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Heinzerling: A Radical Idea ... Seriously ... Let Brock Play

Gary Kubiak just became the 15th head coach in Denver Broncos history, and he has a great deal of history with the franchise.

It's all been told at this point, so I won't go into detail, but there is little doubt that his greatest performance in predominantly orange came during the 1998-99 season, his fourth year as the Broncos offensive coordinator.

Who remembers 1998? It was, of course, the last time the Broncos won the Super Bowl. I remember it. Like it was yesterday. For those of you who don't recall that magical season, here is a brief rundown.

The Broncos, led by the aging-but-still-great John Elway, won 14 games en route to the playoffs. They made it to a second straight Super Bowl in which they destroyed the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons. Elway rode off into the sunset as the Super Bowl MVP. And that was the last time the confetti fell on the home team.

Oh yeah, and John Elway started 12 of the 16 regular season games. Some guy named Walter Andrew Brister III started the other four. That's right, Bubby Brister was 4-0 as a Broncos starter that season, and he appeared in another three games. Brister finished that season with 10 touchdowns to go with just three interceptions.

Brister, filling in for the injured legend wearing No. 7, not Elway, was undefeated that season. And that brings me to my radical idea. (Peyton and Gary, I hope you're paying attention.)

LET BROCK OSWEILER PLAY.

Now I'm not suggesting you hand over the reins to young Mr. Osweiler one day before Peyton is ready to relinquish the starting duties. I'm simply saying don't be quite so stingy with the playing time. Let Brock get on the field. In fact, MAKE Brock get on the field. Not in large chunks, not fourt games in a row. Not even as a starter, but get him out there.

You want Peyton to put up typical Manning numbers? Go for it. Give him three quarters to put up his video game numbers, and then put him on the bench … no matter what the score is. It'll do a couple of things. It'll force 18 to play with a sense of urgency, both to accumulate stats, and to build a (hopefully) insurmountable lead. That's one thing that seemed to be missing from his repertoire once the postseason rolled around … the ability to score when he wanted, not just when the defense sat back a bit.

The second benefit of Manning taking the fourth quarter off all season? Brock gets his feet wet. And not just in garbage time. The fourth quarter needs to be HIS. He needs to go in knowing that a mistake will not get him pulled. He needs to know that he'll be given 15 minutes of every game to show what he can do, and to prepare for the time (which is clearly coming soon) that this team is his to lead.

One quarter may not seem like a lot, but I've gotten better at math over the past couple of years and I've learned something. You sit Peyton for one quarter of all 16 games and that adds up to a whole lot of rest.

Enough, I hope, to duplicate the end result of the magical 1998-99 season. Enough, I hope, to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again. Enough, I hope, to allow Peyton Manning to ride off into the sunset in the manner that one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game deserves.

And all it takes is a quarter.

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