Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Brett Favre this wasn’t but the Peyton Manning takeover has certainly monopolized most of the NFL headlines this offseason. So it was only a matter of time until we here at JBB, a blog 100% dedicated to all things Raiders and nothing else, were forced to talk Manning.

Behold…the new quarterback of the Denver Broncos will be…Peyton Manning.

What does all this mean to Oakland? Well, obviously the Raiders will get a double dose of Manning as part of the two times the silver and black will tangle with the Donkeys this season. It also means Reggie McKenzie’s quest for more veteran cornerbacks and a pass rusher to replace Kamerion Wimbley just got a lot more intense. Need I remind you of the last time Manning came to the Bay?

Let’s not forget that Tim Tebow carved up the Oakland secondary last season. How do you think Manning will fare? Then again, exactly what kind of condition is that neck in? Not at all saying I’d wish a life threatening injury on another player, nor am I advocating that Dennis Allen installs the Gregg Williams incentive program. But as a man that played defense once upon a time the unwritten rule is that if a man with an injury steps on the field then the first clean shot you get you’re to test his health.

That’s just football. It’s a part of the game whether Roger Goodell likes it or not.

Aside from what we see on the field the other part of this game is the business aspect. From a business standpoint John Elway has made the decision to divorce himself from Tebow. I’m sure there is some special circle in hell for those that doubt the second coming but religion’s got nothing on winning Super Bowls.

Go ahead a put my name on the VIP list for that room in hell too cause I’ll take a sinner that wins over a holy man that sells jerseys. Manning has a Super Bowl ring. Tebow has a purity ring. You do the math.

Before I become the target of hate let me make it clear that I’m not anti-religion. I’ll take Kurt Warner on my squad any day. I’m against all those that confuse hard work and skill with Bible verse and player.

All that being said…

Did Denver make the right decision?

Doesn’t really matter. What matters is, if Manning is right, the Broncos just got the biggest upgrade at quarterback in the AFC West. The move doesn’t guarantee a divisional crown but I don’t see 8-8 being good enough to compete any longer.

Moves like this illustrate the urgency in pro football. Hue Jackson’s move to aggressively go after Carson Palmer was bold yet ultimately wasn’t enough to get the Raiders over the hump. For all we know that could be the same story with Manning. Only time will tell. Right about now it’s time for the Raiders to really focus on defense. This team can go toe-to-toe with any offense in the NFL. But keeping other teams out of the end zone is what will win consistently. That task just got a little more difficult with the arrival of Mile High Manning.

The ghost of Lane Kiffin is hovering above the AFC West.

Unbeknownst to Al Davis, Kiffin had a witch doctor implant his soul in the Raiders’ overhead projector. When Davis wheeled out the archaic device for his press conference, he unknowingly released the “Curse of Kiffin” on the AFC West. 

Luckily for Raider fans, we have exorcised the curse by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the end of the 2008 season. The win in Tampa not only sent Chucky packing, but was also the final hurrah for Monte Kiffin’s NFL tenure. Thus, Al Davis had a hand in removing the Kiffin family from professional football.

The Raiders are now curse free, but the Broncos and Chiefs might just have to call in that midget from “Poltergeist” to cleanse the locker room.

The “Curse of Kiffin” entails a hot shot, punk of a coach who strolls in off the street and attempts to reinvent the wheel.

When the Chiefs hired Todd Haley they assumed they were getting a hot coaching prospect with the fire of Mike Ditka burning in his belly. Instead, Haley looks more the part of a blowhard coordinator turned overwhelmed head coach ala Mike Martz.

Haley was in the right place at the right time. He, like Martz, hit the Kurt Warner lottery and rode the bible thumping TD thrower to the big game. Let’s just say that Haley wasn’t thought to be an offensive genius when Matt Leinart was drinking from beer bongs and plugging Paris Hilton. But once Touchdown Jesus took over the starting job full-time – during a contract year no less – Todd Haley miraculously became a coaching commodity.

The healing powers of Kurt Warner are real, but the curse is stronger.

Haley inherited a franchise that hasn’t seen a playoff win since 1994. So Todd’s first order of business was to trade for a quarterback who, before 2008, had not started a game since he was the last kid picked in a shirts and skins game in 1994.

Matt Cassel balled in 2008 – a contract year no less – but he’s not playing for the Pats anymore. Matty Cass is used to holding hands with his teammates, skipping in unison to the whistles of Belichick as he takes to the field on Sundays.

Things are a little different in KC, Matty C. You’re going to have to spend Saturday nights keeping one eye on Larry Johnson at the club and your Sundays will start with dragging your Hall of Fame tight end, kicking and screaming, onto the field. Not a good sign when you’re the new shot caller in town and upon your arrival the best two players on your team both want to skip town. Dial Baron Davis for advice on this matter, his time as a Clipper might give you a few clues.

