Manning Cruises Over the 49ers

With great protection Manning didn't break a sweat against the 49ers.

This was Peyton Manning’s best preseason showing to date with the Broncos. Manning scored against the first team D for the 49ers and made it look easy. Eric Decker had a nice game and should have had 3 TD’s catches instead of 2. I hope Decker can minimize the drops when they count. All of the first string WR’s, TE’s and backups had drops yesterday, too many drops. Last year, the drops by Decker and Thomas were so numerous and costly. Decker must catch the ones like he dropped for that sure TD.

During the Manning series’ the Broncos OL did an excellent job in pass protection. Manning only got hit big once. They did a good job for Willis McGahee too. At 30 years old he can still run down hill with as much power as any RB in the league if he gets an opening. If McGahee can stay on the field all season the combination of his running and Manning’s passing should produce big yards and scores.

The Broncos first team D played well against the 49ers first team offense. I was very impressed how they shut down their running game. The pass rush was not as good, especially with the backups in. As a whole they didn’t get the kind of consistent pass pressure they’re going to need against better passing teams. Too many missed tackles by all 3 lines of Defense in this one too and the backup Safeties and Corners for the Broncos need a lot of work. I have real concerns about the Broncos D going into the regular season, the DB’s must improve their cover and tackling skills. The DL must improve their pass pressure in the 3-4, the 4-3 and even in the 5-2 which they lined up in several times in the game but didn’t achieve much.

It’ll be interesting to see which DB’s and DLinemen the Broncos stay with come the final cut down day. The only true standouts on D whose starting jobs are secure IMO are Miller, Dumervil and Champ at this point.

Personally I felt like the 9ers D and the team as a whole was overrated last year especially on D. They played in the weakest conference in the NFC last year and had an easy schedule. Since they had a 13-3 record last year their schedule will be much more difficult out of their division just like the Broncos this season. On offense last season 49ers kicked more FG’s for scores for points than TD’s last year so offensively they were ranked near the bottom.

You have to really take these preseason games with a grain of salt. I’m hopeful about the Broncos O being better under Manning but the Broncos D still needs a lot of work.