


Does it seem to you like John Fox, Jack Del Rio, Mike McCoy and Peyton Manning are playing with opponents the same way that a cat plays with a captured mouse? Almost as though this is all a test for when they get to the AFC championship game and the Big Show?
---Alan Bates, Denver

Something like that. I've seen championships teams do this before -- the Yankees in the late-1990s, Joakim Noah's Florida Gators while repeating as NCAA hoops champions in 2007. They went through stretches where they didn't dominate teams as they were expected but they did just enough to win. And then in the tournament, they rolled.

I think you can make a case the Broncos have the league's best offensive player in Peyton Manning, best defensive player in Von Miller, best punter in Britton Colquitt and best returner in Trindon Holliday.

Why wouldn't a team with all that have a chance to win it all? About the only area where the Broncos are short is in their running game. Willis McGahee was OK, and Knowshon Moreno has filled in admirably but not well enough for opposing defenses to worry. The Broncos' offense pretty much plays all game, every game against the nickel.

Considering opposing defenses are basically allowing the Broncos to run the ball, they're not running well enough.

Then again, the Packers ranked 24th in rushing when they won the Super Bowl in the 2010 season, and the New York Giants were 32nd last year when they won it all.

Every team has flaws, Alan. Maybe, the Broncos picked the right area to be mediocre at best.

I know I am jumping the gun. But hey, dreaming about the possible is what makes being a fan so much fun. If Manning goes on to win a couple of Super Bowls with the Broncos, will he go into the Hall as a Colt? Or, would his loyalty be with the team that took him in after getting kicked to the curb?
---Deborah, Ventura, Calif.

Peyton Manning and John Fox seem like they know something the rest of us don&#8217;t know yet.
Peyton Manning and John Fox seem like they know something the rest of us don't know yet. (Reuters)

Unlike baseball, football players aren't enshrined with a team's logo on their hat or helmet. They just go in.

There is a decision, though, that goes with accepting the Hall of Fame ring at a halftime ceremony. Gary Zimmerman played seven years with the Minnesota Vikings and five years with the Broncos, but he received his ring from the Broncos.

Under your scenario, Deborah, I wouldn't be surprised if it's arranged for Manning to receive two Hall of Fame rings, one presented from each team. He's been the NFL's No. 1 ambassador, it's No. 1 star for what? The past decade or so (not including the 2011 season when Manning was down and Tebowmania soared to another galaxy before dimming). Manning is so conscientious about doing the right thing by people that I think the NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame would bend the rules for him.

But you are getting waaaaaay too far ahead of things, Deborah. There seems to be a lot of that going on in recent weeks. There's a lot of that going on in this mailbag.

As of now, Manning hasn't even done enough for election into the Broncos Ring of Fame. He's off to a great start, but that's all it is.

Seven wins in a row is great. But I gotta find something to nitpick. Do we need to be worried about Matt Prater? He seems to be missing quite a few kicks lately.
---Jake, Marion, Iowa

You should always worry about kickers.. Prater goes through a mini-funk every year but he's always come out of it. No one expects a golfer to win a tournament every weekend - why can't kickers lose their swing every once in a while?

The answer of course, is because they can't. This is the NFL. There are only 16 games. Every kick matters.

In recent years, I had never seen a kicker lose it like Nick Folk did for the Dallas Cowboys in 2009. He was superb as a rookie in 2007 and nailed 20 of 22 field-goal tries in 2008. But he suffered from a hip flexor and then the yips in 2009. After he missed a 23-yard field goal late in the season, he was released.
Folk rebounded with some clutch kicks with the New York Jets in 2010 so he didn't succumb to Steve Blass Disease, or whatever it is kickers call it.

Prater struggled with the 40 to 49 yard field goals in 2008 and again last year, going 8 for 18 in those two years combined from that distance. As you might have guessed, he was better from 50-plus yards where he converted 8 of 10.

Same thing this year. He's missed three field goals from the 40s and one from the 30s, but he's 3 of 4 from beyond 50.

I think what Prater needs is a do-or-die field goal at the buzzer. Make and the Broncos win. Miss and the Broncos lose. He seems to do well in those situations.

I cannot believe that if the season ended today, the Broncos would get the Colts at home in the wild-card round. Help me, my head is spinning!
---Eric, Brooklyn, N.Y.

That would be something. No way Manning loses to Andrew Luck if that happens. But late as it seems to be getting, Eric, there's still 25 percent of the season left to be played. The 2009 Broncos were 8-4 through 12 games, just like the Colts are now. And those Broncos finished 8-8 with no playoff seed.

