Do you want Manning back next year?

[Slick]

Poll to follow...

[Slick]

Curious to see what everyone thinks.

[MOtorboat]

Of course.

[Bronco9798]

As long as he's healthy and the ball goes forward. Let's go!!!

[TXBRONC]

Yes but I'm concerned about him physically.

[Lancane]

No, I think it is time to give Osweiler a shot and see what we have in the kid and the only way to tell is to put him on the field. I think with Fox gone we need to move on from Manning.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I'm torn....

[Northman]

I would take him back with some stipulations. One being a pay cut, i dont think he is worth the money we are paying currently and two, if he starts to struggle next year he needs to be aware that Denver can bench him and start Oz to begin the moving on period.

[MileHighCrew]

Yes.....

[chazoe60]

I'm torn....

Your quad?

[Bronco9798]

I would take him back with some stipulations. One being a pay cut, i dont think he is worth the money we are paying currently and two, if he starts to struggle next year he needs to be aware that Denver can bench him and start Oz to begin the moving on period.

I agree with that. He is not, and will never be, a 20 Million dollar QB. Even at a reduced rate, he still gives us a better chance to win than OZ.

[TimHippo]

Of course. Why do people continue to think that Oz is some kind of great QB. There's zero evidence of it.

[chazoe60]

Of course. Why do people continue to think that Oz is some kind of great QB. There's zero evidence of it.
WTF are you talking about?

[tripp]

Yes, obviously. Elway wants to win now.

[Pudge]

Of course. Why do people continue to think that Oz is some kind of great QB. There's zero evidence of it.

It's simple really, the carpophagous theory pretty much proves he has all the intangibles

[MasterShake]

Yes, the longer we can put off 2-6 win seasons the better. This team has too much talent to waste any time we have left. Before his injury or whatever he still played like a top 5 QB and is only a season removed from leading a record setting offense.

[Lancane]

Of course. Why do people continue to think that Oz is some kind of great QB. There's zero evidence of it.

No one has said that...do you think quarterbacks are proven on the practice field or on the game field? Fact is that you never know what you got till you use it. That's like purchasing a heater for winter but when winter comes you keep it in the box and say "Hey, I got a great heater...it's in it's box never opened." When it's freaking cold you use the damn heater and if it does not work you find one that does!

[Northman]

Of course. Why do people continue to think that Oz is some kind of great QB. There's zero evidence of it.

Em, believe me. There is almost no one on this board that thinks Oz is great. I think people just feel now is the time to move on because at this juncture they have no faith that Manning can improve and get us where we need to be. I think we have a shot at it still but there are some things that i believe Manning will have to sacrifice personally if we go forward with him.

[Bronco9798]

No one has said that...do you think quarterbacks are proven on the practice field or on the game field? Fact is that you never know what you got till you use it. That's like purchasing a heater for winter but when winter comes you keep it in the box and say "Hey, I got a great heater...it's in it's box never opened." When it's freaking cold you use the damn heater and if it does not work you find one that does!

Oh, it's been used a few times. I've seen it turned on. It wasn't earth shattering and it didn't heat much. It's back in the box right now waiting for it's next chance. it wasn't a total failure, but we'll see next year when they bring it back out.

[tripp]

No one has said that...do you think quarterbacks are proven on the practice field or on the game field? Fact is that you never know what you got till you use it. That's like purchasing a heater for winter but when winter comes you keep it in the box and say "Hey, I got a great heater...it's in it's box never opened." When it's freaking cold you use the damn heater and if it does not work you find one that does!

I think you bring back Peyton, and if he encounters another injury, there should be no questions asked, you sit him and start Oz. Regardless of the playoff implications. You start Oz until Peyton is healthy. Easy to say that in hindsight of this previous season, but I think we've learned that lesson now. Basically I would love to see what Oz has and what he can do with a play book open to him, while still competing for a SB, that's the only way I can us achieving both.

[TXBRONC]

I would take him back with some stipulations. One being a pay cut, i dont think he is worth the money we are paying currently and two, if he starts to struggle next year he needs to be aware that Denver can bench him and start Oz to begin the moving on period.

I agree he's not worth $20 million anymore so I think he should take a pay cut. I agree if he started to struggle then go with Osweiler but I don't think that could be verbalized to him unless Elway is trying to get him to move on.

[Lancane]

Oh, it's been used a few times. I've seen it turned on. It wasn't earth shattering and it didn't heat much. It's back in the box right now waiting for it's next chance. it wasn't a total failure, but we'll see next year when they bring it back out.

You should have returned it to the store and got a better one then rather then using the broken one that never works on those really cold days when it was needed! ;)

[TXBRONC]

Em, believe me. There is almost no one on this board that thinks Oz is great. I think people just feel now is the time to move on because at this juncture they have no faith that Manning can improve and get us where we need to be. I think we have a shot at it still but there are some things that i believe Manning will have to sacrifice personally if we go forward with him.

