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| It's that time again Denver Broncos fans. Putting on my thinking cap for the coming season. |
I understand the impact of his legacy on the NFL and how that might have played a role in the way things played out at the end. If Broncos haters want to call my team lucky because it all worked out in the end, I was of the mindset to agree with them as I look from the sideline at our coaches try to "do it again" for the lack of a better description.
Again is a bit of a reach. Neither Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch are expected to have the mind of Peyton after so many years of experience that he had and they don't.
Actually, that is exactly what they're kinda being asked and I can show you how and why.
If Broncos Coach, Gary Kubiak, was truly beholden to his own system as being something even remotely special, why would he replace a HIGHLY successful coach in John Fox- with an unspoken mandate to do better than Fox did, and quickly because Peyton is on his way out- but relent to Manning's system just like Fox did?
We have to accept that the hybrid model that developed out of last year was not something Kubiak had any way of expecting to work. He might have expected his ability to inspire people to have some value, but he is a play caller just like Manning, and his play calling had to constantly give way to fake defensive looks and Manning being so easily baited into audibles by them.
The result?
An epic number of interceptions that horrified the ball control coach to the extent of shutting down his Hall of Fame QB in the 4th quarter of the Superbowl from throwing in the red zone. By the end, Kubiak no longer trusted Manning to not turn the ball over, nor did we.
Enter the new year, and the quarterbacks are mostly brand new except for one who was an internal witness to the ass chewing that Manning often got as a result of so much carelessness with the football- ass chewing that almost had Manning watching Osweiler throughout his final Superbowl chase. Siemian might be in the lead of the QB race in training camp, but that's mostly because he has had a year of understanding what pisses dad off the most and how to avoid doing that list of things.
Things that Sanchez was famous for prior to arriving in Denver. The hopes must have been that our coaching staff could do things others have not been able to achieve with Sanchez, or that he had been out of a job as a starter for long enough to learn from his mistakes and change his stripes a bit.
Our excellent defense should be expected to make plays from time to time, yet the natural apprehension from a guy with a tainted history is unavoidable. Sanchez is not Manning, and does not have the resume that would allow you to relax in the face of ball control issues like we tried to do with Manning. We've seen Manning burn defenses over and over and over again, so the expectation of more was never always, even as we crossed the finish line needing cardiac resuscitation.
Now all of that is gone and the only hope we have for resurrecting Manning's magical parts is Siemian who saw it or Kubiak who taught it.
In a recent practice, one in which the offense had seen enough days of havoc from our vaunted defense, the head coach decided to switch out the names of some plays so that the defense could not keep jumping the routes.
The result?
The defense was burned over and over and over again. In fact, one burn never got to happen because Chris Harris Jr. reached out and grabbed Emmanuel Sanders to avoid the embarrassment.
The result?
A rather big fight that caused both players to be sent to the showers and a whole lot of media types to question who was mostly in the wrong on this one, Harris Jr. or Sanders. My first thought was to side with the media that saw Sanders respond in a way that was a bit demonstrative considering Harris Jr. is a teammate. In deeper thought, Harris Jr. was burned in practice from the Peyton Manning switch up, the same as some of his other teammates had been burned before him, but he chose to respond in a way that could have injured Sanders if you think about it.
There really was nothing to be gained from grabbing your own teammate except the avoidance of embarrassment. Embarrassment that probably never would have happened so naturally if Coach Kubiak had not spent time with Peyton.
The adjustment was a Peyton adjustment, bottom line. So is the trend that is developing of players staying later for more work after the coaches have already released them from practice for the day. At first it was only Demarius Thomas and some injured guys. Soon Sanders joined as did a flock of other seagulls. Now, the stay late's are a bit staggering in numbers.
That is all Manning, pure and simple.
Even the fact that Sanchez is being derided for making interceptions in practice, while Siemian is being asked to take chances- or burn them like Peyton would, versus stay with the safe check down pass and hand off audibles (the Kubiak offense) that keep the turnovers at a minimum- is all Manning's fault.
