With Tuesday’s announcement that Peyton Manning will miss a third week to due a torn plantar fascia, setting up a best-case scenario return against Oakland on Dec. 13, it seems that Broncos Country may be opening up to the possibility that Brock Osweiler could be the starter through the end of the 2015 season.
Gil Whiteley and James Merilatt had the phones rolling on Mile High Sports AM 1340 on Wednesday, with callers offering their thoughts on what gives the Broncos the best chance to win through the team’s last six games and, potentially, the playoffs.
Max, a longtime Broncos fan, echoed the thoughts of many Broncos fans when he said that there’s no way to overstate how important Peyton Manning has been to not only the Broncos, but to Denver as a whole – not to mention individual players and coaches who have gone on to success (and big paydays) because of Manning.
Both Merilatt and Whiteley are in absolute agreement that Manning reversed the fortunes of a franchise that had struggled for years, save for finding lightning in a bottle for one year in the form of Tim Tebow. Not only was Manning good for the Win-Loss column, he was also great for sports radio and the business of sports in Denver.
That’s what makes Merilatt wonder why some fans and media members are so quick to run Manning out of town. There’s a growing contingent that doesn’t just want to see Osweiler start, they want to see Manning embarrassed for even trying to hang on through this last difficult year.
Another caller, Mike, professed that he feels that Osweiler gives Denver the best chance for success through the end of the season and that Manning is held in such high regard, he’d hate to see things continue to go downhill for the future Hall of Famer. After all, Denver is in the middle of a playoff race. And that’s really the most important thing to remember.
No one, including Merilatt or Whiteley, want the Kansas City game to be Manning’s last game – he certainly deserves better than a four-interception performance to cap off his career. But that doesn’t mean Denver should continue to march him out as the starter if Osweiler proves over the next two weeks that he can command the offense and generate wins.
Merilatt also thinks that much of this drama is the result of John Elway’s unwillingness to cut ties with Manning in the offseason when, as Merilatt believes, Elway had already made up his mind that Osweiler needed to get a look and that he was simply too afraid of the PR backlash that would follow with severing ties with Peyton Manning.
Now, Merilatt suggests, Elway has allowed the situation to devolve to the point where Elway is tarnishing his reputation as an executive and could harm future free agent recruiting.
“When you have a divorce like this, with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, one of the greatest players of all-time, good luck the next time one of them’s on the free agent market and you’re trying to sell them on coming to Denver,” says Merilatt.
Is there a way that Elway and Manning can both walk away winners in this scenario? As hard as it may be to say it, Broncos Country seems to be more concerned with who can help them win games than they are with answering that question.
Fans will get a good look as to whether or not that’s Osweiler on Sunday night when he faces the undefeated Patriots. A good performance, let a lone a win, might be enough for fans to say, “Thanks Peyton, but it’s time for Brock.”
Listen to the full discussion in the podcast below…
Catch Gil Whiteley every weekday from 11a-1p on Mile high Sports AM 1340 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of what’s new and what’s next in Colorado sports.
