FanPost

Operation FoxTrotRio: Pretend Peyton Does Not Exist

I don't have the knack or precision to break down film like in-house guru Mike Mike does. I don't use as many stats as Topher, nor do I have the wisdom of Jeremy. I don't have the fan following of resident badass McGeorge, nor the CBA incite of Ozark. I guess I'm more of a predictor. I'm Captain Overview, and my knowledge on each subject is just enough for me to generally get a pretty clear view of the big picture.

Last year around this time I was essentially starting the Julius Thomas fan club. I was going to bat for Manny at center, going to war against Robert Ayers as a starter, and shouting from the mountain tops that keeping both Joel Dreessen and Jacob Tamme as our third- and fourth-string TE's would be an utter waste of a roster spot, and of rather big money as well. Quotes would be redundant and overly self-aggrandizing, because for anybody who was around last year, they remember. I mean, as you're all well aware, I'm a pretty loudmouthed MF.

So far, this year, I've only really had two major perches to stand on: (a) The defense will be roughly as good as the offense, and (b) Montee Ball will be a star. Bear in mind that with the defense, I wrote it in a post prior to free agency, and with Ball, I'm talking about right now, this year.. not someday.

I have some new stuff I want to bend your ear about, briefly.

If my very lively and active imagination is on point this year, John Elway, John Fox and Jack Del Rio sat down at a round table one day in early March to discuss the future of the team. What they decided was that there were enough defensive brains and running-attack-incite in that room for the team to go forward into 2014 as if the team were no longer going to depend on Peyton Manning.

For the same reason a Southpaw boxer will sometimes train his right hand more than his left hand, the Broncos now focus on the run-game and the defense more than on the passing offense. The boxer, and his opponents, know he can knock your ass out with a left cross at any given moment. But what happens when all the sudden SUPRISE!!! he's leading with a left jab and the knockout blow came from a right hook?!

"Foxy, Rio.. what do you need in order to get to the SB without Peyton and his all-world passing offense?" That was Elway, by the way.

Foxy went to a SB with Jake Delhomme, my peeps. He and Rio have both had a long history of suffocating defenses and stout running games in their previous careers. I mean, can you think of two better people to present this task to? They had $30M to spend on whatever they needed, and that's in addition to regaining six starters from IR.

John Elway already genie-blinked most of their wishes into reality beyond their wildest imaginations. But, what's left undone? What are the remaining weak links preventing this team from being able to win without Peyton?

I believe Coach Rio requested a three-down MLB, and I believe Coach Fox requested a new RT. The new MLB allows for fewer and easier substitutions while also replacing both Paris and Woody. The new RT allows Franklin to upgrade at LG while keeping the team from having Chris Clark downgrade the run-support aspect at RT.

Here's the main point. I believe John Elway will now stop at nothing in order to get those final two pieces. They'll both be drafted in the first three rounds, and one of them will likely be attained by trading up to land our mark. Like it or not, this draft is where we make our final stand. Scratch, claw and reach, Elway will bite your arm off to get these two guys.

We're two pieces away from being able to win without Manning. But we still have Manning. Ya dig?

There is no better way to hone your listening skills than for you to cut out your own eyeballs. Or in this case, let's just pretend.. pretend that Peyton doesn't exist.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.