For Better Or Worse, The Broncos Are Must See TV

Even with the absence of the legendary Peyton Manning, the narrative would mostly be exactly the same as last year if not for that SB50 victory by my hometown Denver Broncos. and the hindsight view of what Manning did for this team as well as what he demanded of the AFC West opponents who hope to be champions too.....and because of concussions.

The Dallas Cowboy fans would like to remind you how they still dominate apparel sales even though Denver is the team defending the crown.  I'm the kind realist like true Broncos fans who've seen highs and lows, and who understand that Peyton did improve the AFC West, making it harder for this team to beat a bunch of improved teams without him. In reality, the America's Team shows plenty of signs of being better than 4-12, and expecting a healthy version of the richest team in football to continue to stink is a tainted glasses view of things.

In reality, we kind of need the Dallas Cowboys to become truly relevant on the field again just to offset the negative impact of all the concussion conversation that keeps hurting the league.  The future influx of our best athletes into sports other than football will reveal the impact of all this hysteria. What the league could really use right about now is a return of those Boys,  Love them or hate them it matters little.  They have the LeBron effect that draws both sets of eyes to the viewing.  It is an effect that the NBA will sorely miss when LeBron finally calls it quits. It's an effect that the NFL needs back via Dem Boys.

Some of this prediction might be might deep down longing for a league I love, but I am predicting that the richest team in football, the Dallas Cowboys, won't suck forever and the end of forever is now.  I am predicting that they actually bring the rookie running back along slowly enough, and he begins to show his promise near the end of the season, but they will grow terribly enamored by his talent and forget that he is not ready for playoff blocking assignments, causing them to lose in the Superbowl to my Denver Broncos, who will avenge the loss from our very first Superbowl, Superbowl XII.

Among the rest of football punditry the prognostication is mostly the same as last year, adjusted by two words; think and expect. They don't think we'll do quite as we'll or expect that we know how to overcome the challenge of losing key players without getting hungover from the thrill of  a SB50 victory.

I'm here to show them all why that all sounds good, but they are likely to be wrong.

While certain things have changed, nothing about our performance inspiring, championship coaching will be different, and that's why we win.

Actually, it will be somewhat different for our coaches who are returning after instant success while teaching a brand new system. Last seasons success gives the coaches instant street cred that will shorten the learning curve a bunch.  Their willingness to play everybody will give us an early glimpse of our future potential. Whether we realize that potential in the form of another Superbowl should not be a desperate goal of the fans, even if the team desperately intends to shut up the naysayers by repeating.  Loads of low expectation league wide will help them perform, unless loads of unreasonable expectation from Broncos fans cause us to make changes not conducive to our long term development.

Kubiak won't plan to be knee jerk at QB, but Broncos fans_some still salty about losing Brock Osweriler- will be, and that is the one element that concerns me the most.  From an outside perspective, our expectations this year is only distanced from last year by the trophy we bring to each game. Beyond that, we'll struggle to be favored in most of the games, meaning we will upset popular expectation- and Vegas- to do what we intend to do this year.  But don't get mad at Vegas or popular expectation for the respect they are indirectly showing to Peyton Manning the legend while seemingly dissing us.

We won't have Peyton, and nothing is going to help us know the impact of that except playing. With honest analysis, there are just as many signs of potential for better as there are for worse. The challenge of going 3-3 or 4-2 in the AFC West is enough to make things tough given the difficulty of the rest of our non-conference, Superbowl champions schedule. Splitting in the AFC West used to be good enough.  This year, add in the rest of the schedule and that might not be good enough to avoid a Wild Card(better)....or worse.

That offensive line seems better, more stout, more depth and eager to set league rushing records behind a guy who closed out games with amazing skill and style in CJ Anderson. For those who watch practice, they see CJ barking out protections to Mark Sanchez, who is seasoned enough to understand what the back is telling him. CJ says the barking is worse, or less useful with the younger QB's get more confused with such guidance, an early sign of which QB is getting the internal nod to lead this team this year.

Anderson stands poised to prove himself our new offensive team leader while proving his coaches game plan championship worthy, and not just something we accidentally won with. He also must prove himself able to stay healthy enough to help out his mighty might backup Ronnie Hilman, who is better...when used in small guy moderation- worse when overworked.

The entire stable of backs will be enlisted like back in the days of the original No Limit Soldiers and the Mile High Salute. I would expect that we carry an extra back with the return of the fullback too. The goal appears to be to make the team into a run whether you're expecting it or not team; a commitment that will demand chemistry they can't yet have with their rebuilt line, and health they've not shown in recent years at the offensive line or among the injury prone running backs.

Which is why we'll need depth and chemistry, the most challenging holy grail of any Superbowl pursuit.

Keep in mind that the run or bust approach (clock control with minimal turnovers) will also be forced to work  despite a league of coaches not fooled by media skepticism or punditry. Opposing coaches will bring defending champion preparation against the Broncos, mindful of the film, the ring we just earned, the Superbowl MVP we just signed and the thunder our boys brought to bear while earning it last year. Until further notice, that is the vision of us that they all see on film. Which means that the media skeptics are either counting on mostly championship efforts from each of our potential opponents, or certain decline from us.

They are mostly predicting decline Broncos nation, even though there truly are as many reasons to be excited as there are to be worried.

Linebackers are in place and ready to wreak havoc.....assuming Demarcus Ware can bring as much to the field as he brings to the locker room. They will likely need both to win it all.....although Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray are potential stars that might be ready to fill a void if Ware can't overcome those dreaded back issues he's plagued with. It might be better, or a blessing in disguise if the young players get the lion share of the reps and all that much needed development while Ware slowly heals himself for another title. It will be worse if we get stuck with players who are not our guaranteed Hall of Fame end rusher and foolish to ask young players to perform like a legend.

Once again, it's all a coin flip either way. Just like the secondary.

The secondary should be better and the most reliable group with so many returning players, but worse without Aqib Talib whose future makes that an unanswered question while we wait to see if he'll face punishment from the league.  I'm excited to let Bradley Roby get starter reps because I would love to see how he handles it- meaning even I really have no way to know until he gets the chance.

Unanswered question? Coin flip on the results.

Receivers are better with lots of depth from fresh talent in the fold....but they might appear worse because they must relent lots of pass opportunities to an uncertain, developing tight end core, a position vital in a Kubiak offense. Way too little tight end production last year lead to way too many turnovers and a less than stellar Superbowl jaunt, though winning it all is always better than losng, even when it's worse than you intended for it to look.

I would like to claim that learning how to win close games last year might actually be a sign of something better..... if it didn't feel worse because all of that good fortune seemed to come from Peyton's presence and prowess, and was used up on the successful pursuit of SB50..

After coming up short in recent years, scratching and clawing seemed a better approach last year......yet, expecting more of that again seems worse, maybe a little more desperate than confident now that we are defending our title and not chasing after one necessarily.

The Broncos really aren't claiming any cool rally cry, just an expectation for improvement of a team that most recently won it all. That shares no information about what improvement looks like or what other teams are doing to better themselves. Which means, getting better is always relative. If too many teams outpace your improvement, you're going to look worse and probably not repeat the same success as you had before.

 Fans mostly react out of emotion, not reality. Until further notice, champions are suppose to be respected. Just because you doubt the champions chances doesn't instantly give you room to dismiss them until they've dismissed themselves. Those who actually compete understand this, so a few smart pundits who played are watching the practices, getting out of their emotions from last year and recognizing the potential for better, not worse, while the rest of you just want to be right about this team being worse than they were when they proved way better than you expected.

2016 kicks off in less than two weeks for the defending champions, and we are all eager to know if the Broncos can get better, or if last season was a pure anomaly and the results will be dramatically worse. The signs are so unclear thus far, they demand WE watch closely. searching for signals that point either way.

