Poll: What would you have done with?

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Thread: Which would you prefer?

  1. #1
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    Default Which would you prefer?

    After having this discussion just pop up in another thread, I thought it would make for an interesting poll question. Seeing how the offseason has played out for us so far, if you could go back and change things, which of these options would you pick?

    Option A: Let Manning go, be able to afford most or all of our key free agents (JT, Franklin, Pot Roast, Moore, etc)

    Option B: Keep Manning with the knowledge that we will lose basically all of our free agents to do so.

    Now obviously the draft hasn't happened yet so it's too soon to grade the offseason fully, but I think we have seen enough in FA so far to see the direction that the Manning decision has forced the team to go in. So if you could go back, do you still keep Manning, or do you try to keep the rest of our pieces to give Oz the best chance possible of succeeding here?

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    We have to have a team when Manning leaves. Right now, I don't see that with him here and hard seeing that in the very close future when he leaves. We let a lot of talent walk.

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    no option for "hoes is a dirtbag" OR "atwater's mom?"

    noob. . .

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    I don't usually spend a lot of time speculating about unlikely scenarios. We are not losing "all" of our valuable FA's.

    So far, the only Pro-bowl players we've lost this offseason are JT and PotRoast, and there's a good reason both had limited suitors. Elite teams don't pay players top dollar if they're limited in attitude and offering.


    We have a very talented team to compliment Manning. We have one of the most talented defenses in the league. If you want to look at a team that is losing a lot of high caliber talent then look at the Patriots. They lost both starting corners and their NT.

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    I don't know if it's as black and white as you're making it out to be, but I assume you're doing this as an experiment. I have to think that Elway (and Kubiak) wasn't really interested in keeping a lot of these guys anyway, for various reasons. If they were, they would have done more to free up some money (cut dead weight, restructure Clady, perhaps) with which to keep them.

    First, remember that if we didn't keep Manning, we would need to replace him with a veteran backup to compete with Oz and potentially start. That kind of guy (Cassel, Fitzpatrick, Schaub) is going to run you around $3-4 million. Also, I suspect we wouldn't have kept JT under any circumstance at the price tag he got from Jacksonville, so factor him out. As for Knighton ... he looks like a bargain at $4 million, but a) perhaps there's a reason all of his former coaches passed on him and b) if we had shown interest early on, we would not have gotten him at that price. I'm not even sure Wade wanted him for this scheme, but let's say he did, in this scenario.

    So we're really talking about having either a) random QB, Franklin, Knighton and Moore or b) Manning, Smith, Stewart and Walker. Scenario a) also leaves us with approximately $4-6 million more than we have now (quick estimate via Over the Cap) so we could have brought in someone else as well that might have helped.

    Which is better? I'm leaning towards the scenario without Manning. I suspect we would have been worse without him at QB, but it leaves a better groundwork for next year and starts the rebuilding around Oz (or whoever). That being said, all is not lost here - assuming Manning leaves after this year (and probably Ware as well), we should have a ton of money to be big players in the FA market again next year. My guess is that for this year, Elway thinks that the best chance to give it a go is once again with Manning, even if his supporting cast is weaker. The best case scenario there is that the young guys step up, and our already very good defense gets even better under a better DC. It's not as far fetched as people are making it seem.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Al Wilson 4 Mayor View Post
    We have a very talented team to compliment Manning. We have one of the most talented defenses in the league. If you want to look at a team that is losing a lot of high caliber talent then look at the Patriots. They lost both starting corners and their NT.
    This is true. I suspect they will once again be a top team, though. Is their fanbase in a panic over losing these guys? They have trust (and rightfully so) in the front office over there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by VonDoom View Post
    This is true. I suspect they will once again be a top team, though. Is their fanbase in a panic over losing these guys? They have trust (and rightfully so) in the front office over there.
    exactly...

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    Yeah, considering the Broncos never made a serious effort to sign any of these guys I'm guessing that they never intended to bring them back. It may not be as "either/or" as it seems.
    “If there are no animals in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” - Will Rogers (paraphrased)

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    Quote Originally Posted by spikerman View Post
    Yeah, considering the Broncos never made a serious effort to sign any of these guys I'm guessing that they never intended to bring them back. It may not be as "either/or" as it seems.
    But maybe they didn't make a very serious effort because they knew they couldn't afford to keep them...

