WI The Colts draft Ryan Leaf?

Prior to the 1998 NFL draft, two names dominated arguments over the best available prospect: Peyton Manning, the son of Saints great Archie Manning, and Ryan Leaf, the 6' 5" 240 pound prototype NFL quarterback. The Colts drafted Manning number 1, and the franchise found a savior. The Chargers took Leaf at number 2, and he turned into the biggest bust in the history of the Superbowl era. It could have gone the other way.
 
The Colts now play in Los Angeles. I'm probably still a football and Colts fan, but nothing comparable to the fanatic I currently am.

Edit: To make this happen you'll need to remove Bill Polian from the front office. One way that could happen is if the Colts beat the Steelers in the 1995 AFC Championship. This would mean the front office stays intact, having done enough to get a new lease on life.

2nd Edit: Alternatively, John Elway goes to the Colts and manages to become their franchise QB. They stay in Baltimore and never have the draft position to put them in this spot anyway.
 
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well i mean if you gave Ryan Leaf, a HOF WR and HOF RB in his first year, then a first rounder to replace the HOF RB another 1st round WR and a 1st round TE and an all star line that has been pretty much the same group his whole career, i bet you Leaf would've turned out okay. That's the one thing people forget about this Manning was given weapons of a very high caliber and a very serviceable and eventually an all star oline. That and Bill Polian and Tony Dungy were both on the Rules Committee, and got the rules changed to give Wide Receivers pretty much free reign once past 5 yards.
In reality whichever QB went to the Colts was going to succeed
 
In reality whichever QB went to the Colts was going to succeed

Leaf had significant maturity issues, struggled with authority, and lacked commitment to practice and health. He might have had a few years of success, like Jeff George did with his later teams, but would have inevitably had both on- and off-field issues and been cut, traded, or heck, just retired.

Edit: I won't even bother to address your statements concerning the Rules Committee.
 
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There's also the possibility that Leaf may react differently to being with the Colts than his time during the Chargers different staff, different coach, could lead to him perhaps reforming himself and becoming a better football player. I doubt that there's a 100% chance he's going to perform the same way he did in San Diego given completely different situation.

An interesting prospect might be for Leaf's career to mirror what might happen to Matt Leinart in Arizona...

How about the Colts draft Leaf in 1998 and it quickly becomes known that he's not all that he's cracked up to be. After struggling with Leaf for a few seasons the Colts end up signing former Buffalo Bills QB and ex CFL star Doug Flutie. Though initially pegged as a back up for Leaf who would be "on the cusp of a breakout year" Flutie performs remarkably well in training camp and proceeds to start game after game with the Colts in 2000 eventually leading them to an unexpected wildcard berth in the 2000 season. Flutie continues to perform well causing the Colts to advance to the Conference championships before being eliminated by the eventual Superbowl championship winners the Baltimore Ravens...

Flutie's usurpation of Leaf causes the young quarterback to seriously rethink his career. Over the course of the 2000 and 2001 seasons (during which time Flutie is the Colts starting QB) Leaf adopts a new work ethic and attitude, learning from Flutie in the hopes of eventually regaining his spot as Starting QB from the aging Flutie.

Leaf eventually gets his chance in 2002 as the Colts get new management in the shape of head coach Tony Dungy. Unlike the previous coach, Dungy is somewhat optimistic in regards to Leaf and when Flutie sprains his ankle during the preseason, Leaf is given the start. Unlike his previous debuts, Leaf rises to the occasion and proceeds to lead the Colts to the playoffs. Leaf also goes on to barely beat out Tommy Maddox as NFL comeback player of the year...
 
Hate to bump a three year old thread, but this is a question that I've always wondered about. And a recent ESPN documentary indicated that Leaf was never a serious contender for #1 (although I remember 1998 as much different with experts arguing on both sides on draft day). I still think Leaf could have done OK if he had a few seasons on a bench under a Farve ( ala Aaron Rodgers), but both Indy and San Diego would have started him right off the bat. If they switch I really see the last fifteen years of both organizations to be switched almost perfectly. San Diego was just a few years removed from a Superbowl appearance, they had a solid team that just needed a few pieces. Throw Manning in the mix and you have a contender for sure. Indy was just a few years from a AFC championship game, but like San Diego could have gone either way. They needed a spark, and Leaf clearly was not a spark in 1998. I can see 10 years of "rebuilding" with a Leaf pick.
 
Hate to bump a three year old thread, but this is a question that I've always wondered about. And a recent ESPN documentary indicated that Leaf was never a serious contender for #1 (although I remember 1998 as much different with experts arguing on both sides on draft day). I still think Leaf could have done OK if he had a few seasons on a bench under a Farve ( ala Aaron Rodgers), but both Indy and San Diego would have started him right off the bat. If they switch I really see the last fifteen years of both organizations to be switched almost perfectly. San Diego was just a few years removed from a Superbowl appearance, they had a solid team that just needed a few pieces. Throw Manning in the mix and you have a contender for sure. Indy was just a few years from a AFC championship game, but like San Diego could have gone either way. They needed a spark, and Leaf clearly was not a spark in 1998. I can see 10 years of "rebuilding" with a Leaf pick.

The response was good enough to not warrant attacks for necroing.

But Leaf was so childish. He couldn't handle the limelight and pressure that being the #2 pick was and I think he crumbled under it. I kinda feel bad for the guy. He recently got busted for trying to sell pills to minors. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
 
The response was good enough to not warrant attacks for necroing.

But Leaf was so childish. He couldn't handle the limelight and pressure that being the #2 pick was and I think he crumbled under it. I kinda feel bad for the guy. He recently got busted for trying to sell pills to minors. Oh how the mighty have fallen.


Ok, in advance, please don't slam me to hard for AGAIN necroing this post...blame Ryan Leaf who is back in the news and causing all of us who said he might have done OK with a little more maturity and experience to second guess our positions. Reading the latest news reports, Ryan Leaf has something seriously wrong with him psychologically and I now recant my assessment that he was thrown into a situation that caused him to crack, as well my assessment that he could have done OK if he were given a few seasons on the bench. He was given a huge gift from the state of Montana to do drug rehab instead of jail and from what I am reading he had a bizarre childish outburst there that was almost identical to what we saw in 1998 in San Diego. He clearly has something wrong with him, he can't be a mature adult, even now after all this time...and after being put in a position where acting like an adult would have kept him out of jail for 5 years.
It is interesting to compare him to other ex-NFL players in this sense. I watched the 30 for 30 documentary "Broke" and one of the things about that show was how much those players seemed to recognize that they made some stupid mistakes and how they had matured because of it (obviously too late, but still). I got the sense that some of the players on the show would have done things a lot differently if they had a second chance (although Leon Searcy saying he used his final NFL injury settlement check of $60,000 to buy a Hummer proved that some would blow it again). But still, by in large the players did seem to be smarter and wiser from the experience. I think the same theory could apply to a lot of NFL busts. Some guys I think would have been a bust period, but others would have done better if they were given the opportunity to mature and learn the game under veteran leader (like with Rodgers behind Favre). Matt Leinart, Andre Ware and David Carr come to mind in this regards. But after reading about Leaf's latest fall, I have to change my opinion: he was never going to pan out in the NFL. Never. It didn't matter if he sat on the bench behind Brett Favre or if he was drafted by the Colts, he was destined to be a bust because he lacks has no accountability for his actions and even today, after 14 years, he is still very immature and cannot put his childish actions aside for the best of his teammates or himself.
 
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