Buying and selling hot takes from NFL Week 1

Buying: Peyton Manning’s arm strength is a big problem for the Denver Broncos

Lame ducks are starting to show up in Denver.

On. A. Regular. Basis.

The velocity just isn’t there for Manning, and we are only in the second week of September. Fatigue hasn’t even begun to set in, yet the legendary quarterback is struggling to even get simple 10-yard out-routes to his receivers with any pop at all.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller believes he could do a better job than Manning at this point in terms of velocity, and he may not be wrong.

Here’s an example of what we’re taking about.

Manning had nothing on this throw. Granted, he had pressure in his face, but this ball hung in the air a long, long time. Without the ability to step into his throw, Manning couldn’t get any zip on the ball at all. And this was not a long throw.

We’ve been keeping our eye on this development. So have others who follow the game, including NFL Media analyst Brian Baldinger, who can’t believe what he’s seeing when watching tape of the future Hall of Famer.

“When you watch some of these throws, you can’t believe it could possibly be the same guy. You just (wonder) is it the arm, is it the new offense, is he thinking too much, is that possible … those plays are lay-ups for Peyton Manning.”

The Broncos were supposed to help cover up any deficiencies with a run-first approach this year under new head coach Gary Kubiak. That was what we heard all summer long, yet when bullets started flying in a tough battle against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday the Broncos couldn’t stop passing the ball.

Manning threw the ball 40 times, completing 24 passes for 175. The 4.4 yards per attempt is beyond pathetic. Granted, Denver’s running game was crap, too, but they only ran 25 times. That’s a 5-8 run-to-pass ratio, and it’s not going to cut it going forward.

Kubiak must seriously adjust his strategy in the weeks to come to account for Manning’s “significantly diminished” arm strength.