In other words, until further notice- until we prove unworthy- my Denver Broncos are MUST SEE TV and the rest of your teams are optional viewing.

If you aren't planning to watch the Broncos preseason opener
you aren't really a fan of the NFL. Just saying.

Finishing Your Career Like John Elway Is Beyond Dreaming

To the credit of Brock Osweiler, the young man has waited a long time to show us the skills that he brings to the table as a quarterback, but in reality this team could just as easily win the Superbowl with Trent Dilfer if it had to.

That is the name that comes to mind whenever you are talking about the "game manager" tag that usually only becomes a key aspect of the conversation when you have the kind of defense to make it part of the conversation.

Like Baltimore did back then, Denver has that defense, and no matter how great the shadow cast by the name Peyton Manning (his game these days is hardly shadow worthy), the biggest shadow of them all is coming from the Denver Broncos defense.

In many ways, it was the shadow of the defensive excellence that has made Peyton's mediocre play so very intolerable.  Now, it will be the thing that demands Osweiler repeat his no turnover Chicago Bears performance against every other team on the schedule and in the playoffs if he hopes to join Trent Dilfer on the list of  game managing, Superbowl champions.

Running the ball is not always about the yards.

To the back handed credit of Brock "The Unknown" Osweiler -and my repeated criticism of Peyton "The Audible King" Manning- sometimes just running the play that the coach called is the best play.

For over a decade now, coaches on teams with experienced quarterbacks have had to decide how much "Peyton Manning" freedom they would give their quarterback to audible in and out of plays as they see fit.  Manning was the blueprint, and in essence, coaches have had to decide whether the offensive coordinator or the quarterback would establish the offensive identity.
                            
In Denver, WE HAVE PEYTON MANNING and the limits on how much Manning gets to effect the play calling began.........never.  Well, it actually did start a little bit last year when our previous Offensive Coordinator (Adam Gase) would yell at Manning for changing out of run plays EVERY time a defense gave a fake look.
                   ______________

What's the biggest difference between a Denver Broncos team with Peyton Manning versus one without him?  PLAY CALLING
                   _______________

This year, Kubiak has played the tug-o-war of play calling with Peyton like John Fox and Adam Gase did because Kubiak is the head coach and the play caller too.  When Manning didn't stop turning the ball over, and just so happened to have enough of an injury to use as his excuse, Kubiak finally benched Manning and took 100% control over play calling.

In other words, the identity and experience of Kubiak as a play calling head coach has never really been seen by this team or this community until the Chicago Bears game.  Actually, even Kubiak was stuck in a post Manning fog until late in the second half when he finally started running the football and playing to the strength of the team- the defense.

He was adamant about that point in his post game speech, and he has actually claimed the necessity of it (ball control and defense) even when he didn't insure the consistency of it under Manning.

This team has had a defense and a running game for four years that deserved an 80% to 20% run to pass balance that Manning just do well.  The biggest difference between our defense in four years is an older Chris Harris Jr. and Aquib Talib versus Dominique Rodgers Cromardie who gave Denver easily as much as Talib has- minus the eye poking.

By maintaining an 80-20 balance from here until the final game, Denver should be the last team standing.  Sure, Kubiak could have vicarious dreans for Brock, the backup who could actually replace the legend and become one himself.  Many times in the past, Kubiak himself was cast in the role of replacement to John Elway during injury, creating similar controversy when Elway wasn't performing up to par. That should be the least of his concerns this time around. (unconfirmed reports from 104.3 The Fan radio show say Elway is actually more in favor of Osweiler than is Kubiak)

Whether Osweiler plays well in a few games and not so well in others, creating a way for Manning's smooth return, or if Osweiler lights up the sky and blocks Manning from an easy return to action, THIS TEAM MUST RUN THE BALL.....PERIOD.

Personally, I would prefer a healthy Manning with 20 years of experience and knowledge to finish out our 80-20 run to victory so long as the men in the locker room agree with me.  Running the ball more consistently would not only make Manning appear to be a better quarterback, it will make him a better quarterback.

If the Denver Broncos are to win in the end, whoever hands the ball off will still only be credited for being the game manager of an all-time great defense.  That won't be great for the Manning legacy, but it will beat the heck out of not winning at all or winning with Osweiler handing it off 80% of the time instead.

Trying to finish your career like Elway did is a fairy tale, and fairy tales only happen once.

What's Wrong With Peyton Manning? Who Still Cares?

Back in those 'so called' good ole days, when Peyton Manning was lighting up the stat sheets and keeping all of you part time Denver Bronco fans- full time Fantasy Football fanatic- happy and healthy in your league standings, the criticism against Manning was minimal at best.

In fact, I often felt kind of lonely and sort of mean writing posts that declared to hell with Peyton Manning and all of his fancy smancy trick offensive calls.  Sure, it was going to put the defense on the back of their heels, for a little while.  If coached by Bill Belicheck, Manning's mystical offense loses its power and control, looking like the dead run and shoot style from the now defunct USFL.

Yeah, Manning looks like some hot scheme gone cold just like the run and shoot.  He can still exploit the less experienced NFL secondary players, but even they have the film from that Superbowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, who have functionally written the doctrine on defeating Manning.

Screw you too Brew.

If you chart it, we have basically seen some version of that approach every since that fateful game.  Win or lose, its the better way to go with Manning and the geriatric scoring bares that out.

Was that a dig at Manning's advanced age as an NFL quarterback?

Screw you Peyton Manning.

No, no!  This time its a good screw you Manning versus last years cursing of all that "Omaha, Omaha" crap that hasn't kept Peyton from being one of the NFL's greatest turnover artists and not Manning the Magician that he still thinks he is.

This time I say screw Manning because we truly don't need him to win anymore, giving him the potential to be the most respected game manager in the NFL; which is also an ultimate disrespect to all-time great passers.

Game managers are not respected in a world that finds no fantasy football value in such a thing.  Those of us who recognize the slippery slope of competitive addiction that lies in fantasy football or any one of those Facebook games, can still watch NFL football and our beloved Broncos for the value of the experience.

High scoring starts of previous seasons, that ended with stress and concern about how to close out a tight battle with a worn down defense that has played too many minutes because we show no commitment to run, kinda sucked for me.  Offensive production that amounts to points on the board may seem valuable no matter how you get them, but all points are not created equal.

Time of possession is a point of another sort in the game of football, and tilting the field for a rested defense is not only similar to scoring, that is virtually an Aquib Talib interception away from 6 points in this era of Bronco football.

If Peyton Manning- who used to humbly step to the podium and say he didn't really care how the team accomplished a win back when he was usually the reason for the win- actually doesn't really care how the team wins, it is now time to put up or shut up and follow the diagram for success no matter where it seems to be taking this team.

The last guy to get us over the top (Terrell Davis not John Elway), seems to think the same kind of stuff that I feel regarding what we are seeing out on the field.

According to Davis, "I see things a little different than some. I see a team that can get in an ugly brawl and win".

Why does it matter that Terrell agrees with me?  It doesn't.  It only matters that he is agreeing with me while using those recognizable terms that only come to bare in the championship moments of sports.

Inevitably, every sporting event- that doesn't involve the massacre of one team over another- gets compared to THE ultimate sporting event, the one in which your arse is truly on the line.

Boxing comparisons are supremely cliche but represent the only vernacular we have when sports ascend into the realm of war.  MMA doesn't quite translate the same and Bruce Lee is that hero we don't even dream of being like, so we dare not compare his one finger punch to anything that happens on a field or court. But, boxing?  Everyone can relate to a good fist fight and might have even dreamed of what it feels like to win one.

Superbowl legend from the Dallas Cowboys Michael Irving, stated it in an interesting way.  He said (I will paraphrase) if you want to hurt a team you attack them at their weakness.  If you want to utterly destroy them you attack them at their strength.

