Trouble In Indy?

A team should never look ahead one week to its next opponent but in this case I just can’t help it. After the Vikes play at home against the New York Giants they travel to Indianopolis for a Monday night showdown with the Colts. After recently speaking with a fellow Hall of Fame Colts fan, here’s why the Vikes might be in a good position to win that game.

The folks in Indy are in full spin cycle when it comes to the topic of Peyton Manning and his sideline scuffle with receiver Reggie Wayne during this past Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. Rumors circulating in Indy as of Monday night are that Wayne's shout-and-shove of Peyton reflects an undercurrent of resentment toward Manning for his cap-busting contract.

The thinking, is that Manning was a "pig" when he didn't have to be. With eight starters slated to become unrestricted free agents after the 2004 season, more than a few players are getting antsy about the effect of Manning's deal on their own ability to get paid. The players know that it's going to impact all of them in coming years.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Wayne isn't the only guy who was in the face of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on Sunday at the end of the team's loss to the Jaguars. Peyton also was told to stifle himself by the game officials, whom Manning apparently was trying to instruct on the finer points of handling an instant replay review.

The fan went on to say that Manning was acting like a "f--king baby, and like he was the Commissioner or something."

In Indy it's heresy to dub Manning a big phony. But I've heard it enough now to persuade me that there must indeed be something to it. And with some of Manning's own players mustering the guts to take him on in the public eye, Peyton's authority over the team could be crumbling.

So the Vikes could go into Indy and find team dissention. Especially if the Kansas City Chiefs light up the Colts this weekend.