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Peyton Manning has been reborn in Gary Kubiak’s offense

By Sayre Bedinger

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Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning reacts as he sits on the ground after being sacked in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Colts defeated the Broncos 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It was an incredibly humbling picture for Peyton Manning in January, 2015. Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts came into Denver and marched all over Manning and the Broncos, earning a trip — their trip — to New England for the AFC Championship game.

Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, anyway.

Manning watched as the man who replaced him with the Colts made play after play to help his team win, while no. 18 was simply not, well, no. 18…It felt like the new generation of ‘elite’ was being ushered in right there on the Broncos’ home field.

That game was really a microcosm of the Broncos’ 2014 season, one that was marred by the most untimely injuries and underwhelming performances. None more important or untimely than Manning’s quad injury late in the season.

The Broncos wanted to establish a completely different culture in 2015, so they said ‘out with the old, in with the new’ by hiring Gary Kubiak to replace John Fox. Though it didn’t seem like it, the move was really a challenge to Peyton Manning — be reinvented, or it might be time to move on.

Manning chose the former, and it couldn’t come at a more perfect time.

If there’s one thing it seems Peyton Manning loves more than anything, it’s a good challenge. Nothing has ever come easy to Manning, but he sure has made it look that way. With Kubiak coming in and implementing his style of offense and leadership, it would take a significant adjustment for a player that has not only established a Hall of Fame career, but one of the greatest by a quarterback in the history of the league.

Oh, and by the way, it all came with a $4 million pay cut.

Not to mention, Manning had to get through the entire offseason without his top target Demaryius Thomas, who was waiting for a new contract from the Broncos before the franchise player deadline in July.

What seemed like a tumultuous offseason early on for Manning has quickly taken a significant turn. The 39-year old quarterback looks completely reborn as the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, and the leader of a Super Bowl contending team. At the end of last season, it looked like Manning was on his last leg. When news broke that he played the majority of the final month or so of the season with a torn quad, that became a quite literal observation.

May 27, 2015; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak walks the field past quarterback Peyton Manning (18) before the start of organized team activities at the Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

At the time, Manning must have felt in his heart like his body had worn down, like that was his one last shot to win it all. Despite saying earlier in the season that he was planning on playing as long as the Broncos would have him, his tune changed when the Broncos lost their playoff game to the Colts.

It genuinely seemed, for the first time, that Manning didn’t know if he wanted to play football anymore. That loss to the Colts in the playoffs wasn’t supposed to happen. The quad injury wasn’t supposed to happen. After his 5th MVP season, it appeared as though Manning was well on his way to a possible 6th with record-breaking performances and his normal, dominant self in the first half of the season.

Watching him in person at Broncos camp this past week, there’s a palpable difference in the way Manning is playing, even compared to his previous years with the Broncos. He looks — dare I say — better.

The Broncos were working through simple rollout drills, getting the quarterbacks on the move and making throws to the back corner of the end zone. Manning was dominating the drill, though against air, as though he were going for a routine jog on a treadmill, or hitting golf balls at the range. It didn’t seem forced. It looked like Manning was supposed to be running around making throws like that.

He’s throwing absolutely pin-point bombs down the field 40-60 yards that even has Demaryius Thomas wondering what in the world he’s doing to defy Father Time.

Jul 31, 2015; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) throws a football during training camp activities at the UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

“He’s smiling,” Thomas said. “I feel like he’s good. I don’t know with the arm strength because I know I haven’t caught a lot. I don’t know if you all are going to believe what I say, but I think it’s a little more zip on it. I don’t know how he can do that. He’s an older guy—one of the oldest guys on the team—but I feel like every year around this time, there’s almost more zip on his ball. You can notice it. He threw a couple posts today, probably 50, 60 yards, and I’m like ‘Woah.’ It’s making me excited.”

It would come as no shock to know, but it’s entirely likely Manning spent hours upon hours watching film of Kubiak’s offense this offseason, saw the ability to exploit defenses with the deep ball, and spent plenty of time working on that and perfecting that craft. Earlier in training camp, Manning commended his own ability to throw on the run, saying that he simply doesn’t do it all that often since he doesn’t run around that much. He appears to have been working on that as well.

Most of Manning’s career has been built on the success of being able to get rid of the ball extremely quickly, and while that will certainly be a focal point of the passing game yet again, there will be more than enough opportunities to exploit defenses with play-action and throwing on the run, as well as heaving up bombs and deep post routes on the famous bootlegs.

As much as people want to buy into the thought that Manning is almost done, I feel like the switch to Gary Kubiak’s offense is going to see a legend reborn, in a way. Manning has a rare opportunity to play with a coach that is not only going to allow him to do his thing out on the field, but it’s going to be an offense that stretches Peyton and forces (allows) him to do things that he’s still great at but simply hasn’t done as often in recent years.

The Broncos are going to be aggressive. “Kicking and screaming” is the theme John Elway has implemented. They will attack downfield, and they will have a productive running game for Manning to lean on. However, unlike last season, the productivity of the running game will not take away from what the passing game is doing. The scheme is built for success both on the ground as well as in the air, and I don’t think either Gary Kubiak or Peyton Manning has had this type of combination ever in their careers.

It’s going to be an absolute blast to watch two of the best offensive minds in the game work together to build a Super Bowl contender, and perhaps we’ll find that Manning is not dying off, but rather ascending due to the challenges he’s faced this offseason, and the freshness of what Kubiak brings to the table.

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