The chorus from the cheap seats has already started.
Not that we should expect anything different at this point given that’s been the refrain for four years.
The question will get asked: What did we learn from Peyton Manning‘s first performance of the season in a new offense? We learned that he’s a future Hall-of-Fame-quarterback who made his first start of the season in a new offense.
Manning finished 8 of 14 passing for 52 yards in four drives all resulting in punts against the Houston Texans. Some said that Manning looked rusty. That he looked old. When they take into consideration that Brock Osweiler came in and threw a beautiful touchdown to Andre Caldwell, “See?” (Osweiler did throw a pick-six in the third quarter, for what’s it worth. “Off with his head.”) For comparison’s sake: Tom Brady was 2-for-5 for 13 yards, while Jimmy Garoppolo was 28 of 33 for 269 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 26-24 win for the New England Patriots.
Manning did have one poor decision over the middle and missed a receiver on the sideline. But as head coach Gary Kubiak told 9News at halftime, there were two drops on third down and penalties that would have changed the complexion of the first half for Denver, and with it, how people view Manning’s first performance of the season in a new offense.
Well, not for some.
Take a deep breath. It was the first game of the season in a new offense.
What you take away from the first half against Houston is, despite those few penalties, the strong play of the offensive line. Yet again, that No. 1 unit gave up no sacks and the Broncos were able to run the football. The left-side of the line, Ty Sambrailo, Max Garcia and Matt Paradis, seem to have locked down the starting jobs. Paradis continues to get his cohorts in the right situations, and both Sambrailo and Garcia look really good.
They, along with Manning and the skill players, will only get better.
The Denver defense continues to impress. The starters didn’t get as much pressure on Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer as they did against the Seattle Seahawks, but they did put up a zero on the scoreboard.
And if Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Shane Ray weren’t enough, Shaquil Barrett cemented his spot on the 53-man roster for the Broncos. Barrett recorded a huge sack to thwart a Texans’ drive late in the game to help Denver hold on for the win 14-10. It’s Barrett’s second sack of the preseason.
For those keeping track, the defense has recorded 12 sacks in two games. Preseason or not, that’s pretty and not much to complain about.
Nor with any phase of the Broncos at this point. Hopefully special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis can go out with his wife this week. His unit wasn’t great, but at least it didn’t give up a 100+-yard return for a touchdown. The punt returning duties, however, remain a huge question mark.
Again, it’s the second preseason game of the season. It’s not about August or September, it’s about January and February. There’s still two more preseason games, and over three weeks worth of practice to get these “kinks” ironed out.
For some, Manning can’t retire fast enough. Nothing he does will ever be good enough. It’s the exact same situation John Elway faced throughout his career (at least until he won two Super Bowls).
For the others, it’s just another meaningless football game to whet our appetite for the regular season.
In terms of this first showing … We learned that Manning is a future Hall-of-Fame-quarterback who played in his first game of the season in a new offense.