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    Quote Originally Posted by BroncoWave View Post
    But maybe they didn't make a very serious effort because they knew they couldn't afford to keep them...
    I suppose that's possible, and it's entirely conceivable that I missed it, but I never even heard of the Broncos reaching out. That's just standard procedure if you're interested in bringing them back.
    “If there are no animals in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” - Will Rogers (paraphrased)

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    Maybe I'm way off base, but I feel like had Manning not come back and we had all this cap space, we would have at least tried to bring back guys like Irving, Franklin, and Moore. And maybe even JT to give Oz a red zone safety blanket. I could be way off base, but I have a hard time believing Denver lets all those guys go if they can afford them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BroncoWave View Post
    Maybe I'm way off base, but I feel like had Manning not come back and we had all this cap space, we would have at least tried to bring back guys like Irving, Franklin, and Moore. And maybe even JT to give Oz a red zone safety blanket. I could be way off base, but I have a hard time believing Denver lets all those guys go if they can afford them.
    I'm certainly not saying that you're wrong. You may very well be right, but I just think that all of those guys back without a proven QB wouldn't make much of a difference. I think the Broncos have a puncher's chance with Manning, but I'd be less confident with Oz starting.
    “If there are no animals in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” - Will Rogers (paraphrased)

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    Quote Originally Posted by dogfish View Post
    no option for "hoes is a dirtbag" OR "atwater's mom?"

    noob. . .
    Or, 'The "real" Atwater was bad ass"

    That would have been the option I chose. Christian Okoye is still stumbling backwards.

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  21. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by spikerman View Post
    I'm certainly not saying that you're wrong. You may very well be right, but I just think that all of those guys back without a proven QB wouldn't make much of a difference. I think the Broncos have a puncher's chance with Manning, but I'd be less confident with Oz starting.
    I agree that Manning gives us a better chance than Oz this season, but I think the bigger question is if you are ok with seemingly mortaging our future to try to make a run with a 39 year old QB who has a less talented roster then he went one and done with the year before. I just don't know if that's the best way to go for the future of the franchise.

  22. #15
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    Here's the deal.


    • Knighton. No big loss. No team wanted to touch him, because like in Jax, once he "thought" he had made it, he got out of shape and wasn't giving it his all. Signing him to the $8 mil or so he wanted would have been a big mistake. He got a ONE year, $4 million contract. That should tell you all you need to know.
    • Moore. He turned into a solid safety, but we have others that can step up. Especially as good as the rest of the secondary is.
    • Franklin. Was a terrible tackle, but I think was/could be a good run blocking guard. However, not exactly all pro material. That said, I would have liked to keep him, but the Broncos probably wouldn't have at his price, even if they had ditched Manning.
    • Julius Thomas. The only free agent I really hate to see go. When healthy (key word being "when") he's one of the best pass catching TE's in the game. However, he's spent much of his career hurt, and isn't a good blocker.


    None of those players, or all of them combined, were going to insure the Broncos were perennial SB contenders. With the exception of a healthy JT in an offense that doesn't need a blocking TE, none of them are difference makers.

    Manning, even with what he's lost in velocity, still gives the Broncos a chance to win it all this year. Prior to getting injured in the second half of the season, he was still playing at a top tier level. The failures last year had more to do with the coaching staff and their misguided attempt to remake the team as a "tough" we can run by putting in six or seven linemen, team, which was an overreaction to the SB loss. Instead, they should have stuck with what got them to the SB, which was being one of the best offenses to ever take the field, and supplemented it with the improved defense. The coaching staff, offensive scheme was a far greater problem than Manning's age.

    So, yea, as much as I hated losing JT and to a lesser extent Moore, I'll take Manning in a heartbeat for another year or two over those free agents.

    P.S. Considering Franklin's lack of mobility and nimbleness, there is a lot of question as to whether he would have succeeded in Kubiak's offense.

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