Author: Bob Morris

Pro Football Focus’ Neil Hornsby gives his impressions of what’s going on with the Denver Broncos offense.

This isn’t Kubiak’s offense—it’s a hybrid between what he wants, what Peyton would like, and the personnel he has at his disposal.

So the real problem for Denver is an offense that’s neither one thing nor the other, behind an offensive line that is still going through its growing pains.

That’s somewhat along the lines of what I was getting at in my discussion about last night’s game. Kubiak is trying to do a few things to take the load off Peyton, but things haven’t clicked yet, in part because of the offensive line.

Earlier today, I shared a writeup from Bill Barnwell about Peyton Manning and what may be contributing to his decline.

Let me start by saying that, while it’s understandable that the Peyton alarmists are annoying, we don’t respond to alarmists with “nothing to see here, move on” or “it’s not just Peyton,” even if the latter statement holds some truth. Instead, it’s better to take the approach Barnwell took by dispelling obvious myths while figuring out what may be the bigger issue.
Continue reading Compensating For Peyton And Other Post-Game Thoughts

Grantland’s Bill Barnwell discusses his observations about Peyton Manning’s play the first two games of this season, but makes clear that Manning’s arm strength isn’t the issue.

If you’re working off the premise that Manning is finished because his arm is zapped and he’s thrown two pick-sixes in two games, that is a flawed conclusion. I don’t think either of those interceptions should be chalked up to Manning’s arm strength. The pick-six by Jimmy Smith last week actually would have been an easier interception if Manning had thrown the ball harder, because Smith would have been able to get a clean jump on the throw. Instead, because the throw was late, Smith had to delay his jump.

Barnwell says it has more to do with Manning’s accuracy in general and what Manning is doing to compensate for his limitations.

I’ll have more thoughts about last night’s game later this afternoon, but Barnwell’s column is worth a read.

Ben Muth at Football Outsiders gives his analysis of how the Denver Broncos offensive line performed in Sunday’s game against the Ravens.

Muth’s main criticisms were regarding Matt Paradis, who he said struggled the entire game. He recognized that Ty Sambrailo struggled early but settled down as the game continued, while Evan Mathis didn’t have a good outing but expects him to get better.

Overall, though, Muth believes that, even though the line struggled, there are signs that the line can improve. He’s not a fan of Paradis, though.

If you’re a Denver fan reading this column, there wasn’t a ton on the surface from the offensive line to be encouraged about, but I wouldn’t hit the panic button yet either. Your left tackle looked young, but didn’t go down the tank mentally after a bad start, made adjustments to help himself throughout the game, and looks like an athlete. Your left guard looks more rusty than washed up. The right side of your line already looks fine. And, well, the only positive I can think of for the center is that it’s only one game and it was his first start.

Deadspin’s Ross Kraz had a little fun in comparing NFL players to vehicles. Here’s the link to the AFC West edition, in which the Broncos compared to cars are Peyton Manning and Von Miller.

There are other entries at Deadpsin for each division if you are interested. And if you want, you can discuss what vehicles are comparable to other Bronco players.

Hello, Bronco fans! We have a lot to feel good about the Broncos defense after the season opener against Baltimore, and on offense, we have some cause for optimism and some for concern. So what does this mean when it comes to Thursday’s outing at Arrowhead?

First, let’s be clear that the Broncos are far from being a finished product. Yes, it may be the regular season, but as history has shown, the teams that either end the regular season as the best team in the NFL, and the teams that go on to win the Super Bowl (whether that was the best team or not), don’t always start the year as the team to beat. In recent seasons, those teams struggled.
Continue reading Midweek Musings: Orange Crush Will Give KC Fits

#Broncos waive CB Curtis Marsh to make room on roster for TJ Ward

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) September 15, 2015

You can all stop asking why Marsh made the final roster, because the thread title is your answer.

If you thought somebody else should have been kept instead of Marsh, that player was likely to be waived or cut anyway, once T.J. Ward returned from suspension.

Pro Football Focus released their top-graded players for the Broncos-Ravens game. The top five for the Broncos:

OLB DeMarcus Ware (+10.9)
OLB Von Miller (+6.5)
ILB Brandon Marshall (+5.4)
OLB Shaquil Barrett (+3.6)
S Darian Stewart (+3.4)

The top-rated player for Baltimore was Jimmy Smith at +3.4, the same rating as Stewart.

The Broncos didn’t have as good of a day on offense, obviously. PFF’s Sam Monson has some thoughts about Peyton’s struggles.

With that said, all the worries about Brandon McManus missing two field goals (one into the wind) in the preseason were for naught, as evidenced yesterday, and as PFF acknowledges.

Perhaps Broncos fans should relax as well about the offense, too?

So today’s Denver Broncos game against the Baltimore Ravens was decided by an Darian Stewart interception in the end zone, but if only pass interference had been called on David Bruton Jr. like it was a few plays earlier.

Or so one might think, anyway.

As a sportswriter, I am all too familiar with how we like to describe games. We spend our time thinking about what’s the story in every football game. But like many fans, we fall into the trap of thinking about the final plays of a close game, leading to us writing how a close game comes down to one final play, which gets dissected by everyone.
Continue reading Neither One Play Nor One Call Decided Broncos/Ravens

Aldon Smith is in the #Raiders building & will sign. He chose them over the #Jaguars, #Bucs & #Rams, I’m told. It’s a one-year deal.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2015

I’ll leave this for the rest of you to discuss.

UPDATE [Nick]:

Per Santa Clara County prosecutors office, Aldon Smith charged today w/ 3 misdemeanors, inc DUI w/ prior. Will be arraigned on Oct. 6.

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) September 11, 2015