The Colts have a tough remaining schedule. The Broncos not so much.

I'm just a lowly armchair quarterback, but I've picked up on something I know opposing defenses must have also. Peyton Manning needs to switch his audible calls. Any time he uses a land animal (one Sunday example was "buffalo"), they are going to run. I've noticed this for at least two weeks now, and I'm sure it's been all season. Could you pass on the advice?
---Brandon, Farmington, N.M.

Nice ear. The press box is not always the best place to observe the game. As the NFL has discovered from its declining attendance in recent years, there's no place like home.

When Peyton walked off the field, Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano had him in his sights. The conversation looked one-sided, and Peyton seemed to walk away as quickly as possible. What was that about?
---Rich, Sun Valley, Idaho

Manning said at his postgame presser that Schiano explained why he had his Tampa Bay Bucs charge while the Broncos were in their "victory'' or kneel-down formation. Manning added, at least publicly, he was glad for the explanation.

But Manning couldn't have been happy about it because his offensive linemen were furious.

It also looked like Schiano may have also asked Manning if he could meet him back at the team bus so he could get his autograph but that's not confirmed.

Lots of what-ifs, but what if Dennis Allen gets fired after a poor showing in his first year as a head coach, and Jack Del Rio gets a head coaching job after Denver's D looked great. Does John Elway bring back Allen as defensive coordinator? Denver's D needs continuity.
---Cody Hemmen, Thornton

Yes on continuity; no on Dennis Allen. Denver gave up at least 40 points in five games last year. And Allen's Raiders are allowing a league-most 31.3 points per game this year.

Should Del Rio leave for a head coaching gig, I say the Broncos make Richard Smith their defensive coordinator. He's been Fox's linebackers' coach the past two years and Smith has NFL defensive coordinator experience.

Where is the Pro Bowl love for Ryan Clady? I see that he is currently third among AFC left tackles. If the only telling stat for an O-lineman is sacks allowed, then Clady should be No. 1. I did my research, and Clady has given up zero sacks in well over 300 pass attempts. Jake Long, who is the leading vote getter, has given up five sacks, and Joe Thomas (who I assume is No. 2) has surrendered six sacks. Why no love for the man protecting Peyton Manning's blind side?
---Jason G., Thornton

You're right, Clady is having a better year than Long and Thomas, although he did allow one sack in the Kansas City game. The fans don't know a left tackle from my left shoe, Jason. I say that because I can't tell the difference between the elite blockers either.

But the fans are only one-third of the vote, Jason. The players and coaches split the other two-thirds. Clady still has a decent chance.

Is there any real chance during the season to evaluate a guy like Brock Osweiler? Given the perceived benefit of learning behind Manning, I'd love to hear how Osweiler is progressing.
---Kyle, Wisconsin

I'm sure he's progressing, Kyle, but you don't know. Not even the Broncos know. When it comes to progressing as a quarterback, you never know until you see them play in a game that counts.

What's strange is that moment may never come if all goes well for Manning and the Broncos. To wit: Manning has a five-year contract; Osweiler can become a free agent after four years.

I have been thinking about this for awhile and would like your thoughts. One day Pat Bowlen will give up ownership of the Broncos. Do you think John Elway will be the new owner someday? He has been making all the right moves to be an owner one day.
---Dennis Dechant, Gaffney, S.C.

Bowlen has always said he'll go out with his boots on. So he won't ever give up ownership while he's on this side of the earth.

What this means is he'll have to make sure his t's are crossed and i's dotted on his trust. I don't have access to Bowlen's private papers but we have reported that first dibs stays with his family.

I'm not sure where Elway fits in all this. He didn't come back to the Broncos to be an owner. He's back because he wanted to reconstruct the Broncos' organization, on the football side, to a Super Bowl champion.

I'm sure he'd be interested if Bowlen, or the Bowlens, want to talk. But I really don't think there's been any talk.

There is a time and a place for such contemplation, Dennis, and the Broncos hope they are many, many years away from that time. Pat Bowlen is only 68 years young. Fitness-wise, he's got to be in the upper 1 percentile for his age group. He might outlive most of the people working for him in his Dove Valley building for all we know.

But thanks for reminding me that I better take another look at my will. I don't have an NFL franchise to bequeath but I do have an autographed 8 X 10 black-and-white framed glossy of Ernie Banks. I don't think I'll take it with me, anyway.
