SPORTS Elway happy to have “tougher” team now
Broncos GM salutes Kubiak for handling “the hot seat” well
After last year’s playoff buzz kill, Broncos general manager John Elway couldn’t hide his disappointment with the team’s lifeless performance. A year later, the Broncos are one victory from playing in Super Bowl 50, having exhibited “kicking and screaming” through mental toughness.
“(Coach) Gary (Kubiak) has done that. You look at the games we’ve won this year and how we’ve won. They have all been tough, hard-fought football games, and they’ve all been close. We had to make plays at the end,” Elway told a select group of reporters at Broncos headquarters on Thursday. “The mind-set is, ‘Play for 60 minutes.’ We haven’t consistently played well for 60 minutes, but our mind-set has been there. That’s why this team is a tougher team. Last year was a good year, but this year is attributed to Gary and his staff. The guts of this football team is that we’ve been in tough football games and figured out a way to win them.”
The Broncos, the AFC’s top playoff seed, are 13-4 and will host New England (13-4) in the conference championship game Sunday. They have dealt with adversity through injuries, none more notable than quarterback Peyton Manning’s six-week absence. Elway praised Kubiak’s handling of the “delicate” issue, calling it “masterful.” Kubiak, Elway reminded, walked into a difficult spot, inheriting a 12-win team that faded last season under coach John Fox in big games.
“What is not mentioned is the hot seat that Gary stepped into was hotter than any seat in the league. We had great success before he got here,” Elway said. “He’s done a tremendous job of managing the quarterback situation, and the things that he’s gone through, not many guys would handle it as well as he’s handled it.”
As for Manning’s future? Elway said that discussion lies in the future. There have been no talks — at least none for public consumption — on how the club approaches next season at quarterback. Manning, 39, has one year remaining on his contract, and backup Brock Osweiler, 25, who went 5-2 as a starter, will be a free agent. The contracts required to keep both would make the proposition tricky, if not impossible.
“We are staying in the moment,” said Elway, who will meet with Manning at season’s end. “Everybody wants to know where Peyton is going, but he’s staying in the moment. He’s going to have plenty of time to think about what he wants to do in the offseason.”
Elway said Manning is growing more comfortable under center. He spent half his snaps there in the 23-16 playoff victory over Pittsburgh last weekend. The Broncos, who run better out of the formation, gained 109 yards on 33 carries last weekend, while allowing only one sack.
“The offensive line has battled through a lot of criticism,” Elway said. “But I think they played their best game last week. So hopefully we are peaking at the right time.”
In Elway’s fifth season in charge — all resulting in an AFC West title — the Broncos have undergone a jarring transformation. Two seasons ago, Manning fueled the most prolific offense in NFL history, throwing 55 touchdown passes. This season Manning has thrown only nine touchdown passes in 11 games, but the Denver defense ranks first in the league in fewest yards allowed and fourth in points.
Elway is fine with this blueprint.
“I would like us to be a little more consistent offensively. And you’d like to have top five on both sides. But I like what we are doing offensively, having played in it,” Elway said. “You can win world championships with it.”