With his arm still weak, Manning’s head has got to be in the game.
(photo: John Gress photography)
Peyton Manning’s still got the tools to take the Broncos all the way. But they’re stored upstairs.
As the quarterback continues to recover from the injuries that cost him his 2011 season, he will need to rely on his experience and his smarts to compensate for his right arm, which is weakened and has not fully rebounded post-surgery. That was plain to see during last night’s loss to the Falcons.
It was Manning’s poor decisions in the first quarter, though, that put the Broncos in a hole. His deep throws were soft and wobbly to be sure, but that’s not why they were intercepted. Atlanta’s coverages were deceptive and Falcon defensive backs were positioned perfectly to take advantage of Peyton Manning’s mistakes.
If Manning is to be a winner for the Broncos, he will need to outwit opponents. He can’t make mistakes. Instead, he needs to force defenses to. It starts with his realizing his limitations and playing within them.
He’s not going to be able to push the ball down field to his wide recievers very often. They’ve got to be be wide, wide open. Manning’s balls aren’t thrown with enough force to be slipped through “windows”.
What the Broncos need to do is to thrive in the short passing game. They have to dink and dunk – metriculate the ball down the field. Manning needs to hit his backs with tosses out of the back field and allow his wide outs to catch the ball in space with room to run.
As defenses tighten up to stop the Broncos from eating them alive in the short game, opportunities will open up in the long game. Demaryius Thomas doesn’t need perfect balls thrown to him. He can catch just about anything.
Peyton Manning will be fine. The Broncos will be fine. But they need to rely on what Manning has going on upstairs.
