He's asked his agent to begin contract negotiations with the Denver Broncos.
Printable View
He's asked his agent to begin contract negotiations with the Denver Broncos.
"Hi....um, Alex...? This is Jim....Oh, nothing much. Say...um, that whole Peyton thing... I hope you aren't holding that against... hello? Hello?"
I am somewhat surprised Manning has reportedly opted for Denver. The 49ers definitely have the best supporting cast for Manning and are the most likely team to reach a Super Bowl in the next couple of years among those teams who have pursued Peyton. I'm not sure the Broncos have as much talent as the Titans.
Their offensive line isn't the greatest and their receiving corps isn't exactly outstanding. They could use a #1 receiver and a good pass catching TE.
Free agency is still ongoing and the draft is next month. Don't assume what the Broncos have today is what they'll have when the season starts.
Also, the Broncos were probably the most willing to give Peyton the kind of control he had with the Colts. Over the years he'd become the de facto OC and on-demand playcaller for Indy; everything about the offense was either his idea or tailored to his liking. The Broncos were going to have to start over anyway when or if they abandoned the Tebow experiment, so why not?
Is it possible that Peyton went to the team with the most money to pay him? It's weird that hasn't been discussed. We all assume that he is signing for purely football reasons, but if that were the case, wouldn't the team that needed just two or three 3rd down conversions to make the super bowl (San Francisco) make more sense?
I assume he just wanted to stay in the AFC. Honestly, his chances are better there.
I think Titans were probably offering the most money. I bet Denver has a better record than SF next year.
As a Bronco fan, I am totally excited. I respected Tebow and was happy for the excitement he added last season. However I also realized without a very good defense , Tebow Time would not have been anyway, as the defense allowed them to make the 4th qtr comebacks plus things like the bears guy running out of bounds etc.
I aways felt Elway wasnt sold on Tim and a chance to get PM was the "out" he needed.
With the exception of the win vs Pitt, anytime the Broncs faced a high powered offense, you knew there wasnt much of a chance. (actually I didnt feel they had a chance then)
For example, when playing NE, I didnt feel there was much of a realistic chance. With PM, I feel with the broncos defense of Miller-Dumerville and co are an instant contender for one of the top AFC teams.
Great job John for making it happen ! Without him, I doubt it would have.
I will add, once Tenn entered the picture, I thought they were the frontrunner.
What's really amazing when you think of it is how far the Broncos have come in less than one yr. Before Tebow took over, the Broncos were a bottom feeder in the NFL and looking at a top 5 or 10 draft pick. Now they're considered Super Bowl contenders and about the only thing that's changed is the QB. :shocked: