SI: John Elway is Looking for Himself

[26CornerBlitz]

John Elway Is Looking for Himself

He’s one of the best ever to play the game—but as general manager of the Broncos, he has yet to identify a young passer with the arm, the brain and the fortitude to take over the franchise the way he did when he arrived in Denver as a rookie in 1983. Are John Elway’s standards too high? Is his vision clouded by his own past mastery? Will he ever find his quarterback?

 

ENGLEWOOD, COLO. — He’s 58. He tore an ACL in high school and never got it repaired, so his left leg bows slightly. He had a knee replaced in 2007. He stands in the shadow of the Broncos practice facility and looks out at the first-rounder, Paxton Lynch, whose biggest contribution to Broncos lore at the moment is the dark brown leather scuff on a white-painted wall in the indoor practice facility, from the time he winged a football at the wall rather than throw into coverage in a goal line scenario  ... on fourth down. Soon the first-rounder will be demoted, then released. Next to Lynch is the undrafted veteran of six teams, here on a two-year prove-it deal. Case Keenum will do for now.

 

The hardest part—the torture of it all—is that he knows exactly what he’s looking for. He just doesn’t know how or where to find it. He sees it when he looks in the mirror and reaches back in time, to the stubborn young man who wouldn’t take no for an answer. He won Super Bowls in the NFL as a player and then again as a general manager. But pro football has little patience, and no one can understand why one of the greatest quarterbacks above ground, given ample resources to identify and draft a franchise quarterback, hasn’t been able to do so.

 

“With the QB position there’s as much that you have to have on the inside as the outside,” John Elway says. “You can see the physical traits, but you don’t know how [players are] going to handle it mentally when they get to this level. The world’s going to cave in on you, no matter who you are. How are you going to battle back when that time comes? And that’s the hardest thing to read.”

 

[SinceThe70s]

 

He's not the only GM having a hard time finding a QB as good as he was. 

 

[COTC]

This has to be his last year. He’s been a huge disappointment. 

[SinceThe70s]

4 minutes ago, COTC said:

This has to be his last year. He’s been a huge disappointment. 

 

I look forward to the day when I can call a Bills GM a huge disappointment a few years after winning a Super Bowl. 

[COTC]

4 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I look forward to the day when I can call a Bills GM a huge disappointment a few years after winning a Super Bowl. 

 

Bills winning a Super Bowl!! ? ? ? 

 

Then you want them to be as bad as the broncos, just so you could call them a huge disappointment ? ? ? 

 

Funny but completely unrealistic. 

 

Elway is on the hot seat...

[Augie]

1 minute ago, COTC said:

 

Bills winning a Super Bowl!! ? ? ? 

 

Then you want them to be as bad as the broncos, just so you could call them a huge disappointment ? ? ? 

 

Funny but completely unrealistic. 

 

Elway is on the hot seat...

 

He’s certainly made some mistakes, but his success and relationship with the owner make me believe he’s got some time. Warm? Maybe. But not hot. We’ll see. 

[BADOLBILZ]

5 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I look forward to the day when I can call a Bills GM a huge disappointment a few years after winning a Super Bowl. 

 

 

Bills have been irrelevant for so long that many fans have totally lost touch with the rest of the league.

 

5 straight playoff appearances.......2 SB appearances and a Lombardi.......his team averaged 12 wins per season in 5 year period from 2012-2016.

 

One bad season in 2017.

 

By comparison the Bills haven't had a 10 win season this century and haven't even won a playoff game in a "disappointing" 23 years.

 

 

 

 

 

[Fadingpain]

2 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Bills have been irrelevant for so long that many fans have totally lost touch with the rest of the league.

 

5 straight playoff appearances.......2 SB appearances and a Lombardi.......his team averaged 12 wins per season in 5 year period from 2012-2016.

 

One bad season in 2017.

 

By comparison the Bills haven't had a 10 win season this century and haven't even won a playoff game in a "disappointing" 23 years.

 

 

 

 

 

Great post and quite accurate.

 

 

[stevewin]

[GunnerBill]

22 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Bills have been irrelevant for so long that many fans have totally lost touch with the rest of the league.

 

5 straight playoff appearances.......2 SB appearances and a Lombardi.......his team averaged 12 wins per season in 5 year period from 2012-2016.

 

One bad season in 2017.

 

By comparison the Bills haven't had a 10 win season this century and haven't even won a playoff game in a "disappointing" 23 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don't actually need to be a genius to realise signing Peyton Manning as a FA might be a good idea though.... 

