Another Open Letter to Peyton Manning
By Adam Malnati
Dear Peyton Manning,
There has been a lot of speculation about what is going on with you, and I think you would agree that the people of Broncos Country are nervous. I can remember all of the news reports swirling around where you would end up when the Colts moved on. I was a disgruntled Denver Broncos fan, languishing in the era of Tebowing and the bounce pass. The excitement of possibly having one of the greatest of all time coming to my team was indescribable.
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I can’t speak for all Broncos fans, but I know I felt like we had won the Super Bowl. John Elway had pulled of the coup de grâce of the century. Broncos Country had a new bounce in their step. No more Tebow! They may as well have shipped the Lombardi trophy to Mile High Stadium and had the ceremony right then.
The ride was intense. You orchestrated your offense with surgeon like precision. The league was your playground, and you had turned the Broncos into the bully on the block. Unfortunately, all that regular season fun did not translate into a Super Bowl victory, which is the sole reason you were brought to Denver.
Father Time is undefeated, and while you had been able to avoid his clutches for a long time, it seems you are now in a losing battle.
The loss to Baltimore is still a hard pill to swallow. It was a travesty the way John Fox decided to take a knee with the ball on the 30, two timeouts, and 30 seconds on the clock. You only needed a field goal, but that was Fox. Conservative to the core. The Seattle debacle was some weird act of the football gods. The whole episode is like a bad dream.
Sadly, it seems like that was your last best chance. Father Time is undefeated, and while you had been able to avoid his clutches for a long time, it seems you are now in a losing battle. It started last year with the collapse at the end of the year, and the loss to Indianapolis in the playoffs. Now, with foot and rib injuries, Father Time has once again taken a shot at you. I hate to say it, but you look old.
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You have never looked old before. Even last year, as the team limped into the playoffs you didn’t look old. Unfortunately, it looks like you may have lost more than just one step. I want to believe that a little time off to get healthy is all you need. John Elway missed a few games in 1998 and the Broncos still won the Super Bowl. I want to say your struggles are caused by a bad offensive line, and needing to learn a new offensive scheme. It takes time to adjust to a new playbook. Those are the hopes of all of Broncos Country.
Hope can be a wonderful thing. Peyton, I hope you take some time off to get healthy. Don’t worry about the results. Focus only on getting your foot and ribs better. I hope that Brock Osweiler can hold down the fort, and that he looks like the future while he does it. However, we all know that Osweiler is not the present, and this defense, despite the struggles of the last two weeks, is special. I hope it isn’t wasted on a stubborn old quarterback who can’t recognize when he needs a little time off.
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Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) walks off the field after the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Chiefs won 29-13. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports