When the Indianapolis Colts signed Peyton Manning to a 5-year deal worth $90 million (all of it guaranteed), most people assumed that was a pretty good sign that his surgically-repaired neck was doing just fine. But when the Colts signed 38-year old retiree Kerry Collins on Wednesday, it appeared that Manning’s neck was an issue. A very serious issue. And now it appears that it was an issue from the moment the lockout ended.

According to ESPN, the Colts contacted Matt Hasselbeck before he signed with Collins’ old team, the Tennessee Titans, because they knew that Manning wasn’t going to be ready for the team’s opener on September 11. But hey, enough with the negativity toward Collins. He’s good enough to get the Colts through a week or two of Manning-less football, right?

“We don’t even know him, we ain’t vanilla, man, we ain’t no simple offence,” [Reggie] Wayne told reporters. “So for him to come in here and be the starter, I don’t see it. I think that’s a step back.” (Via The Toronto Sun)

I have a confession to make – I picked the Canadian article because I liked the funny spelling of offense. I know, I’m an easy man to please. As for the whole “is it desperation or just precaution” argument, Collins’ contract is for $4 million this season. I’m not saying I know what desperation smells like, but I have gone home with a few 2′s in my day.

A few days ago, I wondered in Internet print if Peyton Manning, he of almost $90 million in guaranteed coin for the remainder of his career, would be ready for the start of the season. Today, we know that answer is a whopping, “Oh hell naw.” According to the Indianapolis Star, the Colts all but confirmed that Manning’s surgically-repaired neck isn’t taking him off the PUP anytime soon. Well, at least not for Week 1.

That’s because it’s Kerry Collins time! The Colts signed the 38-year old veteran this morning, due to a complete lack of faith in backups Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. Collins had retired after a 6-10 season with the Tennessee Titans, good enough for 4th in the AFC South last year. In fact, now that he’ll be playing for his old team’s division rival, I have a preview of what Titans fans will look like…

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We all know the NFL is trying to minimize the concussing hits during games, but what do you do when a quarterback hits his teammate in the head with the ball and concusses him, and to add to it, that teammate wasn’t even a receiver, but a defensive end on the sideline?

Roger Goodell’s probably going to just fine everyone on the Titans for their terrible play, am I right? It’s a joke because the Titans are miserable this seas- oh you do get it? You just don’t think it’s funny. Carry on then.

From the Tennessean:

Not much has gone right for the Titans lately, and things took an even more unusual turn Sunday when defensive end William Hayes was injured in a freak accident.

Hayes was standing on the sideline when a Kerry Collins pass sailed high off the field and hit him in the head. Hayes was unable to play the rest of the game because of a concussion, Coach Jeff Fisher said.

“That’s kind of how the game went,” Fisher said. “I’ve never had a player leave the game with a concussion after getting hit with the ball on the sideline. But we’ll see how he is this week.”

Somehow this incident comes off as a great representation of what the Titans have accomplished this season. They easily could have had a better record with a healthy Vince Young and also much less yelling and fighting with Jeff Fisher and Young.

At the stage they are in the season, I still don’t see how Tennessee’s gameplan every time doesn’t consist of “give 20+ carries to Chris Johnson and whoever else we have in our backfield.” Some people probably think Johnson will get tired running that much, and that’s when you go to the OTHER part of the plan: have Johnson be quarterback, too. I’d put good money he wouldn’t hit his teammate in the head and give him a concussion.