Just gonna preface this by saying I despise the Denver Broncos organization and everything that they do. John Elway is a fuckboy and if I was 10 years older, I'm sure I would have hated him in his playing days. Dude fits the Broncos perfectly with his horse mouth. The man was born to be a Denver Bronco. HOWEVER just to show my great range and that I can be impartial I am going to show IMO how this team can address it's QB situation and defend it's Super Bowl championship. Let's get started. As you may be well aware former Broncos QB Peyton Manning announced his retirement earlier this week and obviously will not be back in the mile high city next season. I'd also like to note that yes, he may of retired but lets not act like Peyton had a choice, nobody wanted his noodle arm for this upcoming season. That's why he didn't retire on the spot after miraculously winning Super Bowl 50. If someone wanted him he would have played in 2016 so lets not act like Peyton Manning still has anything left in his tank. Lets not act like he's stepping away at the top of his game. Well yesterday Denver's backup QB Brock Osweiler signed a 4 year deal with the Houston Texans so now both QBs who started for significant parts of the 2015 season are gone and the Super Bowl champs are left without a man to play QB....so what should they do? Well stick around and I'll tell you. Now as much as I hate the Broncos even I can admit this is hands down the best landing spot for a QB. Fantastic defense that single handedly won this team a Super Bowl, two top level WR's and a decent coaching staff. If this team won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning at QB who without a doubt was the worst QB in the entire NFL last year then any of the QBs I'm about to suggest could be able to be successful in Denver. Option 1: Draft a QB Currently the Broncos hold the 31st spot in the NFL Draft, it should be 32nd but the NFL is a joke and has an axe to grind against the Patriots but I'm not going to get into that. The Broncos could very well draft a QB with their first round pick or even later in the draft, after all the NFL's all time greatest QB, Tom Brady, was drafted in the 6th round. However because the Patriots still have not been given their draft pick back I am boycotting all things NFL Draft unless the Pats get their picks back, so I will not address the NFL Draft for this blog and that option is done. Broncos won't draft a QB. Mainly because I said so, also there are not great prospects this year, not that I am aware of that.....because of my boycott. Option 2: Trade for a QB Unlike the other 3 major sport leagues (NBA, MLB, NHL) player trades in the NFL aren't commonplace. Obviously they happen sometimes and aren't impossible but with the landscape of today's NFL teams aren't trading superstar QBs. This offseason however there are multiple QBs who have fallen from grace from their respective franchises who could be potentially traded. These QBs also could just be cut but most of them were high draft picks so these franchises would like to at least get something in exchange for them. Trade Option #1: Colin Kaepernick I've read online that Kaepernick is the Broncos main target to take over at QB. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere. Where do I begin with this guy? Ahhhh, Colin Kaepernick. It doesn't feel that long ago where he was supposed to be the next big thing in the NFL. ESPN's Ron Jaworski claimed he could be the best QB of all time based on his skill set. In 2012 he took over for an injured Alex Smith and took the NFL by storm. The mobile Kaepernick ran for a QB record 181 yards in a playoff win over the Green Bay Packers. He led the 49ers all the way to Super Bowl XLVII (47) and was like 4 yards away from winning the Super Bowl. In 2013 he followed it up with another solid season and brought the 49ers to the NFC Championship game where his interception late in the game lost the game for San Francisco and truly introduced Richard Sherman to the entire world. Now when I say hate I feel like it is not strong enough to explain how I feel, but I HATE Richard Sherman and if Kaepernick doesn't test him late in the NFC Championship game maybe all of sports history is different. So in a way Kap is to blame about Sherman becoming a household name. After that game the 49ers and Kap were never the same. In 2014 the 9ers went 8-8, then coach Jim Harbaugh left to coach The University of Michigan, about 70% of their roster retired and their championship window slammed shut. This last season Kap battled injuries/was benched for a man who couldn't make it with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Blaine Gabbert. You know, they guy that the Jags drafted ahead of JJ Watt. Good call. The 49ers want to move with Gabbert going forward and are trying to move Kaepernick. Now Kap had a season and a half of great football in San Fran but has struggled the last two years. However I still he has a lot of physical talent and worth a shot. A team like the Broncos with a fantastic defensive and playmakers on offense begging for a real quarterback could be a great spot for Kaepernick. Right now I feel like he is the most logical and most likely option for Denver at QB. Trade Option #2: Johnny Manziel Much like the Kap and RG3 (who I'll get into shortly), in 2012 Johnny Manziel aka Johnny Football took the football world by storm with his flashy running and improvisational play on the football field. However unlike those two he was doing it in college. In his redshirt freshmen year at Texas A&M after an upset victory against Alabama in Tuscaloosa became a household name and was catapulted by his performance against Bama to become the first freshmen to win the Heisman Trophy. While this is the most unlikely of trade scenarios, there have been