GP, I respect the hell out of you but what does that say about the Texans if we feel like a 4 time MVP who's been to the playoffs every year pretty much doesn't fit the culture here? I think that speaks more negatively towards the Texans than it does Peyton.
So are we now going to start passing on fiery QB's in the future who push their teammates to be better and instead get passing guys to lead the offense and pat them on the butt and whisper sweet nothings to them when they mess up? I love Tom Brady, Ben Ben, Brees, pretty much every other QB in the league because they're fiery killers on the field and on the sideline. Are we saying out laid back approach is not a fit for the mentality of most great QBs? If that's the case then I would feel sorry for our future under Kubiak.
I'm saying it's the whole ball of wax, not merely the one thing that posters point to.
Some say he wouldn't be a fit for the offense. Some say he might get hurt and that'd be the end of Manning forever. Some say Kubiak wouldn't kick Schaub to the curb and let him sit back and watch the Texans be QB'd by #18.
It's everything all rolled into one: But the thing that matters the most is that this team has cohesion and unity, and bringing in a guy like Manning--right now, for where we're at--would be a Rex Ryan-type of move. It would scream desperation, as if THAT'S the free agency move that puts us over the top. Moreover, it says Kubiak has said "To heck with developing QBs, I'm just going to kick back and let Peyton do his thing." VY didn't land here for that very reason, btw.
It's not a backhanded comment for me to say that Manning would mess up the mojo we have going on here. It's actually a compliment. See, Peyton cares more about winning and matching Eli's rings than he does about the other variables involved in being a team leader. I'd be worried about a guy like that; a guy who covets the big prize soooooo much that he might forget that there are 51 other guys who have a stake in things and are men of honor and integrity, too. I'd be worried that Manning tries to take the team on his back and becomes an imploding doomsday device for whatever team he's QB'ing.
We didn't need Favre for that, and we don't need Manning for that either. Let the desperate teams like the Redskins go "all in" for Manning, throwing their lot in with #18 to try and make a winning team out of it. It's exactly the type of thing a guy like Daniel Snyder does, btw. And it never works.
"We're trying to catch guys on their way UP, not give out contracts to guys who are in decline and looking for one last payday" -- paraphrased quote from, IIRC, one or two off-seasons ago when McNair, Smith, and Kubiak united to respond about what types of players they wanted to bring in for high-profile positions. I don't see why they deviate from that plan all of a sudden, regardless of the HOF status Manning has achieved already.
Kubiak is all about building a McNair-type of team: Long-term guys, no slash-and-burn tactics where everybody fears their safety rather than focusing on becoming better players instead, etc. I am only saying that I don't think Kubiak is the type of guy who would bring in Manning right now. Yeah, I know, it's Peyton Manning. Trust me, we have ALL flirted with the "What if???" scenarios in our heads about Manning leading us to 3 straight SB titles in '12, '13 and '14.
But honestly, I don't see the reward outweighing the risk. We're really, really close to being a 4 or 5-year type of dominating team here. And I think Yates, and more draft picks on QB over these next few years, will be the way Kubiak goes about that business.
The Manning idea has too many moving parts, and they don't match up with the gears and sprockets of the Texans. In my opinion.