Center, pistol or shotgun?
Where is Manning going to line up? Under center? In the pistol? Shotgun?
For me, that’s the biggest question heading into the game.
Against the Chargers, when Manning came in during the second half, he spent a lot of time under center, but he also spent the majority of that time handing off to C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. I’m still not sure if I feel comfortable having him drop back from under center. As we saw through the first few weeks of the season, with this line, he simply doesn’t have the time to read the defense and make the right decision.
At the same time, things didn’t look all that much better when Denver switched to the pistol; Manning was still turning the ball over at a crippling rate.
So should the Broncos simply go back to the Manning offense of old? Should they up the tempo, live in the shotgun and let Manning do his thing?
No.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: The Broncos are not winning a Super Bowl because of Peyton Manning, which means that nobody should be catering their offense around what he wants. If the Broncos are going to win a Super Bowl, it’s going to be because Anderson and Hillman are rushing for somewhere between 150 and 200 yards a game.
If I’m Gary Kubiak, that’s what I’m crafting my offense around, the run game. If that means I’m better off with Manning under center, then Manning will be under center.
Unfortunately, I’m not Kubiak, and I don’t know what he’s going to do. I’ve seen him ditch the run game all season; who’s to say he won’t do it again?
