Peyton Manning vs. Top Ranked Defenses

[BoBlake]

Assuming he doesn't get injured his first play back.

Yeah, one of these days he'll have to finish a game for us. Hopefully this one.

Our poor little glass china doll.

 

[BroncoInCALI]

We have two weeks to go through this stuff, but here are some of the keys I see:

*Denver's Run D has been Top 10 all season. And, they have shut down some pretty good backs: Jamal Charles, Ray Rice, etc....(If I remember correctly, LeSean McCoy didn't do much against us either)

*If they can contain Marshawn Lynch AND keep Wilson in the pocket, the Seahawks could have a hard time putting points on the board.

*With that said, if Russell Wilson is allowed to break contain and extend plays, we could see some pretty big pass plays down the field.

*BOTH teams come equipped with good Kickers. (Will be interesting to see what the weather does to that)

*The Broncos have been creating pressure with a limited number of rushers coming after the QB. Should be interesting to see if Del Rio ramps it up, or continues to let the D-line get after Wilson.

And, the biggest key.....

TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS.....if the Broncos protect the football and eat up clock, I like our chances.

 

[iknowftbll]

We have two weeks to go through this stuff, but here are some of the keys I see:

*Denver's Run D has been Top 10 all season. And, they have shut down some pretty good backs: Jamal Charles, Ray Rice, etc....(If I remember correctly, LeSean McCoy didn't do much against us either)

*If they can contain Marshawn Lynch AND keep Wilson in the pocket, the Seahawks could have a hard time putting points on the board.

*With that said, if Russell Wilson is allowed to break contain and extend plays, we could see some pretty big pass plays down the field.

*BOTH teams come equipped with good Kickers. (Will be interesting to see what the weather does to that)

*The Broncos have been creating pressure with a limited number of rushers coming after the QB. Should be interesting to see if Del Rio ramps it up, or continues to let the D-line get after Wilson.

And, the biggest key.....

TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS.....if the Broncos protect the football and eat up clock, I like our chances.

This one is a key among keys! The Broncos did have two turnovers against the Chargers. One of them I think they got boned on, as Julius Thomas was down before the ball came out. The other was just a freak play and there happened to be a Chargers player in the right place at the right time. With these exceptions, the Broncos have been very good at taking care of the ball in recent weeks. By taking care of the ball against the Seahawks, they won't be giving their offense any freebies. The Seahawks are not an explosive offense that will keep up with the Broncos score for score, but they are pretty darn good. The Broncos don't need to be giving them any extra opportunities to score points.

 

[RobToxin]

I think it is fair to say that this has been the best post season in Peyton Manning's career.

 

[HOF-ELWAY-7]

The Hawk's haven't faced an offense like this either. In fact no one has ever played an offense like this. Should be a very interesting game.

 

[Rico&SkooterTwoPeasInAPod]

That is encouraging. I don't think the Seahawks defense plays a hard super top secret style of play either. It is not a fancy defense, it is just a big strong physical defense. They don't try to hide what they do, they challenge opponents to stop them from doing it.

I think the Broncos have the tools to do that. Sherman is one of the best, but Demaryius Thomas is going to win some of those one on one battles. I'm guessing Browner will be on Decker. Decker isn't going to go nuts in this game, but he'll win some of these battles. Welker in the slot and Orange Julius are major matchup problems for them. Then there is the X-Factor: Moreno and Ball being able to catch passes out of the back field.

The Seahawks run defense is pretty good, so the O-line and the afore mentioned team of Moreno and Ball are going to need to bring their best game of the season.

I don't see the Broncos blowing out the Seahawks, but I do see the offense being able to find a weakness and exploit it.

The quick Seahawks defense will slow the Broncos down but the Broncos have so many options that it'll be hard for them to complete shut Manning down. If the Broncos were smart they should be getting prepared to have a lot of dink/dunk, short slant or screen passes ready for this game. If the Seahawks bring the rush, and they will a lot, the offensive line won't hold up so Peyton will need these type of plays to get the quick pass off to avoid the sacks. I think the key is how well Peyton throws his longer passes against the Seahawks secondary (which is fairly good). He probably won't be able to up chuck those balls down the field in this game. They also need the running game to get going or it will be a long night. I think the Broncos defense can stop Wilson, but since Wilson is so quick out of the pocket, it's going to open up his receivers more which will be a problem for the defense. I don't have a lot of confidence in an old Bailey and no Chris Harris out there.

