Kravitz says that lots of people had a hand in Manning’s award
But what Polian has done is surround Manning with the kinds of athletes who helped make him as productive as he possibly could be. From Day One, Polian was prescient enough to understand he needed to use his first-round draft choices to surround Manning with offensive weapons, even as the rest of us were clamoring for oversized defensive tackles and linebackers.
He grabbed Edgerrin James, a controversial pick the year Ricky Williams was available.
He picked Reggie Wayne, which seemed like a monumental mistake at a time when Marvin Harrison (the first-round pick two years ahead of Manning) was at his peak and the defense was in tatters.
He selected Dallas Clark, another one of those what’s-he-thinking picks when the Colts had multiple tight ends and desperately needed defensive help.
And, when James was jettisoned, Polian found Joseph Addai in the first round.
I’ve seen franchise quarterbacks waste some of their best years because management took their skills for granted. For too many years in Denver, John Elway’s best running back was Bobby Humphrey (who?), and his top receivers were folks like Vance Johnson and Mark Jackson. It wasn’t until late in his career that he was blessed by having Terrell Davis, Rod Smith and Eddie McCaffrey.
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