A Super Bowl Championship is the Only True Redeemer

2 days after the Super Bowl loss last year I had to write this to defend my Broncos fandom. It’s time to post it again for all the haters. Click here to read “As Diehard as They Come.”

I haven't been inspired to write much about the Broncos this year so I’ll thank the detractors I debated yesterday for getting me motivated today.  

The only way Peyton Manning will ever win me over is to erase this image from my mind.

I still stand by what said. The window is slowly closing for Manning. If the Broncos don't win the AFC West this year and are a wild card instead it'll be very difficult to impossible for them to win 3 road games. I think the odds of the Broncos winning the SB are far less even if they do get playoff games at home especially if the Patriots get home field. Brady may have lost to the Packers this week in Green Bay but he’ll be back and if his team gets home field throughout the Broncos, if they get that far, are going to be heavy underdogs going into New England.  

If your being an honest fan of the game and not some blind Broncos homer the fact is offensively, the Broncos had a better team last year than this one.

The D this season has stepped up and maybe that will be the key to getting to and winning the SB. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware have had amazing seasons thus far. Brandon Marshall has been a great tackler and he hasn’t received enough ink. The jury however is still out on the Broncos secondary. After the losses to the Patriots and the Rams I wasn’t impressed with the play of expensive free agents Aqib Talib or TJ Ward. Is this year’s secondary better than last year’s? Not at the moment, but we’ll see in if they can redeem themselves in the playoffs.  

After losing to the Rams a few weeks ago maybe Fox finally figured out that the other key to moving onto to a successful postseason is running the football way more often. I’ve been saying for 2 years that the Broncos were not patient enough in the running game, no matter which RB they have in the backfield they needed to go to it more often. The Chiefs D was ranked near the bottom of the league in rush defense going in but when they play at home they still give the Broncos a tough game.

Let’s pray that that Ball and Hillman can return from their injuries because down the stretch we’ll need every healthy RB we can get to make a SB run.

Manning has to understand that he will not help his or the Broncos march to a Super Bowl by getting in the shotgun, frantically waving his arms and throwing short passes on every down. Yesterday I was happy to see him at the very least have the good sense to huddle up because of the crowd noise on some plays so the players could hear which play he was calling. I’m for totally abandoning the hurry offense for an entire game, it’s not working nor is it fooling defenses are well as it did in the beginning. It should only be used late in the 1^st half or late in the 4^th quarter if the Broncos are playing from behind but not for 60 minutes.

It’s incredibly egotistical and arrogant for Manning to believe he alone can win every game with his arm. He has to let his offensive line show that they can run the ball effectively until someone can stop it. He has to slow the game down and give the other players on offense a chance to catch their breath and their senses.

The only way to win a championship is if the team plays together and each man does his job. The fact is though Manning is the leader and if he doesn’t play or call the kind of game that allows his teammates to help him the Broncos are not going win a Super Bowl.

This is Manning’s last chance despise all his regular season records and insane fantasy football stats to prove his real legacy isn’t crumbling under the pressure of big games. When Manning is finished, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His individual accomplishments are brilliant beyond description but his 11-12 playoff record, which includes eight one-and-done appearances are what I'll remember and what other Broncos should remember, not his regular season performances.

If the Broncos don’t beat San Diego and Cincinnati in the next 4 weeks and Manning flops in the playoffs again I say he must hang them up and the Broncos have to move in another direction. I’m a diehard Broncos Fan but I just don’t think he has what it takes to get it done. Make me eat my words Peyton then I’ll join your fan club.