The Pros and Cons of Peyton Manning Coming to Gang Green

This article is laying out all the possible pros and cons I can think of if we brought in Peyton "rub some dirt on it" Manning. I'm going to try to be as impartial as possible about the whole situation and try and lay out exactly what most Jet fans are thinking. There's only one thought of why I think Rex would want him. Remember Rex Ryan saying he likes players that beat him? Hence Holmes, Burress, LT? Manning has always had Rex's number, meaning he's probably higher valued in Rex's mind. Still it's a stretch of a reason to bring him here.

So after the jump I'm going to lay out the pros and cons IF the biggest move in Jets history, outside of bringing in a broken down Brett Favre, happens. The risk/reward is huge.

PROS: (These all are considered if he's healthy, everything goes out the window if he cannot prove he's 100%)

1) Immediately, our offense gets an upgrade at QB. You cannot say with a straight face Manning (when healthy) is not better than Sanchez. Even I, a Sanchez supporter (apologist to some) think Manning is light years ahead of Sanchez. Even a 36 year old Manning a year off would still be an upgrade assuming Manning hasn't lost half of his skills. He would play with a major chip on his shoulder after being (according to reports) dumped months before he would consider a pay cut to stay with a franchise he's called home. A legitimate gunslinger, who basically calls his own offense, who can be reunited with Tom Moore the chips are in place. It would add a true pocket presence and would also allow the offense to move the ball through the run better. No more 7-8 box with Manning calling plays. He's also a proven winner, leading his team to the highest achievement against the Bears. He's done it before so what's to say he can't do it again. The talent is there and adding him would put us in the upper echelon of offenses.

2) From a business perspective, it's a huge money maker for the Jets. Jersey sales alone would make any team owner/ NFL happy. Putting perhaps the best known and most marketable football player in a major city and it would bring tons of revenue for the Jets organization. Remember those unsold PSL's? Many would buy these ones just to see the Manning led Jets, even if it costed thousands of dollars. Don't even get me started on commercials in the NY area featuring Jet logos and Manning shelling products. Sponsorships would rise additionally for the stadium or to become partners. Once again kids, it's not just about how the team does that brings in money, it's also who you have as sponsors. Also, football is a business, and the Jets like any business have to make the sponsors and moneymakers happy, even if the fans are not sold.

3) Immediately, we outshine the Giants for a day. I know who cares. Still, after this year of embarrassments, the Jets will look for any news that is positive.

Cons:

1) He's not a sure thing. Health is of course the biggest concern. Once again any pro of bringing him here depends directly on him being healthy. It needs no explanation past this.

2) He's 30 freaking 6. He won't be here for long. 5 years too much to ask for Manning. In fact, I say 3 years until he retires is more realistic assuming once again he's healthy. Age will be a huge concern wherever he goes. He's no longer young, so a decline in skills is bound to happen. If it doesn't happen this year, it'll be soon. And what if he goes down from a injury on the field. Think what happened to Pennington led Jets without a backup when he went down. Manning goes down from a freak injury and it blows up in the Jets face.

3) Short term gain, long term pain? Face it, we bring him here and we immediately become a win this year team. I think currently we have about a 4-5 year window with our current players and Sanchez/ young QB at the helm to make a run at it. (Most of our "core" players are later 20's and entering or in their prime.) It wouldn't be a total mortage of the future, but it will put intense pressure for the Jets to win it all in 2012 and not just make the playoffs or AFCCG.

4) Money is another issue. We've had many posts on how much money the Jets have to spend this offseason. There's almost a 0 chance of keeping Sanchez if Manning comes into town. So he goes, but the money gets tied up in Peyton. After signing Manning, you can forget about Free Agency and spending big in it. I doubt we'll have much more than enough money to sign our draft picks or maybe one or two "organizational depth" players. Not starters, just guys to fill out the roster and be backups and be at best average when called upon. Other than the draft, there's not a lot we can due to improve other needs and would be stuck with what we have. It would be almost ironic to have Hunter back at RT struggling next year and having Manning because we couldn't sign anybody to replace him.

5) Sanchez. Here comes the big issue, if Sanchez goes bye-bye and puts up huge numbers somewhere else it would seriously embarrass the Jets. It would prove we gave up too soon on a kid and he could hurt us for years to come. Imagine giving up a young player only to have him play another 10 years for another team while getting a guy for 2 years that does not give us a Superbowl. Again, it's all speculation but weirder things have happened. This would be a huge risk which brings me to my next point.

6) If he doesn't win. Imagine we pull this off, Sanchez never becomes anything above average but we do not win the Super Bowl. At that point I would call this a loss. Manning needs a Superbowl win and not just appearance to prove his worth as a free agent if he comes to the Jets. Without one, the deal goes down as a loss for giving up the future for a 2 year run at best. It would put the Jets in a position to make a free agency splash for another big name QB or have to use another early draft pick to pick up a QB. Then, in essence, where right back to where we started at the end of this year, except our core is that much older.

Well, there it is. This is the epitome of a huge risk/huge reward deal. Win a Superbowl and its a major success. Anything else screams of desperation and failure. It's the biggest decision the Jets have faced since a QB came from Green Bay to the Jets. Sure that didn't work out, but maybe this deal does. Either way, we're not going to stop hearing the end about this until he signs with another team or takes a pay cut from the Colts and remains the starter. At this point, I just want it to be solved once and for all.