Peyton Manning didn’t get to take a ceremonial last snap in Super Bowl 50. Fittingly, the game ended with the Denver Broncos defense on the field.
If Manning had converted on third-and-seven on the Broncos’ final drive (really, if C.J. Anderson would have), the future Hall of Fame quarterback could have enjoyed the (widely suspected) final snap of his NFL career just moments before the Lombardi Trophy-shaped gold confetti began raining down. Instead, he celebrated from the sideline.
What would have gone through Manning’s head on that final snap? The memories could (and likely will) fill a bestseller. But in those seconds before the ball would have been snapped, as he surveyed those closest to him in that very moment, it’s easy to imagine Manning thinking the following:
“Really? These guys just won a Super Bowl?”
Ryan Harris. Evan Mathis. Matt Paradis. Louis Vasquez. Michael Schofield.
Those names make up the offensive line that started and ended Manning’s second Super Bowl win.
Harris, a guy who was playing Mr. Mom before Gary Kubiak signed him in May. Mathis, a former All-Pro who was released by the Eagles after holding out during OTAs. Paradis, a 2014 sixth-round draft pick who spent his first year on the practice squad. Vasquez, the grizzled veteran and lone man standing from the o-line that protected Manning in the 2013 Super Bowl. And Schofield, who was picked 112 spots in front of Paradis but couldn’t make a game day roster until injury after injury forced him into duty.
Manning likely had a slightly more frightened version of that same thought when the group first coalesced in Week 4.
“Seriously? We’re depending on these guys?”
That could very well be the same thought racing through the minds of Jose Reyes, Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado when the Colorado Rockies take the field on Opening Day, April 4. Unfortunately, those Rockies All-Stars will depend much more on their guys than Manning and the Broncos did the offensive line. A good lineup can only mask a terrible pitching staff so much.
Jorge De La Rosa. Chad Bettis. Tyler Chatwood. Jordan Lyles. Jon Gray.
Those names comprise the Colorado Rockies starting rotation as of Feb. 17, the day pitchers, catchers and injured players are reporting.
De La Rosa, the franchise all-time leader in wins and strikeouts, has been the only consistency in Colorado’s rotation over the past decade. But even De La Rosa has struggled with injury. For three straight years, he’s made at least 25 starts, including 32 in 2014, but from 2010 to 2012 he amassed just 33 total. He missed the early part of 2015 with a groin injury and missed his final start last year with Achilles tendonitis. De La Rosa turns 35 the day after he’ll (presumably) make the Opening Day start for the Rockies. With more than 1,000 innings under his belt since joining the Rockies in 2008, it’s fair to wonder just how long he can stay the model of consistency.
Bettis, for a stretch last year, was reminiscent of Josh Fogg. Remember him? The Dragon Slayer? Fogg was a key cog in the 2007 Rocktober run, known mostly for using his middle-of-the-road stuff (but bulldog tenacity) to fell some of the best pitchers of the day, including ’07 Cy Young winner Jake Peavy in the infamous play-in game. Bettis will have to be like Fogg if he indeed fills the No. 2 spot in the rotation and matches up with heavyweight NL West No. 2s like Shelby Miller, Scott Kazmir and Johnny Cueto. He’ll have to be much more like he was against Tim Hudson (2-0) last year than he was against Peavy (0-1) for the Rockies to have any hope.
Chatwood was a solid 8-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 2013, but he missed much of that year due to a lingering arm injury. He made just four starts for the Rockies in 2014 before undergoing Tommy John surgery (his second). Chatwood planned to come back in 2015. That didn’t happen. He made only two appearances (both starts) in professional baseball in 2015, pitching a total of four innings for the Modesto Nuts. If the trend over the past two seasons continues, he would make just a single appearance. The Rockies have him penciled in at No. 3 on the depth chart.
Lyles, speaking of injuries, ended his 2015 campaign on June 3 when it was announced he would undergo Tommy John surgery for his big toe. Coincidentally, that was one calendar day prior to the date he was sidelined in 2014, when he suffered a broken hand covering home plate after a wild pitch. (He returned in August and went 2-3.) Perhaps Walt Weiss should keep Lyles out of the rotation until at least Father’s Day this year. In five years with Colorado and Houston, Lyles is 23-38 with a 5.10 ERA. On second thought, maybe Weiss should just keep him out altogether.
Lastly, there is Gray, the expected future No. 1 starter who was treated with such kid gloves during his nine appearances with the Rockies in August and September last year that he didn’t pick up a decision until his eighth start. He ended the year 0-2 with a 5.53 ERA in 40.2 innings at the big league level. The Rockies were 1-8 in games he started. In 114.1 innings in Albuquerque, Gray was good but not great, going 6-6 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The most disconcerting thing about Gray, though, was his attitude in late September. Just five Coors Field starts into his Rockies career Gray was already showing doubt about pitching at altitude.
“I’ve pitched fine on the road,” Gray told the Denver Post after his final, rocky start on Sept. 21. “I just can’t find that – whatever it is – to make an adjustment to pitch in this place.”
These guys are supposed to pull the Rockies out of the NL West cellar?
The guys behind them are just as scary. Chris Rusin. David Hale. Eddie Butler. Same. Same. Same.
The Rockies have one of the best offenses in baseball. They finished in the top five in runs, batting average and OPS in 2015. They were top 10 in hits and home runs.
The Rockies starting pitching, meanwhile, was arguably the worst. They had the worst ERA and second fewest wins in all of baseball as starters. With 94 losses last year, the club logged its fifth consecutive season with 88 or more.
John Elway knew his offensive line was a mess and did everything but trade away the farm for Joe Thomas to patch together a unit that could survive alongside talented receivers, a first-class defense and excellent special teams.
Jeff Bridich, meanwhile, has done nothing to fix his rotation. He appears content in pinning any hope of relevancy in 2016 on two of those same starters from last year, plus two guys who couldn’t stay on the field for two years and an overwhelmed rookie.
This isn’t to suggest that the Rockies are just a move or two away from competing for a World Series – they also had the worst bullpen ERA and third-most bullpen losses in MLB last year. But they have current or former all-stars at five of their starting eight (non-pitching) positions. At some point, those guys deserve to be playing alongside better pitchers than these guys.
