votes as this season's MVP without ever stepping on the field.

The mere fact that Indianapolis hasn't missed the postseason since 2001 is a testament to how ridiculously valuable Peyton Manning is to this franchise.

The Colts, in fact, haven't won less than 10 games since 2001.

Without Manning they are 0-10. You do the math.

But the smartest business decision, despite as difficult as it will be for the organization, players and fans to swallow, is to move on from No. 18 and start anew.

There may never be another opportunity like the one placed in front of them right now. To be able to replace the Peyton Manning with the prospect most widely considered to be the next Peyton Manning is too much of a coincidence.

We could certainly all be wrong about Andrew Luck, but that is another argument for another day.

Gambling on Luck, a fresh-faced rookie with supreme intelligence, experience, upside, athleticism and arm strength over an irreparably-damaged Peyton Manning is a no-brainer.

There is no telling what Manning will be like if and when he returns to the football field.

We talked about this during the early portion of the season as the Colts started losing, but now they have a two-game lead on the No. 1 pick and it cannot be ignored.

Affording both Manning and Luck is too much of a luxury for a team that hasn't won a football game all season.

If and when the Indianapolis Colts draft Andrew Luck No. 1 overall in the 2012 NFL draft, barring any sort of John Elway-Eli Manning fiasco or Luck's unlikely return to Stanford (he is only a redshirt junior), it will end Peyton Manning's days in Indianapolis.

It is sad. It is true. It is the business aspect of life in the NFL.