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Long thread title, but it's relevant and places this discussion right here at the intersection of draft prep and FA for the Denver Broncos. A lot of analysts have left this team for dead. Before the schedules are released, and before the draft, or a single OTA, the growing consensus is the Broncos are looking mediocre to bad in 2016. (Admittedly it's early and some analysts may come around going into the pre-season.) The notion that the Broncos declined to the point the Chiefs have surpassed them and even the Raiders will challenge them seems to be accepted without a lot of critical thought applied. And to some extent that's fine. The Broncos didn't make any big FA signings and let some star power walk while Manning retired. And it's Manning's retirement that makes all of this so fascinated. Particularly from the fans of the Broncos most stout competition since Elway's arrival, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let's go back to the days immediately after the 2011 season ended. The Broncos were an improbable AFC West champion, even with an 8-8 record. They won one of the most inspired non-Super Bowl playoff games in the history of the league with Tebow at the helm. But they were also smoked 45-10 by the Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Meanwhile the Chiefs finished 7-9 powered mostly by a stout defense but an offense that lacked a QB (options included Matt Cassell, Tyler Palko, and Kyle Orton) while their best offensive player, Jamaal Charles, spent the year injured. This same Chiefs team had finished 2010 at 10-6 and won the AFC West so the 7-9 finish was a letdown. Their defense did all it could to bring the team to a respectable finish, but that offense was one of the most inept units in that team's history. The hope that the defense coupled with Jamaal Charles and the potential the Chiefs would be an attractive option to a big name FA QB who was on the market had Chiefs fans salivating as they looked toward the 2012 season.
And of course that big name QB was Manning. And this is where we will chart the evolution of the narrative by Chiefs fans. Because in the period I've described above, the narrative out of KC was, "The Chiefs are the obvious choice because Charles returning from injury give Manning the best RB he's ever worked with and the stout defense means Manning won't have to carry the team himself." Or words to that effect.
But then Manning didn't even so much as look out of the airplane window as it flew over Kansas City en route to his meeting with Elway and Fox in Denver. And the narrative evolved. It quickly shifted to, "We didn't want a busted up old QB here anyway. Manning is one hit away from spending the rest of his life in a wheel chair. The Donkeys are all in on him and they're going to be screwed when their big signing takes a hit and is done for his career." And of course, the Broncos went 13-3 that year while the Chiefs went 2-14. And as I recall the Broncos outscored the Chiefs 55-12 in two games.
But despite a 13-3 season that would ultimately prove to be across the board the 2nd best of Manning's career at the time, the Broncos were upset in the divisional round of the playoffs that year. And despite reeling from a lousy 2-14 season the narrative in KC evolved again, "Manning may get the Donkeys a couple good seasons before his time is up but he's the ultimate playoff choker. He has more 'one-n-dones' than any other QB. Colts fans know this and Donkey fans are about to find out."
But the Broncos weren't done. They followed up 2012 with another 13-3 season despite a defense that lost half its starters though out the year and even LT Ryan Clady early in the season. That team features the most prolific offense in the history of the league and Manning had the single most prolific season for an NFL QB. But it all came collapsing in during SB XLVIII. And following that debacle the above "choke artist" narrative returned but with some modifications: "It would be better to not even reach the Super Bowl than to get blown out 43-8. The Donkeys were just humiliated and Manning is done. They won't be able to recover from this and in 2014 the Chiefs are going to take control of the division." Keep in mind, this excitement about the Broncos loss came after the Chiefs themselves lost a playoff game 45-44 after leading 38-10. And the line about it being better to not reach the Super Bowl is a good "go-to" for fans whose team hasn't reached the Super Bowl since the Beatles were the #1 band in the world.
And that narrative, including Chiefs fans often posting "43-8" as if the Chiefs had anything to do with the game, grew louder and louder as the the 2014 season approached. Of course we remember how that year went for both teams. Broncos 12-4 and winners of the AFC West...AGAIN and Chiefs 9-7 and out of the playoffs entirely. But the Broncos sort of limped through the finish line at the end of the season and despite saying all the right things during their first round bye came out and played one of the most flat and uninspired games in franchise history. Many speculated Manning had a serious injury and it proved right. And then the Broncos "re-tooled" at the top, with Fox, Gase, and JDR all heading out for other coaching gigs and an old friend in Gary Kubiak replacing him. For a combination of reasons, including Kubiak's offense, Manning's style of play coupled with his injury and age, as well as Kubiak's tepid record as a HC, the narrative evolved again, "The Donkeys are done. There is NO WAY they even reach the playoffs with all these changes. Manning is too old, injury prone, weak arm and can't play in Kubiak's offense. All the brains and football IQ in the world won't make up for lack of physical abilities. Kubiak is not a good HC. Reid is way better. That O-line is weak and their transition to a 3-4 is going to be a disaster. The Chiefs will dominate the AFC West in 2015 and the Donkeys are going to be rebuilding for a long time." And in their defense they turned out to be somewhat right with respect to Manning himself. Manning clearly was out of his element in Kubiak's offense plus that line was awful. They whiffed again on many of their other predictions about the team, especially the defense. They finally did record a win against the Broncos, but it took Manning having a career-worst game to give the Chiefs a head start.
