PRO FOOTBALL : It Might Be Time for George, Colts’ Split

When NFL personnel men analyze the abilities of quarterbacks around their league, one name bounces in and out of the elite group that includes Troy Aikman, John Elway, Dan Marino and Steve Young.

Jeff George may be the purest passer of the group and seemingly has it all. A quick release like Marino. Pinpoint accuracy like Aikman. The ability to improvise like Elway. No, he can’t run like Young.

But Aikman, Elway, Marino and Young all have the “intangible” that George lacks, which is why George drops in the evaluation process. And it’s the intangible that almost outweighs any physical gift in the rating of “franchise” quarterbacks.

It is toughness. Physical toughness. Mental toughness.

George has passed the grade in the area of physical toughness. He has taken all the shots playing behind a porous offensive line, picked himself up and answered the call. If anything, he has even surprised his critics with his physical toughness.

When it comes to mental toughness, George has made his critics smug. They told you so.

George refused to report to camp last week, and all indications were that it was going to be a lengthy holdout. Some reports pegged this to a negotiation tactic. No. It has nothing to do with money. He wants out of Indianapolis. Period. And, in a change of heart, the Colts just may accommodate him.

For months now, we have heard that George felt mentally whipped because he was booed last season and fried occasionally by a local newspaper columnist. The Colts went a surprising 9-7 last season in spite of George, not because of him, it was written.

Somehow, George left the impression that he also was estranged from his teammates. When the Colts ended the regular season in Cincinnati by winning their fifth consecutive game, George was absent from the team’s flight home. Instead, he traveled home with parents and friends. His teammates disapproved.

Many Colts players believe that George has been misled by his friends and family. Whereas his advisers should be telling him to ride out the storm--as all great NFL quarterbacks have--they seem to be reinforcing the flawed opinion that he has been treated woefully in his home state.

Listen, if Jeff George can’t deal with an Indianapolis market that is compact, fair and even soft, he can’t deal with it anywhere else.

Could it be that George clearly is showing his character flaw? Remember, this is a guy who dropped out of Purdue, fled to Miami (where he never played), did an about-face for Illinois, and then left early for the NFL.

As for the Colts, they have made many missteps under Owner Bob Irsay, but they have done everything in their power to make George succeed. Here’s the rundown:

--When Atlanta had the first pick in the 1990 draft, the Colts traded two Pro Bowl players, tackle Chris Hinton and wide receiver Andre Rison, plus a No. 1 pick to acquire the rights to draft George, who wanted to play in his home state.

--The Colts gave George the richest rookie contract at the time, one worth more than $2 million a year.

--In 1992, they hired Buffalo offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda, who had a track record of developing Pro Bowl quarterbacks, as head coach. Not to mention that Marchibroda allows his quarterbacks to “breathe” more than most coaches.

--The Colts also fixed their defense last year with a huge financial commitment to the draft’s top two picks, Steve Emtman and Quentin Coryatt. A good defense keeps a team in a game, meaning the offense doesn’t have to play the type of football that exposes a quarterback to relentless blitzes and blind-side hits.

--This year, the Colts invested about $4.5 million annually in two free-agent offensive linemen, Kirk Lowdermilk and Will Wolford, one of the finest pass protectors in the NFL. Not only that, but the Colts stuck their neck out with the NFL by devising a contract that made it improbable for the Buffalo Bills to match the bid to Wolford.

This is a team that many believe can challenge the Bills and Miami Dolphins in the American Football Conference East. If George ever got his act together, it is a team that could play in the Super Bowl in the near future.