No matter what teams are doing to take attack the strength of Manning's offensive exploits when firing on all cylinders, nothing they do to Manning can disrupt the undisputed strength of this team- its defense.

I called this defense special even before Manning started playing poorly enough to bare that witness as well.  Only real, Orange Crush-like Bronco fans who actually care about defense, recognized the constant call to action that the defense had to answer in previous seasons, carrying Manning through what has become increasing moments of predictability.

Manning will never be the best player on this team for as long as he remains on this team.  Manning is still in the top ten list of best players on the Denver Broncos team, and Brock Osweiler is not even in the top 20 or 25 considering players who recently stepped up and impressed in the absence of injured starters.

If all you really have left in Peyton Manning is someone who can be the consummate game manager for a team that probably needs one more than any team has needed one in recent years, then this Denver Bronco team just found its QB for this year and the next.

What's Different With Denver's Defense?

Manning can reduce the mental error and turnovers, and needs to do it for the sake of his career and legacy.  How he closes the book on his career is soon to be determined.  Will he get a title and ride out like Elway did?  Can this team actually get better with rookie Shane Ray or old man Demarcus Ware out of the lineup?

Speaking of what do you see, despite injuries of their own, this Bronco fan sees a team that has played well on defense for the past two seasons culminating in this breakout year in which our number one acquisition in the off-season was not any one player, but one very special coach.

Wade Phillips is the only real difference between the defense we now laud and the under schemed, over utilized defense who are essentially the exact same players as before. Between Phillips and a stellar special teams unit, the Broncos are as good as every other undefeated team out there, who all have some areas of needed improvement despite their spotless records.  Fix our capable but sputtering offense and the Broncos would clearly be the best team in a league unsure who the best team actually is.

When things get tight, hold strong Bronco Fans.

This defense and its new coordinator deserve exactly what they are getting right now- the culmination of several years of good work gone mostly unnoticed. They are a marriage made in football heaven, and the reason why I would take these Broncos, including our more than capable QB Peyton Manning, into battle against any team with the absolute confidence that we can win.

None of my old screw you Manning posts had any confidence that we could actually win without Manning performing at least marginally well. Now I really really mean it.

Broncos Building A Championship Or Bust Foundation

To run or not to run.

That is the question that has betwixt'ed the Broncos for the past few season, maybe for as long as Peyton has been at the helm.

Years of Manning's marvels have littered the league and the record books with evidence of a quarterback who knows how to unravel a defense,  and an equal amount of evidence of how he did it as well.  When the method didn't change, the evidence of how began to mount in favor of the defense; nothing more telling and tolling than the empty backfield and the declaration of hope that it gave hopeless defenses who used to face off against Manning without a clue of what he'd do next.

Nobody conquered Manning.  They all survived and  a few overcame him in the end.  An army can win battle after battle, but will only be remembered when they storm the hill and overtake the castle.  Those great teams from Minnesota and Buffalo that nearly won four titles, but failed on them all, are historical blurs for a select few fans who lived to watch it happen. For a few years after they finished, we actually showed a great deal of respect to Minnesota's QB, Fran Tarkenton or Buffalo's Jim Kelly.

Modern fans don't get reminded at all about teams and players that did a lot of good stuff, but couldn't get it done.

Dan Marino could be in the GOAT (greatest of all time) debate.  But he didn't win.  As a result, only those who watch him on his Sunday football show even know his name anymore.  And none of them put him into the GOAT argument like we did right after he finished playing.  If you are too young, Dan Marino may as well be Dan Fouts for all the aerial success that each had that never amounted to Superbowl victories.

Currently, my 3-0 Broncos are stuck in the middle of an approach that calls for running even when it doesn't result in large production.  It is hard to argue with the record, yet easy to question the run game results, assuming of course you are the naturally paranoid type of person who needs to question such things of an undefeated team.

I could address the question of the run game by reminding Denver's critics of the defensive stalwarts that opposed us to open the season. Baltimore, Kansas City and Detroit- teams with well developed defensive identities of their own-  are teams that also like to run the ball and play good defense themselves.   Yet, that would sound like an excuse since way too many of us have insisted that running is the only way to really win in the end.

We and thee (Broncos), are equally aware of the necessity of running the ball, which is why this year appears to a be run game that isn't working instead of one that got abandoned altogether long before games end as was the case many nights under John Fox.

Save for the close out, 10 minute possession in the Baltimore game that was rich with running, the results in the run game have appeared to be less than stellar.  But, if you factor in the time of possession victories that have insured a fresh defense; one that is currently number two in total takeaways on a team that is leading the NFL in turnover differential, then the scenario appears more like a star rising to meet its stellar stature.

These Broncos are bullies by intention.  It may not appear that way with our 55 yards per game run average, but they've destroyed opposing run games and created key turnovers whenever opposing run games have titled the field against us (11 turnovers, 10 takeaways through 3 games).

Manning is taking a few too many hits and had a few too many turnovers himself while slow footing it out from under center, so Coach Gary Kubiak has been forced to compromise his run dreams by adding way too many pistol sets (QB in the shotgun with running backs behind the QB) in an attempt to keep opposing defenses somewhat honest.

But that also places our running backs an additional few yards behind the line of scrimmage versus a normal "underneath the center" run attack. creating a stronger necessity for a crafty and capable running back to cause misses and make up the lag. Until the running backs improve their pass blocking, the whole plan will have to adjust a bit explaining an offense that is sputtering beyond the run game.

CJ Anderson is nursing injuries from that first game beating he took, and Juwan Thompson just joined him on the beaten and battered list, but Ronnie Hilman is still fresher, running for his future, and seems to create those necessary misses that has kept opposing defenses honest.  Even with dinged up backs and marginal production, there has been no disrespect or disregard for Denver's run game.

In fact, the opposite is true in that teams have committed mightily to stop our run, opening up Denver's pass game to just enough breathing room to win games for us.  From my point of view, the passing game is much more shaky when you consider the easy connections we nearly made and the impressive catches we've had to make to fill the void and save games.

But even that is some nit picky, bull crap paranoia.

Yo Bronco fans!  Chill out and stop
playing fantasy football with your
home team players.

For me, the signs are so clear that I've lost my room to criticize, and thus my reason to write a bunch of paranoid postings like we pundits have correctly crafted to condemn the home team for 3 years straight.  Sure, they could get better in areas, but the last three Peyton Manning seasons have placed a huge premium on looking good over being good when being good matters most, in the playoffs.

This team appears to have come up short if you consider the mere presence of Manning as a reason why we should have won at least one of the last three Superbowls.  The true narrative is that we've only played for one of three and lost the only Superbowl we played in rather resoundingly, looking like a team that really had no reason to be in that game in the first place.

I don't know if this team will win it all.  What I know is that they are seriously building to become one that can. No, I've never built a championship football team, but I've seriously played with enough building blocks to trust the quality of this design.

John Fox No Longer Denver Broncos Coach. Is Adam Gase Up Next?

All signs point towards the hiring of Adam Gase as the next head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Is Gase Up Next (....and is
 Manning okay with that)?

Why not? By season's end, we not only  came to know who Gase is, we started to forget who John Fox was as well.  Reminder: John Fox is just as afraid of the big moment as is the current starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos.  As a result, John Fox is a former Broncos coach and  Adam Gase, the guy most responsible for the mid-season transformation of the Broncos, is likely to be the guy who takes over.

The loss of Fox doesn't bode well for the future of Jack Del Rio who's vanilla approach to defense gave the best quarterbacks in the league way too much time to think.  These two old school coaches saw Denver as their next best hope for career resurrection and they remained arm and arm throughout the trials of expectation and the travails of coming up short. If reports about John Fox being a candidate for one of the open NFL head coaching positions are true, Del Rio might be well served to follow his friend Fox.  Before Gase, two previous offensive coordinators were gobbled up by the head coaching circuit and Gase will become the third in a row with or without the intervention of Elway who had better hire him or watch him work from another sideline next season.

