When Johny Elway brought Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos in 2012, the goal was clear: win a Super Bowl. Unfortunately for Elway and the Broncos, it’s been three seasons of success-turned-heartbreak. In 2012, the Broncos made the playoffs but lost in double over-time to the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. In 2013, Peyton Manning and his offense were thoroughly embarrassed in the Super Bowl by the Seattle Seahawks, and last year, Peyton lost to his former team the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs.
For all of his accolades, Peyton Manning can’t seem to shake his post-season let downs. Last season was scary for Manning supporters though. It seemed by mid season, Manning could not get much power behind his throws. He was uncharacteristically over throwing receivers and short arming out-routes. Peyton is thirty-nine years old and Father Time has been more than generous to him for the last three years, so seeing him breakdown a bit now should be expected. It’s doubtful he’ll be a hindrance to this offense in any way – but he shouldn’t be expected to put up astronomic numbers this year either.
A big reason Manning won’t be putting up video-game-like numbers is because the offensive philosophy is expected to change. With new head coach Gary Kubiak, the Broncos will be focused on the run more than Peyton Manning has been used to. Running back C.J. Anderson started as number three on the depth chart and ended up making the most of his opportunity when injuries fell on Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball. Ball looked pretty bad when he had his opportunities and will at most be an emergency back; Hillman though played well when he started and was a big threat in the screen-pass game. Anderson is expected to be the starter, but in this heavy run based offense, Hillman will definitely get his touches as well, which is a good thing for Denver’s offense.
The offensive line will be leaned on heavily in Denver to establish this running attack and to preserve the health of their captain, Peyton Manning. The problem here is that, there is a lot of youth. Tackle Ryan Clady and right guard Louis Vasquez (last year played right tackle) are the steady part of this unit but they will be playing alongside some unexperienced youth. The Broncos took Florida center Max Garcia in the fourth-round of this year’s draft and in the second-round they drafted Ty Sambrailo, a tackle out of Colorado State. Sambrailo is a quick lineman, who plays with a chip on his shoulder. Peyton Manning is the type that will work with his young offensive linemen to the point of exhaustion, but he is also an impatient man. . . Sambrailo will have to learn quickly.
Tight end Julius Thomas fled Denver in free agency, making way for veteran Owen Daniels. Daniels has shown flashes of being a tight end with good hands, but not much in the “big play” department that a healthy Thomas provided for this team. Demaryius Thomas was given the contract he wanted in the off-season; but will that decision truly be one he’ll want in the long run? Manning’s time table is limited and with Kubiak in town, the focus will be taken off of the aerial attack, Thomas will see lesser looks this year but he’s a game-changer. He is the best in the NFL on wide receiver screens and causes headaches for even the best corner backs in the league. Opposing defenses will want to try to double cover Thomas, but they are handcuffed by the fact that Emmanuel Sanders had his best season last year and at times looked like the better wide out. Sanders developed a chemistry early with Peyton Manning, who also showed confidence in the wide out.
The Broncos defensive linemen depth is questionable but now in a 3-4 defensive scheme, defensive end Derek Wolfe should feel more at home. Nose tackle is still a question going into this season and in a 3-4 base, that should be a spot where there are no questions. . . Luckily, the depth at linebacker should help this line out tremendously. Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan are tackling machines with good lateral movement. Demarcus Ware and Von Miller will be blitzing a lot more this year as will rookie Shane Ray. A lot of folks were high on Shane Ray, coming out of Missouri but there were too many times that Ray showed a lack of strength when he went face to face with tackles, he also lacks patience and tries doing too much, ultimately taking him out of plays. Ray may be better served strictly as a pass rusher in certain situations because he will need more time to be out there on three straight downs.
The secondary is solid on Denver. Safety T.J. Ward is given a lot of flexibility. His versatility allows him to drop back into zone or play the role of an extra linebacker. Corner back Aquib Talib is a big physical corner who knocks a lot of passes down. Talib is also a corner who likes to blitz and is not shy when it comes to putting a big hit on a running back. Chris Harris Jr. is a steady corner, but might have to watch for second-year player Bradley Roby out of Ohio State on the depth chart. Roby gained confidence as the season went along last year and has a higher ceiling than Harris.
The Broncos enter the 2015 season knowing that this is more than likely the last chance to win with Peyton Manning. More importantly Manning knows this is his last chance. It will be tough though – the Broncos are not that strong in the trenches and the change in offensive philosophy needs to be accepted quickly by all parties involved. Luckily for them, this division isn’t packed with powerhouse squads, so barely being over .500 should be expected and it should do the trick to win the division.
Predicted Record: 9-7
Predicted Pro Bowlers: T.J. Ward, Von Miller, Emmanuel Sanders, Ronnie Hillman
G.W. Gras
twitter @GeeSteelio
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