Not a fan, but the Dolphins are screwed. That was the only option that didn’t kick loose a serviceable QB as a free agent. They should have gone after Flynn a little harder.
This doesn’t surprise me. This was Elway’s only reasonable way out of the Tebow situation–throwing oodles of money at Manning so the Broncos could get rid of Tebow for a Hall of Famer. I would be curious to see what the other teams were offering. I wonder if this is a shift in Manning’s mind from “win at all costs” to “try to win, but get a bunch of cash because I’m one bad face mask penalty away from being out of the league at best, and I have a family to think about.”
Yeah, but compare the way Denver treated Elway with the way SF treated Montana.
Interesting developmnet- I must admit, when Peyton’s free agency first became an issue, I never imagined that the Broncos would make such an effort to get him (though it’s a VERY logical move on their part), nor did I think Denver would be Peyton’s favorite place to play, since he was sure to have many options.
Now, I can think of all kinds of great reasons to live in San Francisco, Colorado OR Tennessee. From a lifestyle standpoint, all three places have a lot to offer. Not knowing Peyton Manning or his family, I couldn’t possibly judge which considerations are most important to him. Obviously, warm weather and/or a dome were NOT as important to him as everyone assumed.
PURELY from a football standpoint, the 49ers look to me like the strongest of the 3 final teams, by far. But all 3 have strengths and all three could certainly be Super Bowl contenders next year, with the right quarterback.
On a personal level, I always LIKED Tim Tebow, but was never sold on him as a franchise QB in the pros. IF Peyton Manning is anywhere near healthy, he SHOULD be a big step up.
I have to wonder if, in part, John Elway saw this as his last, best hope of getting Tim Tebow out of town. He probably believed Tebow was never going to be his kind of QB, but recognized that fans would revolt if he dumped Tebow for anyone but a proven All-Pro.
Now, it’s worth noting that, quite aprt from his injuries, Peyton Manning put up very good but NOT spectacular numbers in his last two full seasons as the Colts’ starter.
ASSUMING he’s healthy (and, obviously, I don’t know if he is), I think he’s STILL one of the ten best quarterbacks in football, but NOT necessarily one of the elites. WAAAY better than Tim Tebow, Alex Smith or Matt Hassellbeck? Definitely. But probably NOT a lock for one of the 3 spots for quarterbacks on the AFC Pro Bowl team any more.
There is no way Tebow could be a reliable backup to a Manning run offense with it’s quick reads and audibles. You would basically have to have two separate offensive systems, Manning’s pro style with additional complicated reads, and Tebow’s college spread. Hows that going to work?
I wonder what made him pick Denver over San Francisco. All circumstances seem to point to the latter, except I don’t know how much they offered. Maybe they were ony willing to a 2 year deal or something. Or Maybe Harbaugh wasn’t willing to give Manning as much control as he wanted.
I think Denver’s receivers are underrated, Demaryius Thomas came on strong when he was finally healthy last year. Still, would’ve been crazy to see Manning throwing to Moss and Vernon Davis, with that defense getting the ball back to him several times a game.
Elway never bought into Tebow and this was a great excuse to unload him. Who is Denver’s backup now, assuming Tebow can’t stay? Brady Quinn just signed with KC. I think they might have a hard time moving Tebow. If Denver needs a backup, I hope the Browns are on the phone right now offering Colt McCoy for Tebow, straight up.
While I’m interested in watching Tebow, it’s only from the safe distance of seeing him on another team.
On the other hand, it would at least make things interesting.
I’m listening to Denver radio right now. It’s hysterical.
Any GM that would trade for Tim Tebow needs to have his head examined. Tebow doesn’t come by himself - he comes with a legion of clueless fans who refuse to look objectively at him, and flood the comments on websites and the radio airwaves with uninformed drivel. They disparage the other players if Tebow gets sacked and blame the receivers for every interception, even if it was ten feet behind them. If he doesn’t start, they’ll put up billboards and chant his name at the games. He is an incredible distraction, even though it is not his fault.
I bet you can tell how any given Denverite feels about this news by how many knees they got down on when they heard it.
I’ve been way behind this year on signings. Anyone know where I can find a list of WRs that haven’t signed? I’m under the impression there was a ton of free agent receivers this year. Denver will need a number 1 if they are serious about anything.
I’m a Colts fan…I’m still working out my feelings on the whole thing. Obviously if he’s anywhere near 100% he’s an improvement. As for the superbowl talk, Denver had some solid defensive games last season and if he gets something from a defense, it’ll be new territory for Peyton. As for “he has never been that great outdoors”…I’m pretty sure that’s the case for every quarterback.
Most of those big FA WRs have signed already–Colston resigned with the Saints, Vincent Jackson with the Buccaneers, Bowe got franchised. Mike Wallace is still out there, though.
Hey, our starting rookie quarterback took the team from 4-12 in 2010 to 8-8 and in the playoffs in 2011 despite not starting the season until the team already had a 4 game deficit. What should we do with him? Fire him, and hire an old busted question mark who used to be good but costs a zillion dollars and might shatter like porcelain first time he gets hit.
Great idea!
We’ll all get a good feel for how much the NFL likes this winner when we see what the Broncos get for him in trade. I doubt the phones are ringing off the hook at Dove Valley this afternoon.
I think, if Peyton wants to win another ring, he made a mistake. Denver was a 6-10 quality team last year that got some lucky breaks and finished 8-8. The Titans had better offensive weapons and the 49ers had the better overall team.
I think Peyton disregarded the 49ers because he wants to run his own offense, which Harbaugh wouldn’t allow him to do. Also there’s rumors he wouldn’t want the “Super Bowl or bust” pressure. Not sure why he didn’t go with the Titans though.
As for Tebow, not surprising Denver would want to trade him. It’s clear Fox and Elway don’t like him, and his trade value likely will never be higher. I don’t think he’ll ever amount to anyhing unless he ends up somewhere like the Patriots, where Belichick could use him creatively. Still, how often has a second-year, first round QB been replaced after going 7-4 and winning a playoff game?
One could say the same for Alex Smith, too. If he doesn’t re-sign with SF it’ll be interesting to see what the 49ers do. (Probably try to get Hasselbeck as a stop gap).
Clueless, non-objective fans are $$$ in the eyes of a GM.
I thought San Francisco had become the favorite since they had such a good defense, plus Gore, Davis, and the signings of Moss and Manningham. Denver’s defense is also strong but they’re going to need some significant help at wideout, and I guess we can expect them to focus there in the draft and free agency. I’m not sure what puts Denver over SF beyond their easier division- maybe that was enough by itself because it means an easier path to the playoffs, or that plus Elway. Denver does have a tough out-of-division schedule, according to SI - New England, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Houston - but it’s a more winnable division than the NFC West.
There’s always been a theory that the Jaguars would be interested in Tebow, since he played for Florida and they have little else happening. They signed Chad Henne this offseason and they may not have given up on Gabbert yet, but he was awful last year and they have pretty much no receiving corps, so you can imagine Tebow fitting in. If trading for Tebow means you have to completely revamp your team because he can’t run an NFL offense, then Denver isn’t going to get a lot of calls. He improved as a passer as last year went on, but he has a long way to go.
Yeah, he’s a system guy. He can’t be the most statistically successful quarterback of all time unless you protect him by keeping him inside the offense that he calls the plays for and probably designed half of and is the entire foundation of.
Exactly! System guy.