Every Fourth of July, former college and NFL coach Dennis Erickson invites a few friends to his lakehouse in the northern Idaho panhandle. They celebrate the holiday with golf and football discussion, and this past summer Erickson figured Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler, who was born in Idaho and played for Erickson at Arizona State, might like to join.
They shared stories and strategies on striking the golf ball, Erickson recalled this week, and the gathering was laid back as always – despite a potentially awkward composition of companions.
Almost always, Erickson’s next-door neighbor – a former Broncos quarterback himself – tags along for the fun. But Osweiler didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Erickson’s neighbor. Never mind that Erickson’s neighbor is Osweiler’s de facto boss. And never mind that Erickson’s neighbor, former Denver legend John Elway, was the man who ostensibly drafted Osweiler to someday replace another legendary Denver quarterback in Peyton Manning.
Osweiler fit perfectly into the group, and if the quarterback brought up his future with Elway or when his chance to lead the Broncos might come, Erickson didn’t remember it.
“That never, ever came up,” said Erickson, who coached the Sun Devils five seasons, including all three years Osweiler was there. “We were just talking about getting better. He knew his time was going to come here shortly.”
It was a situation Osweiler had faced before, and sure enough, the 25-year-old quarterback’s patience has been rewarded. Manning, now 39 years old, has been plagued this season by persistent injuries and two uncomfortable facts that – before he was benched nearly three weeks ago – were becoming impossible to ignore. Manning’s throwing arm seems exhausted and weak, and, almost impossibly, he was perhaps the weakest link of a franchise eyeing the Super Bowl.
Now, a Denver team that three weeks ago was hammered at home by Kansas City looks refreshed with Osweiler under center – where first-year Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak likes his quarterback anyway, not in Manning’s preferred shotgun. Denver also has renewed postseason hopes after handing unbeaten New England its first loss this past Sunday.
It’s early in his former protege’s career, Erickson said, but Osweiler’s reaction to being installed as Denver’s starter (the promotion is, at least officially, temporary until Manning is healthy) seems familiar. He has looked confident and prepared, even now in his fourth NFL season; he felt no need to lobby Elway for playing time during the July 4 getaway, just as he had played it cool five years ago under Erickson.
Back then, Steven Threet was the Sun Devils’ starter and Osweiler was, if anything, a 6-foot-8 curiosity. Osweiler hadn’t come from some football hotbed. He had grown up in Montana after his family left Idaho and he had a relaxed way about him. He played occasionally as a freshman, but just like his first three NFL seasons, there was no confusion: Osweiler was his team’s backup.
But he prepared for opponents as if he’d be taking each snap, and after morning weightlifting sessions Osweiler and wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad would run to the top of Phoenix’s South Mountain. Osweiler wanted to play, sure, but he kept his impatience to himself – never even telling Erickson that Sun Devils basketball Coach Herb Sendek had offered Osweiler the keys to the practice gym and a potential roster spot.
“I just knew he was a guy who was going to make it,” Pflugrad, who now coaches wide receivers at Northern Arizona University, said by telephone this week. “I’ve played with a lot of guys who had ability, but he just had that confidence about himself and belief that no matter what the circumstance was, he was going to make the most of it.”
Late in Osweiler’s sophomore season, Threet suffered his second concussion of the year and was forced to leave a game against UCLA. Osweiler had, of course, waited for this chance – but more than that he had prepared for it. And Erickson, Pflugrad and everyone else watched as Osweiler, facing a 17-0 deficit, took over Arizona State’s offense. He didn’t just beat the Bruins; he passed for four touchdowns and 380 yards, leading the Pacific-10 Conference, as it was known then, to name Osweiler the conference’s player of the week.
Elway and Kubiak needed Osweiler to come in and salvage another season. Erickson, who said he watches Osweiler as if he were watching a son, and Pflugrad watched these past two Denver games. They said they knew this day would come, even as the seasons came and went and Manning kept grabbing his helmet and leading the huddle.
“It’s like I told him: ‘You’re playing behind the best quarterback that’s ever played the game,’” Erickson said, referring to Manning. “‘Just sit back and learn; your time will come.’ I don’t think he’s ever been real impatient since he’s been there. It’s been about knowing he’s going to have that chance.”
Pflugrad agreed, and amid the talk about how the present swings sometimes toward the past, something occurred to him. Back at Arizona State, it wasn’t just that Osweiler eventually took over and stabilized his team. It was, Pflugrad pointed out, more interesting.
Once Osweiler finally had his chance at the starting job, he never gave it back.
