John Elway spoke to local media at the Broncos’ training facility in Dove Valley on Thursday. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
John Elway has heard all the questions.
Can Gary Kubiak’s system work with Peyton Manning at quarterback?
Can their styles mesh?
Can Manning, at 39, play under center and roll out more?
If anyone can give an answer, it’s the Broncos quarterback who won two Super Bowl titles in his late 30s in a West Coast offense with Kubiak as his offensive coordinator.
In speaking to local media Thursday on the eve of training camp, the Broncos’ general manager said Manning will have to make adjustments to the new system. But it may only help him.
“Late in my career, that was my best friend, the running game. And I think that running game will be Peyton’s best friend, also,” Elway said. “It’s obviously going to be a little bit of an adjustment, but you got two smart, bright offensive football minds that are competitive and want to win. There was never, ever a thought in my mind that this wasn’t going to work.”
The Broncos made an early exit last season with a divisional playoff loss to the Colts in Denver. A heated Elway said shortly after the loss that “it didn’t feel like we went out kicking and screaming.” On Thursday, he said, not surprisingly, that Manning felt the same.
“It was pretty close to a tie,” he said when asked who was more upset by the loss. “We were both extremely disappointed.”
So while Manning mulled if he would return for his 18th season, Elway went out and hired Kubiak, returning him to the city where he was first Elway’s backup, from 1983-1991, and later his offensive coordinator for 11 seasons, including the two Super Bowl-winning years in 1997 and 1998.
“With Gary’s reputation as an offensive mind, I think Peyton respects that, and with my experience with Gary, what we were able to do late in my career and help us get world championships,” Elway said. “Peyton is about winning. He wants to win games and wants to win championships.”
Elway
