The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:20:42 +0000

In the midst of this upheaval, the only free agent A-list left tackle, Will Wolford of the Buffalo Bills, announced his new deal: he’d be leaving the Bills for the Indianapolis Colts, who had agreed to pay him $7.65 million over three years. That was more than any lineman had ever been paid, of course, but the money wasn’t what was most astonishing. Wolford’s agent, Ralph Cindrich, later said that at least four other teams had been willing to match the Colts’ offer. What had set the Colts apart from the other bidders was a clause they agreed to insert into Wolford’s new contract. It guaranteed that Will Wolford, left tackle, would remain the highest paid player on the Colts’ offense for as long as he played on it. Better paid than the Colts’ running backs, the Colts’ wide receivers, or any of the other acknowledged stars. Even if the Colts went out and got themselves the NFL’s most expensive quarterback, Wolford’s salary would rise to eclipse his, too. “I thought linemen would get a little more money from free agency,” said Wolford later. “But I didn’t think that would happen. I was numb.”

He wasn’t the only one. The Bills were furious: how could any lineman demand a clause that guaranteed him he would be paid more than star quarterback Jim Kelly, or star running back Thurman Thomas? The NFL didn’t like the idea of any player having a clause in his contract guaranteeing him more money than his teammates, and it made noises about voiding the deal. That’s when Ralph Cindrich went on the warpath. He asked, pointedly, if the league would have the same reservations if the clause had been in some quarterback’s contract. He accused the league, in the pages of the New York Times, of “discrimination against offensive linemen.” And the NFL let the deal slide, but only after saying no such deal would be permitted in the future. “There’s a mentality about linemen that goes back to high school,” said Cindrich. “When you picked your football team, these were the last guys picked.”

There wasn’t a left tackle in the game who imagined himself to be as valuable as the star running back, much less the quarterback. How could this happen? How could the people paying these vast sums assign a value to a player that he wouldn’t dare assign to himself? How could they justify it, when the left tackle had no statistics to measure his value – no “production”? Bill Polian was the general manager of the Bills in 1986, when the team used its first-round pick to take Will Wolford of Vanderbilt University. When Wolford jumped to the Colts, Polian was working in the league office and found himself embroiled in the discussions over the disturbing new contract. Then in 1997 he left – to become the GM of the Colts. “You want to know why this organization gave Will that contract?” he asked. “He got it for the simple reason that he shut down Lawrence Taylor in the Super Bowl.”

Keeping Saturday Key To Manning’s Success

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:13:58 +0000

Imagine the Indianapolis Colts right now without center Jeff Saturday. I’ll give you a minute . . .

Pretty depressing, isn’t it? Can I get you a Kleenex?

Since 1999, Saturday has felt only one man’s supple hands under his ample backside — at least that’s the prevailing rumor — and it’s Peyton Manning. It would have seemed like some kind of a cosmic betrayal if Manning tomorrow was taking snaps from, say, Jamey Richard.

I only bring up this nightmare scenario because it almost happened. Saturday and the Colts came this close to parting ways last winter. After turning down a contract proposal that wasn’t to his liking, Saturday was just days short of entering free agency and doing something he really didn’t want to do: leave Indianapolis.

Everything changed, though, in late February when the salary cap was fortuitously increased by $4 million. On Feb. 26, Saturday signed a three-year, $13.3 million contract that included a $7.45 million signing bonus.

How close was he to leaving?

“Real close,” Saturday said this week. “The way it was presented to me, if that extra cap space hadn’t become available, there wasn’t going to be an agreement. It was that close. I never wanted to leave. I’ve always wanted to finish my career here. But it almost happened.”

In fact, Saturday prepared his family — his wife, Karen, and three kids (ages 9, 7 and 3) — for the possibility they would soon be moving. He didn’t want to go, but business is business. A paycheck is a paycheck.

“I don’t think there is any question that Peyton (Manning) came in and said, ‘Get it done,’ ” said Ralph Cindrich, Saturday’s Pittsburgh-based representative. “You look at (Manning’s) stats when Jeff was out, and it was worse looking at the film.”

When asked about the role he played in Saturday’s return, Manning was a bit uncomfortable and circumspect. He doesn’t want anybody to think he’s one of those mega-stars who moonlights as a general manager and tells management how to do its business.

He has power — shoot, he should have power and they should seek his input — but if Manning were truly the master puppeteer, the Colts would be shooting for 17-0 on Saturday night.

Cindrich » indianapolis colts

The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game

Keeping Saturday Key To Manning’s Success