Denver Broncos New Offense Still A Work in Progress
Less than two weeks remain before the start of the 2015 NFL regular season. The starting offense for the Denver Broncos, the one with loads of Pro Bowl players in skill positions and a quarterback who is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, will no longer play this preseason.
The regulars such as Peyton Manning at quarterback, Demaryius Thomas at wide receiver, C.J. Anderson at running back and Louis Vazquez at guard all have been in the Pro Bowl the last two seasons and will not play Thursday’s final game of the preseason.
Overall, Denver has taken what can only be described as a safety-first preseason approach with that group limiting their snaps with Manning appearing for only 63 snaps in the two games he played. Emmanuel Sanders another wide receiver did not even play in any of the first three preseason games due to recovering from an injured hamstring.
Over the two games the starting offense played, the unit failed to construct a single drive for a touchdown. Yes, backup Brock Osweiler had a touchdown pass to Virgil Green the tight end late during the first half of the preseason opener but that was not with the starting offense playing.
On Saturday versus San Francisco, the starters’ series resulted in a pair of punts, a pair of field goals and one Manning interception.
Owen Daniels a tight end said the offense wanted more points, left some on the field and needed to clean certain things up in the red zone.
Over the past three seasons with Manning at the helm, the Broncos offense has scored and scored often. They were second in scoring in the league in the 2012 and 2014 seasons and set an NFL single season record during the 2013 season with 606 points.
In Manning’s time as a Bronco, the team has averaged 32.7 points a game and 34 point per game during the last two season.
Therefore, the drought during the preseason has caused a few raised eyebrows as the team inserts a new playbook due to its new coaching staff led by Gary Kubiak.
John Elway the Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback and Executive Vice President for football operations called the Denver offense a work in progress. Manning said following Saturday’s game that the team was figuring out what they are doing and who they are.
The two field goals scored by the number one unit came on 13-play and 14-play drives.
Odds are that the Broncos scoring machine might start the regular season somewhat slower than the past two years, but you can guarantee with Manning at the helm, the offense will soon be all on the same page and scoring points in droves.