Gase might become another beneficiary of coaching the great Peyton Manning, but he is also the first coach since Tony Dungy to remind Peyton who the boss is.  Manning has been given such freedom throughout his years as a quarterback that his decision to continue playing, after multiple surgeries on his neck, was as much a function of his support from management as his freedom to "Be Peyton".  Elway offered a reasonable attraction for Manning when it came to managerial support, but he could only continue to allow Peyton to be Peyton to the extent that it fulfilled the larger objective.  Elway's off season focus on the defensive side of the ball should have clarified the larger objective, but Gase had to deliver the message to Manning because Fox simply wasn't smarter than Manning when it came to coordinating offensive attacks.

So Fox had to go.

Fox might not be much smarter than Del Rio either because Denver's vanilla defense rarely found a sprinkle of nuts or candy on top.  Although players seemed supportive of Fox overall, winning was never something they seemed to do for the sake of the coach.  Fox was a great team builder, but an average button pusher in the heat of the moment.  If he gets another job, he will always be forced into great game planning  because on the fly adjustments are not in his wheel house.  Better coaches seem to work circles around Fox who's predictability is becoming legendary.

The real question is whether or not Manning is willing to press on while being pressed down beneath the thumb of head coach Gase?  Despite the obvious success that the run game revealed to Denver Bronco players and fans, Manning seemed to be having less fun at football when the game plan adjustments took the ball out of his hands.  During the playoff loss to the Colts, Manning passed up on 20 yards of open field that would have allowed him to run  (don't laugh) and convert an important third and 5. Instead, Peyton failed to thread the needle to a well covered Emmanuel Sanders.  Those who later claimed that he didn't have the legs to run might have missed the 4 yards that he quickly ran from the middle of the pocket just to attempt the pass to Sanders.

Manning loves to remind you how physically mobile he can be when necessary, but fails to recognize how mentally immobile it reveals him to be from a holistic approach to football.  Manning's mobility is limited to whatever it takes to complete a pass, so the only thing the Colts had to employ against a pass happy Bronco team is the Seattle Seahawks Superbowl blueprint of pressing the outside receivers.  Denver's desperate cry for a healthy Julius Thomas was as much a game plan giveaway as is his presence on the field which immediately denotes something other than a run play.  Thomas, who is notoriously poor at run blocking, became the visual equivalent of an empty backfield for Denver's defensive opponents, and the Colts salivated at the opportunity to make plays when such offensive declarations provided them.

Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson have likely decided that it is time to send all of the old guard out to pasture, not just Denver's aging Bronco, so Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers had best be ready for a real fight in the conference finals.  As for Manning, he is no longer the glue of his team and might soon become the kind of glue that an old horse fears the most.  While the Broncos could use his ability to help them transition into the future, he is likely too proud to finish his career as the game manager that C.J. Anderson and a well stocked defense need him to be, but too old to try and start again somewhere else.  With such an abrupt exit from the playoffs....again, whether or not Manning returns to the field next year is probably a question that even Manning himself has not figured an answer for.

As a matter of decision making, Manning should know that Gase will remain in his face and C.J. will become the chosen Mr. Anderson who fixes this matrix.  Denver also becomes a leading candidate for the acquisition of Jameis Winston(FSU)  or Cordale Jones(OSU), college quarterbacks with the kind of stuff that might impress someone like the great John Elway who has to recognize that his true challenge will be overcoming the great quarterbacks who threaten to own the league for years to come, and that Brock Osweiller is not equal to any of them. Will these great college players fall within the reach of Denver or will Denver be forced to trade (maybe even Manning) for a chance to find its future quarterback?

Stay tuned.

Tony Romo For MVP? The Notion Alone Might Secure Dallas A Crown

For the love of Peyton, I actually started to think of my own team, the Denver Broncos, as Americas new team.  And then the Tony Romo for MVP conversation brought me out of my Mile High cloud.

Make no mistake.  The Dallas Cowboys are, and may forever be Americas team.  The roots of sports fandom run so deep that they create upshoots that appear throughout the world.  Michael Jordan is much more than an American sports hero and the Bulls are the NBA equivalent of the NFL's Cowboys as a result.  Cowboy fans may have quieted themselves over the past decade of mediocrity, but their silence was that of a malignant tumor waiting for any positive sign of the greatness of old.  Winning as the Cowboys have won in the past is a hard elixir to ignore once its sweetness has caressed your palate.

Jerry Jones probably have squeezed the hope out of every chance his team has had to return to the pinnacle of greatness by managing his organization with an iron fist that seldom yields the nectar of champions.  Whether or not his iron fist has finally squeezed out a running game of consequence and a defense that will complement shall unfold in the coming weeks.  Demarco Murray has performed so well that Tony Romo even thinks he is just better at football now. His team clearly didn't trust their MVP quarterback to let him go without the broken hand on Murray who played in yesterdays game with an injury.

So does the emergence of the C.J. Anderson run game in Denver mean Peyton Manning is worse or better as a quarterback because his team is winning without his typical exploits too?  Are we really of the notion that Tony Romo can read defenses better than he used to, and that run game thing is only fortunate to be along for the ride?  Romo has never been a horrible quarterback, and the Dallas Cowboys have never been a horrible team,  They have been consistently projected for greatness because the 8-8 mediocrity simply didn't fit the talent on paper.  The emergence of the Cowboys during this season comes when most of the analyst had given up on the notion of them being anything better than average.

One week ago, the Cowboys were actually on the fence between winning the division or being left out of the playoffs altogether.  That fate fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, but not until last night when the Cowboys trounced the Indianapolis Colts and the Washington Redskins pulled of an upset victory over a conference rival in the Eagles.  Not a moment before that unexpected occurrence has anyone mentioned Tony Romo as a potential MVP and suddenly he is leading the conversation?

The real reason for this debate is the reason Romo and the Cowboys are likely to be one and done in the playoffs.  The true MVP's of the league; Manning, Watt, Gronkowski, Brady, are either playing defense or playing on teams with an exceptional defense backing them.  Seattle titled the axis of power in the league and every team with a great quarterback has had to adjust to the demand of winning from the defensive side of the ball as a result.  Doing this demands an efficient run attack in order to win the TIME OF POSSESSION war that insures great defenses remain great on every play.  Overworking any defense will expose them, which is why the likely odds for a Superbowl matchup will be a Superbowl rematch including the two teams with the best defenses and the best run game/quarterback play to support said run games. (Sorry New England, but Gronkowski can't run the ball too....can he?)

Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch will be assigned to insure that the Legion of Boom remains sonic while Peyton Manning and C.J. Anderson will be responsible for unveiling their defense to a national audience hopeful that the John Elway influence will make this game more entertaining than the last.  I expect Manning to be unleashed in the second half of this years Superbowl game since he will essentially have been under wrap for nearly half of the season, but Wilson is always waiting to unwrap his talents.  If Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray make it through, it will be only because Romo shocked the world and outfoxed the defending champion Hawks, which I consider highly unlikely. If the lack of D in Dallas forces Romo to open up again and take the kind of chances that typically produced Cowboy mediocrity, the Legion of Boom (or some other playoff team) will spell his doom.

Foreshadowing the NFL.  Romo wins MVP while Broncos
and Seahawks repeat last years matchup.

Denver has the D to win it all, but Denver's defense will need to be other worldly because the wheels and skills of Wilson are slowly elevating themselves to a realm that we may have never witnessed in one player.  Elway had great mobility and an arm to boot, but even he couldn't make people miss so eloquently as does Wilson.  The end game ability of Wilson is a direct by-product of his willingness to win ugly or win off of the exploits of his run game and his defense, if need be.

