There’s nothing like a Broncos loss to bring people out of the woodwork on Denver sports talk radio, but boy oh boy did are things heating up following the Broncos’ 29-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Following the worst performance of Peyton Manning’s NFL career, a day that saw him set the NFL record for career passing yards and get benched in the same game, Broncos Country is now in the midst of a full-blown quarterback debate (we’ll hasten to call it a controversy).
Brock Osweiler, long-dubbed the heir-apparent to Manning, was handed the keys to the kingdom for the final quarter-and-a-half against Kansas City and it appears Broncos fans and foes alike believe in Brock.
Dan Williams and Marcello Romano of Morning Mayhem on Mile High Sports AM 1340 have been both critical and doubtful of Manning throughout the season, much to the chagrin of longtime Broncos fans. So they were somewhat surprised to field calls and tweets in support of Osweiler on Monday following the game.
On Twitter, a listener named Bradford said he suffered plantar fasciitis in his early 20s and needed six months to heal – mentioning that he still can’t run long distances. Now, Bradford’s not an elite athlete with access to top-tier medical like Manning, but the injury he describes is just one of many that Manning seems to be suffering. Brock, meanwhile, has experienced zero reported health issues in his three-plus years as Manning’s backup.
On the phones, Morning Mayhem’s resident legal council, Todd Burnham, called in to admit that perhaps Williams deserves more credit for his criticism of Manning so far this year. Burnham said that he thinks there is a bright future for Osweiler – at least for the next three weeks while Manning heals. He still believes that a healthy Manning is better than Osweiler, despite his struggles this year.
One caller with no rooting interest (for Denver, at least), thinks Osweiler is Denver’s best option moving forward. Jeff, who didn’t offer his last name on air, is a Patriots fan and longtime sports radio listener both in New England and Denver. He’s worried about what Osweiler can do in Gary Kubiak’s offense, especially against his Patriots.
“Now Kubiak’s going to be able to run the system he wants with Osweiler,” he believes, “and with that defense they’re going to be a lot more competitive than trotting Peyton Manning out there in 20-degree weather.”
It’s only Monday on the day after the loss, and Kubiak stated postgame that Manning will be the starter against Chicago in Week 11 if he’s healthy enough, but the debate is already underway. There may not be a full-blown quarterback controversy boiling over quite yet, but the water is getting warmer in support of Brock Osweiler.
Listen to the full conversation, including much more from callers and on Twitter, in the podcast below…
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