Schlereth: Broncos fans know an elite QB means sustained success

Broncos Country knows its football.

Some fanbases might look at the collective five playoff games Nick Foles, Blake Bortles, and Case Keenum have started and think you don’t need an elite quarterback to be successful in the NFL.

But not Denver Broncos fans, Mark Schlereth said on Tuesday.

“There are fanbases that are OK with that. I don’t think Denver is one of those fanbases,” the “Schlereth and Evans” host said. “I think our fanbase is smart enough to realize that, for the most part, that model is not sustainable, and it’s not going to work.”

The comments come after Foles, Bortles, and Keenum — along with Tom Brady — all advanced to the championship round of the NFL playoffs this weekend, creating the argument that teams don’t need an elite quarterback to in a Super Bowl, Schlereth said.

“Can you do it for a year? Yeah. It’s not a longterm solution,” Schlereth said. “It’s not Tom Brady or Drew Brees playing quarterback for the next 10 years, and you’re always going to have a chance. Even those years you miss, you’re still always going to have a chance because your guy’s going to cover warts. That’s the difference.”

“Could you do it for a year? Yeah, you could figure it out one time and all the things can line up your way. But if you think that’s a sustainable model, then you haven’t watched 2016 and 2017. You’re still stuck on 2015.”

And with the Broncos in a position to either aggressively pursue highly-touted potential free agent Kirk Cousins or draft a top-tier college prospect, Schlereth said Denver needs to “do something special” to get its solution under center.

“Make up your mind, and do something dramatic. Do something special,” Schlereth said. “Whether that’s Kirk Cousins or that’s going up the No. 2 and getting Josh Rosen, go do something special.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.