At the risk of jostling the hive, the Denver Broncos aren't going to return their future Hall of Fame quarterback after a 30-day trial period. No, three preseason interceptions won't give John Elway buyer's remorse and have him digging around for the receipt.

Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, Denver fans and Tebow fans. Stir it all up and at times you have one big bowl of hysteria stew. But to what conclusion?

The late Mike Heimerdinger, who had worked for the Broncos and the Jets during his coaching career, long contended Denver was the toughest quarterback town in the league "by far" — for both the quarterback and the local franchise.

Perhaps it's because we have more on-air talking here, per capita, than any place in the known universe. Perhaps it is the deep passion of a season-ticket base that has purchased every seat for decades.

And in the current state of affairs, perhaps it's Tebow's popularity among people who normally wouldn't give organized football a second look if he wasn't playing it.

But it's all why when Elway talks about what he likes in quarterbacks, he has spoken of the guys with the mental capabilities and toughness to handle the job — because he once held the position here.

So start there. Manning's resume is among the league's all-time best. Not the past decade's best, not the best of the past 25 years, not his generation's best. No, he's all-time, as in every guy who has ever played the position at any point in the league's history.

Manning has tossed three interceptions in two preseason games. He didn't throw them because he had four neck surgeries. He didn't throw them because he had an infected bursa sac removed from his left knee in July of 2008 either, but that doesn't seem to come up much.

He threw them because playing quarterback in the NFL is exceedingly difficult and no matter how good you happen to be, if you're learning a new way of doing things you're going to make mistakes.

Those three interceptions were certainly mistakes and you aren't half as upset about it as Manning is.

Manning's line in the preseason thus far isn't bad and it isn't great, it's 20-of-30 passing (66.7 percent), for 221 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) with no touchdowns and the three interceptions.

And for those who are counting those rehearsal statistics as gospel, as the true indicator of where things will go in the regular season, then here's a set for you as well:

Something on the order of 9-of-22 passing for 96 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with four sacks, no touchdowns and an interception. That's Tebow's line thus far, showing his learning curve appears to be frighteningly steep in an offense that's yet to score a touchdown in two preseason games no matter who has been behind center.

A gaze back into history shows Manning threw two interceptions in the 2010 preseason, his team then went 10-6 in the regular season with a division title. He was sacked five times with just 31 pass attempts in the 2009 preseason and his team then finished 14-2 with a spot in the Super Bowl.

He completed just 59 percent of his passes in the 2006 preseason and his team went on to go 12-4. He had two touchdowns and three interceptions in the 2004 preseason and his team went on to go, yes, 12-4.

That is what's known as a body of work. Manning has a body of work, both in 13 previous preseasons and in 13 previous regular seasons.

So, if the interceptions come in the regular season and the touchdowns do not, that would be the time to break out the paper bags and commence hyper-ventilating. Until then, let the man work.

Jeff Legwold: or