It’s first down and ten, Jets have the ball on their own 20 yard line, Peyton Manning back to pass ….  This could become a reality in the NFL next year.

Most NFL analysts predict that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will not pay Manning a $28 million bonus, thus making him a free agent. And rumor has it that Peyton is already working out away from the Colts complex, this after his doctor cleared him to resume playing.

So, if Peyton is not going to resign with the Colts, what NFL teams would fit? Well, you can probably discount those NFL teams with very good starting QBs.  So lets exclude the Super Bowl Champ New York Giants (Eli Manning), New England Patriots (Tom Brady), Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers), New Orleans Saints (Drew Brees), San Diego Chargers (Phillip Rivers), Pittsburgh Steelers (Ben Roesthlisberger), Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan) and possibly even the Philadelphia Eagles (Michael Vick) and Baltimore Ravens (Joe Flacco).

Then there are the teams that have young quarterbacks that they want to build around. The San Francisco 49ers (Alex Smith), Cincinnati Bengals (Andy Dalton) and Carolina Panthers (Cam Newton) fit that category.

But it’s not just what other teams want.  Peyton, a certain future hall-of-famer and 4 time NFL MVP will have his choice as to which team he wants to play for.  What would entice him to play for a team? I see three criteria that a potential suitor must meet: 1) a team with a great offensive line, 2) a team with a chance to win the Super Bowl and 3) a team in a big market.  Based on my analysis, the following teams don’t meet the criteria:
Buffalo Bills (6-10), Cincinnati Bengals (9-7), Cleveland Browns (4-12), Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11), Kansas City Chiefs (7-9), Washington Redskins (5-11), Tennessee Titans (9-7), Denver Broncos (8-8), Detroit Lions (10-6), Minnesota Vikings (3-13), Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( 4-12), Arizona Cardinals (8-8), Seattle Seahawks (7-9) and St. Lousi Rams (2-14).

That leaves the Dolphins, Texans, Cowboys and the Jets.

It’s unlikely that Peyton would sign with a team that has a rookie coach, and the Miami Dolphins just hired former Green Bay Packer Offensive Coordinater Joe Philbin as their head coach. But if Peyton were to play for a rookie coach, Philbin wouldn’t be a bad choice.

The Houston Texans (10-6) were the AFC South champions with unknown QB T.J. Yates, I’m sure the Texans would be interested, but I doubt Peyton would.

Next, is the Dallas Cowboys (8-6), an enticing choice.  I’m sure Jerry Jones would sign him in a heartbeat, the Cowboys will never win the Super Bowl with Tony Romo; and the team underperformed in 2011.  The Cowboys meet all of Peyton’s criteria, they have a very good offensive line, have the resources to challenge the Giants in the NFC East and they are a big market team.  It doesn’t hurt that they are one of the most successful franchaises in the world.  Does Peyton want to stay in the south?

That leaves the Jets.

The Jets made it to the AFC Championship game in 2008 and 2009.  They have good offensive players but lack a great offensive line. If he’s smart, Peyton would overlook this fact considering the marketing opportunities that will be presented to him.  The New York market is second- to-none.  It doesn’t hurt that his brother Eli plays across town and the Giants and Jets share the same stadium, convenient for his extended family.

Even if Peyton wanted to play for the Jets, would the Jets be interested?  Simple answer, Yes.  Although the Jets are paying big bucks to QB Mark Sanchez, Sanchez lost the confidence of many of his teammates this year and that reflected in his play.  Secondly, the NFL is a business and adding a marquis player like Peyton will ihelp their marketing and increase memorabilia sales.  But arguably the biggest reason the Jets would sign Peyton Manning is it would immediately steal the media limelight from the New York Giants.  The Jets seriously need something to bridge the popularity gap with their cross town rivals.  Right now they are “second fiddle” in New York.

So will Peyton Manning choose the Dallas Cowboys or New York Jets?  There are just too many reasons for Peyton to join his brother in New York.

The New York Giants beat the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on an 18 yard fumble return on the final play of their Monday night NFL pre-season scrimmage at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.

With 10 seconds left and the ball on the Panthers own 18 yard line, fourth-string quarterback Hunter Cantwell went back to pass and was hit in the arm by Giants Defensive Tackle Leger Douzable. The ball went into the air and NY Giant defensive end Tommie Hill grabbed it and ran it back for a touchdown.

Cantwell had tied the game with 57 seconds left on a five-play drive that ended with a 31-yard TD pass to Jason Cherry and a 2-point conversion pass to Andrew Davie.

The Giants got the ball back but the Panthers defense held them to a three-and-out series. Jeff Feagles then punted it away, setting up the bizarre game-ending play.

“Everybody figured on defense they would take a knee,” Douzable said. “When they snapped it, I put a move on the guard. I saw the quarterback with the ball in his hand and I got it.”

“Both sides have a lot of work, but we have time. We have three weeks to do it,” Panthers coach John Fox said.

The Giants had led almost the entire game, scoring on a 19-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw, a 36-yard screen pass from David Carr to halfback Danny Ware and a 46-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes.

Eli Manning played only two series but was happy with the running game and defensive play of the Giants, who forced 5 Panthers turnovers.

The Carolina Panthers play their next 2009 NFL pre-season game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, August 22, 2009 @ 7:30 pm EST in Florida.

Eli Manning and the New York Giants head to Chicago next Saturday, where they take on the Bears in their next 2009 NFL pre-season. Gametime is 8:00 pm EST.

source: espn

It seems that the plan for the New York Giants to repeat as Super Bowl champions is in jeopardy.  And it all started just a few weeks ago with the arrest of star wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Plaxico Burress is the outspoken and often in trouble New York Giant receiver who was suspended after shooting himself in the thigh at a nightclub in New York City. 

Since his suspension, the Giants have lost two games in a row and the offense has stalled.  The Giants front office and coaches say their recent slump has nothing to do with the Plaxico situation but there is no denying the loss of Burress could very well cost the Giants (11-3) the first-round bye that just weeks ago seemed a sure thing.

If the Giants lose their final two games to Carolina (11-3) and Minnesota (9-5) and the Vikings win their last two, then the Giants will play a first-round game.

The Plaxico-less offense has been able to muster only 1 touchdown in losses to the Philadelphia and Dallas the past two weeks.

“There is very little getting done offensively,” coach Tom Coughlin said Monday. “We are just unable right now; we haven’t made a play in the last couple of weeks and we really have to make some plays. We’re very disappointed. The players are disappointed.”

The road won’t get any easier this week with the Panthers coming to the Meadowlands for a game in which the winner will clinch a first-round bye and NFC’s home-field advantage for the postseason.

In addition to the loss of Plaxico - Brandon Jacobs, the “earth” of the “earth, wind and fire” running back trio, has a knee injury that sidelined against the Cowboys last week and may be unavailable for the matchup next week with Carolina.

Plaxico’s replacement Domik Hixon has not stepped up and has dropped at least one sure touchdown pass and the senior citizen of the receivers, Amani Toomer is no longer a deep pass threat.

The Giants offensive line has also played sub-par over the last two weeks.  The offensive line has protected Eli Manning well, but against the Cowboys, Eli was sacked 8 times and 12 times over the last two weeks.

What is going on?

Since Plaxico is out, teams no longer need to double team the receivers. Instead they can position the Safety to stop the run.  And with Brandon Jacobs out, the Giant running attack is suspect.

The one bright spot for the Giants is their defense.  Their defense kept them in the 20-14 loss to Philadelphia and the 20-8 loss to Dallas.

Sundays game will be a testament to the intestinal fortitude of the Giants - but they have come back from adversity before.

Don’t count the Giants out yet!