FanPost

What's Next?: Moving On From the Loss to the Colts

We all saw the game. By "saw," I mean we are fully aware of what happened. Some got a play-by-play on a mobile device; others, like me, listened on the radio; but we all know what happened tonight. The Broncos were thrashed, on more levels than one, and for even more reasons. In the coming months, there are going to be a lot of changes to this team, and rightfully so. Change means forward motion, which is exactly what this team (and its fans) need. As it sits, I see two pressing questions facing this team at this juncture.

The Coaches

All season long, fans have been calling for heads to roll on the coaching staff. Many of them were knee-jerk reactions to poor game planning and bad leadership as a whole (not having the team ready, et al). I bit my tongue. John Fox did a good job adapting to Tim Tebow's wackadoodle playing style in his first year as head coach, and eventually got the team to the Super Bowl. Jack Del Rio's first season as defensive coordinator was fantastic, as the defense played at a high enough level to earn themselves the second-overall ranking on the season. Adam Gase... I can't say how much of the last few years was Gase and not Manning, so I won't bother to mention him. The point is that I retained faith in the coaching staff.

Now I want blood.

In fairness, Fox is a good coach... if your goal is to pull a team that was 4-12 to a 13-3 record in two years. (Again, how much was due to Manning is uncertain.) Fox is not an aggressive coach. He doesn't prepare players in a fashion that is conducive to success against superior opponents (see Super Bowl XLVIII), nor did he make proper use of time-outs, challenges, etc for much of his career in Denver. He was what the team needed in 2011, but I cannot say with confidence that he is the answer moving forward.

Jack Del Rio, as mentioned earlier, had a stellar start to his career in Denver. Injuries riddled his defensive players in 2013, and was given a "free pass" of sorts for having to enter the postseason with a defense held together with Band-Aids. He had no such excuse this season. When you have a healthy Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. to go along with star free-agent additions in Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, and DeMarcus Ware, there is NO REASON that you cannot craft a defense that will shut down even the loftiest of opponents. When you have such a collection of talent at your disposal, it's almost criminal not to match the potential with production. I'm done with Del Rio and the absurd soft-zone coverages that allowed opponents to get back into games that we should have had controlled from the start. (I, for one, almost hope that he takes the head coaching gig in Oakland to ensure that the Black Hole endures another decade of mediocrity.)

Peyton Manning

I'm not going to criticize the man. I won't call for his head, nor will I blindly defend him. All I can say is that whatever Peyton decides to do is going to be what's best for Peyton, whether we like it or not. Personally, I appreciated him as a Colt, but I love him as a Bronco. Peyton Manning is a leader on all levels. He leads his teammates to improvement; his teams to glory; and his fans to hope.

That said, the retirement of Peyton Manning is a very real possibility.

I don't like it. I sure don't want it, or at least didn't want it so soon. Don't think that I don't want his retirement for my own reasons as a fan, though. No, I don't want it because Peyton deserves more. He deserves another ring; to ride off into the sunset as any Sheriff should. He doesn't need another ring, but he sure as hell deserves it. No quarterback of his repertoire will ever be judged by their postseason success as he will, and it's shameful. I thought that it was impossible that Father Time had caught up to him that quickly, even with the neck surgeries two seasons ago, but then I remembered Favre, whose decline came damn near overnight. Peyton Manning is no Brett Favre, though. No, Peyton will do what is best for Peyton, and if hanging up the cleats is what he thinks is best, so be it. He deserves another shot, yes. He has earned the right to have one last attempt at a championship, but Peyton Manning does not deserve mediocrity; to devolve overnight (as he seems to have done over the last eight weeks, much to my chagrin) into a shell of a veteran, gasping for one last season of relevance with, say, the Vikings.

Peyton Manning - We thank you, we love you, we trust you to do what's best for you.

What do you think is next, MHR?

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