The year's 1998. the Colt's have the number one pick and ironically enough they also have a veteran QB that's already been there a bit in Jim Harbaugh. Nevertheless they are picking their franchise player in then rookie Peyton Manning. So many things are the same about the situation then and now uet so many things are different. Then the Colt's weren't a team used to winning their division. They weren't constantly winning, and by no means were they contenders. Along with some other factors I'll delve into why the Colts might get something they didn't after taking Manning. A streak of "Bad Luck."
Now the Colt's owner Jim Irsay acts like taking Andrew Luck number 1 this year is a given. According to Irsay he's the teams next franchise QB. According to Irsay it's going to be worth it to not pay Manning the 28 million dollar signing bonus and put it towards a contract that's not expiring. In many cases he's right but he's forgetting what Manning had coming into Indy. He had playmakers on his team on day 1. Marvin Harrison, Marshall Faulk, Jerome Pathon, Ken Dilger, and Marcus Pollard. These players were with the Colt's before Manning got there without the exception of Pathon who was drafted with Manning. Now I'm not saying that all these players are the hall of famers but the fact that you as a reader remember these people means that they were notable players of there time.
Because of the way Jim Irsay has handled the whole situation throughout the off season its very unlikely Luck gets any of Manning's players. Like the teams best wide out Reggie Wayne. That's huge where would have Manning ended up career wise without Marvin Harrison? That's what Wayne is now. He's going to be playing behind a young offensive line that could barely protect Curtis Painter or Fan Orlovsky this past season. Luck also wont have the luxury of a marquee back in the backfield. After losing Hall of Famer Marsha Faulk the Colt's drafted Edgerin James and he also put up Hall of fame numbers throughout his career. Luck will not have that, and really it'll be hard to convince a RB to play in Indy. Just like it was the last years of the Manning era. Its simple who wants to plat RB where the ball doesn't get ran.
Another thing to account for is that the Colt's as a team were really bad when they got Manning. 3-13 his rookie year. The Colts defense was not in the rebuilding process like it is now back then. Sure they were bad as a whole team but this next season they'll be literally switching defensive schemes and coordinators for the first time in a long time. And after putting together what may have been the best pass rush duo in football in Freeney and Mathis at the least Mathis will be gone. Manning never really could count on his defense anyway but he wasn't worried about them losing him games either. He's been putting so man points up for so long its just a given that once they were up 10 or so they'd just unleashed Freeney and Mathis around the edges picking up a ridiculous amount of strip sacks and constantly causing turnovers.
Knowing this now, do you think the Colt's really know what there getting into? Do they really believe drafting what they see as the best QB on the board and hiring a defensive minded coach will be enough. And if so are they willing to take the chance on Luck with the division there being very physical and defensive minded. All these things could spell "Bad Luck" for Indy in the end.
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