"There was no plan B." John Elway said that at the press conference when the Broncos signed Peyton Manning in March of 2012. Elway was referring to the fact that they had to get Manning, and they didn't want to think of a scenario in which he didn't sign with them. We all knew it was a big signing at the time, and it turned out to be the greatest signing in free agent history. When Manning came to Denver in 2012, he instantly turned the Broncos into a Super Bowl contender. Even with his limitations due to the four neck surgeries, Manning became the face of the franchise and put the Broncos amongst the elite teams in the NFL. Here are the records in the four years Manning has been in Denver: 13-3,13-3,12-4, and 12-4. 1 Super Bowl title, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 2 AFC Championships, 4 straight AFC West crowns, and a regular season record of 50-14. Throw in a 5-3 playoff record and the Broncos are 55-17 in the Manning era in Denver. That is fucking ridiculous with a QB who was considered done when he was released by Indianapolis. Instead of being lucky to be considered a wild card contender, the Broncos were battling for homefield advantage and first round byes at the end of each season. Three times Denver finished as #1 seed, and they secured a bye four years in a row. I can't even put into words how much of a difference Peyton Manning has made in Denver. Going into Super Bowl 50, the only thing left for the Broncos and Manning was to win a Super Bowl. Failing to win the Super Bowl would have been the only blemish on Manning's time in Denver. With all the wins and all the big-time numbers he put up, Manning needed to get another Super Bowl, and if he did it in Denver, then this truly was the greatest signing in the history of the NFL. Forget about how Manning played on Sunday. He struggled all year, but it didn't matter. The Broncos won the Super Bowl, and Manning was apart of it. He gets to ride off into the sunset-hopefully- and the Broncos and their fans get to celebrate a third Lombardi Trophy and the culmination of the Manning era. An era that began with so much promise and excitement back in March of 2012. There was no plan B. They had to win this game, and they did.
Another storyline that came out of this Super Bowl has to be the job that John Elway has done as Executive VP and GM of the Broncos. There was a lot of criticism when he was hired in 2011. The franchise was at an all-time low, and Pat Bowlen pegged Elway to come in and guide the franchise back to respectability. Critics were killing the Broncos for making this decision, and I remember being skeptical at the time, but I was open to see what Elway could do. No one thought he could hire a John Fox as head coach in 2011, and Fox took the job. Elway was questioned why he took Von Miller second overall in the 2011 Draft. No one thought the Broncos were going to be competitive in 2011, and they went 8-8 with Tim Tebow at QB, and they won the AFC West and upset the Steelers in a playoff game. From there, he signed Peyton Manning and moved on from Tebow. Obviously, we saw how successful that move was but look at some of the other shrewd and wise decisions he has made. He dramatically improved the roster by drafting the likes of Orlando Franklin, Julius Thomas, and Virgil Green in 2011. Derek Wolfe, Malik Jackson, Danny Trevathan, and Brock Osweiler in 2012. 2013 included Sylvester Williams and Kayvon Webster. 2014 featured Bradley Roby and Matt Paradis. He signed other free agents like Willis McGahee, Wes Welker, Aqib Talib, Demarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, Evan Mathis and Darian Stewart. He has even done a nice job of plucking undrafted guys and guys from practice squads like Brandon Marshall. He has had his share of missteps (Montee Ball) but for the most part he has been right on the money. When he felt like the team really underachieved and did not live up to their potential, he parted ways with John Fox after 2014 and went with Gary Kubiak. When he saw the Broncos and their historical offense get whipped by Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII, he decided to switch gears and focus on the defense and he built a dominant unit that won the Super Bowl. After being a legend in Denver as a Hall of Fame QB, who won 2 Super Bowls for the Mile High city, he came back as a GM and brought the city another Super Bowl victory. How sweet is that? How amazing is that? The iconic legend comes back to Denver and delivers another Super Bowl. What an incredible job by Elway. If you would have told me back in January 1999 that Elway would eventually come back and win a Super Bowl as the GM 17 years later, I would have a hard time thinking it would be true. It did, and how cool is that?
Gary Kubiak also deserve a ton of credit. He walked into a very tough situation. If he doesn't win big in his first year, then he gets killed with criticism. He had to also deal with the fact that his Hall of Fame QB was dealing with the downside of his career. Not only did Kubiak do a good job of guiding this team to a 7-0 start, he also did a great job of dealing with the Manning injury, the promotion of Brock Osweiler, the ensuing controversy when Manning was healthy and a backup in Week 17. He also did a great job of inserting Manning into the lineup in Week 17 when everything was on the line against San Diego. He handled the QB situation about as good as you can, and he had his pulse on his team the whole season. In the playoffs, and especially in the Super Bowl, he realized that he had a great defense, and he played to that strength. It was also really cool to see Kubiak, who was considered a middle of the road coach in Houston, come back to Denver where he has so much of his roots and win a championship as a Bronco. I don't know if Kubiak is getting enough credit for the job he did this year with this team.
After John Elway and John Fox parted ways last January after Denver was upset by Indy in the Divisional Playoffs, Elway told the reporters at the press conference that he wanted the Broncos to go out "kicking and screaming." He felt they needed a little more toughness to get over the hump and win a championship. The phrase "Kicking and Screaming" was the rallying cry for this team all year, and it was the perfect quote for the 2015 Broncos. Every game was a battle and a fight to the end. They never gave up, found ways to win, and grinded it out week after week. From the comeback and the late fumble against the Chiefs in Week 2, to the close wins over the Vikings, the Browns, and the Raiders at midseason. The way they rallied down 14 points to the Patriots in the 4th Quarter to win that Sunday night game at home in the snow. The OT comeback win after being down 14 to the Bengals on Monday night in Week 16 to clinch the playoffs. The way they came back and beat San Diego in Week 17 to win 27-20 and clinch the #1 seed in the AFC. The way they came back and caused the late turnover and beat Pittsburgh in the Divisional Round. The way they fought off the Patriots and pulled off the upset in the AFC Championship. The way they pulled the upset and finished off the Panthers in the Super Bowl. All of those games came back to the idea of "kicking and screaming." It wasn't pretty at times, but this team never quit and put themselves in position to win these close games and they got it done. It is nice to see that your team has heart, and the 2015 Broncos will certainly be remembered as a team that certainly proved that guts and determination still exist in pro football. The 2015 Broncos will be long remembered for their defense. A defense that should be in the conversation amongst the greatest of all time. It will be remembered for the team that go over the hump and helped Peyton Manning get his second Super Bowl ring. They might not be one of the greatest teams statistically to win a Super Bowl, but they certainly were one of the best "teams" to win the Super Bowl. Everyone had a hand in bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to Denver.
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