The raging debate about who should play quarterback for the Denver Broncos very well could go on until this season comes to a close, whenever that may be. So many factors come into play. Does Peyton Manning’s résumé demand he get his job back? Can Osweiler handle the rigors of playoff football? Is Manning fully healthy? Does the offense work better with Osweiler at the helm?
Those are just a few questions that come up but alas, the debate is out of all the experts’ and even the coaches’ hands.
Osweiler must continue to play quarterback with the current offensive line and their increasingly deteriorating health, not because he is better, but because he can get himself out of harms way more often. And when he can’t, he can handle the hits far better than his 39-year-old teammate.
Before this season, Manning enjoyed and flourished in a system that allowed him to make his pre-snap reads and deliver the ball before even the best pass rushers could lay a finger on him. It worked marvelously for three years. During the 2013 and ’14 seasons Manning was sacked less times than any other starting quarterback in the NFL. He also was hit less in 2014 than any other quarterback and tied for second in 2013 according to NFL.com. Sadly, those days are gone.
For one, the Broncos and head coach Gary Kubiak need a balanced offense that matches its ferocious defense, and more importantly, they have a patchwork line consisting of inexperienced linemen and street veterans that are showing their age more and more each week.
The Broncos have enjoyed the fruits of a balanced offense the last two weeks with Osweiler under center and occasionally from shotgun. In the past two games, the Broncos have stayed with a balanced load of run and pass plays and as a result have two wins and two consecutive weeks in which they surpassed their single-game total rushing yards on the season. They have jumped from 29th in the league in rushing yards per game to 17th in just two weeks.
The approach the Broncos have used against the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots is not by accident. It is a system Kubiak was hoping to meld with Manning’s offense that was used the last three seasons. With Manning, it simply did not work. Try as he might, he cannot bootleg and plant on his foot in a fashion that is necessary for the offense to work. Osweiler can, but if it is any consolation to Manning, both quarterbacks have received equal punishment in pass protection scenarios.
The bad news is, despite the run game’s success, it has done nothing to change the pass protection. Manning, in his nine games was sacked almost as many times as he was in the past two full regular seasons. He has been sacked 15 times in 2015, three shy of the 2014 season total and two shy of the 2013 season. The kicker is Osweiler, in the balanced, under center, play-action offense he has already been sacked 11 times, five in one game. To make matters worse, between the two quarterbacks combined, they have been hit 66 times (tied for 11th most in the league) according to NFL.com. That is 12 more times than the team’s 2013 total (previously the worst since Manning’s arrival) for the entire season.
“I think Brock has been sacked I want to say 11 times in his 10 quarters – maybe 10 times – so that’s way too many. Some of those are his that we’ve got to get corrected. A couple of those are protection issues, but they came after us, especially in the second half they came after us, blitzed us a little bit more and he’ll learn from that,” Kubiak said Monday about the hits to Osweiler during his time as the starting quarterback this season. “Yes, protecting him and doing a better job – that’s important right now. It really is.”
The prospect of the protection getting any better this year is more of a wish than a reality at this point. The veteran starting lineman, Louis Vasquez (groin), Evan Mathis (ankle) and Ryan Harris (knee) are ailing and likely won’t be fit to improve in pass protection the rest of the way. The youth of the line, Matt Paradis, Michael Schofield and Max Garcia are still learning the ins and outs of the NFL, let alone being asked to pick up blitzing linebackers and read pre-snap defenses. At this point the, Broncos are resigned to platooning the Broncos offensive line as much as they can in order to get the veterans healthy and the young players experience.
The offensive line is doing the best they can, but the numbers don’t lie. They can’t protect either quarterback. They have already had a four sack game in Week 1 and a five sack game in Week 11. The Broncos had only one game in the previous three seasons in which they gave up four sacks. The answer is clear; go with the guy that can sell the run and get out on the move when a pass is needed.
The positive to the whole matter is, despite the Broncos glaring deficiency in pass protection, they are winning. Osweiler can run the offense that allows for some weakness along the line. When he can’t get out of harm’s way, there is no debating he can withstand the hits to his 25-year-old body far better than Manning. The way things are going, he will have to continue to do so. If by some miracle, the three seven-plus year veterans get healthy, Manning’s foot completely heals and the youngsters up front get a grip on their pass blocking, let the good times roll for Manning. If not, run the ball often with Osweiler under center and continue to do so with play-fakes and boots because he will be running for his life and the life of the Broncos’ season. There is simply no debate and no other option than “Plan B(rock).”
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick
