Despite a hard-fought Sunday, most of the postgame talk centered on the struggles of Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense.
And rightfully so. It was the first game in coach Gary Kubiak’s new offensive scheme and the first game in the Peyton Manning era that the Broncos didn’t score an offensive touchdown.
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“I’ve watched him be a general for so long. It’s hard to watch him be just a foot soldier,” Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin said of Manning on the NFL Network Sunday night.
Is Manning just a foot soldier now?
It seems too early to make that type of leap, but it is an intriguing question. Manning typically is not only the quarterback, but the de facto offensive coordinator/play caller.
But, after Sunday’s game he seemed to distance himself from the scheme and the play-calling. As if to say, I’m not calling the shots.
“I’m not really the spokesperson for that,” Manning said in reference to the pass-run imbalance. Manning threw 40 passes and the Broncos ran the ball 25 times.
“These are pretty specific offensive scheme questions,” he added when asked about the abundance of snaps from the shotgun formation. “I don’t think I’m the right guy to have to answer those type of questions.”
Manning was in the shotgun 48 out of 76 total snaps, which would seem to be his preference. But, he appeared uncomfortable, out of sync with his receivers and he was unable to exploit the Baltimore defense as he has done so well throughout his career.
It’s unfair to give a judgment regarding Manning’s fit for Kubiak’s system after Week 1, however.
“I think the tempo was more Peyton’s tempo,” tight end Owen Daniels said. “We were running our plays for the most part, what we’ve done previously in Kubiak’s offense.”
Maybe we can chalk up the Broncos’ Week 1’s struggles on offense to a bad week; even Manning should be afforded one of those. Or maybe this is the new reality fans must get used to.
CHEW ON THIS
• NFL reporter Troy Renck’s Sunday feature focused on linebacker .
• NFL reporter Nicki Jhabvala’s Monday story examined .
• Manning and the Broncos offense
• Former NBA great . He was 60. His former teammate Charles Barkley said he called Malone “dad.” “I will never know why a Hall of Famer took a fat, lazy kid from Auburn and treated him like a son and got him in shape and made him a player,” .
• with Tennessee on Sunday. The rookie quarterback threw for more touchdowns (4) than he had incompletions (3), leading the Titans to a 42-14 win over Tampa Bay.
• After winning her first Grand Slam title Saturday, 33-year-old U.S. Open champion .
• Speaking about going out on top, boxer after beating Andre Berto via unanimous decision Saturday to improve his record to 49-0, tying former heavyweight great Rocky Marciano’s mark.
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Watch .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy (slightly belated) birthday, Super Mario Brothers! On Sept. 13, 1985, the side-scrolling platform video game was released in Japan. The game has engrained itself into pop culture, spawning classic series such as Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.
However, let’s just , OK?
Cameron Wolfe: cwolfe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/cameronwolfe
Online producer Joe Nguyen contributed to this story.
