2015 Broncos-Peyton's Retirement Party Sunday 1/24/16 3PM ET

[j-man]

yes the OL is bad  but we have 3 mos to fix it    
 
this denver Def  is reminding me of the 00 Ravens    and if we keep getting  3 to a game   we are very rarely going to lose even with a declining manning   
 
all of denver tough games expect @ sd  are at home     
 
i see 13-3 for denver
but i see 14-2 for new england    
 
as barring  something  unbelievable   Denver and new England will play twice this year   

 

[BlackJack]

this denver Def  is reminding me of the 00 Ravens    and if we keep getting  3 to a game   we are very rarely going to lose even with a declining manning 

I think netting 3 TO per game is asking a lot for any defense. Denver is in a good position winning the first two with a seemingly easy stretch coming up. I expect them to win their division and end up with 10-12 wins.

 

[Caspir]

The 2000 Ravens had five games where the opponent didn't score a touchdown, including four shutouts, while allowing 165 points on the season. They gave up less than 1,000 yards rushing all year and recovered 26 fumbles. They're ranked as either the second or third best defense of all time, so uhh, that's a pretty bold comparison and probably requires some facts or data to back it up.

 

[pappymojo]

The Ravens also had a good running game.  Jamal Lewis had 1364 yards as a rookie and Priest Holmes had 588 yards as well.

I think the Broncos need to change their offensive strategy.  Either let Peyton be Peyton in all of his fading glory, or switch to a conservative ground-and-pound style.  Isn't it supposed to be easier for an offensive line to block for a running game? 

 

[TomTerrific]

Just thought I'd put in a plug for the Charlie Pierce article in Grantland on Peyton Manning (sorry on phone and can't link to it). While not especially enlightening, it's at least thought provoking and worth the short time it takes to read

 

[Sox and Rocks]

The Denver D has been impressive, but comparisons to the 2000 Ravens are hyperbolic. 
 
In particular, their ability to stop the run is questionable.  KC just rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries against them.  If KC had run more, they probably would have won that game. 
 
Denver is an athletic defense with elite pass rushers and a solid secondary.  As such, they do real well in the passing game.  They may be one of the best, if not the best, pass defenses in football.  They aren't real physical, though, especially upfront, and their run defense is average at best. 
 
KC did everything right and should have won, but they turned it over far too much, Andy Reid went Andy Reid with clock/game management, and, in particular, they didn't run near enough. 

 

[j-man]

The Denver D has been impressive, but comparisons to the 2000 Ravens are hyperbolic. 
 
In particular, their ability to stop the run is questionable.  KC just rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries against them.  If KC had run more, they probably would have won that game. 
 
Denver is an athletic defense with elite pass rushers and a solid secondary.  As such, they do real well in the passing game.  They may be one of the best, if not the best, pass defenses in football.  They aren't real physical, though, especially upfront, and their run defense is average at best. 
 
KC did everything right and should have won, but they turned it over far too much, Andy Reid went Andy Reid with clock/game management, and, in particular, they didn't run near enough. 

good points sox and rocks    
 
denver has never force TO like they have so far      we should had been 0-2   with 2 bad off games   Q manning all u want  in the playoffs  but  denver is looking like a 12-13 win team   
 
and the 00 Ravens had a bad def game in week 2 vs Jax   giveing up 36 pts   and 500 y  
 
a better compeaion might  be the 2006 colts    
 
i was worng with the 00 ravens comment  but its refreshing to see a good def in denver

 

[StupendousMan]

Thanks, j-man, for reminding us of this game; I'd completely forgotten that the Ravens defense in 2000 was not _always_ an awesome force.  Here's a link to the game:
 
    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200009100rav.htm
 
While the Jaguars ran for only 46 yards, they did have 75 plays and over 31 minutes of possession.   If they hadn't turned the ball over 4 times, they probably would have won easily.   As it was, the final score was 39-36; Baltimore won on a touchdown pass with under a minute remaining.

 

[Devizier]

What's impressive is that the Ravens didn't win their division. The Air McNair Titans did. And their defense was almost as awesome.

