After 1,128 days, it's time for the Broncos to move on

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — One thousand one hundred and twenty-eight days.

It’s been 1,128 days since an emotional Peyton Manning famously said, “God bless all of you and God bless football,” as he rode off into the sunset of his NFL career with his second Lombardi trophy in hand.

1,128 days, and yet the Broncos are still talking about the void left by “The Sherriff” when he walked through those swinging saloon doors.

“We had four great years of Peyton Manning,” Derek Wolfe said on Tuesday afternoon. “When Peyton’s around, he’s the leader, he runs the show in the entire building it seems like. Once you lose a guy like that, there’s a space that needs to be filled. A head coach usually fills that job, and that’s not an easy thing to ask of anybody.”

Peyton Manning has almost been gone as long as he was a Bronco, and the team is still talking about filling his void. And while it certainly plays a part, it’s not even his talent at the most important position in sports that they’re talking about, it’s his leadership. That’s scary.

And Wolfe wonders why his teammates are insistent that Vic Fangio is changing the culture because players are getting to meetings five minutes early?

“That happens every year whenever you show up,” he said, keeping it real as always. “What happens in Week 16 when everybody is beat to hell, and nobody feels like being around this building, and we’re all sick and tired of each other? Are you still showing up five minutes early? That’s when it counts.”

It’s because this team is desperate for Fangio to be that guy. They’re desperate for their new head coach to lead them in the right direction. They’re desperate for him to change the culture. They’re desperate for him to command respect. They’re desperate for him to take control of the reins.

The Broncos have been without a clear leader for too long.

They thought Brock Osweiler was sure to be that guy. They paid Von Miller like he should be that guy. They threw a blind dart hoping Paxton Lynch—hold your lughter—would be that guy. They half-heartedly hoped Trevor Siemian could be that guy. They only told us 100 times that Vance “Leader of Men” Joseph would be that guy. They really wanted to believe that Case Keenum could be that guy.

1,128 days later, and they’re still talking about Peyton F. Manning—and the F isn’t there in a good way anymore.

Maybe this is the standard hangover after an all-time great from a leadership standpoint departs, maybe John Elway has failed in his attempts to replace Manning, maybe it’s a combination of both. Either way, it’s time to move on.

When Week 1 comes around, the Broncos will—at most—have six players on the roster with Super Bowl 50 rings, and many of them, like Wolfe and Miller, are who the guys that didn’t play with Manning look up to. At this point, talking about the way things used to be is an active deterrent to the mission. It’s time to find a new path to the top of the mountain, the old one is closed.

Maybe Vic Fangio is the Sherpa they’re looking for, maybe it’s Joe Flacco, but a gaggle of veterans constantly thinking “this isn’t filling the Peyton void” will never allow for those leaders to truly be empowered.

After 1,128 days, it’s time to realize there’s never going to be another Peyton Manning.