Remember when Roger Clemens made his umpteenth MLB comeback with the Houston Astros in 2006? Clemens made his return around the halfway point of the season and posted respectable numbers: 7-6 record with a 2.30 ERA.

Alleged performance-enhancing aside, this move extended Clemens’ career and benefited the Astros. This exact hypothetical parallel should be drawn to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. What’s the point of getting to the playoffs when the nucleus of your team is damaged? The Broncos are solid on both sides of the ball, and remember, they went to the playoffs with Tim Tebow! Manning could play 12 games, effectively receiving five bye weeks, and the Broncos could still make the playoffs out of the AFC West. Again, this is a team that made the playoffs with Tebow throwing knuckle balls from goofy arm slots.

Play Manning against the contenders and sit him against the pretenders. So what if they end up just 10-6 or 9-7? A playoff bye is worthless if Manning can’t stop spasming in the pocket.

Here are four games where you’d sit him: home against the Minnesota Vikings, home and away against the Oakland Raiders and home against the Kansas City Chiefs. The fans may find this outrageous, showing up to three home games featuring Manning holding a clipboard, but they must see the long-term vision of the greatest show on real turf tearing it up when they turn into the playoffs.

This is where it all matters, and this should be the grand scheme within the grand scheme of John Elway. The former quarterback should realize this more than anyone, as he had to retire at 38.

Jerry Landry is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Jerry on Twitter at @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.

• Teams in this article »
• Denver Broncos