 

[mt8thsw9th]

Peyton looks a lot worse than his stat line. The big play early in the game was a blown coverage that turned into a jump ball, when prime Peyton hits his receiver in stride. He owes Thomas quite a bit for making him look good.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Peyton looks a lot worse than his stat line. The big play early in the game was a blown coverage that turned into a jump ball, when prime Peyton hits his receiver in stride. He owes Thomas quite a bit for making him look good.

I actually thought he looked very good tonight. He wasn't throwing frozen ropes but he had decent zip on the ball. He also didn't seem to have to put his entire body into the throws like we saw the first two weeks.

 

[j-man]

the OL only gave up  1 sack  and that was a manning falldown    
 
the 1 glaring weakness on denver is lack  of run game    going into the season i through denver needed to draft the best OL/DT in the 1st round  now i think RB needs to be in play  CJ might be best as a 10-15 carry guy  because he runs so hard   
 
but Denver still needs 2 OL in the first 4 rounds next year   RG/RT   
too early for draft needs  but
 
1 RB/RT  
2 RT/RB  
3 DE  
4 RG 
5 QB in the late rounds   

 

[j-man]

the OL only gave up  1 sack  and that was a manning falldown    
 
the 1 glaring weakness on denver is lack  of run game    going into the season i through denver needed to draft the best OL/DT in the 1st round  now i think RB needs to be in play  CJ might be best as a 10-15 carry guy  because he runs so hard   
 
but Denver still needs 2 OL in the first 4 rounds next year   RG/RT   
too early for draft needs  but
 
1 RB/RT  
2 RT/RB  
3 DE  
4 RG 
5 QB in the late rounds   

we cannot keep marthis  and vaquez both  max garic can fill 1 spot   
 
on DE  M Jackson is a fa  will plob command  9-11 mil a year in FA    wolfe is a fa too and so is antonio smith    
 
but unlees manning reteis after this year   denver will have 10-12 mil in cap room   cuting LT r Clady will save 7.9  mil  but keeping him IF manning comes back makes LT and RT stronger    
 
cutting ware  will save 8.5  mil but with him playing so well can we risk it    
 
but looking at over the cap  cutting G S Smith saves 2 mil    and the P coluitt saves 2.5 mil   
 
so with 4 moves even if manning comes back   we wouild have 34 mil in space for 16   

 

[BaseballJones]

From:  http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13810920/a-diminished-peyton-manning-stands-patriots-super-bowl
 
In Peyton's old age, Elway the GM wants to replicate the system once built around Elway the QB, who had this terrible habit of losing Super Bowls until Denver found him a difference-maker at running back. Terrell Davis rushed for 3,758 yards and 36 touchdowns in the 1997 and '98 regular seasons, and then for 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns in the subsequent postseason runs that allowed Elway to retire with no worries he'd have to face the questions that will forever haunt his contemporary, Dan Marino.
 
So Elway the GM wants to circumvent the salary cap so he can add enough quality players so that they can win a Super Bowl with Peyton in his old age?

 

[DJnVa]

Sam Bradford: 60.7%, 948 yards, 6.5 YPA, 6/4 TD/INT, 82.2 rating
Peyton Manning: 63.6%, 968 yards, 6.3 YPA, 6/5 TD/INT, 80.8 rating
 
 
Among qualifiers, Manning is:
 
22nd in completion percentage
33rd in YPA
29th in passer rating
 
 
They better hope they can find that difference maker at RB and that the defense stays healthy.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

And that Manning doesn't get any worse as the year goes along.

 

[Stitch01]

Manning is absolutely still good enough to win with that defense and those receivers if they stay healthy at those spots.

 

[tims4wins]

Sam Bradford: 60.7%, 948 yards, 6.5 YPA, 6/4 TD/INT, 82.2 rating
Peyton Manning: 63.6%, 968 yards, 6.3 YPA, 6/5 TD/INT, 80.8 rating
 
 
Among qualifiers, Manning is:
 
22nd in completion percentage
33rd in YPA
29th in passer rating
 
 
They better hope they can find that difference maker at RB and that the defense stays healthy.

