I know it is only preseason, but it is difficult to not be exited about the work that most of the players displayed last night. The offense played well overall and was consistently able to drive down the field. Brock was great and finally proved, at least to me, that he can be a good quarterback in the league. He made plenty of throws and was confident in the pocket, which is something he lacked when he saw action earlier in his career. I only saw one bad pass that he threw last night, which is a major improvement from previous preseasons. He put passes in the perfect spot to lead receivers away from hits, which is a skill he likely honed watching Manning. It also looks as if Trevor Siemian could pass Dysert on the depth chart, after his solid performance. He made some smart throws and looked much better than Dysert who came in flat and did not impress.
CJ Anderson only received three carries and had to come out of the game after injuring his ankle. The injury appeared to be minor, but there was little reason to put him back in the game. On the carry he got injured, Ty Sambrailo missed a key block and was the reason he was stuffed for about a four yard loss, which altered his stats. His first two carries were solid, but it was hard to get a feel for how good he will be this season because of the limited carries. Montee Ball had some good runs mixed in with some bad runs. He finished with 8 carries for 26 yards to go along with 1 reception for 7 yards. He looked like he will be effective in this offense as the one cut and go style fits him very well. Ronnie Hillman showed that last season was not just a fluke and ran with purpose for the entire game. He had 8 carries for 66 yards and was decisive in his running, something that plagued him early in his career. He also added one catch for 11 yards. He showed the coaching staff that he deserves more touches during the regular season. One comparison that I thought he has a chance to live up to is Tatum Bell in 2005. He can come in and spell Anderson, which will allow the coaching staff to get the most out of the run game like they did with Mike Anderson and Bell in 2005. Juwan Thompson failed to find much running room during his time in the game. He finished with 8 carries for 12 yards, but added a reception for 18 yards. Hopefully he is able to improve in the next couple of preseason games because he is now firmly the fourth running back on the depth chart after Hillman's performance Friday night. Jeremy Stewart only had 4 carries for 10 yards and added a catch for 8 yards. He needs to make a splash in the coming games in order to have a chance to make the roster. Kapri Bibbs did not run the ball in this game and it is looking more and more like he does not have much of a chance to make the team.
Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders did not play on Friday, which gave Cody Latimer plenty of reps to show why he was drafted in the second round last year. He did not disappoint as he pulled in 4 receptions for 49 yards. He also had a spectacular catch that did not count because of a false start penalty. He demonstrated that he can be an effective third receiver during the season. He showed a lot of growth from the past preseason, which should be expect heading into his second year. The receiver picture behind him just got murkier after this game. Andre Caldwell did not have a catch the entire game, but he would have likely made a big play where he beat his man down the field, but Brock slightly under-threw him. Bennie Fowler played a good game and showed he can create separation in his routes. He finished with three receptions for 67 yards including a pretty long throw from Siemian. He could be a good candidate to make the roster depending on what he does in the following preseason games. Jordan Norwood also had three catches, but unlike Fowler, he was only able to amass 29 yards. He also muffed a punt in the game, which means he probably needs to perform a little better on the offensive side of the ball if he wants to make the team. I think he has plenty of talent to make the roster, but it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff and front office want to go with three inexperienced players behind Demaryius and Emmanuel. They probably wouldn't want to do that, which is why I think Caldwell makes the roster for another season.
Virgil Green was the only tight end to do much receiving game as he finished with 5 receptions for 45 yards to go along with a touchdown. Green looked like he will replace Julius nicely. Although he is not as talented in the receiving game as Julius, Friday's game revealed that he is still a good receiver in his own right and was able to get open numerous times during the game. He is also a better blocker than Thomas although he did have a couple of missed assignments early in the game. Owen Daniels did not play because he is familiar with the offense, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out when he is on the field at the same time as Green. Dominique Jones received some playing time and looked alright, but he did not do much to stand out to coaches or fans in my opinion.
The line was shaky to start the game when Brock was sacked on the second offensive play for the Broncos. However, they did seem to figure things out as the game progressed on. Ty Sambrailo had a rough game. He missed a handful of assignments and had a false start. Fans were probably hoping to see him play better considering the hype he received in camp. He has the skills necessary to play his position so hopefully his showing last night was not a sign of things to come. We did not hear Max Garcia's names too much and it looked like he was able to run block effectively as well as give Brock time in the pocket. Matt Paradis also looked like he played well, which is good for both Paradis and Garcia considering both of their jobs are still in open competition. Ryan Harris played solid at right tackle and I would be okay entering the season with him starting, which is a good thing considering Schofield did not do much to impress me. He still seems to be making the same mistakes and just might not be good enough to play tackle in the NFL. With Sambrailo starting on the other side, it would be better if the Broncos opted for a veteran presence on the right side. The second team line as a whole seemed to run block well and give some time to the QB, but that was also playing against Seattles backup defensive line.
As a whole, the offense played great even if they did settle for a lot of field goals. Brock gave us fans hope for when Manning decides to call it quits. The running game makes all of the backs better than they would be, which was demonstrated perfectly by Ronnie Hillman last night. Latimer took another step in his game and should get a lot more reps this season than he received during his rookie season. The offensive line looked like it could be serviceable in pass blocking, which was my biggest concern. Maybe Manning will play a drive or two in the second preseason game in order to show off the true ability of this offense.
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