But that narrative about how bad Manning would be, and was, in 2015 makes the latest evolution the most interesting. You see, if Manning was so bad in 2015, why is his retirement such a major loss? If "all the football IQ..." won't make up for physical abilities, why is so much being made of Manning's departure? But that's the narrative these days, "The Donkeys are done now that Manning is gone. They had their window and they got their Super Bowl now they are going to be paying for years to come. The Raiders are a bigger thread than the Broncos now. The Chiefs beat them in 2015 and we'll sweep them in 2016. We really beat them twice in 2015 if not for one lucky fumble. And that was the difference between the 1 seed and 5 seed. And we all know the Chiefs would have won the Super Bowl and blah blah blah, Manning is gone and the Broncos are done."
It is fascinating to me that a player that going into 2015 was "so bad" and ill-suited to lead this offense will now be so missed. Chiefs fans are laughing it up now that we have "butt fumble" himself on the roster and that Kubiak made a phone call to Johnny Manziel. They say our defense is depleted (despite 9 of 11 starters slated to return) while their defense has lost to FA and injury far more of its contributors.
This evolving narrative can be summarized thusly: Chiefs fans have spent the last few seasons (basically since Elway's return to the Broncos) trying to convince themselves it will be okay and the Chiefs will still be able to compete with the Broncos. And so far they've been wrong EVERY TIME. It's gotta be frustrating for them. But as frustrating as it has been, I have a feeling it is about to get even more frustrating.
You see, the latest evolution of the narrative includes one last element, "Elway's tenure as an executive has so far been defined by the Manning signing. It's easy to win when you have Manning." (Note the departure from earlier evolutions of the narrative. I guess hind site has a way of doing that for people.) "It's easy to win when you have a HOF QB, but he's gone now. NOW we're going to see how good an executive John Elway really is."
Now indeed...
Be careful what you wish for, Chiefs fans.
Let's go back to the days immediately after the 2011 season ended. The Broncos were an improbable AFC West champion, even with an 8-8 record. They won one of the most inspired non-Super Bowl playoff games in the history of the league with Tebow at the helm. But they were also smoked 45-10 by the Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Meanwhile the Chiefs finished 7-9 powered mostly by a stout defense but an offense that lacked a QB (options included Matt Cassell, Tyler Palko, and Kyle Orton) while their best offensive player, Jamaal Charles, spent the year injured. This same Chiefs team had finished 2010 at 10-6 and won the AFC West so the 7-9 finish was a letdown. Their defense did all it could to bring the team to a respectable finish, but that offense was one of the most inept units in that team's history. The hope that the defense coupled with Jamaal Charles and the potential the Chiefs would be an attractive option to a big name FA QB who was on the market had Chiefs fans salivating as they looked toward the 2012 season.
And of course that big name QB was Manning. And this is where we will chart the evolution of the narrative by Chiefs fans. Because in the period I've described above, the narrative out of KC was, "The Chiefs are the obvious choice because Charles returning from injury give Manning the best RB he's ever worked with and the stout defense means Manning won't have to carry the team himself." Or words to that effect.
But then Manning didn't even so much as look out of the airplane window as it flew over Kansas City en route to his meeting with Elway and Fox in Denver. And the narrative evolved. It quickly shifted to, "We didn't want a busted up old QB here anyway. Manning is one hit away from spending the rest of his life in a wheel chair. The Donkeys are all in on him and they're going to be screwed when their big signing takes a hit and is done for his career." And of course, the Broncos went 13-3 that year while the Chiefs went 2-14. And as I recall the Broncos outscored the Chiefs 55-12 in two games.
But despite a 13-3 season that would ultimately prove to be across the board the 2nd best of Manning's career at the time, the Broncos were upset in the divisional round of the playoffs that year. And despite reeling from a lousy 2-14 season the narrative in KC evolved again, "Manning may get the Donkeys a couple good seasons before his time is up but he's the ultimate playoff choker. He has more 'one-n-dones' than any other QB. Colts fans know this and Donkey fans are about to find out."
