Denver Broncos blocking adversity with their new-look offensive line

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Not to suggest the Broncos' offensive line is getting thin, but even their fat guys look skinny.

No, wait. This is serious.

The offensive line responsible for protecting the NFL's hottest quarterback has gone from the usual "next man up" to the unusual stratagem of moving men over.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24342672/denver-broncos-blocking-adversity-their-new-look-offensive

[Broncolingus]

I honestly don't know how they've maintained this long...

...will be interesting to see how they do against a quick Colt's defense with good pass rushers on turf.

Clady hurt, but Franklin's injury concerns me more if he can't bounce back 100% after the break...

[Army Bronco]

Its been crazy. We lost 2 centers and a left tackle for the season. Now a right for a game or two. Wtf? We need a break.

[Joel]

I hadn't thought about all the audibles, changing snap counts and the like Manning likes to throw at defenses. Wonder if that's been in any factor in the decision to rotate rather than replace guys. I mean, we just signed Painter a few weeks ago when Clady went down, right? Kuper's probably much more familiar with Peytons cadence (or rather, cadences) after starting a big chunk of last season.

I'm really worried about how our battered line will hold up against a fast 3-4 on turf, both off the edge and up the middle. And the same in run blocking since Moreno's the only really reliable runner we've got; I still feel much of his improvement in terms of decisiveness and production is due to a much better line, and don't know if Vasquez can be the road grader Franklin was (much as I love Kupes, pass blocking's his strength, run blocking less so.) I still don't really respect Indys D, but they are #5 against the pass and #4 in points, so I hope we can exploit them being #32 against the run (like SD did.)

Yet whether we run or pass, we need a good performance from our line or it could be a long day, especially if the Chiefs crush the Texans. I'm more worried about getting blown out than expecting us to blow them out, and would be fully satisfied to come out of a tight shootout with a win and no more injuries (please, no more injuries.... :()

[Simple Jaded]

Painter is still on the PS, Joel, you're thinking Winston Justice.

[Ziggy]

Vasquez was a great signing by Elway. I think he'll do fine at tackle, with Manning's quick release. Another brilliant move by the Duke.

[Joel]

Painter is still on the PS, Joel, you're thinking Winston Justice.
Right, sorry. In my defense, we've had so many guys on the line since preseason it's hard to keep track.

[GEM]

Ugh...the line was scary bad tonight. Bless Vasquez heart for playing tackle, but its not ideal and Kuper was getting trucked on quite a bit. Its pretty easy to see why he can't take his old spot back.We need my boy Franklin back pronto. Hope he is ready after the bye.

[dogfish]

Ugh...the line was scary bad tonight. Bless Vasquez heart for playing tackle, but its not ideal and Kuper was getting trucked on quite a bit. Its pretty easy to see why he can't take his old spot back.We need my boy Franklin back pronto. Hope he is ready after the bye.

agreed. . . and going forward, the team needs to invest a fairly high draft pick at tackle. . . we need another viable option there, and almost certainly aren't going to have the money to get that done in free agency. . .

fingers crossed that orlando will be back quickly, but if he's not, they should consider giving justice a shot. . .

[sneakers]

Is Franklin back next week?