Pitying the Raiders? Sacrilegious!!

Manning is living the dream of every NFL Quarterback.

I wonder if any of you Broncos Fans felt the way I did after watching the Raiders game last night. Did the game start to bore you?  Not that winning ever gets boring but Peyton Manning is making it look so easy right now that in the first 3 games the outcome has never really been in doubt.  Don’t misunderstand, I love winning but I almost found myself feeling sorry for the hapless Raiders because they were not going to have a chance. I can’t believe I’d actually say this, it’s sacrilegious but it’s true.

His superlative performances have become so common place and so predictable it’s like watching him beating up defenses like they were nothing but a group of second rate practice squads.

From the opening snap in the 1^st quarter Manning took over the game and the Raiders Defense became nothing but a group of helpless deer in a set of headlights, more like flood lights really. They never had any hope; it was like they were playing against the computer on Madden. The computer was Manning and the Raiders were the poor helpless human beings whose hands were frozen on the joy stick left dumbstruck and in awe in the ruthless mechanical way in which he was slicing and dicing them.

Not once in the whole game did Manning ever huddle up the team to call a play, he called them all from the line of scrimmage.  It was like a track meet with the Raiders never having a chance to get out of the starting blocks. Manning is unmerciful in his pursuit to pour it on even when he has his boot on the collective necks of defenses. It’s one of the qualities I love about him, he never lets up and that’s why he’s won so many games.

It was unbelievable how Chris Clark starting at Left Tackle for the injured Ryan Clady became a non-story except for the one block he missed that caused Manning to fumble but by then it didn’t matter because the game was in garbage time. If you take away that fumble and the one by Montee Ball the Broncos more than likely would have put more points on the board.

The Broncos Defense Line dominated the Raiders and never let Darren McFadden get any momentum. Historically he’s run all over the Broncos but not last night. The score had a lot to do with it but you have to give credit to the DL for being a brick wall at the line of scrimmage. 

Through the first 3 games they’ve had the luxury of playing with big leads which is great that’s what you want in a game but you have to wonder just how good they’ll be when they come up against an offense that can move the chains against them. Regardless they’re doing the job that’s laid out before them and that’s getting the opposing team off the field and letting Manning get on it to work his magic.

It’s unfortunate that Terrelle Pryor is playing in the graveyard of the NFL at Oakland. He’s got a good arm and has confidence in his game. He’s the first Raiders QB in a long time to impress and I think if he survives the meat grinder he’ll go through he may become a good QB. 

Thankfully for us Broncos Fans short of him and McFadden the Raiders is a bunch of no name players that don’t have the talent this season to compete with the awesome juggernaut that is the Denver Broncos. What a great start, it doesn't get any better than this. Next victim, Philadelphia. 

Denver Broncos Defense: The Unsung Heroes

Von Miller INT seals the deal for the Broncos.

It was awesome to see the Broncos clinch the AFC West Title. Peyton Manning deserves credit but the pick 6 by Von Miller was the nail in the coffin. I didn't expect the Broncos to win this many games so I have to eat my words on the early predictions I made. The AFC West may be the weakest division in football but as much as the media wants to crown Manning as MVP of the league to many overlook how well the Broncos Defense has played this season.

Some of you may or may not have noticed I haven't doled out much praise for the Broncos the 2nd half of the season. Today they do deserve it, Manning deserves it, and the D most certainly deserves it. I still feel in my gut and in my heart that until Manning hoists the Lombardi over his head the signing can't be called a success despite his great regular season comeback.

Maybe to some that's asking too much but since Manning cost the Broncos so much in so many ways and since his window of opportunity is so small nothing else will do. Call my expectations to high but that's how this armchair QB sees it.

The Broncos have to get one of their RB's to produce because without the threat of a running game I don't see them going deep in the playoffs. Thomas has made a big jump as a WR and the rest of the Receivers have done a serviceable job but it won't be enough.

Clinching early is great too but no guarantee of a championship. Manning's Colt teams did it many times and he only has one ring to show for it so the Broncos must not get complacent or take any games off the rest of the season. If they finish strong they could be the second highest seed in the AFC and get all their playoff games at home except the AFC Championship Game if the Texans get that far. So the remaining games matter and they must continue to improve in all phases of the game.

Congrats enjoy the win today Broncos Fans but they still have work to do, like taking the Oakland Raiders to the Slaughter House on Thursday. GO BRONCOS!'

The D is the Key, Manning is not...

Matt Schaub torched the Broncos D for 290 yards and 4 TD's.

I guess I'm not really shocked to see so many Broncos Fans go after the S's after the loss to the Houston Texans but don't leave out the CB's, the LB's and the DL too. I said before they signed Manning that the D wasn't going to be good enough and complained over and over that they needed help at Safety, Linebacker and DL position.

The only quality player we have on D as of Week 4 is Von Miller and all the rest should be subjected to sever criticism including Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey. Mike Adams and Rahim Moore won't get the job done for sure but neither will Justin Bannon and Kevin Vickerson who've not been a factor thus far. Since no pass rush exists it really exposes the weakness we have in the backfield and that includes Champ. This D is far from being good enough to be a playoff caliber team as it stands today. The tackling in the last 2 games reminds me of how the Broncos played early last year, it's beyond horrible.

I've noticed in the pointed attacks against the rest of the team that Peyton Manning is completely absolved of any blame for the Broncos last 2 losses when in fact he has just as much responsibility for them as the rest of the team. Blaming the play calling is BS; Manning is not playing well period. He's had a hard time throwing the deep ball with any consistently and in his excitement to run the hurry up offense, his expertise supposedly, he's not making the right calls at the line of scrimmage which he is responsible for in the hurry up. IMO it may be time to rethink the whole idea of running the hurry up and slow the game down because he and his minions are not executing it well enough to be a threat.

That said Manning has thrown horrible passes and into double coverage far too many times. Frankly he's very lucky he doesn't have more than the 3 INT's he's already put up. He's been sacked 8 times already and he's not getting rid of the ball quickly enough in the pocket. When he's been on target then the set of Receivers he's throwing to can't seem to catch a cold. Stokley seems to be the only player who doesn't drop many but he's no deep threat and can't stretch the field.

I don't want to be right in fact I hate it but thus far everything I predicted about the Manning signing and how the Broncos would perform has come to pass in the early going. Manning can't rescue a team who has a below average D and very small selection of skilled players on O to help him win.

The idea that Manning was going to the last piece of the puzzle for the Broncos to win a Super Bowl was ridiculous homeristic thinking. Hell, the Oakland Raiders are favored by 6.5 points and we're playing them at home for God Sakes. It's a little early to hit the panic button but to say this Raiders game is a must win for the Broncos might be dramatic but it is a must win. It doesn't get any easier with the New England Patriots on deck and the rest of schedule is no easier. I hope they can turn it around this week because if they lose the early hole they've dug for themselves may be too much from them to dig out of.