Broncos, Peyton Manning probably won't pass as frequently as on Saturday

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The Broncos have made it clear all along they wouldn't mind throwing the ball fewer times than in 2012, when they averaged 37 passing attempts in the regular season. It's not a stylistic issue as much as it is a realization that it would be a product of, among other things, an improvement in the ground game.

So if Saturday night's 27-26 victory over the St. Louis Rams truly came in a dress rehearsal game destined to be a preview, rather than a meaningless exhibition, the first half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High at least raised eyebrows — and perhaps concern.

Peyton Manning threw a staggering 25 passes in the first quarter alone, and went 25-for-34 for 234 yards in the half before Brock Osweiler took over for the second half. Of Manning's 25 completions, only two were for more than 15 yards — a 23-yarder to Andre Caldwell and a 17-yarder to Knowshon Moreno. And 13 of the 25 gained fewer than 10 yards.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_23940553/broncos-manning-probably-wont-pass-frequently-saturday

[TXBRONC]

I think that was intentional. Did the starting offense even attempt to run the ball in the first couple of drives?

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Well, when Manning sees DT, ED, WW, and JT He's going to see at least one of them in single coverage with a safety or LB, which is going to be tempting for him to throw the ball. When we have the receivers that we do it just makes sense to throw more than we run.

[Dreadnought]

Well, when Manning sees DT, ED, WW, and JT He's going to see at least one of them in single coverage with a safety or LB, which is going to be tempting for him to throw the ball. When we have the receivers that we do it just makes sense to throw more than we run.

OTOH, if we have been productive and consistent with our running game it should also equal more big plays from that receiving corps.

[TXBRONC]

Well, when Manning sees DT, ED, WW, and JT He's going to see at least one of them in single coverage with a safety or LB, which is going to be tempting for him to throw the ball. When we have the receivers that we do it just makes sense to throw more than we run.

The team had a total of 33 carries on the night. 32 of those came from running backs so it's not like they didn't try to run the ball. They also had team ypc of 4.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

The team had a total of 33 carries on the night. 32 of those came from running backs so it's not like they didn't try to run the ball. They also had team ypc of 4.

I thought the running game looked good. I think we have 3 guys that run with the ball well. I'm not as down on the depth we have as much as others.

[Cugel]

I thought the running game looked good. I think we have 3 guys that run with the ball well. I'm not as down on the depth we have as much as others.

Let's not forget that the Rams struggled a lot on defense last year and are not a defensive powerhouse, plus Jeff Fisher was not showing much on defense.

Let's see how this OL does against the Ravens. I expect Dumervil to be on fire in that game, trying to prove to the Broncos staff that they blew it in trying to make him take a pay-cut. They better be on their toes.

[Ziggy]

The Rams D played about as vanilla as they could. Fisher never shows his hand in the preseason. Still, how many times was Montee Ball met in the backfield by a defender? There was a reason that Peyton was making it rain footballs.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Let's not forget that the Rams struggled a lot on defense last year and are not a defensive powerhouse, plus Jeff Fisher was not showing much on defense.

Let's see how this OL does against the Ravens. I expect Dumervil to be on fire in that game, trying to prove to the Broncos staff that they blew it in trying to make him take a pay-cut. They better be on their toes.

The Rams were tied for the league lead in sacks. Both Quinn and Long had over 10 sacks each. They are a team that can pressure with there front four and not have to blitz. But, you might be right about their run D. I'm not quite sure how they were against the run last year. I thought the Rams problems last year had a lot more to do with putting points on the board than it did with their D. They've had issues in their passing game due to a lack of talent at WR.

[Jsteve01]

Let's not forget that the Rams struggled a lot on defense last year and are not a defensive powerhouse, plus Jeff Fisher was not showing much on defense.

Let's see how this OL does against the Ravens. I expect Dumervil to be on fire in that game, trying to prove to the Broncos staff that they blew it in trying to make him take a pay-cut. They better be on their toes.

Well about that....they were top 10 in scoring defense and in the top half of the league in over all defense. I'd say that's pretty decent. Didn't they also lead the league in sacks?

[Cugel]

Well about that....they were top 10 in scoring defense and in the top half of the league in over all defense. I'd say that's pretty decent. Didn't they also lead the league in sacks?

Long is a good pass rusher, but they didn't excel at rush defense. You saw some really bad plays out of them where the Broncos gashed them for decent yards. That defense certainly did not play as well as the 49ers or Seahawks defense did. The Broncos did execute better, but still, it was the preseason and Jeff Fisher doesn't put much stock in winning preseason games.

Fisher has a point. Aside from evaluating the last 10 guys on your roster only bad things can happen in preseason games -- injuries.

So reading the preseason is mostly tea-leaf reading. But, so far it has not looked good for Denver. I don't get a good feeling about this season so far.

Last year I was a lot MORE confident that a lot of fans who were saying things like "if Peyton Manning is 80% of the player he was the Broncos will be good." I kept thinking -- why 80%? Looks like he'll be 100% to me.

And of course that's obvious this year. But, this Denver team reminds me of a Drew Litton cartoon from 1990s showing the Broncos offense and defense. The offense was depicted as a streamlined jet racing along, while the Broncos defense was an old jalopy with parts hanging off it.

IF the OL can get its act together and IF they put Knowshon Moreno into the lineup while Montee Ball learns to pass-block, I think this team can outscore just about anybody. But, losing both Dumervil and Miller (for 6 games) just flat destroys their pass rush.

The only pass rusher on the team now is Wolfe! Robert Ayers is struggling to make the team, Jeremy Beal and Malik Jackson are mediocre. Not terrible, but all of them put together won't get 10 sacks.

You saw that once again against the Rams. Von Miller totally beat his man clear, but Bradford had a perfect pocket right in front of him to step up into because there was ZERO inside pressure. Just like for the last 15 years. It's just that there's no Dumervil on the other side to make the QB pay for dodging around this year.

That's looking like a bigger and bigger loss.

[powderaddict]

The defense has some holes and question marks to be sure, but I don’t think it’s the jalopy of say, oh, the Slowick era.

JDR is a very good DC. We (finally!) have decent depth on the Dline. Our group of DB’s are one of the best in the NFL with a healthy champ, and still very solid without him. The biggest question mark to me on Defense is the LB’s. Once Von returns, I think we will be set there. I think the group we have can hold down the fort in the mean time as well.

Instead of a jalopy, the Millerless D is like a well loaded minvan? Effective, can get the job done, but not very flashy, not very exciting.