Denver Broncos-Seattle Seahawks Aftermath

Peyton Manning survived his first knockdown and bounced back up. The world will not end in 2012. It's just preseason. The Denver Broncos will be okay.

Four true statements.

Would you like four more?

Brock Osweiler is still a rookie. Nate Irving is showing that the game of football is not too fast for him. The Denver Defensive Line is no longer a weakness. The Linebacking corps is.

The Broncos hosted the Seattle Seahawks yesterday evening and the final score says that they lost the game. So what.

It's preseason folks. All is not lost. Those same players who beat the fur off the Chicago Bears last week are the ones who got tore up by Russell Wilson's 10 for 17, 155 yard, 2 touchdown performance last night.

The Defensive depth didn't just disappear, it got schooled. Mistakes were made, but it was all over the place, not just one area. Still it IS preseason. Just like Training Camp, that is where you want to make those errors. This team has yet to jell, but they are finding their legs.

We mustn't lose sight of a few facts that make the emotional roller coaster go up so high that the splash at the bottom becomes too deep to overcome. Peyton Manning may be the best Quarterback in this era, but he is still not 100% physically. Mentally, he is the same if not better. The proof? The Hurry up and the 2-minute Offense that was executed quite nicely on Saturday night. Manning's 16 for 23 (69.5%), 177 yards and 2 Interceptions were bittersweet. One could tell that the competitor in him left unsatisfied. Sure, the first Interception was tipped by Red Bryant and an alert T.J. Knight made a terrific Defensive play. The second was all Peyton and from my point of view, it appeared that the ball got away from him and sailed.

Clearly this team is not there yet. Things are progressing just fine, but work is needed. The solution to the problems we are seeing, is time.

Another thing to be concerned with, is the schedule. The Bears proved to be weak. They were also missing key personnel. The Seahawks were a better test, especially for the Broncos running game, since both teams run the Zone blocking scheme. The San Francisco 49ers are next weeks guest and they will be another giant step in this whole process. A playoff team in 2011, that also had the league's top rated Defense will be a difficult challenge for the Broncos.

The 2012 season is going to be an uphill battle each week, so let's not get carried away before the regular season even begins.

I don't know how long it will take Peyton Manning to get back to where it is he feels comfortable. I'm not sure he will ever be 100% again, but I do know that it will take a bit longer to shake off the rust from his rehabilitation process.

Meanwhile, the Defense is coming together and there is depth being nurtured, Will it be a top 10 Defense? It's too early to tell. However, I do think we will enjoy watching them this season.

Unless of course, we have to deal with replacement referees.

P.S. - We Have a Winner for the Peyton Manning Bobblehead!

Congratulations KraigK

Go Broncos!

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