Manning: riding into the sunset on a different horse.

Peyton Manning has found his new home: the Denver Broncos. After tons of speculation, rumor, and media attention, Manning finally chose his new team after his release by the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts felt secure in their position to draft Andrew Luck and decided to move on from the legendary but injured Manning, raising questions of whether Manning would play again, and if so, where. Those have been answered, but a new question arises: will he succeed?

Denver was desperate for a franchise quarterback. After trading the skilled but inconsistent Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears, uncertainty rocked the franchise. Kyle Orton played well for a while, but his weaknesses soon came through and fans grew impatient. Then, Tebow happened. After leading the Broncos to an improbable playoff berth and a stunning first-round upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers, it looked like Tebow was the future.

Not anymore. John Elway and the Denver front office couldn't get rid of him any faster, trading him to the Jets almost immediately after signing Manning. Now, Tebow is off in another quarterback controversy and backup Brady "Who?" Quinn is left to ponder what could have been.

Now, the Broncos think they've found their answer. But Manning, after multiple neck surgeries including a spinal fusion, is no sure thing. Once the pinnacle of quarterbacking skill, Manning is surrounded by doubt. Is he going to be himself once the season starts? Will he be more cautious and less decisive after his time in recovery? And is he just one inevitable hit away from retirement or, God forbid, paralysis?

Those are questions of the future that will have to be answered later. But what about the X's and O's? All speculation on Manning's health aside, will the Broncos be a successful team with him? Are they good enough to become the new Colts, a consistent contender who can practically etch its name into the playoff bracket?

The Broncos succeeded last season because of (among other things) two big factors: a strong running game and solid defense. With the resurgence of Willis McGahee and a stellar blocking line, the Broncos gave Tebow the best chance to succeed by making him not have to be, well, Peyton Manning. There was always the threat of a run from McGahee or Tebow, forcing defenders to the box and giving Tebow favorable matchups on his beloved deep throws. Meanwhile, the Broncos defense, led by Champ Bailey and Von Miller, made opponents work harder at scoring than the Broncos offense had to.

Manning, on the other hand, comes from a situation where his team's success hinged almost solely on him. The Colts were not a running team nor a hard-nosed defensive team, but they won anyway because of their nigh-unstoppable passing game. It helped that for many years Manning had an incredible receiving duo of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne catching his pinpoint passes, propelling the Colts to a Super Bowl victory.

The Broncos don't have quite that pedigree, but do have promising young talent in Eric Decker and Demarious Thomas. They succeeded with Tebow under center, and its not a stretch to imagine even greater things with Manning throwing. Manning, though, is known as a field general. He makes the calls and runs the system. Will the younger players be able to catch on quickly enough and recreate that synchronicity? The option to hand the ball off to McGahee should theoretically help that development, but will Manning be satisfied with that? Coach John Fox did a brilliant job instilling the discipline in his team that let them succeed in a Tebow-fied offense, but will Manning upset that?

Manning seems like a walking playoff spot. How could he not take the Broncos to the playoffs after having done it so many times for the Colts? But it's not that simple. He's switching teams. He's switching philosophies. He's injured. This is a new situation with new circumstances and possibly new results. This is the grand Manning experiment, and the NFL awaits the conclusion.

Manning-ball.

Peyton Manning is spinning around on Free Agent Roulette, and many teams are hoping he lands on their number.

The esteemed quarterback is visiting interested teams to weigh his options. He's already visited the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals, and it seems likely he will talk to the Miami Dolphins as well. The Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly out of the running, as he turned down their requests for his presence. Also out are the New York Jets, who extended Mark Sanchez for three years. The Redskins just made a massive trade with St. Louis in order to draft Robert Griffin III, so they can be eliminated from the race as well.

So where is Manning going to end up? He already has a sealed legend as one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and now the NFL has the opportunity to see him play for someone other than the Colts. It's hard not to imagine half the clubs in the NFL salivating over the chance to have Manning resurrect or enhance their franchises.

The Broncos and Cardinals are both interesting situations. The Broncos have a guy named Tim Tebow to deal with; or rather, his rabid fans to reckon with. They can either commit to developing Tebow's skills as a passer and hope he blossoms into a superb quarterback, or snag the biggest free agent commodity in years and deal with the fallout. The Cardinals just spend a boatload of money on Kevin Kolb, who delivered a mediocre return. Unless Kolb shows great improvement, that deal with Philadelphia (and the big contract they gave Kolb) will be a long-lasting embarrassment. All that can be smoothed over with Manning's arrival.

Other teams in need include the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Browns aren't totally committed to the struggling Colt McCoy, and the Vikings and Jags both have quarterbacks that struggled with limited success in their rookie years. All three teams, however, lack the receiving corps caliber that the Broncos, Cardinals, and Dolphins have, and thus might be less appealing to Manning.

