Miami Gets Their Manning Visit…Ross Does Not

It might be safe to say that Peyton Manning is done with this whole free agent thing.  The guy has been a Colt for 14 years and the last time he was recruited like this was when he came out of High-School.  Earlier today, reports said that the Dolphins were still hoping to get something lined up with “The Manning”.  Everyone waited for the news to break that Manning was either heading to the facility or the Dolphins were out of it.

Stephen Ross “reportedly” is enamored with Manning (although he personally has not said publicly) and according to Armando Salguero, the team had “planned an elaborate meeting with Manning”.  Well after all the talk of Manning not sitting down with anyone else, the word is that he will in fact meet with head coach Joe Philbin.  If this is correct and all indications are that this is in fact true, the Dolphins will get their meeting…but their elaborate plan will not happen.

It seems that the Manning train
has finally ran out of juice and the 6 plus hours of touring facilities is over.  The last thing Manning wants to hear anymore is how “God-like” he is and what he would mean to the fan base, the community, and the team.  Perhaps the best chance Miami has to land Manning is the playbook of Joe Philbin and Mike Sherman.  As Manning sits down to talk shop with Philbin tonight or tomorrow, both he and Manning will come away with an understanding of one another and both men will know if this is the right fit for either of them.

Manning doesn’t need to hear about money or contracts.  He is going to pick a team and that team is going to pay him what he wants.  Period.  What he wants to know is what will his new offense be like?  Will the Dolphins provide him a certain amount of Manning plays from the Colts or is he going to need to learn an entirely new offense?  The same will hold true with Philbin.

Whether this is good or bad for the team at this point is not relevant.  There simply is no way to know what Manning is feeling or thinking.   He will make his mind up when he makes it up and no one is going to push him towards a decision he does not want to make.  So the whole “elaborate theme” was out the window anyways.