While I love this, numbers can lie. Bradford has been as bad as any QB in football this year and Manning has led multiple late scoring drives to help his team get to 4-0.

That being said I agree it is not going to get better for Manning

 

[Silverdude2167]

Manning is absolutely still good enough to win with that defense and those receivers if they stay healthy at those spots.

I am not sure that is true. They are not putting up very many points on some pretty terrible defenses (Minny excluded). 
 
Baltimore giving up an average of 28.3 points a game excluding giving up 19 to Denver.
 
KC is giving up an average of 31.3 points a game (Number lower than it should be due to playing HOU) excluding giving up 31 to Denver where 28 of those points came mainly thanks to Andy Reid in the last two minutes of each half.
 
Detriot is giving up an average of 29.5 a game (two games, play SEA tonight) excluding giving up 24 to Denver.
 
Minny is giving up an average of 16.6 a game excluding giving up 23 to Denver.
 
While you could make a case that they are playing a conservative offense due to having a Top 3 defense that does not appear to be the case as they have attempted 154 passes and have run the ball 90 times (Pass/Run 63.2/36.8) . And they can not run the ball. Remove the 72 yard run from yesterday and four Manning runs for -4 yards and they are averaging 2.9 yards a carry.
 
Will this team be able to hang with good offenses? They are a good team, but I think they get blown off the field by the league's elite. 

 

[Devizier]

With health being a major concern for Roethlisberger and Romo, you could credibly argue that Manning will be a top five quarterback this season.
 
At the moment, you could credibly argue that Andy Dalton is a top five guy in the league.

 

[johnmd20]

Manning is absolutely still good enough to win with that defense and those receivers if they stay healthy at those spots.

 
I don't think so.

 

[foulkehampshire]

I'm not buying a offense that can't reliably throw deep or run the ball with any kind of consistent success.
 
The defense looks fantastic, but they'll eventually get overexposed if the offense can't stay on the field. This is not a balanced team at all.

 

[thehitcat]

Manning is absolutely still good enough to win with that defense and those receivers if they stay healthy at those spots.

I think keeping the receivers healthy when he can't gun the ball into tight windows is going to be difficult.  He nearly got Demariyus killed yesterday by Harrison Barnes. And while you can in no way blame him for the end of Welker's career it couldn't have helped that he tends to leave the ball up over the middle on even short throws keeping his receivers in place to take hits that they would normally slip by going to the ground the catch the ball.  I would be shocked if Sanders and Thomas (and Daniels and the running backs for that matter) can get through the year without something horrible happening to them on a hospital ball over the middle. 

 

[Stitch01]

Alright, Im going to come at it another way.  Which teams have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl this year than Denver as of now given they've banked four wins to start the season and don't appear to have a particularly challenging scheduled?  Id say New England, Green Bay, possibly Seattle and Arizona (Not saying the latter two are better, but their path to a high seed seems harder at this point)
 
Betting markets have them fifth I believe, DAVE has them as the fifth best team going into the week.  Hard for me to look at the players and the body of work so far and think we can write this team off.

 

[dcmissle]

"Terrible habit of losing SBs" is just beyond ignorant with regard to Elway. Anyone alive at the time understood well that those Bronco teams were mediocre, and that Elway was basically the only reason they sniffed the playoffs, much less the SB -- and why they got got murdered when they got there. That applies to both sides of the ball.

 

[tims4wins]

I was about to start a "Ranking the AFC" thread, with the Pats 1, Bengals 2, and Denver 3... and then I couldn't figure out who to put 4th.
 
So yeah, I think Denver definitely has one of the top chances in the AFC. With their schedule they are likely to get another bye. We'll see from there. Indy was able to go in and win last year.

 

[lars10]

Alright, Im going to come at it another way.  Which teams have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl this year than Denver as of now given they've banked four wins to start the season and don't appear to have a particularly challenging scheduled?  Id say New England, Green Bay, possibly Seattle and Arizona (Not saying the latter two are better, but their path to a high seed seems harder at this point)
 
Betting markets have them fifth I believe, DAVE has them as the fifth best team going into the week.  Hard for me to look at the players and the body of work so far and think we can write this team off.