But the Broncos weren't done. They followed up 2012 with another 13-3 season despite a defense that lost half its starters though out the year and even LT Ryan Clady early in the season. That team features the most prolific offense in the history of the league and Manning had the single most prolific season for an NFL QB. But it all came collapsing in during SB XLVIII. And following that debacle the above "choke artist" narrative returned but with some modifications: "It would be better to not even reach the Super Bowl than to get blown out 43-8. The Donkeys were just humiliated and Manning is done. They won't be able to recover from this and in 2014 the Chiefs are going to take control of the division." Keep in mind, this excitement about the Broncos loss came after the Chiefs themselves lost a playoff game 45-44 after leading 38-10. And the line about it being better to not reach the Super Bowl is a good "go-to" for fans whose team hasn't reached the Super Bowl since the Beatles were the #1 band in the world.
And that narrative, including Chiefs fans often posting "43-8" as if the Chiefs had anything to do with the game, grew louder and louder as the the 2014 season approached. Of course we remember how that year went for both teams. Broncos 12-4 and winners of the AFC West...AGAIN and Chiefs 9-7 and out of the playoffs entirely. But the Broncos sort of limped through the finish line at the end of the season and despite saying all the right things during their first round bye came out and played one of the most flat and uninspired games in franchise history. Many speculated Manning had a serious injury and it proved right. And then the Broncos "re-tooled" at the top, with Fox, Gase, and JDR all heading out for other coaching gigs and an old friend in Gary Kubiak replacing him. For a combination of reasons, including Kubiak's offense, Manning's style of play coupled with his injury and age, as well as Kubiak's tepid record as a HC, the narrative evolved again, "The Donkeys are done. There is NO WAY they even reach the playoffs with all these changes. Manning is too old, injury prone, weak arm and can't play in Kubiak's offense. All the brains and football IQ in the world won't make up for lack of physical abilities. Kubiak is not a good HC. Reid is way better. That O-line is weak and their transition to a 3-4 is going to be a disaster. The Chiefs will dominate the AFC West in 2015 and the Donkeys are going to be rebuilding for a long time." And in their defense they turned out to be somewhat right with respect to Manning himself. Manning clearly was out of his element in Kubiak's offense plus that line was awful. They whiffed again on many of their other predictions about the team, especially the defense. They finally did record a win against the Broncos, but it took Manning having a career-worst game to give the Chiefs a head start.
But that narrative about how bad Manning would be, and was, in 2015 makes the latest evolution the most interesting. You see, if Manning was so bad in 2015, why is his retirement such a major loss? If "all the football IQ..." won't make up for physical abilities, why is so much being made of Manning's departure? But that's the narrative these days, "The Donkeys are done now that Manning is gone. They had their window and they got their Super Bowl now they are going to be paying for years to come. The Raiders are a bigger thread than the Broncos now. The Chiefs beat them in 2015 and we'll sweep them in 2016. We really beat them twice in 2015 if not for one lucky fumble. And that was the difference between the 1 seed and 5 seed. And we all know the Chiefs would have won the Super Bowl and blah blah blah, Manning is gone and the Broncos are done."
It is fascinating to me that a player that going into 2015 was "so bad" and ill-suited to lead this offense will now be so missed. Chiefs fans are laughing it up now that we have "butt fumble" himself on the roster and that Kubiak made a phone call to Johnny Manziel. They say our defense is depleted (despite 9 of 11 starters slated to return) while their defense has lost to FA and injury far more of its contributors.
This evolving narrative can be summarized thusly: Chiefs fans have spent the last few seasons (basically since Elway's return to the Broncos) trying to convince themselves it will be okay and the Chiefs will still be able to compete with the Broncos. And so far they've been wrong EVERY TIME. It's gotta be frustrating for them. But as frustrating as it has been, I have a feeling it is about to get even more frustrating.
You see, the latest evolution of the narrative includes one last element, "Elway's tenure as an executive has so far been defined by the Manning signing. It's easy to win when you have Manning." (Note the departure from earlier evolutions of the narrative. I guess hind site has a way of doing that for people.) "It's easy to win when you have a HOF QB, but he's gone now. NOW we're going to see how good an executive John Elway really is."
Now indeed...
Be careful what you wish for, Chiefs fans.
But for the record those characterizations are a summation of what their fans have said over the years. Some of it I had to rely on memory but for the most recent evolutions you can pick up on it real fast at ArrowheadPride and ArrowheadAddict, the latter being essentially a second-tier Broncos site with how frequently the Broncos are the subject of discussion there!
