Tarik Glenn, and other instances of bad timing

We must apologize for our absence yesterday, we were unexpectedly pulled away from the Intertron for a day-long work conference. You know how these things go. Hey, we'd to quit our job love and blog full time, but only the lucky ones are fortunate enough to do that. Besides, we made almost $10 in Google AdSense this past week. We treated ourselves to Subway.

Now then - the task at hand. We know most of the sports world is caught up in the Vick dogfighting scandal (and those who aren't are mesmerized by the NBA referee betting scandal), but there's a more pressing issue at hand: who's going to protect Peyton Manning's blind side? As most of you already know, Tarik Glenn is - at the very least - considering retirement. Glenn is one of the best left tackles in pro football and is, it can be argued, coming off his finest season. Why would he retire? Glenn is not really motivated by money, he's had weight issues is the past, the Colts drafted his likely replacement this past April. We're not saying he doesn't have his reasons.

But he simply must not do this. The Colts defensive losses through free agency, widely hailed as disastrous by the media, have been heavily exaggerated, but the loss of a premier left tackle cannot be. Left tackle is the second-most important position on the offensive side of the ball. It's not a coincidence that Glenn has only missed six games in the Manning era. His successor, whether that be second-year tackle Charlie Johnson or second-round pick Tony Ugoh, will likely have a learning curve. That means sacks - many sacks. Manning has the quickest release of any QB in the NFL, along with an uncanny sense for pressure around him, but even he is susceptible to the blind side rush.

Please, Tarik, come back for one more year. The Colts need you. We need you. Peyton needs you. Until we find out for certain, we'll leave you with this hopeful piece of information, courtesy of ESPN's John Clayton:

Don't count out Tarik Glenn for the 2007 season yet. Glenn is supposed to return from Mexico in the next 24 hours to meet with Tony Dungy, Bill Polian and the Colts organization. While Glenn, perhaps the best left tackle in franchise history, is thinking about retiring, the Colts want him to take time to think about whether or not that is the right decision.