I think as of right now Denver is a high seed going into the playoffs. My concern if I were a Denver fan is that Peyton's arm looks like it did in the playoffs last year already... Will it be worse in the cold? Also the defense is very good but a decent offensive team keeps them on the field and puts more on their offense to score.

I think one team you left off your list is Pittsburgh. I think they'll be a lower seed going into the playoffs but a team most higher seeds won't want to face once Ben is back and Bell is fully up to speed. That team is a lot scarier to me.

I have confidence that BB will put together a scheme that would completely stifle Denver's offense and also get the ball out quick to nullify their pass rush. Pitt's offense seems more dangerous to me.

TLDR.. Basically Denver may get a two seed but I think they aren't built for the playoffs.

 

[Stitch01]

Gave Pitt a lot of thought, but real hard to see them win that division at this point so even if they're better than Denver and more likely to win any individual game than Denver, I don't think it outweighs the harder path.
 
Bengals are probably a toss up.
 
They aren't the favorites, but I think dismissing them as a non factor when they are 4-0 with an elite defense, easy schedule, and all-time great QB who has already successfully adapted once to diminishing physical tools seems premature to me.  Denver looks much stronger than the Pats did at this time last year.  Manning looks worse than Brady did through four games last year, but not by a giant margin.

 

[Marciano490]

Anyone feel like they're hearing a guidance counselor talking about a teenage boy when they watch Broncos games now?  I've never heard so much talk about finding an identity before.

 

[Tony C]

I was about to start a "Ranking the AFC" thread, with the Pats 1, Bengals 2, and Denver 3... and then I couldn't figure out who to put 4th.
 
So yeah, I think Denver definitely has one of the top chances in the AFC. With their schedule they are likely to get another bye. We'll see from there. Indy was able to go in and win last year.

 
Don't you have to put the Steelers at #3, on the assumption that come playoff time Ben will be back? The Jets and Broncos are pretty similar at 4/5, though agree Manning is better than Fitz/Geno...so Denver at #4. Weak year in the AFC, though I suspect the Bengals might be for real and a genuine threat (yes, I know: Andy Dalton is still Andy Dalton).

 

[tims4wins]

Pittsburgh has major question marks in their D, IMO. I think they are a more one sided team than Denver. That would be a heck of an interesting playoff game though.

 

[DJnVa]

It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out but I can definitely see an 8-8/9-7 Jets team going into Denver in the playoffs and beating them like 17-10 because Peyton can't move the ball.

 

[Super Nomario]

I am not sure that is true. They are not putting up very many points on some pretty terrible defenses (Minny excluded). 
 
Baltimore giving up an average of 28.3 points a game excluding giving up 19 to Denver.
 
KC is giving up an average of 31.3 points a game (Number lower than it should be due to playing HOU) excluding giving up 31 to Denver where 28 of those points came mainly thanks to Andy Reid in the last two minutes of each half.
 
Detriot is giving up an average of 29.5 a game (two games, play SEA tonight) excluding giving up 24 to Denver.
 
Minny is giving up an average of 16.6 a game excluding giving up 23 to Denver.
 
While you could make a case that they are playing a conservative offense due to having a Top 3 defense that does not appear to be the case as they have attempted 154 passes and have run the ball 90 times (Pass/Run 63.2/36.8) . And they can not run the ball. Remove the 72 yard run from yesterday and four Manning runs for -4 yards and they are averaging 2.9 yards a carry.
 
Will this team be able to hang with good offenses? They are a good team, but I think they get blown off the field by the league's elite. 

It's even worse than the raw points totals indicate. Denver has 10 touchdowns on the season, and 2 of those are defensive, and 1 of the offensive TDs was on a 15-yard drive after a turnover. The flip side is that the D is even better than the raw numbers - the Broncos have allowed 8 TDs on the season, and 2 of them were pick-sixes, and another 2 drives of fewer than 30 yards.
 
They are 12th in points but 28th in yards and 28th in NY/A. They were 23rd in yards and 29th in NY/A in 2011, when Tebow was the QB. They are basically the 2000 Ravens right now.
 

They aren't the favorites, but I think dismissing them as a non factor when they are 4-0 with an elite defense, easy schedule, and all-time great QB who has already successfully adapted once to diminishing physical tools seems premature to me.  Denver looks much stronger than the Pats did at this time last year.  Manning looks worse than Brady did through four games last year, but not by a giant margin.

I do agree with this though.

 

[86spike]

Running game comment:
 
I suspect that CJ Anderson's toe injury is effecting him a lot more than the team (or he himself) wants to let on.
 
Last season CJ broke tackles and dragged defenders seemingly at will.  This season he has gone down easily and has yet to rumble through contact the way he did last year.  
 
Yesterday he had a huge hole and what looked like another open 10-15 yards and as he broke through the scrum a defender reached up and got one hand on his rib cage... he lost his balance and fell down.  It makes me really wonder if that toe hurts like a mother and has sapped his balance and ability to plant and drive once he starts getting hit.
 
Maybe the dude could use a few weeks to heal.  Sadly he's at the stage in his undrafted career where he is probably laser-focused on playing well enough to earn a real contract and cash in, so sitting might seem like the worst idea possible.

 

[coremiller]

"Terrible habit of losing SBs" is just beyond ignorant with regard to Elway. Anyone alive at the time understood well that those Bronco teams were mediocre, and that Elway was basically the only reason they sniffed the playoffs, much less the SB -- and why they got got murdered when they got there. That applies to both sides of the ball.

 
This is slight historical revisionism.  Denver was a big underdog in Super Bowls XXI and XXIV, but in XXII against Washington Denver was actually a 3.5 pt favorite (Washington was starting its backup QB and a 3rd-string tailback who had never started a game before).  And the 89 team, at least, had an excellent defense that was 1st in points allowed and 3rd in yards allowed; they were a very good team (finished 2nd in the league in SRS behind SF) that just happened to run into one of the 4 or 5 best teams of all time in the Super Bowl playing at the peak of its powers.

 

[j-man]

New England is the AFC  fav  by far  but who is  num # 2   right now its Ciny  but  i have  zero faith  in Andy in Jan     
 
Pitt will not be in the playoffs likely going 2-5  and even if ben comes back for Ciny nov 1  7-2  losses @ Sea  and or @ Balt @ ciny    they will not make it   
 
my worry is the Bills not the Jets  buffalo can score 24 + points pretty easy  i think Buffalo is the only team  standing in the  way of a AFCGC den @ ne    
 
i just dont see denver going 14-2   @ indy will be hard for us because manning has a hard time playing @ indy   @ sd  they play us well always and @ pitt  they will still think they can make the playoffs   and  if we are 11-2  and ciny is 10-3 of worse we might lay off the brakes for pitt       
 
looking at denver sch they are 6 possible L GB NE CINY  @ INDY @ SD @ PITT  and weather trap games @ cle @ chi  KC at home    
 
 
long story stort  best case  14-2 lose @ pitt gb  
Middle Case  13-3  lose INDY CINY PITT  
Worst Case  12-4   lose GB NE CINY @ pitt   but its hard to see 3 home L   i Actilly could see 14-2 loseing to NE and pitt   
 
 
the Q for denver is can the Def  stay at this level aga NE GB and ciny  and hold under 20 pts   

 

[TomTerrific]

Denver is a conundrum. Their current level of offense is absurdly low, and generally that's a killer in this league--of the top 8 teams in the latest Football Outsiders' DVOA ranking, 7 of those 8 happen to make up the top 7 offenses in the league by DVOA. The 8th is Denver, whose offense is ranked 30th but whose defense is ranked 1st.
 
My feeling is that something's gotta give--either Denver's defense regresses and they get downgraded to a mediocre overall squad, or Manning et al. figure something out and they become a more serious threat. Were I betting, I would take the latter (the offense improves) but it's close.

