Since Elway took over the Broncos...

[iknowftbll]

...This team has:

- Posted a 58-22 record for a win percentage of .725. That's just a tick north of going 11-4-1 five straight seasons. By comparison the Broncos went 36-44 in the five years before Elway's return, including one winning season (9-7 in 2006), no playoff appearances, and a dismal 4-12 record in 2010.

- Reached the divisional round of the playoffs every season. In four of those years it was courtesy of a first round bye, and in 2011 came as a result of an inspired win over the defending conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers. To give you an idea of how good that is, in the AFC aside from the Broncos just the Patriots and Bengals have reached the playoffs in each of the last 5 years. In the NFC the Packers are the only team to have reached the playoffs in each of those years. That puts the Broncos as one of four years with such a streak (and the Pats and Packers go back prior to 2011). That's a pretty elite accomplishment.

- Posted a 6-4 record in the playoffs, including two wins over the consensus power brokers of this era of football, the New England Patriots, two wins over another of the more dominant teams of the last 10 years in the Pittsburg Steelers, and a win in the first-ever playoff showdown between the Broncos and Chargers. While 6-4 also includes ugly losses, it's a lot better than, say...0-5 in that same stretch. That would be the Bengals I'm talking about. Or how about the 1-2 record the Chiefs have posted? I'll take the 6-4.

- Reached the Super Bowl twice. While that first one was one of the most forgettable Super Bowls ever it has only served to make the second one that much sweeter. And even with the ugly game with the Seahawks, it's still a Super Bowl run, something that doesn't come along every season. Also, two other teams, the Patriots and Seahawks, have reached the Super Bowl twice in that same span and along with the Broncos both went 1-1 in the Super Bowl. It's hard to reach the Super Bowl twice in a short window, much less win it twice. These are three great teams for doing it.

- Become a top free agent destination. Peyton Manning. Demarcus Ware. TJ Ward. Aqib Talib. Emanuel Sanders. Wes Welker. Evan Mathis. Darian Stewart. Owen Daniels. These guys all made a huge impact in their time with the Broncos and Elway is a big part of why guys like these want to play for the Broncos. Elway is likely a big reason why top shelf FAs will continue to want to play for the Broncos even after Manning leaves the Broncos. Aside from the headline grabbing FAs that Elway has brought in, he's also brought in some serious talent that was overlooked elsewhere. Pot Roast and Brandon Marshal come to mind. Darian Stewart was an afterthought when he signed with Denver. Elway has an eye for players that can come in and contribute, even if other teams have overlooked them or outright given up on them.

Look, even before the Super Bowl win it was evident Elway had become one of the league's top executives. But winning Super Bowl 50 has sealed it. Had the Broncos not won that game or failed to reach it, a lot of sports media would question Elway's success with the Broncos. Now they have to acknowledge this is easily one of the most profoundly good organizations in the NFL and beyond that, all of professional sports.

We'll never forget how John Elway delivered the Broncos 2 Super Bowl wins when he suited up as the QB of the Denver Broncos. And now he has delivered us a third as he's suited up (see what I did there) as the team's top executive. And despite a challenging off season ahead, there is no doubt in my mind Elway is going to see to it the 2016 Broncos and those that will follow are going to be contenders as well.

This is a good time to be a Broncos fan.

 

[Mingo]

Great Post.

What's particularly impressive to me - is that this Broncos team has still not played at their over all best.

They can improve on offense and make salary adjustments on the D side of the ball - if they have too.

 

[iknowftbll]

It's mind blowing to me how good Elway has been at resurrecting a proud franchise that had temporarily lost its way. This team was awful in 2010 and won a playoff game the very next year. That's the difference Elway made. He brought in the coaches and players that made that happen. He put the team in a position to succeed on the field and they did what they were supposed to do.

Compare that to the Raiders. Hell, they've had Reggie McKenzie as GM for one year less than we've had Elway back. While he has fixed the Raiders salary cap it has taken him these 4 years to do it and only now are they in a position to maybe restore some credibility to their brand. And he inherited an 8-8 Raiders team. Elway inherited a 4-12 Broncos team and immediately put the Broncos back on the football map.

Or take a look at the Chargers. Their heyday (if that's what you want to call it) corresponded to those five years before Elway returned. They were a good team in that run, with a 14-2 season, a 13-3 season and an 11-5 season and trip to the AFCCG. They were in a position to contend while the Broncos were down but always fell short. Meanwhile the Broncos are on a mediocre-to-downright-bad run and out of nowhere Elway arrives and the Broncos have suddenly done what some of the best Chargers teams in that team's history couldn't do.

And how can we forget the Chiefs? Since Elway returned to the Broncos, the Chiefs have also resurrected their franchise after marks of 7-9 and 2-14 in 2011 and 2012. Dorsey has fixed that team and Reid has coached them to some solid performances. We likely have not heard the last of them either. Yet, their revival consists of 11-5 and blowing a 28 point lead in the playoffs, 9-7 and out of the playoffs, and 11-5 and 1-1 in the playoffs. 2015 will be the best season in recent Chiefs history because of the playoff win plus a win over the Broncos. But think about this: They're celebrating a single playoff win while we Broncos fans are celebrating a Super Bowl win.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's a good time to be a Broncos fan.

