Former Colts GM Bill Polian talks releasing Manning and if Suck For Luck was real. This is a clip from The Pat McAfee Show live from 10am-Noon EST Mon-Fri. SUBSCRIBE: / @thepatmcafeeshow MERCH: store.patmcafeeshow.com
This is why the Pat McAfee show is incredible, because people in the NFL, especially those who knew Pat are so willing to talk to him and explain the things that happened behind the scenes.
Nobody "let" him get destroyed. He got hurt, it happens. Every QB that has ever played the game got hurt sooner or later. Luck hurt his shoulder, played hurt for a year, then had surgery which caused him to miss 2017. There was also a snow boarding incident in there. Luck's playing style is also a huge reason why he got hurt. If you're a Colts fan you watched him fight for extra yards, make tackles on INT or fumbles, throw blocks etc. The guy never took it easy and never quit. We've all seen the video compilations of him taking brutal hits then getting up and complimenting the defender, the guy was a warrior on the field. He's not the only QB to play behind a bad line and the Colts tried and tried and eventually did address the line. The irony is he retired when the Colts had built him probably the best in in the NFL. Luck always tried to do everything because he didn't have much help, he played a lot of his career without a running game so he had to make plays.
@@Vichedges What is this alleged snowboarding incident I keep hearing about for some reason now no one ever mentioned it at all and recently a few people are saying that but I have never seen that reported.
@@Vichedges when asked about the Colts weak offensive line, Chuck Pagano said, "It's been like that for a couple of years, Luck should be more than comfortable dealing with it."
Yes the line sucked and luck couldn’t get rid of the ball fast and would love to run and get hit . The offense line got better and was the best in the league his last year Then he just quit
It was a good interview because Pat gave Bill Polian a chance to tell his side of the story. And Polian is a brilliant man. But Jim Irsay wanted his team back because the other side is that Polian was also a control freak. Irsay and Polian were friends, and yet Irsay wanted his team back. Releasing Peyton Manning must have hurt because Manning was coming off back surgery, but he was due $28 million, and no one knew how it would turn out. Horrible decision, but that's hindsight. Peyton got his revenge in Super Bowl 50.
@@sammymorales6838 Even though Andrew Luck never got the Colts to a Superbowl. To his credit he's 3-1 vs Peyton Manning who's teams were heavily favored in every match-up.
@@DeckofLies well of course you would say that lol. He was more fun than lame ass mariota who everyone kept making excuses for his mediocre play. The titans are a running team,they didnt throw deep that much bla bla bla
Benjamin I think he’s referring to Luck just torching all of us in the South. I’m a Texans fan, and even tho Luck was really good, it was definitely not fun watching him and T.Y torch us almost every time the Colts played the Texans :(
@Crow Jackson I mean all jokes aside you would have had to not been thinking clearly. Unless there was some tension about Chris Polian taking over at some point and Jim not wanting that. Otherwise...yikes.
Polian was extremely disliked by Colts fans at this point and losing Manning kind of exposed how weak the team was aside from Manning. If you look at those last few drafts from Polian they were bad. Tony Ugoh, Donald Brown, Jerry Hughes (who went on to have a good career in Buffalo but did nothing in Indy), Anthony Gonzalez, Marlon Jackson etc. And those are just the higher round busts, his later picks were just as bad. By 2011 the Colts were an old team propped up by Manning. Polian also forced the Colt to lay down in 2009 when they would have went undefeated. He then did his show and got into fights with fans over it which just made him that much more of a pariah in Indy. Polian was great but he also was too set in his ways, he would not change because he wanted to prove he had been right in resting starters, even if the team was 14-0 and leading the Jets at halftime in game 15. The fanbase was ready to move on from Polian by 2011 and I don't know why Grigson got the job but Polian's time was over.
@@Jukelikesgames Yeah the Colts absolutely would have went 16-0 that season. The Colts had everything wrapped up the week before but they still played their starters so when they pulled them at halftime in the Jets game I had to quit watching. I've watched or listened to or went to every Colts game since 1987......and when they pulled the starters that was the only time I've been ashamed to be a Colts fan. Polian was dead to me after that.
Amazing interview. That's the GM we should have kept for the Luck era. Imagine how things would have turned out with Luck learning behind Manning. Wow...
Pat, this was awesome! Thank you for getting some straight answers. I was at that Texans game and the stadium was going NUTS when we won. One of my top 5 games of memory!
I gotta be honest, Jim Irsay is a terrible owner. Peyton was the only real saving grace there. As soon as he went down, the franchise did. In comes Luck, promising as anyone could be and he gets destroyed because it takes the team a few years to realize an O-line would be good. Polian should've kept his job so he could help them right the ship.
