Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Man-ning for the Job

Magic wasn't good enough to keep him. A win over the Steelers wasn't enough to say "Here are the keys." The wind-up, the feet, the percentage, etc didn't help Tim Tebow either. From the second the clock hit 0:00 in a loss to the New England Patriots, Tebow was doomed. Everything that happened this season led to an unimaginable win for the Broncos.
Once upon a time the Colts traded #1 overall pick John Elway to the Denver Broncos because he refused to play for the Colts, and now nearly 30 years later Denver received another gift from the Indianapolis Colts in QB Peyton Manning. As soon as he hit the open market, Denver Broncos VP of Football Operations John Elway knew, if he could land Manning, the Broncos could be a force again.  Today the Broncos officially signed Manning to a 5 year/$96 million deal; he was then introduced as the new QB for the Broncos. Since Elway became the VP of Football Operations he has said he wants a Pocket Passer, and he just signed one of the greatest Pocket Passing Field Generals of All-Time. Manning is possibly the smartest athlete on the planet, he can tell you anything you could want to know about opposing defenses in a matter of seconds. He can digest your coverage just by looking up from the huddle. Over the years he gave the Broncos fits, now hopefully he can bring them titles. The biggest reason he was chased by the Broncos, Tennessee Titans, San Fransisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals was because they want to win Super Bowls now. In the case of the Broncos there also seemed to be ulterior motives to the move. This pickup not only moves the Broncos into contention, but it also makes them a threat in Free Agency. The biggest thing it does is moves Tebowmania to another city, and it makes Tebow someone else's problem.
Should that be Manning's problem? No. His job is to win games, divisions and Super Bowls. The Broncos stepped out of the basement of the NFL with a legitimate QB who can mold younger QBs for them. Now if the Broncos select a QB in the draft, there will be less controversy because it will be to mold and groom him under Manning. In Indianapolis, his job was to be the safety blanket and cover up the issues the Colts had. In Denver, he will play a similar role, but he will need to be a better mentor than he was in Indy. The Broncos need help on defense, but if they take a QB in the first three rounds don't be shocked. Manning has said he would be the "best teammate" to Tebow, imagine what he could do with a QB that has a similar mindset instead of one with the opposite. Manning is the closest thing the Broncos have to a real Savior. Tebow Magic and Tebow Time were just the opening act to Manning the Magnificent and his bag of tricks (and wins) for the Broncos and for Elway's sake some Super Bowls.