It's a strawman argument. There is no freaking way to prove that he's a legitimate starting quarterback unless he actually starts games.

[TimHippo]

Em, believe me. There is almost no one on this board that thinks Oz is great. I think people just feel now is the time to move on because at this juncture they have no faith that Manning can improve and get us where we need to be. I think we have a shot at it still but there are some things that i believe Manning will have to sacrifice personally if we go forward with him.

Are you from Britain?

[Valar Morghulis]

I think this team nearly has all the pieces to win now. therefore i think Manning still gives us the best option to win. No need for an untested qb just yet - there will be plenty of time to rebuild and in turn, get beat by Oakland - lets not rush that.

I am only joking, i dont think a rebuild under elway will be anything catastrophic - but i say ride PFM one more year (but with stipulations previously mentioned), give it one more go

[Bronco9798]

I think this team nearly has all the pieces to win now. therefore i think Manning still gives us the best option to win. No need for an untested qb just yet - there will be plenty of time to rebuild and in turn, get beat by Oakland - lets not rush that.

I am only joking, i dont think a rebuild under elway will be anything catastrophic - but i say ride PFM one more year (but with stipulations previously mentioned), give it one more go

i don't think you will ever see Elway refer to the term "rebuild" He builds. I just don't see that terminology coming out of his mouth. Oakland, Cleveland, Jags, Vikings, they (try to) rebuild and you see where that gets them. Elway will use the draft and FA to keep building on what is here now.

[Joel]

I'm torn....
Same. Let's be realistic though: If we're lobbying him to play Sisyphus just one last time "because the team NEEDS you!", a 50% pay cut's a deal-breaking closer ("well, we don't need you THAT much.") Only way that could work is if Elway makes a good case that extra $10 million would secure the few missing pieces in our championship puzzle, especially since those are primarily on the line responsible for keeping Manning in one piece by protecting him and providing run support to distract the rush and safeties, two things they've done so poorly Manning had to try winning a SB as a one-man offense and still couldn't.

Just convincing him he's not a $20 million QB anymore though probably convinces him to retire; he's not sticking around to be mediocre, and doesn't want to be booed out of Mile High again.

[Jsteve01]

I think this team nearly has all the pieces to win now. therefore i think Manning still gives us the best option to win. No need for an untested qb just yet - there will be plenty of time to rebuild and in turn, get beat by Oakland - lets not rush that.

I am only joking, i dont think a rebuild under elway will be anything catastrophic - but i say ride PFM one more year (but with stipulations previously mentioned), give it one more go

i don't think you will ever see Elway refer to the term "rebuild" He builds. I just don't see that terminology coming out of his mouth. Oakland, Cleveland, Jags, Vikings, they (try to) rebuild and you see where that gets them. Elway will use the draft and FA to keep building on what is here now.. One other thing to note in how he'd handled the Manning situation is that after the Fox firing and with public perception being what it is. Denver could have very easily slipped from premier free agent destination to less than desirable based on how Manning is handled. You can't just go out and fire winning coaches and injured players without backlash. I'm glad to see he's still engaging with Manning

[Bronco9798]

. One other thing to note in how he'd handled the Manning situation is that after the Fox firing and with public perception being what it is. Denver could have very easily slipped from premier free agent destination to less than desirable based on how Manning is handled. You can't just go out and fire winning coaches and injured players without backlash. I'm glad to see he's still engaging with Manning

Still have 10 or 11 pro bowlers, a good fan base, a good front office. I don't think anything has been tarnished that much to alleviate any possible signings. John has said nothing but positive things about Manning. I think we're good for the most part. But, there will always be haters.

[Joel]

i don't think you will ever see Elway refer to the term "rebuild" He builds. I just don't see that terminology coming out of his mouth. Oakland, Cleveland, Jags, Vikings, they (try to) rebuild and you see where that gets them. Elway will use the draft and FA to keep building on what is here now.
Oakland and the Vikings DON'T rebuild, which is their problem: They take "shortcuts" snatching up marquee skill players without the core teams they need to succeed, then wonder why they keep ending up with top ten picks to draft the next college phenom whose careers they destroy. Plenty of other teams rebuild though, and effectively; GB did it post-Favre, SF did it post-Young, and even Jerry Jones is starting to realize no one's going to give him The Trade II for an overnight rebuild (and who gave him the first one? Those shortcut-taking Vikings.)

Cleveland didn't try to rebuild; they're an expansion team trying to build their first decent team from NOTHING, and the record of just about every expansion team except Dallas and the early '70s Vikings shows just how hard that is: They can go DECADES without ever getting off the ground.