Absent any lasting injuries to either teams key players, this match up is virtually etched in stone to my eyes.  Even the offensive barrage that I see happening in the second half of this epic Superbowl rematch lives in my imagination like a foreshadowed prophecy.  I fear the Seahawks quarterback more than I trust my own, but thanks to the Denver  D, the Broncos will avenge their loss by winning the Superbowl, but one day prior, Tony Romo will be named MVP of the league even though he won't make it to the Superbowl along the way(voting happens at the end of the regular season).

Barring an exceptional final game performance from one of the other top five MVP alternatives to Romo, Romo will win MVP because America's team won't be home for post-Christmas revelry this year. Romo will win it because every other candidate will have reasons why they haven't outshined an opportunity to recognize America's team again.  The Cowboys and Tony Romo will truly be lucky to even win one playoff game with the weaknesses in their defense, but Romo might still be handed an MVP trophy; not because he deserves it, but America's team does.  



POSTSCRIPT:

While listening to Dan Patrick talk about the belligerence of Marshawn Lynch, who chose to answer every  post-game question from reporters, with the words "thanks for asking that question", and nothing more, Patrick declared that Lynch should be suspended.  I wonder if DanPatrick thinks Bill Belichick or Greg Popovich or even Phil Jackson during his zen moments should be fired for being belligerent towards the media?

I think not.


ONE MORE THING!

Can't wait to watch the (6-9)Atlanta Falcons and the (6-9)Carolina Panthers fight for the division crown next week.   #dontchangeAthing

Peyton Manning Who? Defending the Gospel of John

Just a quick reminder.

Peyton Manning is the quarterback that threw all of those passes to the league leading receiving duo, Demarius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.  Add the early season exploits of Julius Thomas who dominated touchdown receptions even afer he was out for several weeks with injury and Manning was setting a pace to annihilate the record books that he already destroyed  last season.

Another quick reminder.

During those games I boldly declared the Denver Broncos defense to be the most complete and therefore BEST defense of them all.  As it stands today, Denver's D ranks #4, but no other team with a top 5 defense has the top receiving corp as well.  With national concern raging over the spiritual transformation of the Broncos, skeptics who question this type of miraculous change quickly pursue reasonable explanations as to how sinners can become saints and how Manning has relented to the "run the ball", defensive Gospel of John.

C.J. Anderson's has evoked claims of blasphemy towards those who dare call him another Terrell Davis, but the numbers and the first defender who keeps falling on their face makes you wonder if C.J. (Christ Jesus?..) is the hope of Denver's football salvation. The Gospel of John included the potential to strike you with a timely pass in between T.D.'s exploits, but it also might have involved a quarterback sneak or two just to remind you of who was the Hall of Fame player and who was not.

In Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos ran the ball all the way down field and within 2 yards of scoring a touchdown, and tried their best to let their Hall of Fame QB finish it off in the only way that he can.  It resulted in a 3 point score instead of a touchdown, but it mostly resulted in a deepening question of "what's wrong with Peyton" and what happened to the flag football team that he use to be the leader of?

Is his arm finally showing the results of age?  Is he injured in some way that the team doesn't care to reveal so they've been babying his ailments with the support of a run game? What gives?

The real question that fuels this concern is whether or not the Broncos can win it all with or without the finely tuned weapon of their lead gunslinger and will he have rusty bullets when it comes time to pull the trigger in a real gun fight?

Will Manning frown his way to a championship victory?

With all due respect to everything that he has accomplished in the league, and for my team over the past few season's, SCREW PEYTON MANNING.  He had better be glad that Father John Elway had the foresight to compile the BEST DEFENSE IN THE LEAGUE.  If  Aqib Talib is actually healthy again and can bring his field knowledge to bear in the takeaway game then we are even better than I expected when I first made the claim.  Talib's defensive player of the week selection (8 tackles and 1 interception) says he is. Had the Broncos chosen to prepare for December and January football when they were still lighting up the skies, Denver's defense would easily rank at the top of the league. The fact that they are 4th in defense and  are the most dangerous offensive team in the league is exactly what Father John envisioned.  If he had to place the championship hopes of  his team into the palms of an old quarterback, he probably would rather put a uniform on himself.

Manning's dismal results in the playoffs are worthy of consideration and alternative planning.  Some guys are simply way too wired for success to properly embrace it at significant moments.  Having the courage to fail miserably is the pinnacle of true success.  Manning simply doesn't seem comfortable enough with failure to pull the best out of himself when the risk of failure is at its zenith.  He is hardly alone in this malady since very few us are able to rise above our greatest fears without choking up a bit, but Manning is on track to be considered the most accomplished choker of all-time.

Father John could pursue the doctrine of Thomas (Julius or Demarius) and he certainly saw the value of Emmanuel (Sanders) and C.J. (don't call me Christ Jesus) Anderson, but all of these valuable pieces of the puzzle are not the focal point of the picture.  Denver's defense is where the money was spent and where the future lies.  Brandon Marshall will need to hurry back and continue to remind us that we forgot all about Danny Trevathan, the player he so capably replaced, but super safety T.J. Ward is a special player that can plug that hole a bit until Marshall returns to the line-up.  Ward is certain to repeat as a Pro Bowl selection and might need to be locked up long term similar to the way Chris Harris Jr. was locked up with a long term contract.

Every week seems to be a new question of who is best, the front 4 or the secondary.  Denver's secondary took a lead after last week, but due to the consistency up front, the debate rages on.

What is no longer worthy of debate is the Gospel of John.  This is a formula for victory and now, only backsliding will pull this team from their destiny.  Denver might have to travel through New England to win  it all, but they seem unafraid of the journey because defense and run games travel very nicely.

Thanks for everything Peyton, but the more we forget about you the better.

Coach Fox and Coach Manning Confess Their Faults. Is Father John Watching?

Analyzing coach speak is an art of a particular kind.  Sometimes you are forced to digest the bits and pieces of crumbs that come from the tight fisted, poker players like Belichick in New England or like John Fox used to be before last weeks butt kicking by the Patriots.

When you do a proper assessment of the Broncos, you have to listen closely to all of the coaches because they don't actually share a unified voice out in dove valley.  Their head coach and dude in charge, #18, has loads of NFL records including being the quarterback to run for the fewest yards in the history of earth.  He may seem unflappable at times, but he uses his distinguished accomplishments to snub his nose at the critics.  My point is not to deny Peyton Manning the right to snub his nose at me or anybody who denies his greatness.  My assessment of this coach is that, good or bad, he is listening to everything that is being said about him.

What does that mean?

"Running the ball is football religion.  Nothing is more
powerful than something you can not stop." - Elwayian Proverb

If Manning has decided to NEVER run the ball HIMSELF, it is a conscious snub for certain.  Had Manning NEVER won a Superbowl like his coach John Fox, he might be compelled to listen to him. He does not.

Or maybe he does, in which case Fox is overriding Adam Gase, the Offensive Coordinator who notoriously met Manning out on field several weeks ago because he kept emptying the backfield and  declaring the run game...or the lack thereof.  The humility to run the ball week in and week out will be the most uncomfortable career experience that Manning shall endure on his way to a championship season.  He can endure a game or two of ball control offense, but under stress (ie., any game against the Patriots/Belichick/Brady) Manning reverts to his comfort zone.

Gase has finally introduced himself recently in the nature of the running attack that started to become the buzz of the NFL up until last week.  Coach Manning and Coach Fox both quickly took ownership for their failure to execute the age old formula for winning tough games on the road; run the ball and control the clock.  Coach Gase seems to be in good graces\ with the doctrine of John (Elway), so he is the only voice in the news this week that's is blaming poor execution on the field and not himself like the other two coaches have suddenly begun doing.

