1. Usually Peyton Manning has a way of masking the deficiencies of his offensive line. But it seems like even he can't mask the issues along this line. How does Gary Kubiak think this offense can have sustained success with this group up front?
Most of us are of the opinion that the big thing the line needs is game time. The Broncos have some youth on the line that needs to see more NFL opponents. They have a new player in Evan Mathis that joined the team right before the start of the season. The encouraging thing is that they've been trending up, though their starting from a pretty awful hole so it is still a point of irritation with Broncos Country.
Gary has been doing his part in adjusting his offensive scheme to make it easier for Peyton to handle by moving back into the pistol. It has helped.
2. Oh, but that defense. I'm sure it's enough to have Broncos fans doing pelvic thrusts. And it seems like they became great overnight. We all know about Von Miller, but what has been the key to the defense suddenly being so good?
Wade Phillips, plain and simple. Denver has had a lot of talent on their roster for a few years now. They've dealt with injuries and normal problems with depth, but this year they're loaded and ready to go. Phillips makes the biggest difference though because of how he calls his defensive game. No more prevent. No more focusing on "bend, but don't break". They're now the aggressors and it shows. The guys absolutely love it and you can tell that Phillips does too by his reactions on the sidelines.
3. Speaking of great defense, now the Broncos have Derek Wolfe back. What does he bring to the table and how does the defense change with him in the lineup?
The biggest asset Wolfe has is his endurance. He's relentless and never seems to tire. He's also a huge run stopping 3-4 DE. They used him like that in the 4-3 under they ran last year and he should be just as impactful once he gets his playing legs underneath him. I'd bet they'll only see him for 30 - 50% of the snaps in his first week back though. They have a lot of depth on the line and there's no reason for the team to leave him out there with how well they've been playing so far.
4. The talk all season thus far with regard to Peyton Manning has been if he is finally beginning to show signs of loss of arm strength. What have you seen?
He still has the strength, but he's heaving the ball more with his core and his shoulder than he used to. This is causing some accuracy issues downfield. He can still get the ball downfield though...see the last drive against KC week 2 for a good example.
5. What is going on with CJ Anderson? He was a star last year and suddenly he can do nothing. Meanwhile Ronnie Hillman goes off for 103 yards and a touchdown.
CJ is nursing a toe injury and most of us think it has taken more out of him than the coaches are admitting. CJ last year is a giant compared to what he's doing this year. He was able to break tackles, jump-step guys out of their sneakers, and run with big burst. We haven't seen that yet and that's why most of us are pretty excited to see Ronnie Hillman emerging as a big threat in the running game.
You can see my answers to his questions here.
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