Forgotten in all the silliness surrounding Peyton Manning's knee surgery is he has had a similar procedure before... in college. This is also the same knee then-Vikings rookie Chris Hovan rammed his helmet into during the 2001 pre-season. Manning has worn a brace on that knee for years, and despite what some people think, he's a pretty mobile QB. If there is one element of Manning's game that has dramatically improved from 2005 to now it is his ability to throw accurately on the run. This procedure shouldn't change that, no matter how much AFC South rivals secretly hope. Here are the links:

• 18 to 88 utterly destroys the closet Patriots fans site known as Cold Hard Football Facts and their Brady is Better than Peyton argument. I've crossed paths with CHFF many times, and I'll say now what I said then: They mostly live and work in Massachusetts favor the Patriots with their biased evaluations. They also insult and make a mockery of stat-based opinion columns with their hack pieces which use selective facts. These guys are frauds, and 18 to 88 exposes their opinions as such. Rather than use stats to form an opinion, CHFF forms an opinion and then fudges certain stats (and ignores others) to validate the opinion. For a community site to do that is unforgivable. If I wanted hackery of that kind, I'd watch ESPN. From 18 to 88: 

  The arguments by CHFF simply don’t hold up to scrutiny. In fairness, they were written before all the facts were in, thus illustrating the folly of trying to prove that one of these two brilliant players is better than the other at this stage. The original CHFF piece was biased and distorted the facts and statistics. They cited context when it suited them (to praise Brady for his heroics in the snow), but ignored it when it would serve to vindicate Manning. The original piece was deeply flawed and is essentially of no value. It was not incorrect in all it asserted, but even when it got something right (Brady has had less offensive talent around him for certain stretches of his career) the importance and degree of the claims was over-stated. In fairness to them, they have already eaten a lot of crow over the assumptions they made. This article serves as a way of showing exactly how unnecessary those mistakes were.

  Bravo to 18 to 88 for smacking these guys down with a giant-sized 2x4!
• NFL.com has an article up written by the man himself: Bill Polian. Rather than talk about the prognosticators and the pundits or take shots at the New England PAY-TREE-OTS, the best personnel man in the NFL reflects on training camps of years past. One memory is especially funny:

  At our current training site in Terre Haute, Ind., there's a lake, a little swimming and fishing pond, right outside the student union, where we eat our meals and where the offices are. The players don't have golf carts, because Tony and I learned our lessons from previous stops, but all the staff do. And, as part of our camp tradition, we have a phantom golf cart thief, who somehow absconds with a golf cart -- usually belonging to a senior administrator, sometimes a coach -- and puts it on a raft in the middle of the lake. So when you come out of your dorm in the morning, you'll find your golf cart is gone and it can usually be found on the raft in the middle of the lake.

  The thief is a player. I have my suspicions of who it is, but I haven't been able to prove it. I'm sure he has accomplices, but I think I know who the mastermind is. I have to catch him in the act, but he's far too smart for that.

  Of course, we all know who it is he's talking about.
• Pro Football Weekly talks Colts defense:

  However, word out of Indy is that the coaches are optimistic about the overall depth of the LB corps. Although more adept at operating in space on the weak side, second-year man Clint Session is the type of athletic gem that the coaches are eager to get a closer look at. Additionally, rookie MLB Philip Wheeler is believed to have enough versatility to play the strong side proficiently. Regardless of the positive long-term prognosis of the injured defensive players, with Hagler, Freeney and Sanders all doubtful to serve much of a role in training camp — all three are likely to start training camp on the physically unable to perform list — it's certain that many young defenders will be under the microscope in Terre Haute.

• I tell Texans fans their team will win 10-11 games... and I mean it.
• Colts.com does a profile on starting CB Marlin Jackson (seemingly the only good player to come out of the first round in the 2005 draft).
• The more I look at shake n bake's evaluation of Pro Football Prospectus 2008, the more the 2007 season makes sense.
• The NFL is cracking down on players making "gang signs." Good. About damn time. And no, Joseph Addai's "WW" gesture after his TDs is not considered a gang sign. He's referencing his hometown, Westwood, and his friend LaJuan Moore, who is from there and is paralyzed. TheSportsGuru's articles shows a picture of a world champion potentially illustrating a gang sign.
• Indy Star is showing tours of "The Lube." Tip to Matic for the Fan Post. The construction workers are also fixing all the recent flood damage.
• If someone ever tries to sell you these seat in Lucas Oil Stadium, punch them in the face:

via cmsimg.indystar.com