New Orleans needed ~20 years to win a playoff game so home fans took the bags off their heads and stopped calling them Aints—then went right back in the toilet for 20 MORE years before their SB win.

Seattle had 35 unbroken years of suckage (except for '05) before Carroll arrived, signed and drafted a bunch of late round players he pumped full of 'roids, then drafted Wilson to get them to a SB.

Tampa needed 20+ years and umpteen #1 overall picks before Dungy finally built them a D and Gruden gave them a copy of Oaklands playbook so they could win a SB, then they went right back in the toilet like New Orleans, setting a record last year for largest home halftime deficit in history (38-0 in front of 70,000 empty seats.)

Atlanta needed 20 years just to reach spoiler status in a divisiion short one team (that they shared with New Orleans) and still can't put it together.

All that's why the NFL gave the Jags and Panthers carte blanche to take nearly any player they wanted from any existing team (IIRC, teams got to franchise one guy, but with everyone else they could only match offers from brand new teams with NO ONE charged to their cap yet.) That overcompensation got both to Conference Championship games in just two years, but also convinced the NFL not to give Houston and Cleveland such huge breaks, despite Jax and Carolina both crashing back to earth as quickly as they'd risen.

Dogs and contenders have diametrically opposite needs, and thus should have diametrically opposed priorities. The best strategy for a team just one or two players from a championship is the antithesis of the best strategy for a team with twice as many gaping holes as it has draft picks. Sure, Elway tells the press he's in "win from now on mode;" he also told them Tebow would start in 2012.

The perpetual cellar dwellers are the teams perpetually seeking instant gratification INSTEAD of rebuilding as EVERY team eventually must. It happens to former dynasties, too, because contenders need a lot of players to be good at the same time, so age or FA eventually claims all of them, and 12 win teams don't have the draft picks nor cap space to replace them all with equal players. Absent a guy like Belicheat to find late round/undrafted diamonds in the rough like Belicheat, or dope guys no one wanted into Pro Bowlers like Carroll, it's rebuild or suck for everyone.

While we may be the 12th youngest team (which is pretty average) or whatever, most of our STARTERS are highly paid FAs at or near 30, because after our 4-12 went 8-8, then signed Manning, we needed tons of new PROVEN players to make a few runs, and most of those guys will start going downhill about the time Manning goes. "Win from now on" is just not an option. And there's nothing wrong with a couple 4-12 seasons followed by 6-10 if it provides the draft picks and cap space to rebuild a dynasty, but there's a lot wrong with oscillating between 2-14 and 6-10 indefinitely because the team refuses to rebuild.

[Northman]

Are you from Britain?

No why?

[Ravage!!!]

Its a tough one. I think Manning has looked shakey from game one this season... as I know I've said time and time again. Age is picking up,

BUT that being said,

when he was healthy he was still better than MOST QBs. Is it time to move on? Eh, hard to say. Just last year he was putting up MVP numbers. Is he completely ineffective just 2 seasons removed? No way that's the case. He was never a runner, anyway. His mind is what makes him great.

But then there is the salary. You can NOT ask him to take a 50% paycut. It's absurd, and certainly insulting. Can you manipulate the salary into deferred payments? Sure, but then you will be paying for a QB that is no longer on your roster because you have to accept the fact that if he DOES come back, next will absolutely be his last season with the Broncos.

To say "he's not worth" his salary, is prety arbitrary, and if you compare him to what you would be getting in his place, then how much is he worth to your team? Saving that money isn't going to bring in a player that can provide your team with more wins than what Peyton brings to the table, and that's just a fact. So just how much is he worth? Top 5 money, absolutely. No way you could say anything less.

[TimHippo]

No why?

"Em" is a British term not used much in the United States. "Umm" or "Uhh" would be the US equivalent.

[Timmy!]

Well......yes.

[Northman]

"Em" is a British term not used much in the United States. "Umm" or "Uhh" would be the US equivalent.

Maybe i just picked it from some of them then as i do have a lot of friends who live over there.

[Slick]

The yes percentage is higher than I thought it would be.

So, those of you that voted yes, do you think Denver can actually go all the way next year? Why? What is Manning or the team going to do differently?

[Bronco9798]

The yes percentage is higher than I thought it would be.

So, those of you that voted yes, do you think Denver can actually go all the way next year? Why? What is Manning or the team going to do differently?

He's gives us the best chance to win. There's really no other reason.

[Ravage!!!]

The yes percentage is higher than I thought it would be.

So, those of you that voted yes, do you think Denver can actually go all the way next year? Why? What is Manning or the team going to do differently?

I haven't voted yet, but I'll throw this out there. Why change anything? I don't know how much Manning's injury played into it, but to be honest, it HAD to have hurt a lot. So lets go back to how Manning played at the beginning of the year. Not as good as 2013, but certainly good enough to win a Championship.

