Thread: If we never got Manning - how would the last three yearshave unfolded?

I can't say what would have happened. However, at the time, some of us questioned if getting Manning would be enough. Some of us felt we were more than 1 player away from winning a Super Bowl and wanted to focus on building the right way.

That said, we are far better off having had Manning. Getting Manning, even though the team didn't win a Super Bowl, enabled-at least made it easier-for John Elway to lure big time FA's. Getting Manning brought this team back to respectability but also to the level of one of the premier organizations in the league.

I still don't know what this "right way" is.

Some said the same thing when McDoosh was dumping people left and right, and said "he's doing it the right way." "It's the right way to build a team."

Good point, Rav. There are a 1,000 ways through the forest so to speak. For me, the right way is the way Seattle, Pittsburgh, Indy, Green Bay, and Arizona to a degree have built. Build the majority of the team through the draft and only slightly enhance it through FA. San Diego when they went on their runs did that. They built through the draft.

To me that is the right way because it more readily lends itself to long term success where as consistently buying players via FA tends to skew the cap pretty quickly.

I think we would have still have drafted Oz and he would have challenged Tebow for starting job and won it.

Without Manning , Elway could not just drop Tebow. And everyone knew how high he was on Oz. Tebow would have only lasted the year. I do think we would not have signed ware. Kept signing of FA to younger players like Ward and Talib.

Originally Posted by daveaitken18

Obviously, but I find this more fun than using big words , berating the team I allegedly support and generally trolling the forum to annoy people with insanely long and banal posts.

Don't have anything constructive to add - don't post in that thread you ******* milquetoast.

Blocked.

Joel just doesn't wanna take the bait and let his Tebow obsession out to play, he's spent the last 3 seasons denying the monster, repressing it, but deep inside he is aching to pen a weeklong diatribe about how things should've been instead of how things actually went.

Joel used to be the single most annoyingly positive poster around, he was full of optimism for the direction this team was going....then. . .Elway was hired! It went from Joel being the most pleasant person around to being "the talent around Tebow sucks" and complex algorithms to replace Passer Ratings.

Since then it's been one thing after, Manning too old, Manning contract will choke the competitive life out of team, OL sucks, can't run the ball, wasting "our" time unless we win a SB. Elway has gone onto to doing basically everything he said couldn't happen and he's been a bitter ******* because the one ingredient he pines for was the last thing Elway wanted to build around.

As to your OP.

John Elway drafts Tebows replacement and spends the next three seasons building around him, I still don't doubt Elway in free agency and I don't think draft plans dramatically, resulting in much the same kind of roster.

Unfortunately, I thinks the stench from Tebowmania gets the best of whatever QB replaces Tebow, fans have a short leash and turn on him in a big way. Forget about Tebowfags, Broncos fans were all in on the thought of Tebow and we've been otherwise brutal on QB's anyway (we booed Manning off the field in what might have been his final game).

In spite of what Joel will tell you the Broncos were a 10-win talent team before Manning was signed, I think they hover around 10 wins without him. I don't think I'm being over dramatic when I say this but Manning saved the Broncos organization the second he signed with Denver, as ridiculous as it sounds the Broncos needed to sign a HoF QB and win SB's to justify the decision to move on from Tebow.

Honestly, I'm actually kinda with a lot of people that are sick of Manning, his pouting and the Godawful offense they run, but I have a vivid idea of what it'd have been like without him and THOROUGHLY appreciate everything he brought to the Denver Broncos. He can stay as long as he likes.

10 wins are nice but it does little to reverse the brain damage caused by Tebowmania.

Originally Posted by NightTerror218

I think we would have still have drafted Oz and he would have challenged Tebow for starting job and won it.

Without Manning , Elway could not just drop Tebow. And everyone knew how high he was on Oz. Tebow would have only lasted the year. I do think we would not have signed ware. Kept signing of FA to younger players like Ward and Talib.

You know... I personally think Elway would have traded Tebow away when he did, no matter what. Couple reasons, 1) being that Elway knew he wasn't the kind of guy you can win with in the NFL...and 2) his stock would NEVER be higher to actually get a trade for him.. 3) having him here would just cause a mess with whomever you put ahead of him in the lineup. THey wouldn't get a chance with the Tebow crowd, and no one knows that 'extra' high pressure put onto certain QB jobs than Elway.

Remember guys, Weeden went 22nd and their top choice went at 24 to the Stealers. Weeden isn't a slam dunk pick at QB.

Let the Monster out Joel, open the gates and let your demons run.

:scottsturfvoice: feed your Monster, Joel, feed it!

