It’s Time for the Denver Broncos to be True to Their Identity

Sep 21, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) passes the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Denver 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos went back to work on Monday after enjoying their bye week, and I spent some time thinking about the Broncos and their struggling running game. With the help of an article by Mike Klis of the Denver Post, I’ve have done a reversal of sorts on the topic.

Here’s the piece by Klis if you would like to check it out: Super advice for Denver Broncos: Throw the ball!: http://dpo.st/1rBEh0q 

The title of the piece gives it away but Klis is right. The Broncos need to run the ball better, they need to be more balanced and so on. I bought into that for the entire offseason and through week three of the regular season but I was wrong.

The blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl scared a lot of people into changing something that really wasn’t broken.

The Broncos won the AFC Title and set offensive records because they threw the football, and it’s time to get back to that identity. Their best player is Peyton Manning so why are they running the ball so much on first down? The only thing that does in put them in second and long, and makes it tougher to keep drives alive.

As Klis points out; after Manning the Broncos best players on offense are Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker and so on. It makes no sense to put the ball into the hands of a running back who might be the seventh or eighth best player on offense.

The offensive line is built to pass protect and that’s a big reason why they struggle to run the ball. The Broncos must get back to playing to the strength of their talent and that is four wide receiver sets and letting Manning find the mismatches.

In the first two games when both the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs came back in the second half, it wasn’t because of the defense as so many believe. It was because the offense thought they had to prove they could run the ball, and protect a double-digit lead. That led to multiple three and outs which left the Bronco defense on the field for far too long.

Forget that! The Broncos need to continue to put the “Pedal to the Metal” as offensive coordinator Adam Gase said when he was hired before the 2013 season. If the Broncos are going to win a World Championship, it’s going to be on the arm of Manning and not on the legs of Montee Ball.

Unlike last season when the defense was so beat up, the 2014 group is set up perfectly to play with big leads. They have the pass rushers in Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and others. They have the players in the secondary to make plays including: Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr. TJ Ward, and Rahim Moore.

The defense is not set up to win a 14-10 game, they are set up to win 38-17. The offense needs to keep the pressure on the opposing teams to try and keep up, that’s when the Broncos defense is going to make big plays. That means coming out in the no huddle in the second half and taking a 21-10 lead to 28-10, and then to 35-10. That’s what this offense needs to do.

Now no one is saying don’t run the ball at all, that would be insane. What we are saying is quit trying to set up the pass with the run, throw the ball and then run when defenses are tired and have six defensive backs in the game. If Manning throws for eight yards on first down, then run the ball on second. Those are the situations when the Broncos should be running the ball, not on first and ten when the defense is set up to stop that.

The Broncos can get rushing yards in the fourth quarter when defenses are gassed from chasing the Broncos receivers all over the field for the first three quarters. That’s who the Broncos are and that’s how they need to play.

Back to the Super Bowl, just for a minute I promise. The Broncos didn’t lose 43-8 because they couldn’t run the football. They lost because they could not protect Manning and their shell of a defense could not get off of the field. They proved in the second half last week that they can throw the ball on the Seahawks when Manning gets time and they lost a great game in overtime.

The love affair with the Broncos trying to become more balanced needs to end now! They are who they are, an offense that spreads defenses out and throws the ball all over the field. They score points and then score more points.

It’s time for the Broncos to be the Broncos again.