NEW YORK (Jan. 4, 2012) – On this week’s edition of INSIDE THE NFL, James Brown, Phil Simms, Cris Collinsworth, and Warren Sapp engaged in some lively discussion about teams facing tough off-season decisions, such as the Indianapolis Colts with their No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and the New York Jets with the future of Santonio Holmes.
Plus, Michael Lombardi joins INSIDE THE NFL for a special coaches edition of the Lombardi Report.
This week’s episode of INSIDE THE NFL premieres tonight, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
INSIDE THE NFL, now in its 33rd season, airs every Wednesday night through the NFL season on SHOWTIME for a total of 23 episodes, with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME® and availability on SHOWTIME On Demand.
INSIDE THE NFL is produced by CBS Sports and NFL Films. The executive producers are CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and NFL Films President Steve Sabol. Pete Radovich Jr., the Emmy Award-winning Creative Director for CBS Sports, serves as coordinating producer.
Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:
On what Colts should do with No. 1 pick in 2012 NFL Draft…
COLLINSWORTH: The perfect scenario for me is – even if it costs me a season or two with a horrible salary cap – is to keepPeyton Manning and draft Andrew Luck. I can’t create a better scenario for the next 10 years of my franchise than to have Peyton Manning showing Andrew Luck how to play the quarterback position because the way that Peyton does it is so unique to the game right now and that’s what I would want. Now, you have to ask the question, you know, would Peyton Manning be willing to do that? Are you willing to pay Peyton Manning $[28] million? For my money, yes I would. I would do it exactly like that.
SIMMS: I just can’t see Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck being there [together in Indianapolis]. It’s counter-productive….Coaches don’t do that. We’re talking about the first pick of the draft.
On whether Peyton Manning would try to leave Colts…
SAPP: When has a player ever forced his way off of anything? This [isn’t] baseball with no-trade contracts. [Peyton] is not part of the process. You are my property. I paid you all these years. Shut up and I’ll do what I want with my organization. Here’s your check. Go play quarterback. There’s your back-up. Now, what are you going to do about it?
COLLINSWORTH: The question is, would Peyton Manning want to stay there? …If you’re going to take the first overall pick and essentially spend it on my replacement instead of going out and getting me help on the offensive line or at the receiver position or whatever, do I want to be there? Because now you’re telling me that you’ve already begun the rebuilding process.
On idea of drafting Andrew Luck and trading Peyton Manning…
COLLINSWORTH: It’s the gutsiest call of all time but it’s not totally illogical to make that trade because now you go getAndrew Luck, you get a couple of first round draft picks back for Peyton Manning. After [the Colts organization] looked at this football team this year, you know you could say that [they] have got to re-start the whole process and Peyton is not going to make that big of a difference.
On situation in New York with Santonio Holmes…
LOMBARDI: There’s a huge dysfunction faction going on with the New York Jets and it starts with Santonio Holmes. What happened at the end of the game was really just the tip of the iceberg. This has been going on all season. I’ve been told reliably from people in the building that they feel Santonio Holmes ruined their entire season, his behavior in the locker room…They feel like he’s the reason why their season really went into the tank.
SIMMS: [The Jets] have got to keep [Santonio Holmes] because they just signed him last year to a big contract. So there’s no way – salary cap-wise, I don’t think – that they could trade him. Nobody is going to trade for him to begin with and the money (that Holmes is still owed) would be too big of a factor.
On San Diego Chargers sticking with Norv Turner…
LOMBARDI: Philip Rivers is pretty demonstrative and I think it was Philip Rivers going to Dean Spanos and convincing him that we can stay together as a team, that we’ll overcome these mistakes. A little bit like the Houston Texas last year where they kept Gary Kubiak. They kept him in place and they got better and made the playoffs. And I think it was really Philip Rivers and the players of the San Diego Chargers that really got him back.
On Miami Dolphins’ coaching scenario…
LOMBARDI: The Miami Dolphins interviewed Jeff Fisher. They are going to span the globe. I think they want a big name coach. Fisher will be very difficult to get because there is another team – St. Louis – who also want his services.
On Jacksonville Jaguars’ coaching scenario…
LOMBARDI: Gene Smith, the general manager [of the Jacksonville Jaguars], confirmed that they are spanning the globe and everything is tied to Blaine Gabbert. They want somebody to come in and promote Blaine Gabbert and become more offensive. Right now, I would believe that Rob Chudzinski, the Carolina offensive coordinator would be the lead guy in that role but I would think there are a lot of people who are going to look for that job. But it should be an offensive coach.
On Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching scenacio…
LOMBARDI: They want someone who has got some toughness to him, somebody who has been a head coach before. The name I keep hearing, Mike Sherman, formerly fired from Texas A&M, was the Packers head coach. He’s a name that keeps coming around.
On St. Louis Rams’ coaching scenario…
LOMBARDI: St. Louis. They really want Jeff Fisher. They really want a big name coach. They need an experienced coach. They’re going to go all in on Jeff Fisher. They’ve got an inside track.
On Kansas City Chiefs’ coaching scenario…
LOMBARDI: Kansas City is going to stay with Romeo Crennel. They are interviewing other coaches but I think, at the end of the day, they’ll come back to Romeo Crennel because the team wants him and he’s been a part of the Patriots system, something they need badly.
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