Peyton's Broncos lead 3 teams at a crossroads entering 2015 season

[TLG]

Entering his 19th season, how much does Peyton Manning have left?

The premise of windows opening and closing is overdone. Especially in the NFL, where we've seen plenty of teams make seismic shifts, for better or worse, from one year to another and where change is inevitable. But if one was to assess the league through that prism -- a club that has been all-in, full-blown, Super-Bowl-or-bust mode for the past few years that may be on the cusp of a significant downturn -- the Denver Broncos immediately leap to mind.

These Broncos -- the Peyton Manning Era Broncos who have been a regular-season juggernaut for three years now and flirted with the ultimate glory -- are in boom or bust mode. They remind me in many ways of the 49ers from a year ago, where, in that case everyone knew head coach Jim Harbaugh was on his last legs in San Francisco and change was brewing. That team was either going to put it all together and get over the hump and grab a Lombardi, or it was going to plummet in the standings and be rapidly deconstructed. And while I didn't anticipate the slew of retirements and early retirements that followed, I do see this Broncos team as being in a very similar plight.

In reality, the dismissal of coach John Fox, mutual or not, after last season already signaled that a chapter was closing. Manning, forging on with age 40 approaching, is the defining symbol of this segment of Broncos' lure. His success or failure to grab another ring at the end of his career will dictate John Elway's early legacy as an executive. And let's not kid ourselves: The moment Manning is no longer under center in a Broncos' uniform immediately ushers in sweeping changes in how this team is viewed, what the level of expectations will be and how this roster will look, moving forward.

I'm not saying the Broncos will instantly fall off a cliff the second Manning is knocked from a game for good or suffers a long-term injury or decides to retire. But then again, I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised in the least if that's what happened. And by 2016, this team could look drastically different that it does presently. I'd be shocked if it does not.

The big free-agent signings from 2014 -- DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, TJ Ward -- were essentially rentals, with their contracts structured to coincide with Manning's final years and Denver able to walk away without cap or cash ramifications the moment Manning is done. Left tackle Ryan Clady, a franchise cornerstone, might have played his last game for Denver as well, given his latest significant offseason injury and his hefty contract moving forward. The Wes Welker experiment is already over, former Manning favorite Eric Decker has moved on in free agency, as has dynamic tight end Julius Thomas. Ditto for the anchor of Denver's defensive line, Terrance Knighton. And serious questions remain about the offensive line and its ability to protect a creaky Manning.

By this time next season, the Broncos could well be counting on Demaryius Thomas to be the highest-paid player on the team. He and stud corner Chris Harris may be the only veterans on significant long-term contracts of note by that time. And the expectation could be that Thomas will help cultivate and develop whatever young quarterback is taking over for what could well be a rebuilding team. Quarterback could easily be the primary objective for the Broncos in the 2016 NFL draft. No one can see into the future and this game is so difficult to predict, but none of this, to me seems a stretch.

The Broncos could be a few months away from being a much, much younger team with a much, much lower and more flexible payroll. A window, may indeed, be all-but closed, if not ready to be slammed shut.

Historically, we get six new teams making the leap into the postseason every year, and while I'm not so sure that number will be hit in 2015, and I'm not ready to prognosticate the Broncos missing the playoffs entirely, they are firmly on a list of clubs I could see primed for a downward turn by 2016.

[Condor]

...And that will be the ultimate test for John Elway to see how he handles the situation... But I have confidence in him as he reminds of Jerry West and the Lakers where he did anything to always keep a winning team on the field....