 

[Trlicek's Whip]

 
My feeling is that something's gotta give--either Denver's defense regresses and they get downgraded to a mediocre overall squad...

 
Apologies in advance for spitballing like a WFAN listener in his car and mildly summoning Gregg Easterbrook, but Easterbrook's Stop Me Before I Blitz Again" mantra reminded me that Wade Phillips is Denver's new defensive coordinator and he's known to blitz early and often. DEN has pass-rushing chops and they're also blitzing a ton thanks to Wade.
 
Remembering Phillips at his other stops (BUF, ATL, DAL) doesn't his defensive philosophy historically stay the course, without much in-season changes to the scheme? And don't Wade's defenses (and teams as head coach) get conservative later in the season or in the playoffs, when facing teams with QB's that could make him pay? 
 
Of course, if his players remain supernaturally all-world, he shouldn't change a thing.
 
There's also stats in the September games, which sometimes is a symptom of team offenses not yet gelling as a unit early in the season, so the sack tallies are overstated. Not to say that DEN isn't a beast right now - 11 different players contributing to the team's 18 total sacks means they're dominating - but it's a long season, and player and scheme attrition is a factor, as is potentially seeing them do the same thing week after week. 

 

[Soxfan in Fla]

Peyton's new Nationwide jingle, I can't throw a touchdown pass. Or, defense bailed me out again.

 

[jackleary]

"Chicken arm you throw so bad".

Ironic to see Peyton on a team where defense does the heavy lifting. With that said i wonder if he can handle 16 weeks or if they will rest him ahould they clinch fairly early. I worry he is one Omaha horsekick away from being crippled.

 

[crystalline]

Yeah the ducks wobble because he has nerve damage so he can't control or feel his fingers like he used to. That's probably due to damage around the spine. It's hard for me to root for worse throws or more sacks. (But as a Pats fan I can root for a speedy retirement)

 

[mt8thsw9th]

Shouldn't it be "chicken arm don't throw so good"?
 
 

Peyton looks a lot worse than his stat line.

 
His stat line is starting to look as bad as he's looked. 

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I watched a decent portion of the Oakland game and what really stood out for me is just how bad their skill position players are beyond DT and Sanders. 
 
TE - Owen Daniels is totally, completely cooked.  He gets no separation whatsoever and is regularly easily handled man-to-man by LBs in coverage.  But there's absolutely nobody else.  Virgil Green is a 5th year player who has been targeted 34 times in his career.  Then they have some rookie UDFA who has never played a snap.
 
WR - Their #3 wide receiver, Jordan Norwood, was out of the league in 2013 and missed all of 2014 with an ACL.  He is 29 and has less than 500 career receiving yards.  Their #4 WR, Andre Caldwell, had a total of 22 catches in the three years previous to this one.  Then they have Cody Latimer, a 2014 2nd rounder looking like a massive bust, and Bennie Fowler, a 2014 UDFA with seven career targets (who did make a nice play yesterday).
 
RB - I don't know if CJ Anderson is injured (as 86spike mentions above) but right now he doesn't look explosive at all.  The run blocking is awful but he never seems to turn two yards into five the way that he would last year fairly frequently.  For a scat back, Ronnie Hillman is awful as receiver.  Neither of these guys does much in the passing game other than leak out and provide a check down. 
 
I love to make fun of Peyton as much as the next guy.  And its true that the offensive line is also a serious dumpster fire.  But the lack of surrounding offensive talent is really a big underlying issue.  They basically do one thing at this point  - line up with Peyton in the pistol or shotgun and have him throw to Thomas or Sanders - and they still do it fairly well because the WRs are so talented.  They don't do anything else well (run the ball, throw to other WRs, throw to TEs, exploit coverage mismatches on their RBs). 

 

[RedOctober3829]

 

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet  45s46 seconds ago
#Broncos OLB DeMarcus Ware’s back injury, described as a strain, is expected to keep him out about two weeks, per source.
 