A few dark-horse candidates include the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers. Titans owner Bud Adams has expressed interest in Manning, and the 49ers may give him a shot if they can't come to terms with Alex Smith, who is coming off his best season. Both fall under the "anything's possible category," which could conceivably include the Buffalo Bills (who extended Ryan Fitzpatrick this past season) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who remain vocally committed to Josh Freeman despite his regression).

Of course, belying all this speculation is further speculation about Manning's ability to play at all, much less at a high level. But that's a question that, like this one, can only be answered with time.

Bountygate: bigger than Williams.

Only a few days ago, a report came out concerning former Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his "bounty systems" in which players were rewarded with cash for taking opposing players out of games by injuring them. He supposedly ran such a system during his tenure with both organizations, and a massive punishment for Williams is expected from the league commissioner, Roger Goodell.

Also in jeopardy are the New Orleans Saints and their leadership which failed to expose and put a stop to these bounties. Head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis could face serious consequences for allowing the bounties to continue, especially after owner Tom Benson reportedly told them to put a stop to the practice.

Bounties for injuries are nothing new in the NFL. Most famously, in 1989, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan put a bounty on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman and kicker Luis Zendejas. As MJD of Yahoo! Sports' Shutdown Corner writes, not much was made of it. It's been more or less accepted in locker rooms and not talked about publicly.

In fact, many players participate in and enjoy the bounty system. As Les Carpenter, also of Yahoo! Sports, writes, Williams's intensity endeared him to his players, and his bounties were a part of that. Defensive players largely see the issue differently from offensive players, even when on the same team when a bounty hit occurs.

For a league concerned with player safety and its image, this is a huge problem. Bounties, along with the already-known concussion issues, put a huge black mark on the league's integrity. It's up to commissioner Goodell to respond. He's said he wants to lessen injuries and clear the league of unethical practices (drug testing and the Spygate scandal), and here he has a big mess to clean up. He needs to get rid of this practice, and quickly, but it won't be easy. Bounties are ingrained into defensive locker room culture. The NFL must find a way to make bounties not worth it. Not worth it for the players to participate in, not worth it for coaches to perpetuate, and not worth it for franchises to ignore. When the probability and cost of getting caught outweigh the rewards (to both wallet and ego), bounties will disappear.

For the sake of professional football, let's hope that happens.

Buy the numbers.

NFLShop.com released sales data for between April 1, 2011 and Feb. 29, 2012, with interesting results. Here's the list of the top 25 jersey sellers:

There's the usual big names there, mostly quarterbacks. Eli Manning obviously got a boost with his Super Bowl victory, but Aaron Rodgers and, interestingly, Tim Tebow edged him out. Rodgers makes sense; he won a Super Bowl the season before, put up huge numbers several seasons in a row, and plays for the Packers, a team with as loyal and rabid a fan-base as any. Tebow doesn't have nearly the statistical pedigree of... well, anyone on this list. His inclusion speaks to his national presence and popularity; people know who he is and, largely, like him, despite a season that, while good, didn't light the league on fire like, say, Rodgers or Drew Brees. The religious factor comes into play, but I don't think that's enough to explain how he's outselling players like Tom Brady. He's a man of great character and with a great story. People see him as a breath of fresh air. He's unique, and in one of the best ways possible.

Also interesting is Victor Cruz's inclusion. No one knew who he was at the start of the season, but after he came out of nowhere and led his Super Bowl-winning team in receiving yards, his popularity skyrocketed. People like the "man off the street" underdog superstar idea, and he's a great example of how instantaneously stardom can arrive.

Despite lingering unpopularity (and even outright hatred) from his dog-fighting scandal, Michael Vick cracked the top-ten. Name-recognition goes a long way, even with a clouded reputation and a less-than-stellar season. Same goes for the Dallas Cowboys on the list, who, like the Eagles, missed the playoffs, but still have the fame and fans to make this list.

It's interesting to see Peyton Manning here, but not too surprising. He's still possibly the biggest name in the game, and he doesn't even have to play to have that status. Peyton Manning is football. People who don't even watch football--who don't even like football--know who he is. So what if he had neck surgery? So what if his future career is in doubt? He's Peyton freaking Manning.

Mark Sanchez is the only Jet on this list. You'd think they'd be represented by a good player, like Derrelle Revis, but that's the way it goes.

Troy Polamalu is the highest-ranked of the few defensive players on the list. No Roethlisberger, no Mike Wallace, no Rashard Mendenhall... we know what Steelers fans value: hard-hitting defense. Same goes for the Bears and Ravens and their popular linebackers Urlacher and Lewis.