If I am Tim Thomas I put aside any disdain for the way government is run and swallow my pride to support my team. My job as an athlete breaks down to this; I get paid millions of dollars to represent my club, play to my ability and win. Financial and contractual commitments aside, I especially want to support my guys in the locker room. It is very simple to show up to the White House, nod your head, smile for a picture or two and avoid a media circus. When asked how it was to meet the president, a simple “It was great to be there and be a part of the team and see them enjoy the experience, it meant a lot to the boys to be here and it was great to be with the team.” Simple, subtle and supportive.

Do you really think any non-American truly cares to go to the White House? It is doubtful and those who do would likely be the exception, but it is a simple courtesy to the way things work and to your team to be there in support. You are not endorsing anyone, you’re not agreeing with any foreign policy or online privacy acts. You’re simply saying to yourself that the team is bigger than you, and no good can come of protesting.

If this distracts the team in the least it is a problem. Judging by direct quotes from his teammates, and not “unknown sources” it is definitely not something they are just glazing over. These are guys who share a room with him who disagree with his stance and the actions he took. Some quotes indicate they barely understood his reasoning. He did not release a preemptive statement to soften it, he released a statement after the fact on Facebook and didn’t even give a hat tip to his team that were thrilled to be there. Maybe he doesn’t owe us anything, but he does to his team. The lack of support he showed them is only amplifying the lack of support those around him have for his decisions.

He refused to talk to media, even going so far as to being first off of the ice, and out of the locker room before the media was allowed in after practice. When the story of your career starts with “My dad sold apples, then turned the profits into two bags of apples so I could sell the second, and it went on like that until we could afford goalie equipment” all the way to playing in Helsinki and then the Olympic team and finally a Stanley Cup winner; your work ethic is better than being the first guy off the ice in practice. If it is not big deal, and it is what you believe then stand  up and answer for your critics. You’re not a private citizen, you’re an idolized, championship athlete who could have put his teammates and organization ahead of himself. The sacrifice of being a super star is you in this day and age, rightly or not, lose the ability to hide in the shadows.

Good for Tim Thomas the individual to stand up for his own beliefs. Bad for the starting goaltender of the Boston Bruins for shining a huge spotlight on his team, and himself in an already pressure cooker atmosphere. What does he expect to do when he is surely asked about it in Ottawa? Or any city he visits for the next foreseeable future. Be bombarded with questions from reporters who are simply electing to exercise their freedom of speech to question his actions? Where does he hide then? If he ignores the questions eventually his teammates will get the spill over from them, it is the way the media works. It is what it is, whether he likes it or not.

Maybe it is time to stop pumping your own tires Tim,  they seem like they’re about to burst.

Sure, Peyton Manning is a great QB, it’s undeniable, unquestionable and unprecedented that there would be a legitimate argument to be made for  player to miss an entire season and be considered for MVP. Until this year, anyway. There have been many experts who have jokingly, or not, brought this possibility up.

I’m all for the debate. Let’s pretend that he wins, he won’t, it’s already been voted on, and there is no way he won but let’s pretend he did. Perhaps not an acceptance speech, but more so an address would be in order to the fans of the Colts. Peyton Manning shouldn’t step up to a podium, or release a statement. No, if I were a Colts fan, I’d want to hear from my insanely public, and vocal owner why he allowed his, OUR, franchise to be run so poorly that there is absolutely no contingency plan for a Peyton-less world.

Granted, you cannot predict a season ending, potentially Colts career ending neck injury. However, you cannot ignore the facts of an aging QB whose biggest weapon is himself. Who your entire team is not only centered around, he is the team. Sure Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark looked swell around Peyton, but if you’re truly a good player, you don’t need one of the best QB’s of all time to turn in a semi-productive season. Brett Favre had an heir apparent, Tom Brady had a serviceable back up turned starter,  McNabb had Kolb pushing him, the list goes on. you don’t need to draft high to be able to find one relatively useful backup in the decade you had Peyton. The elite franchises who want to be there every year, who refuse to give excuses have a plan. You can cultivate a player, teach him the system. No one can play like Peyton does, which is detrimental to the franchise, sure you can’t change the way he plays, but where is the mentor, the leadership to the young guys that he can directly help?

What backup QB has ever come out of Indy that has produced? The greatest job in football used to be that of Jim Sorgi,try telling Curtis Painter that now. The QB position is such a roller coaster, especially on bad teams, the starters per year in the NFL is insanely high, yet no one has come from Indy and succeeded,  at any position, let alone quarterback.  The Colts franchise is in disarray, and even if Manning returns he isn’t going to have the same caliber of weapons around him and there is no guarantee he is close to what he was. Suck for Luck is great to get Andrew Luck…but where are the players around him going to come from? Matthew Stafford got the cast around him, but it took a very long time and a lot of ugly losses before that happened. If I’m a fan, I need my organization to have accountability, to have any sort of long-term plan beyond “Peyton Manning…and whoever else”

Peyton should win MVP, not only because he is an elite talent, but because the lack of any sort of organizational accountability or depth to even consider life after Peyton. There is no depth on their offense, Pierre Garcon is a fine receiver, but do you want him to be your main dog out there? You have a Zero point Zero percent change at winning with Painter, you have no workhorse running back, your line scrimmage players on both sides of the ball are getting older and your defense once revered for their speed, and heart now  has been so battered and bruised that there is no one to fill in the void.

Tear down, rebuild. I’m sorry, but with the NFL this isn’t acceptable, especially considering how deep any given NFL draft is.

If you expect your franchise to compete with the best, you have to be conscious of all angles and can’t place all your eggs in one basket, regardless of how durable it has been, the game is football, it is physical. You have to be prepared, perhaps not to make a playoff push, but 1-15?

It happens to every franchise when they come to a crossroads in competing or rebuilding, but never has an implosion quite like this has happened before. So yes, Peyton for MVP, but the Colts organization absolutely left themselves in huge trouble. As a fan of the NFL, it is sad to see. The Colts have  a lot of work to do, whether Peyton is back or not, patience just may have to be key in the next 5 years for the Colts, it could get ugly.