East to West: Peyton's Mountain Assault

I wasn't sure what to think last week when I heard reports of Peyton Manning meeting with Bronco big wigs last week. Really, he would be an improvement to any NFL team outside Massachusetts, Louisiana and Wisconsin (arguably inside too, but they're both good with the guys they have I'm sure).

Now that it's all but official that Manning is moving west to the mountains of Denver, you have to look at this team with a little more fear and respect than you did last year. I like Tim Tebow as a person and an athlete, though I admit that he has his flaws as an NFL-caliber QB. That's what makes this deal such a brilliant move.

Last year's Broncos were a team that went on a big run with Tebow's unpredictability early on and had some victories where there should have been defeats. But that team was built around a good defense that would keep them in the ball games to give the offense a chance to win at the end. Now? They can become a more complete team with the most cerebral field general the league has ever seen.

So what of Denver's golden boy? From what I've seen, Denver is looking to trade Tebow, presumably for a second round pick. Given that Tebow would be relegated to the bench, it makes sense to get something for him. But here's a radical proposal if the right deal doesn't come along: why not move him around the field?

Tebow made a name last year as something of a dual-threat quarterback, though he was usually better scrambling for positive yards than he was throwing the ball. Since he has that ability to take off, why not use it? Put him in the I-formation as a fullback a few times a game. Hand it off to him a few times, but you can also use that as a decoy to fool the defense. As we well know, Manning is an expert at that sort of thing. That's what makes this following idea even more ingenious.



I'm an anime/manga fan; not to the extreme, but enough that I will occasionally buy DVD's or mangas, and one series that I have really gotten into is one called Eyeshield 21. In a nutshell, it's about a high school kid in Japan who gets coerced into playing football for his high school because of his speed that tops out most, if not all NFL players (4.2 40 yard dash) and his team's journey to a national championship. Along the way they meet many rival teams that usually cause them some sort of trouble. One of their matchups is against a supposedly invincible team led by twins, one of whom is blessed with incredible talent and the other of whom not so much, but worked his butt off to try and get close to the first twin. This team employs an interesting formation seen here:

Manga page taken from Citymanga.com. Click image to expand.

Imagine the chaos that would ensue from having both Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow lined up at quarterback. From an NFL rules standpoint, there's nothing saying you can't have 2 guys back to field a snap. Think of it like a halfback option, except with 2 quarterbacks. You then put in a tight end and 3 wide receivers, and you're good. You just have to make sure your center is good at directional snapping (which, with a full offseason of practice is doable).

Really, I can't think of a better pair of active quarterbacks to use this formation than Manning and Tebow. Manning is the cerebral one whose sheer presence on the field with line calls can confuse a defense, but think of the added wrinkle they'd have to worry about. Who's getting the snap, Manning or Tebow? On a 2nd and short or 3rd and short, it's the perfect formation. Tebow has the ability to run for that yard and more, or he can pass to the open man. Manning can get the pass and find the open man... while Tebow can go out on a flat route to get the first down. As soon as I thought of Manning to Denver, I pictured this sort of scenario. Obviously it's not one you'll run every play, but send this unit out maybe a handful of times a game to keep the opposing defense honest and there will be some chaos.

The only quarterback duo I can think of that would be better at this would be Manning circa 2006 and Michael Vick circa 2004. It's unfair just thinking about it. This "Dragon Fly" (or "Flying Dragon", depending on which translation you read) could be a revolution to NFL offenses, much the way the forward pass and the spread were back in the day. Obviously I'm nowhere near qualified enough to be an NFL head coach or even an offensive coordinator, but this seems like an outside the box idea that has some potential (and eventually a counter-strategy). It's also not as insane as whatever Mike Martz cooks up at midnight on a Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Whatever happens to Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning, they are two of the classiest guys in the NFL, and I wish both of them the best in the upcoming season.