Owen Daniels and Peyton Manning couldn’t lead the Broncos’ first-string offense to a touchdown on Saturday. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post )
About that offense?
Teams struggle in preseason. But teams led by Peyton Manning, who spent the last three seasons mocking the record books, don’t. So to see Manning lead 10 drives over the past two weeks without scoring a touchdown is a bit jarring. Manning blamed himself for a lack of execution in the red zone on Saturday night, pointing to a pair of poorly throw passes in Demaryius Thomas’ direction. He insisted he’s comfortable under center. And he remained encouraged by the running game, which included 79 first-half yards from C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman.
There were positives. The Broncos held the ball for more than 20 minutes and went 6-for-8 on third downs in the first half. But the accomplishments felt hollow without touchdowns.
“We would like to be a finely-tuned machine going into week one,” Manning said. “But we just have to continue to improve.”
Coach Gary Kubiak cited the time of possession and running game as positives, but said there “needs to be a sense of urgency to fix things.” Manning was sacked three times. “I had us in a couple of tough situations that I’ve got to do a better job of with our quarterback. They’re things that we can fix,” Kubiak said.
That will likely come in practice as the starters are not expected to play in the preseason finale on Thursday at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The defense continues to rouse optimism. The first string unit has yet to allow a touchdown, and held San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick to a pair of first-half completions.
As lights still shine at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, some observations:
–The Broncos continue to search for the right mix of huddle, no-huddle, under center and shotgun. Manning remains open to the new scheme, which has shown real promise in the ground game. Manning is 22-for-35 for 176 yards in two games, including an interception in the end zone.
–Manning misses Emmanuel Sanders. The receiver likely could have played tonight, but the team is wisely taking a cautious approach with his hamstring injury. Sanders provides the ability to take the top off a defense, a skill that limits double teams on Demaryius Thomas.
–As for Sanders, he remains a candidate to return punt returns. Kubiak was not happy with the Broncos’ sloppiness on Saturday. Omar Bolden and Isaiah Burse struggled to catch punts.
–Montee Ball entered camp hoping to challenge C.J. Anderson for the starting job and now he’s hanging onto a roster spot with white knuckles. He believes he’s fallen to fourth string behind Anderson, Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson after rushing for 11 yards on four carries. Ball has 16 carries for 41 yards in the preseason. Anderson netted 49 yards on Saturday, and Hillman leads the team with 155 yards on 21 carries. Kapri Bibbs, the former CSU star, didn’t carry the ball Sunday, another sign of the tough odds he faces to make the team.
–Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware produced sacks, leaving the Broncos with 15 in three games. Wade Phillips’ defense has exceeded expectations. In 11 series featuring the Broncos starters, the defense has allowed two fields goals, while forcing seven punts, one fumble and one safety (Ware on a sack on Saturday).
–Linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan played together for the first time, and showed promise. Marshall has had a terrific preseason. Trevathan made his debut, and after missing an early tackle in the backfield, settled down. Said Trevathan, “This is linebacker heaven. This is defensive heaven right here. You want to have fun, and you want to go out there and knock some heads, get loud and get the crowd pumped. This is the type of defense you want to be in.”
–Safety David Bruton, whose versatility should get him on the field more as T.J. Ward moves into the box as a linebacker in certain packages, led the Broncos with five tackles. Rookie Darius Kilgo, who will be counted on to contribute early in the season, finished with four tackles. The Broncos are expected to scour the waiver-wire looking for defensive line depth.
–Starting left guard Evan Mathis worked out before the game and is expected to practice with the team on Monday. Cornerback Chris Harris (hamstring) could have played, but there’s no reason to push it.
–The first wave of cuts down to 75 are due by Tuesday. However, a few could be made on Sunday and Monday.
