Kerry Collins and his Colts comeback
When Kerry Collins announced his retirement as Tennessee Titan in early July, it wasn’t a big surprise to most. At 38 years old and after playing 17 seasons in the NFL, Collins was basically at the end of his career and didn’t feel that he had the “willingness to commit to the preparation necessary to play another season”, as he said in his press conference.
With that setup, it came as a shock when almost two months after leaving professional football, Collins signed a deal with the Indianapolis Colts to act as insurance while Peyton Manning recovered from neck surgery.
It still isn’t clear whether or not Collins will actually make any appearances; Adam Schefter thinks the team is moving along with the assumption that Collins will at least start in Week 1, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Meanwhile, rumors are flying fast and furious that Manning may be out for quite some time. It is clear that Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t see Curtis Painter as a good backup plan, either.
He wanted an experienced veteran, and after some obvious Brett Favre jokes on Twitter, Irsay went with a quarterback who could provide a manageable scoring line for a passer.
As a Titans fan, Brandon Clark of Titan Sized is familiar with Collins as his quarterback and knows the capabilities of the veteran. Clark said late last week the positive effect of Collins will depend on how much time he’s given.
“The Colts’ offense relies on timing and with Collins not having much time to get any of the timing down, I’m not sure how well he can perform,” Clark said. “I’d love to see the Colts attempt to lean on the run for once, but I’m not sure they’re capable.”
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At this stage in his career, Collins clearly won’t be a player of Manning’s caliber, but he could be a solid game manager as he’s been in the past. That isn’t really a good thing one way or the other, but one positive is Collins’ insusceptibility to make errors. When it comes down to choosing Collins or Curtis Painter, Clark sees the decision as pretty easy.
“As far as a strength, Collins seems to not make a big mistake,” Clark said. “He won’t Curtis Painter you, if you know what I’m saying.”
According to Clark, the Titans will do fine with no more Collins (or Vince Young). The arrival of Matt Hasselbeck excites Clark, who has followed him for most of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. With Chris Johnson’s running game putting less pressure on passing, Hasselbeck could thrive. The strength of the offensive line, however, is iffy.
As for the reason Collins would return so quickly after announcing his retirement, Clark believes it to be the allure of a possible championship.
“Any team that gets to start Peyton Manning for the majority of games that season has a realistic chance,” Clark said. “The Titans aren’t an obvious choice as a Super Bowl candidate. They might make the playoffs, they might not, but the Colts? they’re always in it and that’s because of #18. Collins can fill in for a game or two and then sit back and let Peyton work his magic. In the end, it may work out that Collins gets a ring. He has a real shot, but it’s the NFL and you never really know.”
Colts blogger Nate Dunlevy of 18 To 88 said late last week he doesn’t mind the acquisition of Collins, because he doesn’t think he will see a start this season.
“Given that Peyton himself is making the call on whether he’s going to play, I now believe he will start Week 1,” Dunlevy said. “I doubt Collins sees the field at all, and if he does, it won’t be for more than a week or so.”
Although Dunlevy thinks Collins is a much better choice than Painter for an emergency quarterback, Dunlevy doesn’t feel either give the Colts a chance to win, partly due to the pocket protection.
“The Indy o-line is simply not very good,” he said. “I would expect either guy to take more than 60 sacks if allowed to play for a whole season.”
As for his theory as to why Collins made his comeback so quickly, Dunlevy sees it as a simple financial influence: “Four. Million. Dollars.”
Whether or not Collins actually starts or makes an impact in Indianapolis, money still rules all.
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