Peyton Manning drops back to pass during last Sunday’s game in Oakland. Manning was 31-of-44, with 340 yards and five touchdowns in the win. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
Rams coach Jeff Fisher spent years as a defensive assistant and coordinator with three different NFL teams and has placed an emphasis on developing a solid pass rush with this team, starting with defensive end Robert Quinn and rookie tackle Aaron Donald.
But on Sunday, when St. Louis hosts the Broncos and their offense that ranks No. 2 in scoring (31.8 points per game) and third in net yards (414.7 per game), . Any team does when it faces a Peyton Manning-lead offense.
“With all due respect to the Colts and that system, the system is completely different now,” Fisher said Wednesday. “Everybody is moving around, as compared to Marvin (Harrison) playing one side and Reggie (Wayne) on the other. (Manning) just made those plays and would put his offense in the best position all the time because he knew exactly what you were doing defensively. This offense is completely different. They’ve done an outstanding job of putting outstanding players around him. I think this is the best of cast of playmakers that he’s ever had, and obviously the results are showing that.”
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas already has eight touchdowns and ranks second in the league in reception yards (1,002), behind Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown. Newcomer Emmanuel Sanders has six touchdowns and five games with 100-plus receiving yards. Tight end Julius Thomas leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns (12) and has already set multiple single-season franchise records. And Manning, of course, is now the all-time leader in passing touchdowns, at 520 and counting.
“Watching the games the last couple days, I can’t remember a time when he was playing any better,” Fisher said. “I think he’s playing his best ball right now. He’s got great people around him. He’s got a really good feel. He’s not going to take the sack. He’s not going to make the bad decision. It’s very, very difficult to defend.”
So what do you do against Manning?
“You have to play a team defense and scheme defense,” Fisher said. “There may be a time when you can try to take a double (team) here or there, but it’s not going to fool Peyton. He knows exactly where to go with the ball. When you watch this offense and you watch it close, there is usually at least two, often times three, receivers that are open as an option for (Manning). That speaks volumes for what they’re doing offensively. Typically you scheme people to get a guy open and go through progression, but Peyton has options. You often times wonder why he goes there instead of over here. Well, when he goes there, he makes the right decision so they make a play. It is very difficult to blanket this offense and take things away and make (Manning) hold it.”
