Good is not good enough for the Broncos.
That should come as no surprise from a -led team.
Following Denver’s debacle of a game in New England, offensive coordinator Adam Gase shuffled the line against Oakland, moving Will Montgomery to center, Manny Ramirez to right guard and Louis Vasquez to right tackle.
Why?
“I can’t speak for the coaches,” Manning said. “I think you get Adam for five minutes tomorrow. I know he looks forward to that every week. So that’d be a good question for him.”
There’s one obvious reason that doesn’t require interrogating Gase: The Broncos rank 26th in rushing yards per game (96.8), and prior to facing the Raiders last Sunday, Gase had said he was ” ” with the team’s running game.
“It starts with those front five guys making sure we’ve got guys covered up,” Gase had said. “Then it’s the backs’ job to find the hole and hit it.”
And so he made changes to the O-line, changes that Manning said create a ripple effect across the entire team. Changes that are really mandates to step it up.
“Whoever is in there, we expect them to do their best,” he said. “Any time you make changes, I think it falls on everybody to raise their level of play as you’re making a change due to injury, due to whatever the reason. Those are coaches’ calls and everyone has to try to raise their level when you have changes.”
The Broncos also made coming out of the gate faster a point of emphasis after they scored only seven points in the first half against the Patriots while Tom Brady’s group put up 27 in the half en route to a 22-point win.
“You have to be careful in saying that we have to start fast because if you don’t, I think you can still win the football game,” Manning said. “But it is a point of emphasis. Our defense did a good job of keeping (the Raiders’) offense in check last week until we got on track. You certainly want to come out on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, and especially when you’re on the road, so we’d like to do that.”
All adjustments seemed to have their intended effect: The Broncos, despite a pair of picks by Manning early, had two first-half touchdowns and followed with three more in the second half.
C.J. Anderson turned in the Broncos have seen all season from a back as they outran the Raiders 118 yards to 30.
The Broncos looked good.
They looked good against a winless team.
When they face the 3-6 Rams in St. Louis on Sunday, however, Manning indicated he expects even more out of their offense — the line, the backs, the receivers and himself.
The Broncos’ offensive line has allowed league lows in sacks (nine) and quarterback hits (24), but the Rams’ defense has emphasized pass rushing and, after a slow start, has started to impress, recording 16 sacks in the last four games.
“Their front has been active all season long in my opinion,” Manning said. “They have really good players, a lot of first-round draft choices, guys who were great players in college who made the transition to the NFL and are all impact players. So it’s where it starts probably for any defense and we to be able to control those guys somehow. And it falls on everybody — falls on the run game, falls on receivers getting open on time, falls on me making quick decisions because it’s an active bunch.”
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or at twitter.com/nickijhabvala