Could you imagine Luck being groomed by Manning to begin his career. Andrew may be a super bowl champ rn and still in the league as one of the best qbs to play
Too bad they didn't believe in Peyton, that must've been such a huge knife in his back. I never saw a man so determined to ball out like when he came to Denver. Thank god for that because him playing for the Broncos will be some of my fondest memories. He got us a ring and will always be a hero in Colorado and to all of Bronco nation.
He was just too set in his ways and he had lost his touch in finding talent. People also forget how many bridges he'd burned in Indianapolis with the fans, etc, by 2011. And his last 5 years or so of drafts were bad. The Colts coasted for years off of Manning, who covered up a lot of the team's weaknesses. I mean, in NE Brady goes down they win 11 games with a 7th round pick who hadn't started since high school, Manning goes down and the Colts go 2-14. The backup behind Manning was Curtis Painter who was literally one of the worst QBs I've ever seen. He was a trainwreck and everyone knew it but that's who Polian rolled with as backup because Manning had never missed a game until 2011. Manning got hurt and they then had to scramble for a decent QB so they pulled Collins' old ass out of retirement but he was too old and didn't have enough time in the Colts system to do anything.
Huh?? I’d say he was one of the greatest GM ever! Because of this guy we now own a Lombardi trophy, this is the Mad Scientist that built the team with the most wins in the 00’s show respect
Until the last month, I would have said that T-shirt should read "Thank God we're not the Browns". It still is the better choice for ineptitude, though. It didnt stop at 0-16 for Cleveland, into the next season it became 0-27.
As a Colts and Manning fan, Im actually kinda happy he did leave too because he wasnt going to win another title with the Colts. He got to find a great roster to play for and finish the career with a bang.
Hearing the story of Peyton’s injury is always tough to hear. We can celebrate him being one of the greatest of all time for his comeback with the Broncos
The way he speaks about Jim Caldwell... how does this man not have a head coaching job? Especially, they replace him with Patricia? He’s better than numerous head coaches currently.
Dope interview it was interesting to hear about that team it's not often you hear about the thought process and inner workings of historical bad seasons of a team this was cooler too hearing at as a patriots fan
Great interview.... I have followed PM career since his senior year in high school. I often wondered what went down behind the scenes. I remember thinking Irsay is taking this really well...
Pat is well respected and well liked. You can 100% tell based on the way people answer his questions. They give him the kitchen sink & appear to give him more in depth interviews than they normally would for someone else.
Love your platform McAfee!! You cover it all. I remember watching you play and i never would've thought u was a outspoken guy.. I agree and disagree with some stuff but you a nice person.
As a kid, I was devastated when we cut Peyton. Then Luck came in and proved he could be Pro Bowler day one. Then I was devastated when his injuries piled up and he understandably retired. Now I'm starting to look forward to be devastated in the future; it always precedes a run of success. I trust Ballard and Reich to make it happen.
I'm not a Colts fan, but as an NFL fan, it was nice to see these guys work well. They don't have the best roster, but they are building a good foundation I think.
I feel the same way as you! I grew up in Alabama where they care more about college football, but I was always a Peyton Manning fan because of my dad who’s from Indiana. I would literally wear a Peyton Manning jersey everyday to school & get picked at by other kids for how much I loved Manning. When Peyton got cut I still remember sitting on the couch as 15 year old breaking down into tears watching the press conference live. Though I 1st disagree with decision to cut Manning who I consider the GOAT, I later loved Luck after my dad bought tickets to watch him in his rookie year in Nashville play the Titans. I felt Luck could be even better than Peyton & was more physically gifted & had a mind that only Peyton could one up him on. I was in Nashville for the 2015 game when Luck initially got his shoulder hurt. Watching Luck’s career end the way it did was truly devastating. I really wished now after watching this that we kept Bill Pollian as GM. I guess we could always wonder if Peyton would had won a 2nd Super Bowl for the Colts & if Luck is still playing. I’m happy with the direction we’re going going with Ballard & Reich!
Side note. The colts didn't knock the Texans out of the playoffs in 2011. They ended their winning streak and kept them from getting a first round bye. Also also, the Texans lost their starting QB too that season
The Superbowl was in Indianapolis that year. A few years later the Arizona Cardinals were 11-2, best team in the NFL, and they looked every bit the part. Then Carson Palmer goes down for the season, then the backup QB went down, too. The Superbowl was in Arizona that year. No Superbowl hosting city has ever once had their team make the Superbowl. A curious fact made more interesting by the occurrence of these 2 events, plus more.
I was never in favor of cutting Peyton and hated we did that to the man who gave us everything. I always wondered what we could've done had we traded the pick. Rans got 3 1st rd and 2 2nd ddbpick for No.2 overall. We could've gotten a little more. With Polian track record (Chris his son was taking over somewhat) could've put blue chip type prospects around Peyton for the first time in a decade. Remember Peyton had 3-4 MVP level years with Denver and won a SB managing the game for them.
