I would like to apologize for my long absence from the blog. There. I said it. So let’s get started with my feelings about John Elway.I am sure he is a good guy in his own self-centered arrogant schmucky kind of way. I am sure that he is fun at corporate parties, parades and Bronco legends games. But seriously, is there anyone on earth who trusts a single word that comes out of his gigantic mouth? I like Tim Tebow, but I don’t love him as a football player. So you can shelf all of your “Tebowmania” criticism of me. John Elway was a great player, maybe even one of the better QB’s in NFL history. He was great at captaining comebacks (of course he was only behind because he couldn’t score enough points in the 1st three quarters to give his team the lead…hmmmm… sounds like a left handed gator we all know), he was also great at scrambling, and won two Superbowls. I won’t mention the he led his team to getting housed three times in the big game by a grand total of 96 points!! The Bronco offense led by Mr. Elway was completely inept in those three games, but I am sure that his proponents will just blame their defense. So wait, “Tebowmaniacs” aren’t the only ones who mindlessly defend their guy? What? Crazy you say.
Anyway, I digress. John Elway needs to face the reality that he is no longer the captain of the Broncos. He isn’t the coach. He isn’t the owner. He is the Vice President of Football Operations. Yep. It’s the job that every team gives their great player to make sure that he stays their property. I am sure he is a great business man and I know he knows a ton about football but the one area he is really lacking in is the loyalty department. Loyalty is a scary thing. Sometimes it demands of us a forsaking of our own best interests for the betterment of others. Loyalty should be present in all of us, but seems to only be present in the best of us. The loyalty that Elway coveted from the Broncos organization when he was desiring employment with them is the same loyalty he refused to give his Broncos last year. Elway took to the airways over and over last year to sabotage his QB by refusing to ever state any trust in the young man trying to find his way in the league. And instead of remaining silent about his doubts like any mature person would, he opened his giant mouth every chance he got to adamantly get his objections of Tebow as the long term starter on the record. His reasoning was based on Tebow ineffectiveness on third downs. Yep, not winning and losing. Third downs. I hear it all the time, stats don’t lie my friend and Tebow’s stats are poor. Well lets have some fun with stats shall we? I have handpicked a few of the great John Elways stats to illustrate this foolishness.
1. He owns a less than stellar touchdown to interception ratio. He had 300 touchdowns to 226 interceptions. That’s right 1.32 to 1. That would be the same td/int ratio as Jeff George, which is incredibly lower than Tim Tebow’s ratio. For the record, Joe Montana’s ratio is 1.96 if you are looking for a contemporary of Elway. Marino is 1.66. Neil Lomax had one hip and mustered a strong 1.5. And the capper here? Tony Romo is over 2!
2. Jeff George has a higher QB Rating Elway. I can’t tell you how fun it was to type that sentence.
3. Jeff George has a higher Completion percentage than Elway. Ok, now I am just being mean.
4. Ok one more! John Elway threw more interceptions per attempt than Jeff George.
His stats are actually very average in most cases. But it’s about winning right? The entire soap opera was reminiscent of the way he sabotaged Baltimore after they took him with the first pick in the draft back in 1983 by leveraging the possibility of his baseball career with the Yankees against the Colts to force them to trade him to another, better, team. You see Elway didn’t want to play nice with the Colts because he had objections about their team quality and their hardnosed coach, so he just took to the airwaves and demanded a trade or he wouldn’t play football.
Oddly enough, during his ill-fated rookie campaign with the Broncos that ended with a shellacking at the hands of the Seahawks, he was pulled for Steve Deberg . Deberg held down the starting job for a few weeks until he got injured allowing Elway to start again, but of course when the playoffs rolled around Elway was replaced by Deberg yet again. You would think that being jerked around like that when you were a young starting QB would make you a bit more sensitive to the plight of your team’s new young QB, but not so with Mr. Elway. After his on air assault of Tebow failed and the Broncos , against all odds, won a playoff game he had no choice but to back his QB. I guess that’s what happens when you win games eh John? He ate some tasty crow and gave Tebow his unfettered support with a “was behind you all the way” kind of tone. He returned to the airwaves to tell the world that Tebow earned the starting job for next year and that he would certainly be the starter going into camp next summer. Whoa John, let’s not get too carried away with the gushy support. Well, he forgot to mention that earning it and receiving it are two completely different things in Elwayville. As a matter of fact I am sure that John Elway will announce this month that they are no longer using “gator”ade on the sidelines this year just to completely remove his Judas like betrayal from the minds of Bronco fans.
It is clear that John Elway needs to have things his way, and he seems to really hate the idea of anyone pushing in on his deity status in Denver. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out he kicked Terrell Davis in the knee back in 1999. On the flip side, I happen to be a big fan of Coach John Fox because he has always seemed like a really honest guy who coaches the right way. I inevitably felt bad for him during every press conference last year because you could tell that anytime he voiced any support for Tebow he would be called to Elway’s office to be beaten with a phone book for an hour whilst being asked “who is your daddy?” Honestly, if Peyton is too successful I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Elway books him on a flight to the Bermuda Triangle for a weekend getaway with Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo for winning Bronco employee of the month. Of course this saga would end with Elway calling of the local papers together to announce that he has recently activated himself for the playoffs.
I wish Peyton all the best during his time in Denver. When I saw the Peyton Manning United Way commercial on SNL a few years ago I dedicated myself to being a Peyton fan for life, so I refuse to renege on that now. But, I can never in good conscience root for the Broncos to achieve any level of success until the day comes that they part ways with Mr. Elway. With Manning in the fold they will certainly be a team that contends every year that he is healthy, possibly knocking on the door to the big game a time or two because Peyton is just that good. I know that trading away Tebow and signing Manning makes sense in every conceivable way from a football perspective, but the manner in which Elway treated a QB that was under his care last year proves he is only concerned about himself. Elway would certainly say to me that he didn’t draft Tebow and therefore wasn’t required to back him. Well, the Broncos didn’t draft you Mr. Elway, the Colts did, and you showed no allegiance to them whilst you whined your way into a trade to the Broncos . Maybe, just maybe, this pattern of disloyalty is really just the residue of what resides in the recesses of your dark self-serving mind.
...Or maybe I am just too needlessly bitter about this…
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