Peyton Manning’s Arm ‘Is A Noodle,’ Super Bowl Leak Was ‘Calculated,’ Says Indy Columnist

Indy Star columnist Bob Kravitz opened up about the whole Peyton Manning saga on Tony Kornheiser’s radio showon Wednesday, picking apart the “medically cleared” news and where Manning stands in his recovery. Kravitz took exception to the Super Bowl hubbub surrounding Manning, and seems to have turned on the Indianapolis quarterback.

A few important quotes, transcribed by Ryan Wilson of CBS’ Eye on Football are as follows. The full interview can be found here. On Manning’s arm strength, as it stands right now:

“I mean, the guy’s arm is a noodle, he can’t throw like an NFL quarterback, and by March 8, there’s no way of knowing whether he’s going to be ready or not.”

This is not a surprise at all. On the Thursday before the Super Bowl, news broke that Manning was cleared to play. It was, by all indications, a semantics argument. His neck is, and has been, structurally sound, thus the “medically cleared to play” report. The stability, however, has never been the problem. Being able to take a hit doesn’t matter if Manning can’t actually throw a football like an NFL quarterback.

And about that Peyton Manning politician stuff: Kravitz pulled the lid off it all with his own opinion. In response to a question about Manning hi-jacking the Super Bowl, Kravitz said he was quite sure Manning did it deliberately. And there was this:

“It comes out on Thursday night about six o’clock -- that doesn’t come out unless the Peyton Manning camp wants it to come out. They’re putting public pressure on Jim Irsay. It was calculated, it was deceptive, I didn’t think it was a good time to do it. And, yes, he absolutely stole the Super Bowl. ... I don’t think there’s any doubt that he stole some of the attention away from the Super Bowl.”

This sounds quite familiar. Kravitz felt the whole Super Bowl week was a political game between Jim Irsay and Manning, with each outdoing each other along the way. And he’s probably right.

Now both sides will battle it out and try to end up as the good guy as Manning’s time in Indianapolis comes to an end. It seems like the natural end to the situation at this point.