 

[soxfan121]

I watched a decent portion of the Oakland game and what really stood out for me is just how bad their skill position players are beyond DT and Sanders. 
 
TE - Owen Daniels is totally, completely cooked.  He gets no separation whatsoever and is regularly easily handled man-to-man by LBs in coverage.  But there's absolutely nobody else.  Virgil Green is a 5th year player who has been targeted 34 times in his career.  Then they have some rookie UDFA who has never played a snap.
 
WR - Their #3 wide receiver, Jordan Norwood, was out of the league in 2013 and missed all of 2014 with an ACL.  He is 29 and has less than 500 career receiving yards.  Their #4 WR, Andre Caldwell, had a total of 22 catches in the three years previous to this one.  Then they have Cody Latimer, a 2014 2nd rounder looking like a massive bust, and Bennie Fowler, a 2014 UDFA with seven career targets (who did make a nice play yesterday).
 
RB - I don't know if CJ Anderson is injured (as 86spike mentions above) but right now he doesn't look explosive at all.  The run blocking is awful but he never seems to turn two yards into five the way that he would last year fairly frequently.  For a scat back, Ronnie Hillman is awful as receiver.  Neither of these guys does much in the passing game other than leak out and provide a check down. 
 
I love to make fun of Peyton as much as the next guy.  And its true that the offensive line is also a serious dumpster fire.  But the lack of surrounding offensive talent is really a big underlying issue.  They basically do one thing at this point  - line up with Peyton in the pistol or shotgun and have him throw to Thomas or Sanders - and they still do it fairly well because the WRs are so talented.  They don't do anything else well (run the ball, throw to other WRs, throw to TEs, exploit coverage mismatches on their RBs). 

 
Yep. Thomas and Sanders are getting 2/3rds of all targets. If either one is injured, this offense will grind to a complete halt. 

 

[Ed Hillel]

On the other hand, Sanders/Thomas is probably the best 1-2 WR combo in football. I wonder what happened to Daniels, I figured he'd shine in that offense.

 

[coremiller]

On the other hand, Sanders/Thomas is probably the best 1-2 WR combo in football. I wonder what happened to Daniels, I figured he'd shine in that offense.

 
I wonder if he just got old.  He'll be 33 next month, this is his 10th season, and TE is a position that takes its toll.  The list of TEs that have been productive after turning 33 is short: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=1970&year_max=2015&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=33&age_max=99&league_id=&team_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_te=Y&c1stat=rec_yds&c1comp=gt&c1val=500&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=age&draft=0&draft_year_min=1936&draft_year_max=2015&type=&draft_round_min=0&draft_round_max=99&draft_slot_min=1&draft_slot_max=500&draft_pick_in_round=0&draft_league_id=&draft_team_id=&college_id=all&conference=any&draft_pos_is_qb=Y&draft_pos_is_rb=Y&draft_pos_is_wr=Y&draft_pos_is_te=Y&draft_pos_is_e=Y&draft_pos_is_t=Y&draft_pos_is_g=Y&draft_pos_is_c=Y&draft_pos_is_ol=Y&draft_pos_is_dt=Y&draft_pos_is_de=Y&draft_pos_is_dl=Y&draft_pos_is_ilb=Y&draft_pos_is_olb=Y&draft_pos_is_lb=Y&draft_pos_is_cb=Y&draft_pos_is_s=Y&draft_pos_is_db=Y&draft_pos_is_k=Y&draft_pos_is_p=Y

 

[RedOctober3829]

DeMarcus Ware is out for Sunday's game.

 

[j-man]

let say  Denver slows down    and goes 11-5    and gets the 3 seed    
 
beat pitt in the WC round   like 17-9   
beats Ciny   20-17 ot    
and beats NE  @ NE  19-16  and manning annores retirement after sb 50   and den beats Car 17-13  in sb 50   
 
remember manning only super bowl was 2006 with a Def who got about 4 TO per game   in the playoffs   

 

[j-man]

DeMarcus Ware is out for Sunday's game.

this is the 1 spot we can affond inj   ray and barnett who is getting better every week