 

[SpiritOf77]

This might sound trivial, but it will never be boring with John Elway at the helm

He is the consummate competitor, and will leave no stone unturned to make a splash or better this organization ..

Players aside, look at the staff he has put together .. We have some amazing talent here on the staff, and I don't think Kollar's impact should be underestimated -

A great example was the 24 hour period two years ago when we were apparently negotiating with Jared Allen and, by all accounts, trying to retain Dominique Rogers Cromartie - things stall, and out of nowhere, we land DeMarcus Ware and Aquib Talib ...

Classic Elway

 

[randymon]

You just can't underestimate how fortunate Denver fans are to have Elway as a former player and now as one of the best GM's in all major sports. I am really excited to see how he works in this off-season and how he manages not only the tough decisions with our FA's but also who he might bring in and how he works the draft. Going to be interesting to see him work thru this. By listening to some of the players like CJ, they want to instill a SB return in whoever comes to Denver via FA and draft that their very serious about repeating and working towards that goal. As long as Elway is there, I believe Denver will continue this extraordinary run. So proud and fortunate to be a Broncos fan.

 

[SpiritOf77]

What I also really admire and like about Elway as the GM is his refusal to tolerate or take any bullshit, case in point Elvis Dumervil and Julius Thomas

When Thomas was talking in preseason about being paid like Jimmy Graham (after only playing what amounted to one season ) you knew his time was short in Denver ..

You're talkin' Jimmy Graham ?? .. You're no Jimmy Graham you mother******.. See you in Jacksonville Jimmy Graham ... Don't **** with me Thomas, never **** with John Elway

 

[Dolemite censored]

What I also really admire and like about Elway as the GM is his refusal to tolerate or take any bullshit, case in point Elvis Dumervil and Julius Thomas

When Thomas was talking in preseason about being paid like Jimmy Graham (after only playing what amounted to one season ) you knew his time was short in Denver ..

You're talkin' Jimmy Graham ?? .. You're no Jimmy Graham you mother******.. See you in Jacksonville Jimmy Graham ... Don't **** with me Thomas, never **** with John Elway

View attachment 88520

I liked this scene better:

 

[SpiritOf77]

I liked this scene better:

That's more like Mark Davis, last Sunday

 

[TDs3nOut]

This a topic that has also been addressed on the NFL General Board:

Where does John Elway rank among GMs?

Elway the GM

 

[SpiritOf77]

At this point, we should trust that Elway has a good sense of how to put together a winning team ..

Desire and hunger should not be underestimated, and I think Elway has a knack for finding guys who not only have the skills to win, but more importantly, the desire to win ..

What wins championships - ability or desire ?

 

[nflbronco]

As much of a Elway fan I was when he played. I am even a bigger fan of Elway the GM imo he is a top 3 GM in NFL.

 

[TDs3nOut]

As much of a Elway fan I was when he played. I am even a bigger fan of Elway the GM imo he is a top 3 GM in NFL.

He was stuck with Dan Reeves for much of his playing career, though I don't think that Reeves was too bad a coach. Obviously reached the pinnacle when Shanahan became the coach. Love how Elway the GM moved from McD to Fox to Kubes. So easy to say on the heels of our first championship in eighteen years, but I have a lot of faith that Johnny Bronco knows what he's doing.

 

[Manimal Sighting]

If anybody watched NFL network with CJ Anderson today they brought up something about this and CJ says "In Elway we trust" I admittedly loved it

 

[megalodon30]

At this point, we should trust that Elway has a good sense of how to put together a winning team ..

Desire and hunger should not be underestimated, and I think Elway has a knack for finding guys who not only have the skills to win, but more importantly, the desire to win ..

What wins championships - ability or desire ?

View attachment 88527

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." -Tim Tebow

 

[58crash]

Elway also won a Championship with his team the Colorado Crush he owned in like a 2 years ? that was more impressive if you really think about it ..

 

[58crash]

Okay I was one of the First to call it that Elway was going to be our GM ..

I am now going to call it again ...Manning Shanahan Elway Owners of the Broncos ..

 

[iknowftbll]

I can't believe I missed this one. Since Elway took over the Broncos they have utterly dominated the AFC West to the tune of 24-6. Keep in mind three of those losses happened in 2011 with the Tebow/Orton Broncos. Each of the Raiders, Chiefs and Chargers have beat the Broncos twice in this span, but each of those teams' first win was during that 2011 season. The AFC West opponents have scattered 3 wins over the Broncos over 4 seasons since 2011. Add to it the Broncos added a playoff win over the Chargers to bring the win total to 25 when playoffs are included. And to top it off, it's not like this has been domination over a hapless division the way the Patriots have. The AFC West took both wild card spots in 2013, had the third place team at 9-7 in both 2013 and 2014, and has had a second place finisher at 11-5 twice. So it's been domination of a fairly solid division.

 

[Mingo]

So when does John Elway win the NFL Executive of the Year award?

 

[58crash]

Next year as always you win the next year most times

 

[Broncos6482]

To add on to the Elway accolades, the Broncos have won their division every year since Elway took over. That's 5 division titles the last 5 years. Only the Patriots have matched that. And as @iknowftbll mentioned, the competition in the AFC West has been better: the AFC West has sent 3 wild card teams to the playoffs the past 5 years, the AFC East has sent none.