We all know its very hard to win a Championship. You not only have to have a good QB and good coach, but you have to have luck on yoru side. You have to have avoided major injuries, catching teams at the right time, having a good time of year for bye ( :) ), and good weather along with the stars lining up. A LOT of things can go wrong, so having all those things NOT go wrong at the wrong time, is pretty difficult.

So as hard as it is, the one thing that will NOT help you out is changing EVERYTHING. Our offense is actually good enough to win, with a healthy QB playing as he did at the first of the year (giving that qualifier, since Im hoping the injury was reasons for the poor play at end of season, and we are assuming that to be the case). So what do you change diffferently? Nothing other than work to make what you ARE doing, better.

The great coaches will tell you...that it doesn't matter if the other team knows what you are doing because it ALL comes down to execution. If you can execute, and each individual executes, than you will have success. So you don't "change" things that are working, but you certainly continue to work on making them better executed. Can we still add a player here or there to help this team? Absolutely. We did last year. Add 1 or 2 offensive lineman, that can change a TON just with that. Add a slot WR, and things are tremendously better without having to do much "differently."

I personally don't think we need radical changes. IF (again) Manning can play at early season levels, then there is a LOT to build upon to still be contenders.

[Npba900]

As long as he's healthy and the ball goes forward. Let's go!!!

Its the health issues I'm concerned about! The odds of Peyton staying healthy over 16 games and into playoffs are pretty slim. At 39-40 years of age, injuries can happen with his legs, joints, ligaments, shoulders, knees or elbows, etc., and due to his age those injuries at 40 years old take more time to heal versus in your 20-30's.

[Npba900]

He's gives us the best chance to win. There's really no other reason.

The only problem here at 40 years old the odds of Manning staying healthy for 16 games and an additional 3-4 games for playoffs and the SB is going to prove to be difficult.

Father time waits for no one and is undefeated.

[Bronco9798]

Its the health issues I'm concerned about! The odds of Peyton staying healthy over 16 games and into playoffs are pretty slim. At 39-40 years of age, injuries can happen with his legs, joints, ligaments, shoulders, knees or elbows, etc., and due to his age those injuries at 40 years old take more time to heal versus in your 20-30's.

I'm 52 I know how the body feels when you get older. 2 Rotator cuff surgeries, neck surgery, and more things hurt all the time. I could only imagine what those guys through and the pain. It's got to be tough.

[BroncoJoe]

Hoes is a dirtbag.

[Bronco9798]

Hoes is a dirtbag.

Joe wants OZ!! :D

[Npba900]

I'm 52 I know how the body feels when you get older. 2 Rotator cuff surgeries, neck surgery, and more things hurt all the time. I could only imagine what those guys through and the pain. It's got to be tough.

Agreed. A QB depend upon their legs for the throwing the ball correctly (fundamentally) and efficiently. Not sure Manning's legs will hold up or if his arm remain strong and efficient for 16-19 games.

[aberdien]

The yes percentage is higher than I thought it would be.

So, those of you that voted yes, do you think Denver can actually go all the way next year? Why? What is Manning or the team going to do differently?

I think the chances of going all the way lessen pretty dramatically, but I think that's a good thing. Less pressure, less belief from other people, being the underdog might be a blessing. And yes going all the way is still possible. It's just going to be more difficult considering Manning's limitations. The offseason should be spent trying to build a strong offensive running team and a strong defensive team, much like is seen in Seattle and Dallas. Limit the variables that will result in an injured or vulnerable Peyton. Get a back that can complement CJ and a defense that is tough and puts fear in the other team. Let the run set up the pass, and let the defense create turnovers. That's the best possible chance to go all the way IMO. I still wouldn't bet on it, but crazier things have happened.

[Simple Jaded]

Keep Manning til he decides to hang it up, which might be as soon as March, because as long as he's healthy and his heart is in it he's this teams best QB in decades. Yall can hold your standards to those from 2013 but the reality is you don't need that level of play to win a SB, Ya see, I find it funny that the main reason some people use for moving on from Manning (don't need HoF QB's to win a SB) is also the main reason to ignore your ridiculous standards for Manning.

You can have Osweiler, I like him too, but I'll go down swinging with Mannning.

You can see what you have with Oswieler after Manning hangs them up, this is an otherwise young and talented team so let's not pretend timing is imperative.

[Ziggy]

I'm leaning towards moving on. His arm just isn't strong enough to make all of the throws, which allows teams to game plan him. Vontae Davis said that the Colts had the blueprint from last year's super bowl. They did. If he had any mobility at all to help make up for it, it might be a different story. I just don't think that he can beat an elite defense without having 5 seconds to stand in the pocket while the receivers get open every play. I think he can lead the Broncos to a 12-4 type of regular season every year. I just don't think that he can beat the elite teams in the playoffs any more.