Few should have expected the Broncos to go on the road and win that game, but the surety of the run attack that they had developed in the previous games was reminiscent of high level little league football with the 3 or 4 teams that have a quarterback that can pass.  The teams that pass too much rarely win the Superbowl, even in little league, while teams that never pass seem to get shocked by a timely passes in here and there.  Whether little league or NFL, balance is the key to the chess match, and the chess match is the key to the crown.

No matter how ugly the page, every team has to be on the same sheet of paper to truly be successful.  Elway wrote the script for championship journey's at the latter stages of one's quarterbacking career. His doctrine is law and he is not leaving it to chance that EVERYONE, including coaches, recognizes the plan.  Paying for one high profile defensive player is a nice addition- adding three is a definitive statement to the entire league.  Emmanuel Sanders might prove to be the best free agent acquisition, but he was a less expensive swap that happened to work out.  This team was built to play defense and defensive approaches begin with  the run game.

The Broncos had better return to a run-first, defensive approach or Coach Fox and Coach Manning will be sounding more and more like they are preaching the Gospel of John.  Elway is a "no excuse" kind of person and the compulsion to take ownership for your own crap is Elwayian for certain.  The more Manning and Fox face the music says they've spent time in Father John's confessional box.  And what did Father John prescribe for his flag football loving quarterback and the coach who allows it?

Tell the world how bad you played in the game, even though you produced nearly 500 yards, and tell assistant coach Fox to review the Seattle Superbowl tapes in which his team didn't even step off of the plane, and then both of you take ownership for fixing the problems instead of doing your customary asshole interviews.

If this team needs a divine intervention to make it all the way, father John is going to do his part. To that I say, Amen.

Denver Broncos Defense Making A Name With No Name Players

We spent a full season slobbering over the other worldly exploits of the Manning they call Peyton

When Manning is long gone..I'll be stuck on the Broncos

, but remain curious as to whether he will shake the label that keeps his little brother (and dad) in the debate as the greatest Manning quarterback of all time.  So long as that debate rages on, this Bronco fan is focusing on the team that I will love and support long after Peyton decides to poop or get off the pot. That being said, it is time that we share some of the same adoration saliva that we spilled on Manning and lather it all over our defense.

Ready for some drooling?

The Denver defense is proving to me that they are the best in the league.  Yeah, I said it!  The best in the league.

You need proof?  Well, I don't have the actual film review that play graders use when evaluating performance, but trust me when I tell you that I watch the game VERY closely.  My expertise may be in basketball, but my passion is the Broncos from as far back as I can remember.  In my own football humility, I sat quietly in the background over the years that the great "shut down" cornerbacks like Deion Sanders and Darrell Green ruled the roost. There became a great debate over who dictates QB pressure, the pass rush or the cover corners who buy time for the rush?  By the time the debate came to an exhausted conclusion, it became clear that no one had a definitive answer for why great pass rushers can create pressure or why great cover guys force QB's to only see half of the field.

Bradley Roby made the grade...and Kayvon Webster into a forgotten backup

This fly on that proverbial wall did not leave that conversation without taking notes about football, and for years I have been imagining the team that could do both.  Yeah, I know you think Seattle has that team, but they don't.  These guys are stout up front and mean in the secondary, but they can be burned in one-on-one coverage, and the film has forced every team towards that approach when playing the Seahawks (who fell to the Dallas Cowboys yesterday).

Do you remember a Bronco named Kayvon Webster?
 If you forgot about this guy, who played well for the Broncos in the Superbowl last year, it is because of another cat that we are getting to know, despite rarely getting to hear his name.  Bradley Roby could be exactly what we thought we drafted, and it might have already clicked in for this dominant, starting rookie.  If Roby is good than Chris Harris Jr. is great, and his stature among DB's in the league says that Denver already has a top 5 cornerback.  Aqib Talib and TJ Ward are footnotes in this paragraph because of the dominance of my first two examples, but I guarantee you that both New England  and Cleveland are sad when they witness what their former players are now doing in Denver.

Who is Quanterus Smith, and is he the reason Vonn Miller is back already?

The secondary will only get better, but they are not nearly as dominant as the front four is right now, so forget about those guys for now.

Demarcus Ware and Vonn Miller?!  Nuff said.  Terrance Knighton will go to the Pro Bowl because NO ONE can run against the Broncos.  He might take Derek Wolfe with him after yesterday because there was a definite Wolfe sighting in New York.

But forget about those guys too.

Who is this Smith dude that had to come into the game when Vonn Miller got his bell rung?  When I witnessed Vonn falling a try to stay up, I was curious about who would fill that spot, and if the Jets would instantly attack the Broncos with Miller missing.  The very next play after Vonn went  out resulted in a Demarcus Ware sack.  Ware got credit for the sack, but Mr. Smith created the pressure that forced it to happen.

By the time I Googled to find the name Quanterus Smith connected to #93 of the Broncos, I started to shake my head at the embarrassment of riches.  Quanterus Smith is the easiest explanation to why Vonn Miller got his game back so quickly, and why he tried to stay in the game when he got his bell rung.  This unknown dude can play and seems more powerful than Miller, which allows him to create pressure without compromising his lane assignment.  The New York Jets defense was rather impressive as well, but they seemed emboldened by the exploits of the best defensive coach in the game with Rex Ryan.  Any time you make it tough to score, you  indirectly make it easier for your offense to score by giving the ball back to them over and over again.  Sometimes good defenses will stifle scoring, other times it forces frenetic scoring patterns like it did in New York against the Jets.

What separates the good defenses from the great ones is the ability to take the ball away, and that has yet to become a trademark of Denver's D.  In New England, they teach this skill to a level that nearly neutralizes their defensive weaknesses, but gamblers always crap out eventually. If Denver never improves in this area, it will only matter if we continue to put the ball on the ground while trying to develop a solid run game.  The turnover battle does not really have to be won, it simply cannot be lost.

After 6 weeks of football, it might be a bit early to determine who the best defense in the league really is, but thus far, I will take the Denver defense over any of them for both current performance and immense upside.    The better your defense performs, the more likely any coach is to honor their efforts with a solid run game.  Since the Broncos finally got a 100+ yard rushing performance, Fox will have to finally honor to the new MVP of Denver and give them the respect, and consistent run support that great defenses demand.

Broncos Star QB Must Recognize Denver's Defense As The MVP

What's up with Peyton's fourth quarter production.

Every attempt that we keep making to answer the question about Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos seems to leave us more clarified about the competition and not the home team or its leader.

Much like the first two weeks, Manning has finished a really close game with no reason for anyone to believe that he is the game closer that will be necessary for the final climb to the top.  This Superbowl rematch started out eerily similar to the original game.  Much like the Superbowl, Denver's improved defense gave Peyton time to decide if he wanted to show up or not.  Another fumble on our opening offensive play shut down Denver's confidence in Montee' Ball and running the ball with Ball.  In a wild stroke of luck, Ronnie Hilman actually resurfaced early in the game, even though he was inserted to give Peyton another passing weapon (screen out of the backfield) and not a reliable running attack.

By games end, the Broncos had settled on 20 running plays versus the 47 running plays that San Diego used a week prior to upset the Superbowl champs.  Granted, the Chargers were lucky enough to do it on home turf, but their blueprint was never designed to yield humongous yards on the ground.  No self respecting defense would ever give up too many yards on the ground anyway.  The commitment to running is like making slow love.  It may take a while to yield the benefits, but its well worth the patience shown.  Three years and three weeks into the Manning experiment, and the Broncos are still full of quick triggered, youthful exuberance, but lack the wisdom of experience.  Their defensive effort in last nights game was similar to that of the Superbowl, but failed offensive series after failed offensive series is likely to run any defense into the ground, even an improved one.

