The news
came through the pipeline today. Peyton Manning is working on negotiating a
deal with the Denver Broncos. As I told some of my friends, I couldn’t see
Manning as a Bronco simply because of the orange in the jersey, but I guess it
is going to happen. Lets look at what Manning will have at his disposal in
Colorado.
O-Line: The
Denver Broncos have shown that they can run block, but they still have some
ways to go in the pass blocking game. Obviously, not having a pocket passer can
hurt an offensive lines pass blocking numbers, but the Broncos did give up 42
sacks in 2011, 9th worst in the NFL. That number will have to go
down as the Broncos protect the (possibly)
fragile neck of Peyton Manning
RB: Willis
McGahee has proven himself to be a solid ground-and-pound type running back. He
was willing to carry the ball a lot, and he still had energy to break out and
gain large chunks of yardage when it was available. Knowshon Moreno had a solid
end to the 2011 season as well, giving Manning a strong ground game to
complement the passing game.
TE: Well, lets
hope the Broncos saved some money to sign a pass catching tight end, because
this group was not used at all during the Tebow era in Denver. The leading pass
catcher among the current tight ends had 19 receptions last year…not good.
Again, we can chalk some of that up to Tebowmania, but under a Manning led
offense, an athletic tight end with reliable hands is a must. The Broncos must
be sure that this position is upgraded.
WR: Even with one
of the worst passing games in the league, Demaryius Thomas has proven that he
can be a game changer. He can stretch the field vertically, and he has good
hands. The fact that Manning’s old friend Brandon Stokely is already on the
roster has been much discussed, and I am sure a few footballs will be thrown
his way. On the other side of the field, Eddie Royal has had some really
productive years of football, and he should only get better with a traditional,
accurate quarterback throwing him passes.
Defense: The
Broncos were able to make a surprise run to the playoffs in 2011 partly because
of the ground heavy and Tebow specified offense that they employed, but they
also used an improved defense to work their way into the playoffs. The return
of Elvis Dumervil and emergence of rookie LB Von Miller really shored up the
pass rush and run defense, but they were in the middle of the pack for both
Opponent passing yards and rushing yards per game (18th and 22nd
overall). The defense needs to look into replacing Champ Bailey at CB with
another lockdown-type corner. This is obviously not the defense that Manning
could have had with the 49ers, but I think they are trending in the correct
direction
Overall: With the
addition of Manning, I think the Broncos become the clear favorites to win the
AFC West. The Raiders and Chiefs are just not there from a talent or
consistency perspective, and the Chargers lost 2 very important offensive
players in free agency this year. My predictions for Manning:
3,200 yds, 24 TD, 14 INT, 63% CMP%
These numbers are
clearly below his season bests, even his season averages, but I think the
Broncos will stick to their devastation running game and allow Manning to
manage the offense without constantly being the only option, like he had to be
in Indianapolis. His Completion % will be down, but should still be solid as he
learns a new offense and connects with new players. I would not be surprised at
all to see the Broncos win 10+ games, win the division, and win a playoff game
in 2012. I would also not be surprised to see Manning organizing throwing
sessions with Royal, Thomas, and Stokely before April is over. The man knows
his business.
Thoughts? Predictions?
No comments:
Post a Comment