Shoutout to Dan Orlovsky, dude played his career-best ball in those 2 wins. As a Lions fan I was happy to see him be a bright spot in that disastrous 2011 season
Colts selected Andrew Luck and cut Peyton, Luck: great promise, showed potential retired before 30, only played 5 healthy season....never lived up to the hype Peyton: Had the greatest single season of all time won MVP, won a super bowl, had 3 MVP caliber seasons, made 2 super bowls.
Bill Polian may be the greatest GM of all time…people forget but he orchestrated those great Buffalo Bills teams that lost 4 super bowls then immediate after built the juggernaut that was the Indianapolis colts thru the 2000s
Wow that’s amazing to listen too imagine they win that game get the 2nd pick and take RGIII he would probably still be a starting QB in the league. I still believe RGIII could lead a team in this league
This is what I wanted to hear! I always said why not keep both Manning and Luck. Luck learning from Peyton would have been the best thing for all concerned. I'm happy Peyton went on to two Superbowls with Denver but still heartbroken he left the Colts.
Hard to trust Polian after he said 18 years later he had a 1st round grade on Tom Brady coming out of the draft. He is a great GM. No doubt, just don't trust what he says
8:00 "We knocked the Houston Texans right the heck out of the playoffs" The heck is he talking about? The Texans won their first ever AFC South title in 2011, and weren't eliminated until they lost to eventual AFC Finalist Baltimore in the divisional round. The Colts did deal a blow to the Titans' playoff hopes with their first win of the year, but Tennessee still could've gotten in if a few games in Week 17 had gone their way. Also, the Colts of that time were well-known for not preparing backup quarterbacks (veteran or otherwise) very well, or OC Tom Moore put it, "Fellas, if ‘18’ goes down, we’re fucked. And we don’t practice fucked.” Their 2011 season was the predictable result of that philosophy.
Really interesting interview. To me, there's a lot said by Pat and Bill the way they talk about Andrew Luck. As Peyton manning would have help him on how to handle himself in the team and as his mental toughness was already a red flag before the draft. It's really sad to know more and more and realize Grigson butchered Luck's career on so many levels (Team wise and support wise)
@@suckafool123 2nd greatest qbr of all time. More accurate down the field, an equally strong arm, more athletic and a whole lot more durable and you say easily? I just described Wilson, not Luck moron. It's not only debateable, the stats and results say you're flat out wrong.
I agree with Pat that Luck would have been better to basically apprentice under Manning for a couple of years. But as a Denver fan i am glad it went down the way it did and manning was welcomed to the broncos and got us a SB win
@@brandonsmith8899 keep in mind it is a team game and with one missing piece that season could have turn out different whether from defense or offense.
Wilson woulda gotten in worse shaoe. He's smaller than luck. Luck is a big man at 6'4 235 so he could last longer with the hits,but a 5'11 200 pound rusell woulda been in trouble
Umm Russell Wilson has had a worse Oline, he is just mobile enough to escape a lot of the hits. He actually was sacked more than luck but is better at not taking so many hits, mostly because his play style. Realize Wilson is a mobile qb that extends plays with his feet and that makes up for a bad oline. Luck was a more stereotypical qb that would stand in the pocket and take hits after the ball was already gone. Luck could’ve gotten a lot from manning in reading defenses, changing plays, which would’ve gotten the ball out of his hand and made up for the bad oline.
Conner Lucas would never have happened, Peyton had outright said he didn’t want to play with luck, he didn’t want to be on the team with his successor.
Greatest QB in NFL history (that’s right, I said it) gets injured, team loses, GM recommends maybe the one player who could fill Manning’s shoes, GM gets canned. Wait, what!?
It would’ve been interesting to see if Bill Polian didn’t get fired and kept Peyton and let luck learn under him. Colts could’ve maybe won another super bowl with Manning and Luck wouldn’t have retired.
When you look at the Bills team Polian put together and the Colts teams, he might be the greatest GM ever, so mad how that whole thing went down. If Indy went with BPs plan of sitting luck under manning who knows what kind of success they would of had.
Polian's greatest move ever was drafting Manning. As such he's remembered as an Above-Average GM. Without Manning on the roster Bill's record would have equalled Dave Caldwell's (his protege) record. Could you imagine if he took Leaf instead of Manning?
Bill Polian is a legend. If Ralph Wilson had never fired him for some stupid misunderstanding (many rumors about what actually happened, I’m not going into that) I believe the Bills would have been a 20 year dynasty instead of the Patriots. He is a genius, he built 2 great teams almost overnight.