whispers of Manziel to Denver. Von Miller, who like Johnny Football went to Texas A&M has been trying to help the former Heisman winner get back on track and suggests bringing him to Denver may do that. Now we all know JFB has a lot of personal issues he needs to deal with and going to a team in a state where weed is legal may not be the best move for him. One thing however is clear, Cleveland is the worst place to be in the NFL, nobody succeeds there and while Johnny simply may not have the skills to cut it in the NFL, he definitely was not given the best chance to succeed in Cleveland. I don't expect a team like the Broncos who just won the Super Bowl to take a chance on Manziel but if they did I feel like it is a situation where he could perhaps turn around his career which to this point has to be labeled as a bust. I'm sure there are other trade options but this blog although fantastic, is getting pretty long. Thats it for trades. Option 3: Sign a Free Agent QB In the NFL teams are more likely to add pieces to their roster through free agency than trades. In this situation who knows what will happen but there are many free agent QB's available so I'll try to go over them quickly. Free Agent Option #1: Robert Griffin III Much like Colin Kaepernick, in 2012 RG3 took the NFL by storm with his wild running ability from the QB spot. The read-option was taking over the NFL during this time and RG3 was the poster child for that change. Griffin who was the 2nd overall pick in 2012 would go on to win Rookie of The Year. He also brought an awful Redskins team who was at one point 3-6 to 10-6 and an NFC East Championship. In the playoffs he came out hot leading the Redskins to quick 14-0 lead over the Seattle Seahawks. However that did not last long as Seattle adjusted and scored 24 straight to win 24-14. It was clear RG3 was hurt, but was not taken out of the game. Eventually late in the game his knee just gave up and RG3 tore his ACL ending his season. The poor field conditions of FedEx Field brought up controversy at the time about his injury. Since then RG3 has never been the same, fallen from the mountain top in DC. Been more active on social media posting cliche inspirational quotes than he has been on the football field. He eventually lost his job to QB Kirk Cousins (who the Redskins also drafted in 2012). RG3's low point came during the 2015 season where the Redskins only had him on the active game day roster once. Now the Redskins have made it clear they are done with Griffin by cutting him. The Denver Broncos seem like they could be a fit for Griffin. Fact Fun (more so I just read wikipedia waaaayyyyy too much) despite growing up in Texas, RG3 grew up a fan of the Denver Broncos. The similarities between Kaepernick and RG3 are easy to make, they both were once stars of their former teams who were great threats to also run the ball. They both battled injuries and have been questioned about whether or not they still have what it takes to be successful NFL quarterbacks. Personally I think RG3 deserves a shot, although it was for a short period, there was a time where it looked like RG3 would be a star in the league for the next decade. He was more polished than most running QBs and had great leadership qualities on the football field. His days are over in the nation's capital but a team like the Denver Broncos could be the perfect opportunity for him to resurrect his career. It really is shitty that RG3 battled injuries so much because when he was healthy in 2012 he was one of the most fun players to watch in the NFL. Regardless where he may land up (unless its the Jets) I really hope he is able to recapture some of the success he had in 2012. Free Agent Option #2: Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Fitzpatrick went to college to a little school outside of Boston. Harvard, ever heard of it? Fitzy (and his beard) is hands down the most well known Ivy-League alum in the NFL. The journeyman has bounced around from team to team most of his career that started 2005. He made his name with the Bills but Fitzy has played for 6 teams in his career, most recently the New York Jets where he had statistically his best season. The Jets, a team who have not had a franchise quarterback since Broadway Joe and Fitzpatrick are far apart where it comes to a new deal so his days in the big apple are probably numbered. I think this would be an awful fit for the Broncos. Despite being a serviceable QB who threw for 31 touchdowns in 2015, Fitzy has NEVER won a big game in his career. This year after upsetting the Patriots in week 16 all he had to do was beat the lowly Bills in week 17 and the Jets would have been in the playoffs. Fitzpatrick threw 3 interceptions, 2 in the 4th quarter and the Jets lost 22-17 and were eliminated from postseason contention. In fact Ryan Fitzpatrick has NEVER led a team to the postseason and boasts a career win-loss record of 43-61-1. While I have said a ton in this blog the Broncos have a team that is still build to win, if I was them I would not want Fitzy, time and time again he has peed his pants in the moments when his team needed him most. He's a decent QB but is never going to be a true difference maker. Free Agent Option #3: Brandon Weeden Just kidding Brandon Weeden is AWFUL and will never be signed by the Broncos. Also the fact that he is 32 (just one year younger than Fitzpatrick) is amazing. Now if you've read this far, I applaud you. Sure there are plenty of errors and mistakes that make this post tough to read and they are also kind of long but that's okay, you made it this far. You may be thinking to yourself... man Doz, I don't like any of these options you listed out, and frankly neither do I and that is why i give you the best and most logical answer for the Broncos to solve their Quarterback