The Curse of Kiffin is not isolated to the Chief franchise. The Broncos are in the middle of the cruel Kiffin death sentence as well.

For some reason the Bronco brass assumed that a 32-year old punk knew more about football than a Raider killer of a coach with two Super Bowl rings.

Mike Shanahan was shown the exit and Josh McDaniels was given the keys. So far, the results have been a page from the script of a daytime soap opera.

The good news for the rest of us is that Josh McDaniels is looking like he’s got the Millen touch.

The all too public feud between Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler and McD is making for better drama than the Bachelor finale. I really want ABC to get McDaniels and Culter to have a sit down on primetime. Just when Cutler is about to burst into tears, they could have Matt Cassel come out and throw his arm around McDaniels.

Sure, there would be an awkward moment of silence, but once Wilford Brimley reminds Culter to check his blood sugar, a fight would ensue and television history would be made.

Maybe Matt Cassel is worth all this trouble, but I’m not buying it. My instincts tell me that this is all due to the Curse of Kiffin.

In case you’re wondering why the Chargers are not at risk for the curse, well, that’s simple. They’ve got their own curse to deal with: The Norv Turner Curse of Mediocrity

For this curse, I’m afraid there is no cure. Sorry Charger fans, you’re just going to have to keep looking at that empty trophy case, dreaming of what never will be.

As for the Chiefs and Bronocs, here is how you break the curse:

First, the Broncos are going to have to trade Jay Cutler out of the AFC. For arguments sake, let’s just say he goes to Tampa Bay.

Next, the Chiefs and Broncos will have to give their new Colin Cowherd coaching clones a year on the job and then fire them a month into their second season. Here is where it gets tricky. One of the Broncos is going to have to take out Matt Cassel. Once Cassel is on the IR, Tyler Thigpen is going to have to ball out of his mind. Scott Piolo will be forced to franchise tag Thigpen as an insurance policy. Once Cassel assures everyone that he’ll be ready for the start of the next season, Thigpen will become dead cap weight. Deal Thigpen to the Buccaneers where he’ll replace the wounded ego of Cutler in Tampa. Cutler will go back on the Bachelor finale with Raheem Morris and Tyler Thigpen, causing yet another public scuffle and forcing the NFC South to deal with the Curse of Kiffin.

If anything good could come of the Curse of Kiffin, it would be that Haley and McDaniels will end up with bombshells on thier arms. Have fun nailing hot blondes, boys! You’ll need someone to listen to you moan about your cursed luck.

On the schedule it reads as Groups 10 and 11, but on the field it is a show unlike any other at the combine.

While the NFL scouting combine is a good way to get a handle on a player’s athletic prowess, it means little in regards to his football ability. However, for defensive backs, athletic skill is the bread and butter of the position.

Yes, you have to have the ability and technique to play at the next level, but you’d better believe that there aren’t any NFL corners running a 4.6 in the 40 yard dash that are lining up face to face with Terrell Owens.

Brian Billick said it the best during the NFL Network coverage of the combine today when he plainly stated that, “Corners who can’t run become safeties and safeties who can’t run become linebackers”.

They are the athletic freaks of the sports world. Most of them are of average height and slight in build. Yet when they are evaluated at the combine, their sub 4.5s and their 42″ verticals can mean the difference between collecting an NFL check or returning to their hometowns to sell insurance. If you keep in mind that 2 time NBA Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson was a cornerback at the University of Washington, then you’ll get an idea of the type of talent we’re talking about.

For Groups 10 and 11, all the drills they ran through had a very direct connection to what they’ll be paid to do on Sundays. Jason Smith of Baylor ran a 5.22 in the 40 on Saturday. A respectable time for an offensive tackle, but in the long run it means little in his ability to keep a blood thirsty defensive end off of his franchise quarterback. However, Donald Washington of Ohio State, and his 45″ vertical, makes for quite a weapon against a Kurt Warner Hail Mary being hurled towards Larry Fitzgerald with the game on the line.

To truly understand this, simply follow the paths that Malcolm Jenkins and Vontae Davis will take to the NFL. Both are regarded as the best cornerbacks in the draft and both went out and conducted the drills in Indianapolis today.

Davis breezed through two 4.4 second 40s that will cement his first round status, while Jenkins strained to run a 4.5 and will most likely become a safety now. Jenkins will still be a first rounder but the difference, down the road, could be getting a Brian Dawkins payday or a Nnamdi Asomugha life changing contract.

I don’t put much stock in the NFL Combine, if it were that important then every first round draft pick would eventually end up in Canton and the rest of the rounds would be filled with journeymen. In the long run, only a man’s desire and determination, and not his number of reps on the bench press, will decide his football future. But if you’re willing to pay to see Hugh Jackman  pretend to have super human powers on the big screen, then why not log on to NFL.com and watch, for free, the closest thing we have to real life X-Men.