He jogs to the podium Wednesday, cleats in hand, sun beating down on his face. He looks stronger from rigorous offseason workouts and leaner through an improved diet that still allows room for an occasional chicken parm. His wit is drier than ever.
Watch him during interviews. Witness him at practice. It raises the question: When exactly did Peyton Manning become Benjamin Button?
Like Brad Pitt’s movie character, Manning appears to be aging backwards before the Broncos’ eyes. The last time he played, in the playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts, a compromised Manning couldn’t throw deep, lacked confidence and failed to pick up a critical first down with 20 yards of open field in front of him.
It sits in stark contrast to training camp where Manning, his right quadriceps healed, has been on the move. He scrambled for a 1-yard first down last Saturday.
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“That was the biggest play of camp?” Manning asked sarcastically. “Our standards are really lowered around here.”
The most significant development in camp remains Manning’s adjustment to coach Gary Kubiak’s hybrid offense. He is working in the pistol formation, using a huddle when instructed, and rolling out. Manning always has demonstrated precise footwork, but typically it’s while stepping up in the pocket, not leaving it. In 2013 when he set the NFL single-season touchdown record, Manning rolled out 10 times, according to Pro Football Focus.
He’s already eclipsed that number in camp.
“I didn’t know he couldn’t do it. It’s not like we are going to run the play 27 times a game. It’s a weapon, though,” said offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. “He looks good.”
At age 39, Manning deflects questions about age. He appears motivated to silence critics who believe last season’s end forecasts doom this season. He has embraced Kubiak’s offense, accepted off days, and as wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders noted, gone without the glove on his throwing hand.
“I told him, ‘Your arm’s a lot stronger without it,’^” Sanders said. “I feel like he can make any throw.”
Manning knows rollouts. He watched his father Archie run the plays — many times unintentionally because of pressure — with success. Manning’s ability to do it in this offense will pay dividends. If the Broncos go with two-tight end sets, not a stretch early in the season to protect their young offensive line, the play can produce chunk yards. Last season, the Broncos struggled on underneath routes in the second half of the season. Tight end Julius Thomas, because of an ankle injury, and wide receiver Wes Welker, because of his age, could not longer consistently beat man-to-man coverage. It created double-teams on Demaryius Thomas and Sanders. If the Broncos can run effectively, forcing the defense to decide whether to add a defender in the box, the rollout becomes difficult to defend.
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“It can create man coverage, which allows us to take our shots down field,” Dennison said.
Manning welcomes the opportunity. A rollout? He’s been on a roll all of camp.
“It puts the defense in a little different position not knowing where the quarterback is going to be set up. It changes a little bit of their drops and reads,” Manning said. “Certainly, what you can do with misdirection — which we do a great job of here — you have some room and you have receivers. It allows you to hit guys on the run. You can have some of those short plays that are critical third-down conversions or second-and-1 conversions, but you can have some chances for some big plays, as well.”
Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or
