FanPost

Reading Between the Lines: The Denver Broncos Press Conference and the Future

In the past couple of the weeks, our beloved franchise has gone from a possible Super Bowl favorite to entering an offseason of uncertainty. Unless you have been living under a rock in a cold, dark cave for the last 2 weeks, you know that the Broncos have hired our old friend Gary Kubiak to take the reigns of the franchise after the tenure of John Fox came to an end after the Broncos loss in the AFC Divisional round just 2 weeks ago.

The hiring of Kubiak did not come as a surprise to many once it was announced that he was at the top of John Elway's head coach wish list. In many ways, we all should have seen this as the fulfillment of an eventuality that has been 4 years on the making. Since Elway took over as GM, it would be foolish to think that Elway, along with any GM in the NFL worth his paycheck, would not want HIS guy to run the football team that Elway put together. It just so happened that Kubiak was the head coach of the Houston Texans at the time and Fox was enjoying success. But now, the party is over for Fox and friends and a new regime is beginning.

Like most of you, I listened to the Broncos press conference to introduce Kubiak with great interest to hear the team's plans for next season and beyond. What I heard during that press conference seemed to me to be a classic case of corporate double-talk to hide the true intentions that Elway has in mind. How do I know this? I've worked for a corporation for the past 20 years and have heard the double-talk many, MANY times. I may not be an expert but I know what corporate talk sounds like.

So I am going to try to interpret what Elway said during the presser and what he may REALLY mean. I say "really" because this is only my opinion and what happens in the next few months could be radically different than what I am going to say. Feel free to disagree with me if that is how you feel.

I have to begin with the hiring of Kubiak and the comments about Manning. Make no mistake, this hiring is more about building for the future than it is about next season. I have no doubt that when Elway says that winning a championship is "Plan A" and that will never change, he means it wholeheartedly. Guess what, EVERY team has the ultimate goal of winning a championship so there is not much news to be gained from that statement. You will never hear a GM in the NFL say that his goal for this season is to finish 8-8. Because of the general nature of Elway's statement, this leads me to believe that even though all of us would love to see the Broncos raise the Lombardi trophy next season, we have to keep an eye toward the seasons soon to come. Gary Kubiak is the best choice to lead the team into that future because I believe that John Elway is anticipating having a new quarterback in place very soon. Maybe even in this coming season. Elway remembers how Kubiak helped him when Kubiak was the OC for the Broncos in the 90's and is preparing for the eventuality that a new QB will be under center sooner rather than later.

Which brings me to the Elway comments in the press conference. Rather than recap what we all already heard, here are my thoughts. First, and most glaring, Elway and Kubiak first spoke about not only wanting to be "good listeners" and "a support system" for Peyton Manning, they spoke of giving Manning space to think about this decision of whether to come back for another season or to retire. This translates to me that Elway does not want Manning to come to a snap decision either way and wants him to get away for a while to clear his head. I believe that Elway is wanting Manning to come to the decision to retire and will "listen" in order to point him in that direction.

Why would he want this? Manning gives the Broncos the best chance to win the Super Bowl next season after all! Make no mistake, Peyton Manning will go down as one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. A 5-time MVP, countless Pro Bowl appearances, record after record smashed and 1 Super Bowl title in 3 attempts and all the respect from his peers and football fans alike, myself included, which is well deserved. While all of this may be true, Elway is clearly thinking about the future and the harsh reality that Manning, regardless of all of his accomplishments and in his current state, is just not worth the $19MM he will be due next season. He is no longer the Peyton Manning of 10 years ago. He is going to be 39 years old, which is ancient for the NFL, there is no guarantee how much longer, if at all, he will keep playing, at some point his neck injuries will start to affect him again, his arm strength is dwindling and now he has 2 bad legs (or 1 bad leg, who knows the extent of his injuries?). Not to mention, his last 2 playoff games for the Broncos have been less than impressive and this adds up to Elway wanting to cut ties with Manning but willing, and wanting to let HIM come to that decision on his own. After all, no one wants to be that guy that cuts Peyton Manning. However, if it comes down to it, regardless of the results of some physical, John Elway will join Jim Irsay as the men who did cut Peyton Manning and it will all be for the good of the team. After all, it worked out GREAT for the Colts.

How is this good for OUR team? Elway said himself that there are 52 other guys on the team that need to be taken care of, not to mention any potential free agents the Broncos could go after and an extra $19MM or so in cap space will go a long way to secure the future of the team. Elway knows Peyton Manning's price tag and may not be willing to pay it at the expense of younger, explosive players like Demariyus Thomas.

Enter Gary Kubiak. His hire, in my opinion, is for "Plan B" and the "B" stands for Brock Osweiler. Remember, Osweiler was drafted the same year that Manning came in to serve as an understudy to Manning and get ready to step in when "The Sheriff" eventually leaves. He's had a few years to learn about reading defenses and various in-game situations by watching a master at it work. Am I saying that he is going to step in and the offense won't lose a beat? No way. Oz may be a 3-year veteran technically speaking but he has yet to start a game and has only thrown 30 passes completing 17 with 1 TD. Also, his contract comes up next year and the Broncos have to see what they have in him. Is he the answer? Who knows? But they didn't keep him around just to keep a seat warm on the bench.

Assuming that Manning does not play next year, I think Oz will be the starter and is a much better athlete than Manning to run the Kubiak/Shanahan offense that won 2 Super Bowls for the Broncos. Kubiak has an excellent history in developing QB's. Remember after Elway retired as a player, Brian Griese was made into a servicable QB under Kubiak's teachings and even made a Pro Bowl, Jake Plummer had his best years in this system, Matt Schaub looked like the next big thing (before the bottom fell out on him) and Joe Flacco had a renaissance with Kubiak. Now he will be charged with bringing a young QB along for the future and with Kubiak's hiring as head coach, it is quite clear that the future is now. As with any young QB, whether it's Osweiler or someone else, there will be struggles and there will be games lost. If becoming a yearly contender for years to come means going through a season or 2 of 7-9 or 8-8 first then so be it. After all, sometimes you have to take 2 steps back to take 5 steps forward.

The Denver Broncos are preparing for the future make no mistake about it. The press conference last Tuesday made that perfectly clear even though that is not what was said. It is going to be an exciting offseason to see how our beloved and all-new Denver Broncos begin to take shape!



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