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What becomes a legend most? (Elway lands Manning)
ESPN.com ^ | 3/20/12 | Rick Reilly

Posted on 03/20/2012 10:10:56 AM PDT by GSWarrior

At a Super Bowl dinner this year, I couldn't help but ask John Elway why he'd never done The Tebow, the one-knee mini-prayer popularized worldwide by his quarterback.

Elway is fairly religious, so he thought about it and then said, "How about this? I'll Tebow when he wins us a championship."

Add that to your list of Things You'll Never See. Right below "Lenny Dykstra, President of the United States."

Tebow is trade meat this morning after Elway used a combination of stones, guile, risk, friendship and legend to land the biggest free-agent whale in NFL history: Peyton Manning.

Manning, of course, has no business picking Denver. Cold-weather town? Green receivers? Thin backfield? Tennessee made much more sense (disregard all previous dispatches).

The reason Manning is about to become a Bronco has everything to do with one man, Elway

(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Society; Sports
KEYWORDS: broncos; chat; elway; tebow
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Haven't seen any Manning/Tebow/Elway threads on Free Republic so I thought I would remedy that.

; )

Rick Reilly belongs in the Sportswriters Hall of Fame, IMO.

1 posted on 03/20/2012 10:11:05 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: GSWarrior

>> Tebow is trade meat this morning

...and I expect he’ll handle this with his usual Christian class and grace and come out ahead... however God defines that for him.

God bless Tim Tebow, and thanks for the post.


2 posted on 03/20/2012 10:18:00 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Trust in God, but row away from the rocks!)
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To: GSWarrior

IMO, Manning is a big mistake on Elway’s part. Manning is 36, over the hill and injured. He was an excellent QB in his time, but that time is past.


3 posted on 03/20/2012 10:23:59 AM PDT by expat2
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To: GSWarrior

I’m sick about this. I’ve always liked Peyton Manning, but I have no desire to see him replace Tim Tebow. Manning is around 36 years old and coming off a severe injury that caused him to miss all of last season. Tebow is 24, strong and healthy, and showing evidence of becoming a great quarterback within a few years.

I believe John Elway has made a serious error in judgment, and that he will rue the day he bulldozed Tim Tebow out of Denver. Whichever team gets Tim will be really lucky.


4 posted on 03/20/2012 10:24:43 AM PDT by American Quilter (GO SANTORUM! Last true conservative in the race.)
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To: expat2

I predict Manning will end his career like Joe Namath did. The Bronco recievers will drop Mannings passes too.


5 posted on 03/20/2012 10:27:02 AM PDT by MtnClimber (Don't be an Elway in the punch bowl!)
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To: GSWarrior

Rick Reilly is a liberal douche bag.


6 posted on 03/20/2012 10:30:44 AM PDT by EEGator
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To: American Quilter

Love watching Tebow and I admire what Manning has accomplished. That said I don’t think either of them are the longterm answer at the QB spot. I would love to see Tebow stay with Denver in another capacity, however.


7 posted on 03/20/2012 10:30:49 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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To: GSWarrior
Elway is fairly religious...

Say what? What religion is John? To quote Mandy Patankin "I don't think that word means what you think it means."

8 posted on 03/20/2012 10:31:54 AM PDT by DaveyB (Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. -John Adams)
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To: DaveyB
Colts fan, huh?

; }

9 posted on 03/20/2012 10:34:28 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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To: GSWarrior
With Manning's neck on the line, he somehow has confidence the Denver O-line will protect him better than the 2011 O-line that let Tebow get sacked on about 1 in 11 pass attempts.

Manning also must have reason to believe that when he puts the ball in a receivers hands 20-30 yards downfield, the receiver will make the catch.

10 posted on 03/20/2012 10:35:26 AM PDT by fso301
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To: MtnClimber
I predict Manning will end his career like Joe Namath did. The Bronco recievers will drop Mannings passes too.

That's what history is best at: repeating itself.

11 posted on 03/20/2012 10:35:26 AM PDT by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: GSWarrior
I agree with the other posters - this is crazy on John Elway's part.

I like Peyton Manning and he was undoubtedly a great player but I think the operative term is "was". No one knows if he'll ever truly come back from last year's injury and I'd be worried that he will re-injure himself on the first sack.

And didn't he have an older brother who had to stop playing football because of some kind of spinal chord problem? Looks like he would be a little concerned about permanently injuring himself.

Tebow, on the other hand, is just starting his career and has an insane amount of potential. Whichever team grabs him is the real winner, long term.

