John Elway is the G.O.A.T. so don't make him the goat

The Broncos may be 7-2, firmly in command of the AFC West and in contention for the 2-seed in the AFC but to listen to the chirping in the Denver media one would think they’re a walking disaster. Denver has dropped two in a row so with seven games still to be played some pundits have decided it’s finger pointing season in Broncos Country.

The great number seven, Broncos President and General Manager John Elway, may be the the G.O.A.T. in the eyes of fans but that hasn’t prevented certain prominent voices in the Denver sportosphere from making him into a goat. Some, most notably Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post and Mile High Sports President James Merilatt have irresponsibly advanced the notion that John Elway set Peyton Manning up to fail this season.

The narrative these muckrakers are advancing asserts that prior to this season the Broncos wanted to rid themselves of Peyton Manning and that once it became clear that they couldn’t, they demanded that he take a pay cut and subsequently stacked the deck against his success in 2015. Elway, they insist, placed too little emphasis on suring up the offensive line allegedly knowing that it would ultimately lead to the very situation that Manning finds himself in today – injured, on the bench and planning for retirement.

The fact is well documented that the Broncos removed the previous coaching regime and brought in Gary Kubiak and crew hoping to bring a kind of balance to the offense that would help it sustain in December, January and (God willing) February. But some see this move not as an effort to improve the Broncos’ post-season odds but rather to undermine a Hall-of-Fame quarterback. The implication seems to be that the Broncos should have retained John Fox and Adam Gase at least until such time as Manning stepped aside. Those fellows made Manning the top priority; Kubiak hasn’t.

In his column today for the Denver Post Mark Kiszla writes: “The truth is the Broncos have done almost nothing in 2015 that has catered to Manning’s wishes. The team cut his salary by $4 million. In Kubiak, Denver hired a coach whose offensive philosophy did not fit Manning’s skill set.” Kiszla goes on to hammer Elway over Denver’s shaky offensive line:”Elway took an inexperienced offensive line to training camp and refused to make a trade to acquire Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas at the trade deadline, which put an immobile quarterback in a very tough position.”

Kiszla’s assertions seem to imply that Peyton Manning is bigger than the Broncos and that’s the mindset that has run wild over the past 48 hours. The truth is, though, that if anything Peyton Manning set the Broncos up to fail. Based on the available evidence – Manning’s 17 interceptions, his sub-70 season passer rating and his inability to escape the rush – it’s hard to argue that Peyton shouldn’t have retired. The case can be made that he probably knew he wasn’t up to the task this season but that he returned for selfish reasons. One of those selfish reasons might have been the passing yardage record he broke on Sunday right before throwing his first of four interceptions on the day.

With Brock Osweiler scheduled to make his first start at Soldier Field on Sunday the Broncos are in a weird place – one that they did not anticipate being in mid-season. Peyton Manning probably didn’t envision himself watching the Broncos from the sidelines in week eleven either. To insinuate that John Elway masterminded the circumstance is the lowest of form of media baiting. Headlines like “Peyton Manning has been set up for failure” and Tweets that say the same are written for one reason – to promote. Driving traffic is the goal, not analysis and not intelligent discourse.

Fact is, John Elway set Manning up for success for three seasons and Manning failed to deliver a championship in return. Manning flourished in the regular season and floundered after. That forced the Broncos to move in another direction, away from Star Wars numbers and toward something more sustainable. Has John Elway been perfect as a General Manager? Certainly not. He wasn’t a perfect quarterback either; but he won. He will win as an executive, too. Broncos Country owes John Elway its allegiance and will continue to. In much the same way that Pat Bowlen is worshiped in Denver so should be seven.

Today on Twitter James Merilatt wrote: “The cult-like thought process of the #InElwayWeTrust crowd is scary.” But that’s a far cry from how he felt just a few short years ago when he still counted himself among Elway’s biggest fans.

Tebow had no allegiance to the city, yet fans are turning on a guy (Elway) who has spent three decades of his life here? Gimme a break!

— James Merilatt (@jamesmerilatt) March 23, 2012

Interestingly, Manning has no allegiance to this city either and Elway has still spent over three decades here. But Merilatt sees an opportunity to craft controversy. And, with a magazine, a web site, and a radio station, vying for clicks, listens, and reads, it’s in his best interest – as it is in Kiszla’s – to attract attention however possible even if it sets the fans of Denver up to fail to understand where they’re coming from.