 

[Morpheus]

The quick Seahawks defense will slow the Broncos down but the Broncos have so many options that it'll be hard for them to complete shut Manning down. If the Broncos were smart they should be getting prepared to have a lot of dink/dunk, short slant or screen passes ready for this game. If the Seahawks bring the rush, and they will a lot, the offensive line won't hold up so Peyton will need these type of plays to get the quick pass off to avoid the sacks. I think the key is how well Peyton throws his longer passes against the Seahawks secondary (which is fairly good). He probably won't be able to up chuck those balls down the field in this game. They also need the running game to get going or it will be a long night. I think the Broncos defense can stop Wilson, but since Wilson is so quick out of the pocket, it's going to open up his receivers more which will be a problem for the defense. I don't have a lot of confidence in an old Bailey and no Chris Harris out there.

Broncos O-line rated #1 by PFF. Manning has not been sacked in the post season. That line is playing outstanding football right now.

Seattle doesn't disguise what they do on Defense. They are not going to try and fool Manning like the Chargers did and had some success within the regular season.

Manning will find the weakness in that defense and exploit it. They will slow the Broncos offense down at first, but won't be able to shut it down.

 

[gkekoa]

Player to watch...Wes Welker. Seattle has a tough time matching up with quick WRs.

 

[iknowftbll]

The quick Seahawks defense will slow the Broncos down but the Broncos have so many options that it'll be hard for them to complete shut Manning down. If the Broncos were smart they should be getting prepared to have a lot of dink/dunk, short slant or screen passes ready for this game. If the Seahawks bring the rush, and they will a lot, the offensive line won't hold up so Peyton will need these type of plays to get the quick pass off to avoid the sacks. I think the key is how well Peyton throws his longer passes against the Seahawks secondary (which is fairly good). He probably won't be able to up chuck those balls down the field in this game. They also need the running game to get going or it will be a long night. I think the Broncos defense can stop Wilson, but since Wilson is so quick out of the pocket, it's going to open up his receivers more which will be a problem for the defense. I don't have a lot of confidence in an old Bailey and no Chris Harris out there.

Not at first, but going deep early is not the Broncos M.O. anyway. The Broncos opening series will be a mix of runs and short passes. It may not be a scoring drive, but make no mistake, the offense will be collecting intel on the Seahawks defense. They'll pick up on something early and exploit it later. I expect them to be methodically aggressive, taking what the defense gives them.

Getting the run game going against the 7th ranked run defense (tied with Broncos) will be a challenge. The difference is this: with how potent the Broncos pass offense is, the Seahawks will not have the luxury of stacking the box and playing man against the Broncos receivers. The Seahawks secondary is the best in the game, but they are facing their greatest challenge of the season, too. The Broncos have an effective deep, mid-range, and short passing game, and the Seahawks will have their hands full trying to account for all of it. On top of all that, they have a very under-rated run game to contend with. The Broncos run game was not the talk of the league, overshadowed by the passing O, but Ball and Moreno have combined for 1597 yards and 14 rushing TDs on a total of 361 carries. That's a decent average, but even that does not tell the whole story. Both ball carriers have been nearly unstoppable on 3rd and short. I believe their average would be even higher, but the Broncos run them into the teeth of defenses geared up to stop them on 3rd and 1, 2, or 3 yards. And it seems more often than not, if the distance is 2, Moreno and Ball alike get 3.

John Elway once said about rushing yards, "How many is less important than when and where you get them." I agree entirely. Give me 2 rushing yards on 3rd and 1 over 24 rushing yards on 3rd and 25 any day of the week. The Broncos run game has been very dynamic this season. It can be a power game, or it can explode for a huge gain. Moreno and Ball are both pretty hard to bring down once they hit their stride in the open field. But I think where they may pay the most dividends in the ground game in this game against the Seahawks is those short 3rd down situations. If the Seahawks consistently fail to force 3rd and long and allow the Broncos to get into 3rd and "manageable" it will be a long day for their defense.

 

[BroncoInCALI]

Just throwing another point out there about Moreno......he has been HUGE all season in pass protection, when needed.

 

[WalkerBoh]

I LOVE how some fans just assume that an opposing defense only has to choose to rush the passer, and he'll get sacked and knocked down all day. It's as if the offensive line has no say in the matter, which is laughable. Not only has Manning not been sacked in the playoffs, he's barely been touched. But the assumption for some unknowledgable fans is that's only because the opposing defense wasn't trying. BS all around! Seattle fans: Don't just assume your defensive line will knock Manning around and sack him a lot as if it's mearly the choice of their defense. The Denver offensive line will have a LOT to say about that, and so far they've done an excellent job at protecting Manning. New England's defense finished with MORE sacks than the Seahawks did, and they barely touched him. He's only been sacked 20 times this season. Only a fool would believe that's only because opposing defenses chose not to try to pressure him.