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Posted Thu Mar 15th by Monty
John Elway, Peyton Manning and John Fox tour Dove Valley. (AP Photo/John Leyba)
As Manning Watch approaches seemingly unendurable Day Seven, there’s one thing to note — the Denver Broncos, the first serious potential suitors of Peyton Manning, remain patient.
They aren’t pestering the future Hall of Famer. They aren’t calling him or his agent every time Manning gets on a plane to Arizona or Tennessee (despite some reports to the contrary). They’re not the jealous owners of a Peyton Manning crush — there will be no Facebook-stalking or Foursquare-friending to get an idea of what the free agent quarterback is up to.
The Broncos don’t need to do that. They know what they have to offer, and they know the makeup of the man they’re trying to offer it to. Writes Dave Krieger —
The Broncos have had no contact with Tim Tebow since the Manning courtship began. If you think about it for a moment, there’s not much they could say. Until Manning makes his choice, Tebow, the Broncos and the rest of planet Earth are in a holding pattern.
The Broncos have not pestered Manning for progress reports or a decision since he left Denver on Saturday. John Elway is driving this bus. He and Manning connected well during the visit Friday and Saturday. The Broncos expect Manning to be as thorough in this process as he is in his game preparation, which is very.
Indeed, Manning is renowned for his careful, meticulous nature. The Broncos know this, they respect this, so they are letting the veteran Colt do his due diligence.
Yet a lot of Broncos fans are starting to lose patience. A poll on Mile High Report shows that over 51% of respondents are ready for the Broncos to move on, to bow out from the Manning sweepstakes. Perhaps they see his continued visits around the NFL as a slap in the face to the Broncos organization, along with his openness for further suitors. Perhaps they have a point.
Or perhaps this is the nature of the beast the Broncos want — the biggest NFL free agent of time.
Consider: this is probably the second-biggest decision of Peyton Manning’s professional career (his decision to stay for his senior season at Tennessee being the first). Manning is going to look at every detail he can. He’s going to weigh every Pro and Con. His preparation for a decision like this would be many times greater than the preparation he puts into other types of business deals, which is not insignificant. Just ask a restaurant owner in Indianapolis. From The Los Angeles Times —
A few years ago, when word spread that Huse was opening a sister restaurant, Harry & Izzy’s, next door, Manning contacted him about becoming an investor. Huse met with him, of course, and they worked out an agreement — but not before Manning put him through the paces on what would be a relatively small investment for one of the NFL’s richest players.
“When I met with him, he had this two-sided sheet with all these very-well-thought-out questions about the business and the investment and what our projections were,” Huse said. “We met for maybe a couple hours and relaxed for a little bit. Then right before we got up, he comes back and makes sure he had gotten every one of his questions asked that he wanted to.
“That just reminded me of how he prepares. He doesn’t go into anything blindly. Even if it’s this very small investment in the scope of his financial picture, he still treated it with a lot of due diligence.”
Where They Stand
There are reports out of Nashville that suggest that Tennessee is the heavy favorite. There are reports coming out of Denver that say the same thing about the Broncos.
The truth is, no one knows what’s going through Manning’s head, and only Elway and company truly know the nature of their meeting. Some expect Manning to make a decision by 2 p.m. MT Friday (when the Cardinals have to make a decision on Kevin Kolb — Manning is a courteous fellow, after all). Manning himself said he wanted to wrap things up quickly, but he’ll come to a decision when it’s time.
But consider this: Peyton was in Denver for two days. He was in Arizona and Tennessee for one each, and he left both of those places without a contract. I think the Broncos stand a very good chance to win Manning, for many football and organizational reasons the other teams just can’t match.
Manning Watch is taking longer than any of us Broncos fans would have liked, but there’s no point stressing over that which we can’t control.
John Elway isn’t.
Published on 03/15/2012 at Thu Mar 15 18:30.
Tagged: 2012 Free Agency,Arizona Cardinals,Denver Broncos,Indianapolis Colts,John Elway,John Fox,Kevin Kolb,Peyton Manning,Tennessee Titans,Top Stories.