 

I think Elway has made a lot of personnel errors the last 3 or 4 years. His drafts have not been good, his latest Head Coaching hire is a bit of a disaster and his FA has been limited by the fact that he kicked the salary cap can down the road when he was in an arms race with the Patriots to try and surround Manning with talent to win a Superbowl in that window. That strategy worked and as such he deserves some patience as he now embarks on this rebuild. I think they will be below .500 again in 2018 and the 2019 draft and FA period is similarly important in Denver as it is in Buffalo. He probably gets one more shot at hiring a coach and one more shot at drafting his Quarterback. 

[PeterDude]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

You don't actually need to be a genius to realise signing Peyton Manning as a FA might be a good idea though....

 

I remember a lot of people saying it was a terrible idea, that he was washed up.

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, PeterDude said:

 

I remember a lot of people saying it was a terrible idea, that he was washed up.

 

Well they were wrong. I'm not saying he gets no credit for signing Manning, even if you ignore people who thought he was washed up there were other teams - the 49ers and the Titans I remember - in the running too and Elway convinced him to choose Denver. I am just making the point that the "success" Elway had in Denver really came on the back of Peyton Manning and mortgaging the future to surround him with talent which meant that even though Manning actually struggled in that final season they had enough to win a Lombardi. I accept Elway was unlucky on Kubiak retiring as well - Kubiak is a good coach. But the point is that since Manning retired they have not been a good team and his handpicked replacements for Manning and Kubiak have both been pretty spectacular failures. Doesn't matter what reputation you start with - when you are a GM in the NFL your reputation comes down to the Coach and the Quarterback that you select.

[ProcessAccepted]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Well they were wrong. I'm not saying he gets no credit for signing Manning, even if you ignore people who thought he was washed up there were other teams - the 49ers and the Titans I remember - in the running too and Elway convinced him to choose Denver. I am just making the point that the "success" Elway had in Denver really came on the back of Peyton Manning and mortgaging the future to surround him with talent which meant that even though Manning actually struggled in that final season they had enough to win a Lombardi. I accept Elway was unlucky on Kubiak retiring as well - Kubiak is a good coach. But the point is that since Manning retired they have not been a good team and his handpicked replacements for Manning and Kubiak have both been pretty spectacular failures. Doesn't matter what reputation you start with - when you are a GM in the NFL your reputation comes down to the Coach and the Quarterback that you select.

 

Don't mean to be rude but what exactly are you saying. Are you saying Elway is a good GM or not?

 

IMHO I'm clearly in the "yes" camp on this one. Anyone who builds a team that lifts the trophy clearly qualifies as a top tier GM. I'd say that the fact that your reputation comes down to the coach and QBs (the roster really) you select just makes sense. Isn't that the definition of the GM's role.

 

 

 

[Gugny]

The guy crafted a team that won a Super Bowl with, basically, no QB.  Build a staunch defense and a superior O line and the Lombardi Trophy will follow as long as you have a "decent," QB.

[eball]

If I saw that mug in a mirror I'd be looking for someone else.

[vorpma]

Typical, I want it and I want it now! 

[thenorthremembers]

General Managers/Presidents who should be fired:

 

Bruce Allen Washington 56-88 Record, 22% Playoff Rate, 0 Superbowls

Jason Licht Tampa Bay 22-42 Record, 0% Playoff Rate, 0 Superbowls

 

General Managers who the lazy media created a narrative about because they are a Hall of Fame QB who Cant Draft a Franchise QB:

 

John Elway Denver 72-40 Record, 71% Playoff Rate, 2 Superbowls.

 

If the Broncos have any common sense they will allow Elway to stick around and hire one more coach.    The hit rate for Quarterbacks drafted between 2004-2015 is around 11%, so he gets a bit of a pass there in my book.  However, his coaching choice this time around was pretty bad. 

[jr1]

don't draft a QB over 6'5"

[dollars 2 donuts]

11 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

He's not the only GM having a hard time finding a QB as good as he was. 

 

 

 

I know, right?

 

Jeepers creepers.  If only he had the insight to draft a Tom Brady in the 6th round or Carson Wentz 2nd overall.

 

Personally, even before he got there, I think the Broncos missed a golden opportunity to pick Eli Manning first overall in 2004.

 

 

[GunnerBill]

57 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

 

Don't mean to be rude but what exactly are you saying. Are you saying Elway is a good GM or not?

 

IMHO I'm clearly in the "yes" camp on this one. Anyone who builds a team that lifts the trophy clearly qualifies as a top tier GM. I'd say that the fact that your reputation comes down to the coach and QBs (the roster really) you select just makes sense. Isn't that the definition of the GM's role.

 

 

So I'd say he did a good job when he first took the role on and he won a Lombardi - that is the test. I don't think he has been particularly good the last 3 years. I think he chose very well with Manning and Kubiak and disastrously with Lynch and Joseph.  Being a good GM at a point in time doesn't make you a good GM forever. John Schneider in Seattle is another example of a guy who was brilliant his early years in Seattle built a monster but has seen it kind of fall into disrepair.