Three weeks into the season and John Fox is also continuing to use the same 'tired' excuse as an explanation for shoddy play down the stretch.  Fox has yet to explain the lack of offensive execution late in games that has made the first three games such an adventure, or assign his QB's fourth quarter departures as the reason for the dilapidated defense in Denver that he  does keep referring to.  Its likely that Fox is just another well paid talking head who understands football, gains the love and respect of his players with a jovial, laid back personality, but can not hold the leader of his team to the highest level of expectation- which Manning is so apt to do when other players fail to execute.  Is there no one in the Bronco organization to tell the quarterback to step your end game production up?

At the conclusion of last nights defeat in Seattle, Denver cornerback Chris Harris Jr. tweeted a comment that Russell Wilson is better than Luck, referring to Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts.  If Harris Jr. had the courage to tweet such a comment about two up and coming QB's in the league, what do you think he feels about the old guy he has on own team?  Both Luck and Wilson show late game execution that Manning lacks since so many defenses are certain that he will ONLY sit in the pocket and pass when the game is on the line.  Harris Jr. might be right about his evaluation of Wilson, but he might also be admitting what is starting to become clear about Manning.

The Broncos would love to win it all on the backs of their best player, but they simply have overestimated how good he actually is.  Manning will always be knowledgeable enough of the game to make average teams pay dearly, but against the best of the best, Manning becomes mortal.  In fact, he is pretty average. If you can remember the last time he ran for a first down against pocket pressure you might have witnessed the first time as well.  In some ways, it is remarkable how well the Broncos perform on offense given the fact that they can be forced into predictability so easily. .

Harris Jr. wasn't out of bounds with his comment.  Wilson is special, and capable of winning it all once again.  It is not as though he has skills that are beyond that of most QB's in the league (although his ball fakes are legendary).  In fact, his lack of physical stature actually leaves him at a disadvantage compared to the average NFL QB.  Wilson makes up for every shortcoming in his game, and in his team, by squeezing the life out of his own potential.  When you watch Wilson make plays, it makes you wonder why he doesn't do more of the same throughout the course of the game.  Why doesn't he ignore the run game and Marshawn Lynch?  Lynch performed well last night, but was held below his normal production by a stingy Broncos run defense. Lynch finished the game with only 88 yards on 26 carries, or 3.38 yards per carry, but scored the game clinching touchdown in overtime.

Wilson only passed for 255 yards on 35 attempts, yet the formula for a Seahawk's victory will rarely include 300+ passing yards when balance and patience are their agenda.  Denver did acquit themselves better in the final scoring, but they did not show themselves truly competitive throughout the game, except on defense. If  Wilson is better than Luck then he probably is more capable than Manning too at this point in each players career.  No matter how you size up these players in a head to head comparison, Wilson is not the MVP of the Seahawks team, just as Manning isn't that for Denver.

For both of these Superbowl contenders, the collective defense is the MVP of each team, and it will be the team that relies on its defense the most that will win the next match up, which most expect to be for all the marbles.  When the game mattered most, Wilson grabbed the reigns and kept his defense from being needed,  however, it was his reliance on them throughout the game that made it possible.  Denver was an overtime away from a 3-0 start to a season in which their star quarterback has yet to outplay his competition.  Scoring is down in Denver, offensive production is sporadic, and the Broncos still appear to be the team most likely to take on Seattle in the end.

WHY?

If the current signs are legitimate, Denver has fielded the most impressive defense in its storied history and very few people are talking about them as the real hope that the Broncos have to capture the crown.  Manning has to see how impressive his defense has performed, but, thus far, seems to be the most unaware Bronco in the stable. The defense might be growing weary late in games, but to these tired eyes, it is totally on Manning whose style of play says that he still thinks of himself as the primary key to victory.

Manning, Luck Horse Race Gets A New Chapter. Broncos By A Nose

It will be great for Denver when Peyton Manning finally gets that second championship that has eluded him for so many years.  Only then will we ever get back to a sense of normalcy.

What does normal look like in the world of NFL football?  It looks like fans of teams that win opening round games against the hottest young quarterback in the world, accepting the win for its value and not parsing it into the meaning of life.  This is only football people, and WE Bronco fans won the game. In last years horse race, the Colt won by a nose.  This season, the Bronco exacted revenge, but this rivalry is destined to produce a tight horse race every time, despite the lofty expectations created by so many off season free agent acquisitions in Denver.

In the end, the regular old drafted rookie that doesn't cost so many millions like a free agent, was the player who saved the day.  In hindsight, rookie cornerback Bradley Roby was the key player in more ways than one final stop.  Not only did Roby knock down a key fourth down pass intended for future Hall of Fame receiver Reggie Wayne, he made a third down, goal line, one on one tackle that lead to a fourth down, goal line stop as well. With vaunted cornerback Chris Harris Jr. operating on limited minutes as he returns to action from off season surgery, back up Tony Carter seemed ill-equipped to step up to the challenge of the large Colt receivers (Carter had just given up a touch down to the Colts on the previous series). The fact that the rookie Roby was placed one on one with Wayne in the first place is as impressive as the play he made against him.

Let ESPN's Sportscenter tell the story, Manning was the same stellar performer last night that lit up the stat sheets and the highlight reel most of last season.  He certainly had his fair share of moments, but none were saved until the waning minutes of a this very close game.  When the game was on the line, Andrew Luck, not Manning, made the more spectacular plays.  For an athlete who's career has been defined by regular season greatness and post season meltdowns, late game departures should add to the negative knock against Manning.  It feels like national journalist' often pre-write their expectation of an outcome and slightly deviate the transcript if game results demand.  Since Denver held on for the victory that most anticipated, and Bradley Roby was not the expected hero in the pre-write, he becomes an added footnote in a story that deserves a deeper look beneath the surface.

These Broncos are better than last years Broncos, but not a whole lot better (yet). They have better talent but not better chemistry (yet). Creating chemistry is challenging for sure, because finding that proper chemical mix for maximum impact takes trial and error.  In the first trial of the season, there were plenty of errors to point out.  The Denver Broncos still do not insist on ball control when the quality of opposing quarterback clearly calls for time of possession versus speed of scoring connections. Was that part of the game plan or did the Colts force Denver to look just like they did the past two seasons?

Laser sharp passers will always be able to rise above imperfect offensive execution, but they can not change the primordial rules of football. Passing is predictably risky, so running the ball and great defense is the only reliable route to a championship.  Running the ball and demanding yards against a defense that is committed to stopping the run is offensive domination.  Passing your way up the field provides a lot of fanfare and hype, but, even when succesful, gives the ball back to the opponent way too quickly to be an effective approach against the best of quarterbacks.

Like Andrew Luck, for example.

It may not be this season, and probably not even next, but Luck will be called the best of them all one day.  Whether that extends itself into the realm of all time greatness or just the greatest of this era is the story football fans are watching unfold before our eyes.  During last nights game, the Bronco's best hits on Luck never made me wince in pain like I do every time Peyton takes another whack from the defense.  Andrew Luck is the closest marriage I can imagine between the quarterback that we have now, and the one who wrote the Bronco legend, John Elway.  He has the best physical and mental attributes of each of these great players and is destined to share in championship revelry along with the great QB's of NFL history.

Will Luck's championship journey begin this season?

In my eyes, the Broncos just played against the team that they will be forced to overcome in order to return to the big dance.  Luck is a legend in the making, and ironically, Manning may need to ride the back of his old team and its new leading Colt to secure his own legendary QB status.  What better way for Peyton to ride into the sunset than getting the best of a story book rivalry between the former Colt turned Bronco, and the Colt's new thoroughbred who is already sticking his nose into the race of all-time great quarterbacks?

