The Colts announced Peyton Manning‘s release on Wenesday, but the speculation (and reports) were already in full-spin mode over where Manning could be headed, and just which teams hold legitimate interest.

We know Manning wants to play. And if he proves healthy, he should be able to dictate where that happens.

To that end, conspiracy theorists would suggest Manning already has a plan, one that he will soon orchestrate. NFL Network analyst Marshall Faulk sounded like a man with a theory Wednesday, suggesting that half of the NFL teams (as in the entire NFC) are out of the running for Manning.

“We need to see a Manning Super Bowl,” Faulk told “NFL Total Access”. “That’s what they want. This family wants it. We saw the speculation with the Harbaugh’s when they played each other and the possibility of that being a Super Bowl matchup.

“(Peyton) will not upstage his brother and knock him out of going to a Super Bowl by being in the NFC.”

So, as Faulk sees it, Manning will only play for AFC teams. It’s not just that Faulk was waxing that a Manning-Manning Super Bowl would be a cool idea. Faulk was rather emphatic, talking like someone who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to what the Manning family is thinking.

If Faulk is right, those Manning families ties are strong.

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