The eyes of Broncos Country were locked on.
As were the Denver Broncos coaching staff, teammates and the NFL.
People wanted to know how this young, inexperienced offensive line would hold up in a “hostile environment” against one of the best defensive lines in football. Would the pressure get to them? How would they respond? How bad is it?
Preseason football is no harbinger of things to come, let alone the first half of the first game. But you get a feel for where a team is at this point. You get an idea of the work put in and what needs improvement.
When it comes to the Broncos starting offensive line, there is reason to feel optimism. Even with Shelley Smith spelling right guard Louis Vasquez after the first quarter, Denver’s front was dominant and impressive. And it will only get better. In particular, Ty Sambrailo, Max Garcia and Matt Paradis locked down the left-side of the offense. Minus a false start on the second drive of the game by Sambrailo, they were sharp and didn’t play as if they were getting their first action in the NFL.
The Broncos amassed 240 yards of total offense in the first half (139 passing, 101 rushing) in large part because of the offensive line. The offense was balanced, the zone blocking and effective running game should have given flashes to the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The play of Denver’s line also allowed Brock Osweiler to look like Peyton Manning – efficient and sharp. Osweiler finished the first half completing 15-of-20 passes for 151 yards with one touchdown. He was also impressive on third downs, completing 4-of-7 passes for 40 yards with four first-down conversions in those situations.
What does it all mean?
At this point, not much. If anything at all. It’s the first half of the first preseason game of the season.
Look no further than the (typical) un-special play of the Broncos special teams on kickoff coverage. Cause for concern? No. Joe DeCamillis will probably have them on the field at the UCHealth Training Center on Saturday walking through assignments. If this continues through the second and third preseason games, start the concern.
The defense gave us a hint of how special it could be. Without the need of animals hunting animals videos, the Broncos defense was fun to watch. In the first half, Denver allowed 29 yards of total offense.
Von Miller was a man fired up.
Shane Ray looks like the steal of the draft and a true gift.
The best part? Denver’s defense did all of this without Chris Harris Jr., and DeMarcus Ware on the field. The offense did what it did without Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Owen Daniels
As is the case with the special teams, let’s pump the breaks.
This was the first glimpse of what could be.
When it comes to the Broncos starting offensive line, however, with the eyes of the football world locked on, they put on a show worthy of applause – regardless of the circumstances.
(Hopefully no one was paying attention to the backups in the second half).