Last nights game was another chapter in the lore of Luck .vs. Manning mania; players inextricably linked by their equestrian lineage, their quarterbacking journey's, and the race to be the greatest stallion of all-time. The Bronco's victory insured that we would not have a triple crown winner and added Manning to a list, along side Brett Favre, of quarterbacks who have beaten every team in the league.  To Manning, that is only an accomplishment that speaks to how old you are, not how great.  Yet, getting this victory was a lot bigger than simply growing old.

Minus a couple significant plays from Roby, Luck might have kept his triple crown hopes alive since the two teams will likely see each other in the playoffs this year.  Now, Luck must look forward to that playoff game for a chance at redemption. This Bronco fan is not excited about being the team that has to keep Luck from happening because it seems clear to me that he will be the last man standing.

The consistent end game heroics of Luck make his prospects much more than luck.

This is fate.

POSTSCRIPT;  NO SHOWS = Vonn Miller, Derek Wolfe and the promised quarterback pressure that all of those expensive free agents were supposed to provide.

Demarcus Ware did show his immense talent, but seemed alone except for a few coordinated blitzes that brought linebacker pressure.

Congratulations to the much maligned Raheem Moore who set a goal to lead the NFL in interceptions and got two to start the year.

Denver Broncos Hopes Tied To Change At Offensive Coordinator

Last season has come and gone (I think), and a new season has begun for the expectant Denver Broncos and their fans.  Two seasons ago, it was a bird from Baltimore that poked us in the tail feather just when it appeared we had overcome those pesky Ravens. Last seasons massacre by the hands of a different bird has almost erased the memories from Baltimore, but its possible that Bronco fans have never forgotten anything. Could that Jacksonville Jaguar defeat from the Elway years still be fresh on the brain of some?


HOPE AND CHANGE

While spending holiday time with family recently, we found ourselves embroiled in the typical, preseason Obama campaign that happens across the NFL called Hope and Change.  This is where teams begin the season hoping they can figure out why they did not win it all, and changing as much as needed to be the last team standing.  In preseason, every team is a potential champion, at least in the eyes of the fans who support them.  With that in mind, preseason arguments are usually the best of them all.  Everybody has a pretty good point at that point of the year.  Sadly, I could hardly mount a credible defense for my team during this recent family tirade.  Even with a few family defectors in the house (a Cowboy and a Raider fan at that) I still couldn't jump and scream for the home team because I was also feeling some of the same pain that sent those other family members over to the dark sides they now inhabit.

Last season just wasn't what I had hoped for, but hope was certainly in the formula.  Many have been calling for a change in the way that we do business in Denver for a long time, but no one seems willing to tell Peyton Manning. Everyone must subject themselves to the constraints of a system, but as of yet, the only system that I can decipher from the Manning lead Broncos is the same system that Manning has incorporated for the entirety of his career. The evidence of the guy that our team pays to fulfill the role of offensive coordinator remains hidden behind the audible leaning Manning, who seems incapable of getting out of the way of his immediate boss, the offensive coordinator.

I was watching the Rocky Mountain Showdown game between crosstown rivals CU and CSU. Entering the second quarter with a 7 point lead, the CU Buffaloes had marched down the field with an abundance of run plays and bubble screens to one of their hard running receivers.  When the ball had moved all the way inside of the CSU Rams 5 yard line, CU proceeded to run the ball 4 times in a row, but had to settle for a field goal as the Ram defense held strong.  Despite their failure, the Buffs and their offensive play caller had established an identity of unpredictability that will bode well as the season progresses. Should they have allowed the quarterback to go back to what got them up the field so well?  If CU were the Broncos, I can guarantee you we would never see the ball completely removed from the hands of the quarterback.  In fact, it is more likely that any defense facing Manning will employ a  formation designed to stop the run, trying to lure Manning to call the audible against it. He still might burn you, but he certainly doesn't leave you baffled as to what branding iron did the job.

The art of being unpredictable is what makes an offensive coordinator stand out in the crowd.  In a game most typically described as a chess match, predictability is never a positive trait. Considering all of the things that Peyton Manning is, unpredictable has never really been one of his traits.  If the Broncos are to rise to the top of the mountain, they need to destroy the Manning blueprint that every team in the league (not just the Seahawks) seems to own a copy of.  If they can't stand to do it during the regular season, then they had better plan to alter the image a bit come playoff time.

Ouch!  Its getting hard to be a long time Bronco fan.

Much of what made the Broncos great during the championship years was the ability to consistently give the ball to the running backs, since no self respecting team could ever take their focus away from John Elway, the trigger man, even though his trigger had obviously started to rust over.


Manning could be in a similar state of decline, but he may not have the humility to adjust.  This is why good teams employ great coaches to make the kind of decisions that great players could never make for themselves. Legends don't place themselves out to pasture and they rarely adjust their temperament.  That is typically done for them or to them.  For Elway to finally sip from the cup, he had to humbly revert to the quarterback that played under Dan Reeves for so many stifling seasons; resisting audibles and continuing to pound the rock so that the Mike Shanahan/Gary Kubiak roll out, play action play could have its greatest impact.  Whether it worked or not, and it usually did, we had an identity and it was clearly one that was NOT oozing from the pores of its team leader and quarterback.

Who is this guy, and why don't we know him more?

If I could have spelled the name of the man you are looking at right now, then I would have jumped into that family argument with confidence.  I am a nerd of the spelling bee order (7th grade champ), so spelling names correctly is never something I take a laissez-faire attitude towards.  When I typed the name "Adam Gast" trying to find information on the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, I was despondent to discover that Google spelled the name "Gase".  (I had better edit an old post in which his name is mentioned.)

This guy, I mean, Adam Gase, is the only problem that I see with the prospect of a Superbowl championship for my team. Elway has assembled a Peyton proof defense that will likely give Manning all of the chances he needs to triangulate his laser sharp approach to dismantling defenses. Even with all of that to look forward to, I could only sit quietly and listen to family members who's butts still ache from being kicked by the Denver donkeys that should have won so much more, but have a resume of failure that is bigger than the legendary career of John Elway.  Elway authored most of those failed attempts, so even his legacy remains tarnished by the losing. Failure can foster humility, especially failure in the last game of the season, so Elway has ample reason for the changes he forced upon himself in the waning years of his legendary career. Manning knows failure, but most of it happens before the final game of the season is ever played.  The rub on Manning has been how infrequently he's even made it to the final game of the season.

And so......will the real Adam Gase please stand up?  Three years into his tenure as offensive coordinator and we still have no clue about what represents Gase football.  We wouldn't catch his face in a crowd or recognize his voice if we heard it.  This man is an utter mystery, and the fact that we still do not know him will be the reason the Broncos storm through the regular season and the playoffs, only to be outwitted by an NFC defense (they all are good) that knows the true offensive coordinator is Manning.

Maybe, just maybe, the Broncos have a crafty plan to keep Gase bottled up for another regular season and unveil him in the playoffs so that teams do not have enough time to decipher whose play calling nature will bear fruit for the Broncos and their leery fan base.  After all, if you have waited this long to get to know your community, then it doesn't make sense to give away your secret identity now and allow opponents to bank some highly tactical information.

If Gase is too small a man to impart his will, and his system, then I am disappointed that I have wasted this post on such an insignificant figure.  As the Broncos continue along the path that Manning has established since coming to town, Gase needs to consider sharing his paycheck with the Hall of Fame QB since he has already given Manning all of the credit for Denver's offensive glory.  Even the blame for the Superbowl meltdown has eluded Gase who was responsible for making the fix, yet never received blame for the fix that did not arrive.

Of all of the new faces in the crowd of the 2014 Broncos, 3rd year offensive coordinator, Adam Gase is the newest of them all.  Gase has been in Denver since 2009, a former QB coach hold over from the Josh McDaniels era, so the man has tenure that even
precedes the coach he works for, and still we don't know who he is.

This season, that will change.....I hope.