Gary Kubiak means well, he really does.
The new head coach of the Denver Broncos wants to create a run-first offense as a means to protect 39-year-old quarterback Peyton Manning, who has already taken seven sacks in two games.
“Biggest things offensively, to me, is protecting the quarterback and finding a way to make big plays in this league,” Kubiak said, via ESPN.com. “The thing that enables you to do those two things is running the football, and we’re not running the football.”
Among the things Kubiak has implemented so far this season as a means to “protect” Manning, he’s had the quarterback rolling out of the pocket by design — not exactly a winning strategy, based on early returns.
He’s doing everything he can think of to take the onus off Manning as the do-it-all quarterback we’ve all seen the past couple of decades.
It worked for John Elway back in the late-1990s when Terrell Davis helped him win a couple championships, but the Broncos must realize the two situations aren’t remotely similar. Elway was never the kind of cerebral surgeon Manning is, and the current Denver roster doesn’t have a guy like Davis to go for 2,000 yards.
If the Broncos are to succeed offensively, then Kubiak must stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and simply let Manning be Manning. The legendary quarterback is at his best when running the offense his way, just as we saw during the second half of the team’s Week 2 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Honestly, that two minute drive he kind of turned into Peyton Manning. That’s the offense that we are used to, that no-huddle offense, slinging the ball around. It felt good to get back to that,” receiver Emmanuel Sanders said after Week 2’s big win over the Chiefs, via NFL.com. “That no-huddle offense is something beautiful. I know I love it, because I don’t have to go back to the huddle … I know Peyton likes it, too. We are going to keep trying critiquing this offense, keep getting better.”
Manning is at his best when he is the one in charge. No play calls coming in from the sideline. No huddles. Just him diagnosing the defense, and then shredding the crap out of it. He doesn’t need a rocket arm to make plays — his anticipation and football IQ more than make up for any lack of arm strength he’s dealing with.
And there’s a myth about Manning, that he doesn’t like to run the ball. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Manning simply takes what defenses give him. If that means passing the ball 50 times, then that’s what he’ll do. But if he sees the safeties back to defend the deep pass, there have never been a moment’s hesitation by the veteran to check off to a running play.
The Broncos ran the ball 443 times last year (averaging four yards per carry), which ranked No. 13 in the league. During Manning’s record-breaking 2013 campaign in which he passed for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, the Broncos ran the ball 461 times, ranking No. 11 in the league that year.
Kubiak wants to set up the passing game by running the ball. However, that’s not the way it works when Manning is behind the center — nor was it the way Bill Walsh liked to do things, either, for that matter. Manning sets the running game up to succeed by wearing down defenses with a quick-hitting passing attack.
Chances are, Kubiak is going to keep trying to “help” Manning by dictating the pace of the game and by pounding the rock early. Unfortunately, this isn’t a recipe for success. Manning needs to have full control of the offense in order to make the best use of the best weapons around him.
At some point, Kubiak will see reason and just hand over the reins again to Manning. Let’s just hope he does it sooner, rather than later.