The football world just flew off its axis!!! The soap opera has ended!!! The drama is over!!! Peyton Manning is heading to the Denver Broncos!!! Reportedly, the deal will be around 5-years, $96 million. But wait, the Denver Broncos already have a starting QB? They have Tim Tebow!!! Reportedly, Tim Tebow is now on the trading block and if a deal can’t be reached with a trading partner; then the Broncos will outright release him. Thanks for playing!!!
There are several angles to the Peyton Manning, Tebowmania soap opera that we should all look at. The Broncos’ brass, largely influenced by GM John Elway, was never comfortable with Tebow as their franchise starting QB, but knew they could never get rid of or bench him because of the strong support and following of Tebow Nation. There would be a huge backlash from Broncos fans and Tebow Nation if they ever did so. And while John Elway gave Tebow a vote of confidence by saying that he “earned the right” to be the Broncos starting QB heading into training camp next season, they were always looking for an out. One landed in their laps in Peyton Manning. What better way of ridding themselves of Tebow as their starting QB than by bringing in Peyton Manning. How could anyone argue with this?
I’ll admit I’m a Tim Tebow fan and apologist. Despite his tremendous ups and his equally tremendous downs, I’ve said on this forum that I think Tebow will be a good QB in the NFL and have a very successful career when he finally figures it out and puts his skill-set all together. There is no denying the fact that his will to succeed and win, along with his uncanny self-belief, compensate for his misgivings, and I am confident that he will eventually overcome those. Peyton Manning however, is one of my favorite football players in the game today; and when you have an opportunity to add a QB who is top 10, if not top 5, of all-time – I repeat top 10 or top 5 of all-time - you cannot pass that up. For all the love Bronco Nation has for Tim Tebow, they should be jumping out of their saddles and welcoming Peyton with open arms and should consider themselves lucky to have him as their QB. This is a great football move for the Denver Broncos. This is of course barring Peyton checks out medically, but I’m going to assume that if you are going to give him $90 mill+, he checks out medically.
It was no secret that many teams inquired and flirted with the idea of bringing in Peyton Manning to be their starting QB. You had the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, New York Jet;, but in the end, only three teams emerge as the favorites: Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, and the Denver Broncos. Let’s see what each team had to offer Peyton.
Tennessee Titans – Personally, this is where I thought Peyton Manning would land. There is no question that the State of Tennessee has a love affair with Peyton Manning. He played his collegiate ball here; however it must be noted that he never beat their rival, the Florida Gators, and never won a National Championship or Heisman Trophy. But Peyton has a legacy in Tennessee, and a street named after him in Knoxville. He could go back there, play out his remaining years of football in Nashville, and then probably run for Governor if he wanted too. But if winning and getting to the Super Bowl are Peyton’s biggest priorities, than the Titans are the farthest team he should consider of the three. Despite being offered a “contract for life,” whatever that means, the Titans have very little to offer Peyton, football wise. Their offensive line is horrid at run-blocking, ranking 31st in the NFL at rushing offense, and that is with CJ2K as their starting RB. They will however be getting Kenny Britt back at WR after missing the year with a knee injury. Their defense was average at best and they just lost their best CB in Cortland Finnegan to free agency. I think the issue here for Peyton was that the Titans play in the same division as his old team, the Indianapolis Colts, and I think Peyton didn’t want to have to go back to Indy every year to face them and their new QB and his replacement, Andrew Luck. Peyton doesn’t seem like the type of guy who wants to “stick it” to his old organization.
San Francisco 49ers – Oh, what could have been!!! If winning and getting to the Super Bowl were Peyton’s highest priorities, than signing with the 49ers should have been a no-brainer for Peyton. The 49ers were a “punt return fumble off a knee” away from making the Super Bowl last season. If the 49ers could have converted at least one 3rd down conversion (I don’t count the one they did converted, since it came on the last play of the game), they could have been playing in the Super Bowl last season. The 49ers are bringing back every starter on a Super Bowl caliber defense, ranked #1 in the NFL; plus they went out and added Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to their WR core. Peyton would have had plenty of weapons in his arsenal to throw too and an offensive line that could protect him. What the issue here was power. Harbaugh calls the plays, Harbaugh schemes the offensive game plan, its Harbaugh’s show. And as 49er fans, we are ok with this. As the saying goes, “IN HARBAURGH WE TRUST!” I don’t think Peyton wanted to operate in that type of system. He likes to call the plays at the line of scrimmage while assessing and reading the defensive scheme pre-snap. Additionally, I don’t think Peyton wanted to deal with the pressure and expectations of winning a Super Bowl right away, especially after having missed an entire season with his neck injury. If Peyton would have signed with the 49ers and they didn’t make or win the Super Bowl, it would have been seen as a disappointment and major second guessing would then occur. That is one headache I think Peyton didn’t want to have to deal with.
Denver Broncos – The winner of the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. The Denver Broncos had an amazing run that stretched from the middle of the season when they finally came to their senses and started Tim Tebow over Kyle Orton, lasted thru a playoff run at the end of the season, culminated with a miraculous playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and ended with a blowout lost to the New England Patriots. There was much debate about who should be credited with the Broncos unforgettable season last year. The obvious choice would be Tebowmania, since he was the QB; but let’s not forget that the Broncos defense played out of their minds during that stretch run. Also, Head Coach John Fox completely re-tooled his offense on the fly to accommodate Tebow. While that offense worked, many thought it couldn’t stand the test of time. With Peyton now as his QB, Coach Fox can run the pro-style offense he wants to run, and he gets to do it with Peyton Manning. But does Peyton Manning make them a Super Bowl contender instantly? They play in a weak AFC West division that, even with Tebow as their QB, the Broncos probably would have won. But in order to make the jump to be in the discussion of being a Super Bowl caliber team, the Broncos will have to fix the glaring holes they have at WR and on defense. The Broncos will need to address getting Peyton another target at WR and they also need a run-stopping DT. They could also use help in the secondary by adding another CB. We’ll have to wait and see what comes next via free agency and the draft. One thing is for sure, the Broncos just became that much more attractive to play for if you are a free agent, and they aren’t that far from Super Bowl contention.
Time will tell whether or not this was the right direction to go in for the Denver Broncos. It will take some time for Bronco Nation and Tebow Nation to get use to the fact that he will not be the Broncos starting QB and it’s very possible that he won’t be a starting QB for any team this coming season. The Broncos now have a massive PR situation that they will need to defuse and there will be somewhat of a revolt against the Broncos from their own fans and Tebow supporters, but as they say, “winning cures all.” But if the Broncos were truly never committed to Tebowmania as their QB, the only another QB out there right now who could come in and make this transition for John Elway and the Broncos, with minimal PR damage, is Peyton Manning. Manningmania trumps Tebowmania!!!
Mr. Armchair Speaking –
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