Peyton Manning Must Stay Healthy

Comfort is a unique thing in the NFL.

The Denver Post reported that former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was seen throwing passes at the South Suburban Sports Dome on Monday. He was throwing to some of Denver area trainer Loren Landow’s guys.

Landow has many current and former college/pro quarterbacks throw passes so that nobody’s arm gets completely worn out. The Plummer sighting doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s ready for a comeback.

However, this news got me thinking about the Broncos current quarterback situation, in particular their backups.

Of course, there’s Peyton Manning at the helm, but what if (and that’s a catastrophic “what if”) he goes down with a neck injury?

As John Elway said in last week’s press conference which introduced Manning as a Bronco, “Plan B? I don’t have a Plan B. We’re going with Plan A.”

Over the last week, the Broncos did sign a Plan B. They  brought in former CSU Ram Caleb Hanie who was Jay Cutler’s backup in Chicago last season.

The biggest thing Hanie has done in the NFL is he played in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers as a third-stringer. He went 13-for-20 for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception in that game.

His 50% completion percentage, 3 TD, 9 INT performance last season doesn’t scream thriving backup by any means, so if something should happen to Manning, the Broncos season would look grim.

The team also has second-year QB Adam Weber who showed some promise in preseason. Still, the Broncos “Plan B” may in fact stand for Plan Bleak if Manning can’t stay healthy.

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