Mar 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (left) speaks during a press conference as owner Jim Irsay looks on during a press conference to announce Manning

It’s nice to be writing about something other than Gregg Williams and bounties, and although I wanted to get back to the Combine Reports tonight, I decided against it. I will be out of town over the weekend covering the Illinois High School Class 1A and 2A state boys basketball tournaments, so instead of posting one tonight and taking a break, I thought it better to wait until next week to get back to it. Lucky for me, something pretty significant happened in the NFL world on Wednesday, so let’s talk about that. Although we have known officially for days and unofficially for months, the Indianapolis Colts released QB Peyton Manning. I thought having a press conference with both sides speaking about it was a little weird, but I guess they all handled it pretty well.

The Rams won’t be in the Manning sweepstakes, but this move still greatly affects the upcoming season for St. Louis. Bernie Miklasz talked about this over at STLtoday.com, which kind of sucks for me because I had already started writing this before I saw it, but I’m going to continue anyway because it’s a pretty big deal. Bernie talks a lot about how it will affect the draft, which is a very valid point. Washington and Miami are both major players for Manning, and they are both trade targets for the Rams as well. However, I’m still holding out hope that the Rams deal with Cleveland and their two first-round picks, so I’m not going to discuss that aspect right now.

What really has me concerned is that Manning could end up in the NFC West next season. The Seahawks and Cardinals have both contacted Manning’s reps already according to sources, so they will both be in on him when the bidding starts. For as much as I question how good Manning will be when he comes back to the field, it scares the heck out of me that he could face the Rams twice a season. He’s never going to be what he once was, but would he be an upgrade over Tarvaris Jackson or Kevin Kolb? I’m not even going to type the answer, because it’s a no-brainer. The one thing that makes our division so winnable is because there isn’t a franchise quarterback on any of the teams we compete with. Before anyone brings up Alex Smith, one good season does not a franchise QB make. I still think Sam Bradford can be a franchise guy, so that could be our edge going forward. But adding Manning to any other team completely changes the dynamic of the West.

I don’t know if the Rams have a chance to win the division this season, and I know the 49ers are very good, but I would think that if anyone gets Manning and he’s even close to healthy, that team instantly becomes the favorite. We have an uphill battle to fight anyway, so let’s hope Manning stays east so the climb is just difficult and not impossible.

November 6, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams talks to linebacker Jonathan Casillas (52) and Jo-Lonn Dunbar (56) during the second quarter of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

This Gregg Williams story is still going strong, and since we have plenty of time to discuss the combine, I think it’s more important to talk about this right now. Williams met with the NFL on Monday to discuss his role in the bounty scandal, and there has been a lot of talk in the St. Louis area about whether the Rams will make a move away from him in light of his newfound negative reputation. Post Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz discussed this issue earlier on Monday, and I think he’s right on.

Miklasz noted that the Rams aren’t likely to get rid of Williams because of his relationship with Jeff Fisher. He and Fisher are close friends, which means one of two things would have to happen for Williams to get fired. Either Fisher would have to make the decision to fire his friend, or Stan Kroenke would have to take it upon himself to fire Williams, thus undermining Fisher, his hand-picked coach. I can’t imagine either of these scenarios will go down, but as big as Roger Goodell is on safety right now, the pressure from the league could play at least some kind of role.

Williams will likely be suspended for part of the upcoming season, but at this point I think his job is safe. Unless Goodell really forces the Rams’ hand here, which I think is very unlikely to happen, expect Williams to remain with the organization going forward. This story is far from over, but at this point I think we just have to hope that no new information is going to come out to make Williams look even worse than he already does.

The main point of the article is that if Fisher doesn’t end up here, the Rams need to bring in someone with an offensive background. I think his best support for this idea is that an offensive coach will provide some system stability for Sam Bradford and the rest of the offense. Whoever it is will put in his system, and that system will stay here as long as the coach does. We won’t have to worry about offensive coordinators coming in and out with different philosophies, and Bradford will be able to learn a system and progress through that system. This is absolutely what we need, or we risk Bradford falling into the same rut as Alex Smith did when he had a different offense seemingly every season.

Mklasz also comments that the defense is far more advanced at this point than the offense, meaning their transition will be easier. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. There is plenty of talent on that side of the ball, and guys like James Laurinaitis and Chris Long look capable of adjusting to a new scheme. I’m confident this defense is going to be the strength of this team for the next several years, so getting the offense caught up should be the top priority. More on next page…