issue. Drumroll please. Option 4: Bring Back Tim Tebow Let me take you back to 2011, we were Rolling In the Deep with Adele. We got to enjoy not 1 but 2 movies about falling in love with your fuck buddy in No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits and Tebow-mania was taking the greatest country in the world by storm. After starting the 2011 NFL season 1-4 the Denver Broncos finally benched QB Kyle Orton for the 2007 Heisman winner, Quarterback Timothy Richard Tebow, out of the University of Florida. What happened next could only be written in a movie, yet some how happened in real life. Despite "poor mechanics", "no accuracy" and a "lack of skill" Tim Tebow won 7 of 8 games including a 6 game winning streak to bring the Broncos back to life. Despite all of this it was clear team President John Elway did not like Tebow. Week after week the Broncos who had looked AWFUL throughout the first three quarters of games were finding ways to win mainly in part to the clutch play of quarterback Tim Tebow (and kicker Matt Prater) the height of Tebow-mania in the regular season led to the fad of "Tebowing" where people would post pictures on social media of themselves kneeling. Much like Tebow would do during games when praying. After getting to 8-5 the Broncos began to stumble falling to 8-8 to end the regular season and had a great chance of missing the playoffs. With some help they were able to clinch the AFC West on a tiebreaker and because they won their division were able to host a playoff game against the 12-4, defending AFC champion, Pittsburgh Steelers. Going into the game many gave Denver no chance, they were a 7.5 point underdog at home. After a season where Tebow and the Broncos had struggled to score early in games the Broncos were able to score 20 points in the second quarter to take a large lead on the Steelers. In one of the NFL's most classic playoff games the Steelers were able tie the game at 23-23 to force overtime. The NFL recently changed it's overtime rules where a team could not just kick a field goal on it's opening possession to win. For the first time a team could be allowed a chance to score as long as they did not allow a touchdown on the opening possession which would end a game. It was kind of confusing but basically you had to score TD to automatically win the game. Denver won the toss and elected to receive and what happened on the first play of overtime would go down in NFL lore. The next week the Broncos season ended in a 45-10 loss against the New England Patriots. Theres no doubt their season ended ugly and Tebow frankly did not play well against the Pats, but the Patriots were 13-3 and the Broncos were 9-8. Without Tebow, the Broncos don't even make it to the playoffs, forget the divisional round. Shortly after the season ended the Broncos signed QB Peyton Manning and traded Tim Tebow to the Jets. Tebow was never giving a chance to play quarterback in New York and was cut following the 2012 NFL season. Despite going to training camp with the Patriots in 2013 and Eagles in 2015, Tebow has not played in an NFL regular season game since 2012. Tebow definitely has is flaws and limitations but I personally believe he has been black balled by the NFL for his outspoken Christian views and media frenzy he brings wherever he goes. You can mock him all you want, but when he was starting in the NFL he won and while it was not pretty, he did get results. He never got a chance to start at QB again and I personally believe he should have at least gotten a chance to fail before being out of the league. That is what lets me to my main point of this entire blog: The Broncos should bring back Tim Tebow. I don't think you could write a better story than the Broncos bringing back Tim Tebow. America LOVES second chances. We love stories of redemption and perseverance; what would be better than Tim Tebow leading the Denver Broncos again in 2016. What better chance for Tebow could there be than Denver? To go back to where it all began. I say this kind of tongue-in-cheek but at the same time I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life. Lets not forget that before Tebow the Broncos had not made the playoffs since 2005. His magical run of 2011 is really what put the Broncos back on the map. Since then, along with the New England Patriots they've been the class of the AFC. You could argue without the success of the Tebow led Broncos that Peyton Manning never goes to Denver and that the Broncos don't win Super Bowl 50. If the Broncos don't play Tebow and finish somewhere around 3-13 then we probably don't get to see how many great players they had on their roster because they probably aren't getting a ton of media attention that was created in large part by the Tebow-factor. Without the 2011 run, I don't think Manning ends up in Denver. The Broncos owe it to Tebow to at least give him a chance. That goes for anybody in life. Give people who deserve it second chances. Guys like Tim Tebow...or me deserve them. I've said it throughout the blog that Broncos have a great defense and offensive playmakers that make it you don't need a great QB. We saw it this season where they won a Super Bowl with a skelton taking snaps at QB. I believe that if the Broncos brought back Tim Tebow not only would they be successful but they could have the chance to become a dynasty. Maybe not, but it sure would be awesome to see. #MakeTebowTheBroncosQuarterbackAgain
1 Comment
Matt Eldridge
3/17/2016 01:19:16 pm
Wow...you blogged that shit out of this...I had to skim through parts cause I hate the Broncos too much to care but I sincerely think that you put more (quality) thought into this than the Broncos front office. And based on their Sanchize choice, you definitely did.
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