Peyton Manning Denver’s Prized Possession

When John Elway gave John Fox a simple thumbs up on Monday morning, it was all Fox could do not to jump around like a five year old after too much birthday cake.

After all, Fox didn’t want to scare the new quarterback away.

Elway and Fox were discussing personnel issues when Elway’s phone rang. The two froze. It was Peyton Manning.

Elway asked Manning how he was doing, and Manning told him he was having a “rough morning” because he had to call all these teams and tell them that he was not going to be playing for them.

“I froze and all I thought was, well, I wonder what number we are,” Elway said with a smirk.

It was that moment in time that changed the Denver Broncos as we know them.

“This is a great day for me personally, our organization, our city, and our fans,” owner Pat Bowlen said before introducing Manning to the city of Denver.

The city just received an orange and blue gift-wrapped package like no other. They got an 11-time Pro Bowler, 4-time league MVP, and a Super Bowl winner. Manning is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

“My goal is to make Peyton Manning the best quarterback that’s ever played the game, and he’s got that ability with the football that he’s got left,” Elway said. “I’d like to get it to where there’s no other conversation and he’s the best of all time.”

Manning proudly held up a No. 18 orange jersey with his name on it. Instead of Manning, it should have read “The Man.” That’s what the Broncos are hoping he will be.

“I could tell Denver was committed to winning,” Manning said. “I’m glad they wanted me to be a part of it.”

Elway won his two Super Bowls in his late 30’s. Manning will try to replicate, and catch up to younger brother, Eli, in the number of Super Bowl wins.

Perhaps Manning and the Broncos coming together is the perfect fit. Manning doesn’t want to risk his legacy on a team that can’t compete for a Super Bowl while Elway doesn’t want to risk his organization.

You can’t spell risk and neck without the ‘k’, however. Manning laid all of his cards out on the table through the free agency process. He explained to teams what he can and what he can’t do yet. It was up to them and their medical staff to make the call. It says a lot when all three teams who saw him throw were still interested in him. However, Manning knows that he still has a lot of work to put in.

“I’m not where I want to be,” Manning said. “I want to be where I was before I was injured.”

Manning wants to be out there for every single snap in mini-camps, OTA’s, training camp, and beyond. They say that Manning’s backups get only a few reps per month. That’s how meticulous Manning is when practicing.

“I will tell you this, the thing that got me is I asked him, I said ‘Peyton, is there any doubt in your mind that you can’t get back to the Peyton Manning that we know of?’ He said ‘There’s no doubt in my mind.'”

The absence of doubt is what can turn things into Lombardi silver.

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