Time to move on from John Elway?
Time to move on from John Elway?
Since 2011, Hall of Fame and Broncos legend John Elway has been the General Manager & Executive Vice President of football operations for the team he’s spent his entire career on. In the beginning, it was a perfect honeymoon. Elway went out and got a recently released Peyton Manning to be the signal-caller for the Broncos to replace Tim Tebow who helped the Broncos win their first playoff win since 2005.
In Manning’s four seasons they won the AFC West title all four times, two Superbowl appearances and winning it all against the Carolina Panthers in Superbowl 50. Elway at the early stages showed urgency and conviction. After losing the Superbowl to the Seahawks, Elway went out and boosted the defense with the signings of DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, and Aqib Talib to give Chris Harris and Von Miller on the defensive side of the ball. The Broncos field one of the more underrated and dominant defenses this decade and was the driving force to bring a Superbowl to the Mile High city. However every since Peyton Manning had his storybook ending and retired from Denver, the Broncos have yet to move on and find a quarterback to replace him.
Ever since Manning retired, Elway has botched finding a suitable replacement. From Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum and now Joe Flacco all have flopped to become the mainstay Quarterback for the Broncos. The Broncos offense has ranked no better than 24th since their Superbowl season (27th, 27th, 24th, and 25th this season). The Broncos have been progressing getting worse over the years. A group of young talented offensive weapons being wasted by journeymen Quarterbacks and even a far worse offensive line. All-Pro defensive players Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. primes being wasted and should be traded to begin the rebuild. However, even if you trade the older pieces is Elway the guy to make the most of it? Maybe the time has come for the Bowlen family to thank Elway for all he’s done and go in a new direction.
The Broncos on the heels of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since the 70s and is on pace for 3rd straight losing seasons and a 4th straight losing season. The constant carousel at the two most important positions the quarterback and head coach. Missing on draft picks over the course of Elway’s seven-year tenure that isn’t Von Miller and for a short period Bradley Chubb before the injury(Lindsay and Harris were undrafted). Finally missing on free agency since 2014 has all accumulated to the state of the Denver Broncos today.
This past Thursday the Broncos honored John Elway as one of the 100 greatest Broncos of all time. When the night was over the Broncos lost to their division rivals The Kansas City Chiefs in blowoff fashion with reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes leaving the game earlier with a knee injury. A game in which The Broncos gave up a season-high 9 sacks. The Broncos do have some young pieces to work with such as Sutton, Lindsay, Freeman, and Chubb when he gets back from but the ship has sailed from Elway being the man to change this franchise’s fortune anymore. A culture of winning and championship success that Elway has built during the first half of his tenure has spread to a culture of losing, inconsistency and roster turnover. 13-26 season since 2017 should spark change but even at the 2-5 mark and the trade deadline looming, even with the fans losing faith in Elway every game they aren’t any signs of Elway leaving anytime soon even though it is very much needed.
-By: Kris Thomas