Peyton Manning will have to carry the burden, at least to begin the season

Peyton Manning will have to carry the burden, at least to begin the season. For years Peyton Manning shouldered the load in Indy, so much so that when he was finally gone, that team had no shot to stand on it's own two feet. Our team is much better off than they were, but we will have to rely on Peyton to keep our heads above water.

Last year after more than a year away from football, still recovering from an injury that forced him how to relearn how to throw a football, Manning put up the 2nd greatest season in his storybook career. A year later, he is primed for a role reprisal, only this time the offense has a year under its belt. Peyton Manning is now Mr. Bronco. This isn't anything new for him, Peyton is used to facing adversity, used to shouldering the heavy load. What better way to cap off an unbelievable road to recovery than by putting the Broncos on his back on the road to the Super Bowl?

After multiple neck surgeries, Peyton Manning's remarkable 2012 performance in the Mile High City was a feel-good story to everyone ignorant enough to look the other way as a 36-year-old dominated the league after neck surgery. It wasn't necessarily a tale of two teams featuring their top players, however, as Peyton Manning and Colin Kaepernick each played just one single series. Regardless, our friends at Mile High Report were happy about the win -- and that Manning generally seemed to care about the result of a non-counting game.

Peyton Manning completed 11-of-16 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in his second preseason game of 2013. He played 34 snaps against the Seahawks, leading the Broncos down the field for two potential scoring drives. Manning has great weapons surrounding him, especially after Denver added Wes Welker. The only concern right now is health, as Welker suffered a sprained ankle in Seattle, and tight end Joel Dreesen is still recovering from knee surgery.