Sadly, Sanchez is not only going to be a victim of his own poor history with turnovers, he is going to be a victim of the unquenchable feeling of luck that a few Cowboys fans I know, and Gary Kubiak, will never shake after winning it all despite so many damn turnovers.
...and Manning. Sanchez is an indirect victim of Manning's blood mixed up inside of ours. We would have never won without Manning. Yes, he is like Sea Salt to Kubiak's Mrs. Dash, and the Superbowl game probably got over salted some as it relates to whose ingredients got used the most. Manning is now a necessary ingredient- in moderation- and one you don't easily dismiss after trying it out for a while.
Sanchez, Siemian, Kubiak, Elway and everyone who calls themselves a Bronco, will carry the DNA of Manning in our system simply because we actually won directly from that sprinkle of whatever it is that he does. If the Elway way or the Mile High Salute teams could be revived exactly as they were originally comprised, Kubiak would not have been fired in Houston and would not have acquiesced to Manning when coming here to replace Fox.
We won just as much because of Manning as we did in spite of him Broncos fans. Nothing is really going to take that infusion of salt out of our necessary ingredients for another crown. Our team was partially crafted by the success of the Seattle Seahawks who gave us the pain and focus from our 5th loss in the final game of the year. Similarly, future teams will be crafted by the ground control, killer defense approach that won our title last year. None of those teams who witnessed our success last year, will erase the feeling of fear caused by an aged and slightly injured quarterback, that still made defenses play perfect, or else.
Teams don't fear the Broncos this year because they don't have any reason- except our defense- which can only produce so many points in a game and probably can't duplicate last year's timely miracles, over and over and over again.
You know who agrees with them the most?
Kubiak, which is evidenced this preseason in each of his quarterbacks looking to sprinkle a dash of Manning on the situation where possible- to spice things up- versus repeating ground and pound mastery as was common to the Kubiak way that we all used to know.
After winning with Manning, Kubiak will never be the same coach, and that's a good thing. He will always understand that predictability of the legendary teams is only moot when you can actually win one on one battles at every position on the field, which isn't easy against Khalil Mack. That generation of smash mouth football "NO MATTER WHAT" existed long enough to have a reasonable counter approach. Solid man defense if you have the talent, or 8 in the box if you don't and dare Sanchez, Siemian or even old man Manning to beat you with his arm- over and over and over again.
Call It The Maniak Offense
What we won with last year was a genuine amalgamation of two great NFL minds. That kind of stuff doesn't shake itself off when the new year comes around, or stay quiet when you need to prepare for a new season to top the last one. Inevitably, Kubiak had to ask himself why- as a coach- did HIS system never work all by itself? What role did Manning truly play in making Kubiak a championship coach finally?
Whether he came here and pre-planned this conversion with himself or not, Kubiak is now a caretaker of the book of Manning as it relates to the work ethic of the team leaders, the attention to detail of the entire team. But mostly he is now a lead disciple of run, run, run, Omaha, run, Omaha.
....or whatever the audible name's are for today.
You see, Manning was more than just famous for extra film study. Plenty of players do plenty of that. What set Manning apart from other quarterbacks was his diligence to study himself. To search out his own flaws and to listen to his calls that were captured on tape just to determine if it was necessary to change the name of the call so that other teams had no keys on him.
Manning would do exactly what Kubiak did the other day that caused the now famous fight between Harris Jr. and Sanders.
I won't blasphemously call Manning Jesus or anything that edgy, but his career will be like the reading of a new doctrine, one that will be studied for years to come and one that someone will eventually have the audacity to try and duplicate in some shape or fashion.
The greatest likelihood is that player will come from Denver seeing as how we were so fortunate to successfully experience the final days of Manning's ministry first hand.
From several tell tell signs in Broncos training camp, his ministry lives on.
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