12 posted on 03/20/2012 10:39:34 AM PDT by carolinablonde
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To: fso301

As long as he stays behind Ryan Clady and throws to Demaryius Thomas he will be a success....


13 posted on 03/20/2012 10:41:22 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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To: GSWarrior
Elway exposed himself as someone of limited mental skills by his resistance to Tebow and his undercutting him at every turn. He was able to land Manning, which is something that everyone probably agrees is a good move, but he went after him so hard because he cannot fathom how to win with Tebow, a man who has a champion's heart, a running back's body and a rocket for an arm. I guarantee you that if Tebow goes to SF, NE, Baltimore or any team with a coach who can think creatively, those franchises would succeed. Elway only knows one thing--classic NFL QB, a guy who hands off or drops back to pass. Manning is one of the best ever at that, and Denver will be stronger if Manning is healthy.

But there are other ways to defeat an opponent, as Denver showed on several occasions last year when they actually installed an offense tailored to Tebow. They broke down defenses, which, in the NFL, are not geared to being pounded with the run and having to defend a ball carrier who might also throw. All they know about that is the occasional HB pass, thrown by someone who is not warm, who is not a QB, and who usually gives it away as soon as they get the toss.

I thought there were a lot of things Denver could do to make their offense with Tebow better. They were just getting started. But Elway had no interest whatsoever in going that way. He was going to spend the entire offseason supposedly teaching Tebow how to be Elway. Tebow isn't Elway. Elway had no mobility. He didn't run over linebackers. He didn't scramble for 15 seconds before finding someone downfield. He knew one thing. Sadly, he still only knows one thing. Football geniuses, like Bellichek and Harbaugh, care about one thing, too. That thing is winning. They find a way. Remember when Brady went out, and NE won about 12 games with Matt Cassell? How has he done in other cities? Harbaugh turned Alex Smith into a great QB. Is Smith any better than he was? No, Harbaugh created plays and situations that allowed Smith to be great. Elway could never do that. He'd have traded Smith, too, and undercut him to the press.

14 posted on 03/20/2012 10:44:51 AM PDT by Defiant (If there are infinite parallel universes, why Lord, am I living in the one with Obama as President?)
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To: GSWarrior
Colts fan, huh?

Sorry been a broncos fan since 75. I live in Colorado and worked with the video production and news community during the Elway years. I just know more about the Elways (John and Janet) than the PR spin. John was a great player on the field, but a self-absorbed-spoiled-drunken-womanizing narcissist off the field. He is no role model and if he is a christian (I'll leave that for God to decide) he certainly has not lived religiously.

15 posted on 03/20/2012 10:46:03 AM PDT by DaveyB (Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. -John Adams)
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To: carolinablonde
It's a tough call.

Can Tebow improve his pocket passing and timing? How long do you wait?

Or do you tailor your offense to utilize his unique skills? If so, will you be able to attract top-flight receivers? What about a backup QB? Can you find one who is able to sustain that type of offense if Tebow goes down? Or can a team switch back to a traditional attack?

I would love to see Tebow stay in Denver. Maybe not as starting QB.

16 posted on 03/20/2012 10:49:10 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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To: DaveyB

Elway has his share of character flaws, that is for certain.


17 posted on 03/20/2012 10:52:56 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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To: GSWarrior
As long as he stays behind Ryan Clady and throws to Demaryius Thomas he will be a success....

It was actually the middle-deep passes that went through DT's hands that I was thinking of.

18 posted on 03/20/2012 10:57:26 AM PDT by fso301
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To: GSWarrior

Not too hard to see Elway didn’t/doesn’t like Tim Tebow. The disdain was obvious.

Now there are going to be two big QB dogs in Denver: Elway and Manning.

Let’s see how that works out.


19 posted on 03/20/2012 10:57:49 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
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To: Defiant
I have to respectfully disagree with much of what you posted.

I can't speak to Elway's mental skills, but his scrambling ability is what set him apart from other QBs. He was ALWAYS a threat to run. No mobility? What league were you watching? Didn't run over linebackers? Did you miss the signature play from the 1998 Super Bowl? Didn't scramble for 15 seconds before finding someone downfield? That is just incorrect.

Personally I think Tebow has the potential to redefine the QB position and I would love to see it happen in Denver. Apparently Elway is not willing to take that on but I guarantee you that he wants to win a Super Bowl as team president.

Jim Harbaugh found a way to win with Alex Smith. He did not turn him into a great quarterback, yet.

Other than that, I agree with your post.

20 posted on 03/20/2012 11:03:40 AM PDT by GSWarrior (Some people tell me I worry too much.)
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