While Manning misses time, Brock Osweiler will continue to start in his place after leading the team to a 17-15 victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 11. ESPN’s Jeff Legwold had this nugget about what Osweiler faces: “According to ESPN Stats & Information research, since the start of the 2001 season – the start of the Belichick-Tom Brady era, quarterbacks are a combined 23-79 (.225) in their first career starts against the Patriots”. Active for three games, the first time on October 18 at Cleveland, he finished with one tackle. It affects Manning’s arm when he steps in to throw.
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How would the franchise handle sitting Manning the remainder of the season and possibly the playoffs after he was brought to Denver to win a Super Bowl and in the process of him coming from Indianapolis, he ousted the uber-popular Tim Tebow?
“I don’t know if anybody believed me, but I really was telling the truth – I have not wasted a single day sitting behind Peyton”, Osweiler said.
Denver is now third in the conference behind Cincinnati, and thanks to Osweiler’s steady play, along with the Bengals second straight loss, the Broncos could move up the playoff standings by week’s end. For now, with an ailing foot the center of attention, the Broncos will concentrate on playing the game against the Patriots and re-evaluate everything else afterward.
With the left guard position vacated by Orlando Franklin leaving in free agency to the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos initially picked up veteran Shelley Smith to compete with Ben Garland for the starting job. And if you do that, then you make the decision accordingly with Peyton Manning.
That’s not keeping the New England Patriots quarterback from tipping his helmet to his long-time adversary. Obviously, I love having him around. Given how effective he was against Green Bay with two weeks off due to the bye, it stands to reason that he can be equally as effective if off a month or so. For the first time since 2011, the Patriots will be traveling to Denver in a regular season game.
“His foot will be in a cast for at least a week”, Kubiak told reporters Tuesday. Remember, this is the same guy who played through two torn quads as well. “Every competitor wants to be on the field and show what they are capable of and help their football team win games”.
Brock Osweiler’s first National Football League start went about as well as one could hope. Are you winning in spite of him or because of him?
“We shouldn’t read anything into it”, Kubiak said.
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The Broncos did not allow Manning to participate in meetings for practices last week, and the 39-year-old quarterback did not travel with the team to Chicago, instead undergoing treatment at the Broncos’ suburban Denver complex. This will be a test of how far this team can go with so many missing parts on offense.