Originally Posted by Joel

Speculating what might be can be educationally confirmed/refuted by time, but speculating what might have BEEN just causes arguments forever because it's impossible to ever know who's right. There's nothing "constructive" there: That's my whole objection. To borrow a great line, "what if Walter Camp had gone to Vassar?" We'd be discussing Denver soccer team.

I said my piece three years ago on the alternate reality where we don't sign Manning, and the reaction was so "constructive" it STILL gets me accused of "berating the team I allegedly support and generally trolling the forum to annoy people." Even when I DON'T repeat my answer to a now-irrelevant question, everyone remembers and I STILL catch Hell for it.

DUDE, take a chill pill, this thread is all in fun. its great to see what others think what might of been. if you have nothing to ad to the op just sit down and shut up....thank you

Originally Posted by Jaded

Remember guys, Weeden went 22nd and their top choice went at 24 to the Stealers. Weeden isn't a slam dunk pick at QB.

Doesn't THAT set off major chains of events.

Denver is built more on the draft than free agency, for one. Brandon Stokely never comes back, and Wes Welker, Emmannuel Sanders and Jacob Tamme probably aren't Broncos. Ware, Ward and Talib probably don't come to Denver either. Vasquez might have, but of the major free agent signings, he's the only one I'd say would be a possibility without Manning.

I think Weeden or Osweiler is the quarterback. It was pretty clear that Tebow wasn't capable of playing quarterback at an NFL level and he would've been traded. I think someone like Matt Hasselbeck might have been on the team. I think Denver would have been looking for a quarterback before this season, as I'm not sure Weeden or Osweiler would lead this team to success after being thrown to the wolves. I think there would have been three higher draft choices, and maybe a little more homegrown talent starting this season than what was there.

Interesting question, because if you're going to factor in everything, then that means Manning likely goes to Tennessee and how different is the landscape of the AFC? Andrew Luck probably doesn't have the same success he's had because Manning is in his division, instead of the dumpster fire situations at quarterback of the other three teams.

If Manning goes to San Francisco that would've set off all sorts of crazy chain of events. Maybe Alex Smith or Kaepernick are Broncos, or Smith is a Titan.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

Doesn't THAT set off major chains of events.

Denver is built more on the draft than free agency, for one. Brandon Stokely never comes back, and Wes Welker, Emmannuel Sanders and Jacob Tamme probably aren't Broncos. Ware, Ward and Talib probably don't come to Denver either. Vasquez might have, but of the major free agent signings, he's the only one I'd say would be a possibility without Manning.

I think Weeden or Osweiler is the quarterback. It was pretty clear that Tebow wasn't capable of playing quarterback at an NFL level and he would've been traded. I think someone like Matt Hasselbeck might have been on the team. I think Denver would have been looking for a quarterback before this season, as I'm not sure Weeden or Osweiler would lead this team to success after being thrown to the wolves. I think there would have been three higher draft choices, and maybe a little more homegrown talent starting this season than what was there.

Interesting question, because if you're going to factor in everything, then that means Manning likely goes to Tennessee and how different is the landscape of the AFC? Andrew Luck probably doesn't have the same success he's had because Manning is in his division, instead of the dumpster fire situations at quarterback of the other three teams.

If Manning goes to San Francisco that would've set off all sorts of crazy chain of events. Maybe Alex Smith or Kaepernick are Broncos, or Smith is a Titan.

I would love to see Kaepernick as a Bronco!!!!!

I think the 49ers traded up with Denver to draft Kaepernick, iirc, maybe he's on Denver's board without Manning. Ironic considering his biological mother lives in Denver.

I think teebs would have been retained - but also lost his place to a rookie.

I guess no logic can suggest that we would have taken anyone but Oz, given that we picked him in the second round.

I think losing Allen would still translate as a dip in our Defense - and we would end up hovering around the 8-8 mark, but no better than 10-6 in any of the three years.

I reckon we would still have been active in FA - but would not have Welker, Talib or Ware. I think we would still have went in on Vasquez, and Ward. Decker woudl still be here because we would have signed him on a team friendly contract because his production would be no where near where it was with Manning, same is true of DT.

Virgil Green would likely be demanding Jimmy Graham this year and JT would never have been heard of!

Obviously not being God - i can not confirm the accuracy of that alternate reality. But i know this - i much prefer the reality of the three years we have just had. No superbowl hurts - but what a great time to have been a broncos fan. With the exceptions of the Ravens game in 2012, the superbowl in 2013 and the last 5 games we played this year - every minute has been awesome.

Crazy to think we could have had Russell Wilson that year as well.