In two preseason appearances Peyton Manning doesn't yet look comfortable in the Denver Broncos' new offense.
In Saturday night's 19-12 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Manning finished with 14-of-21 passing for 124 yards, an interception and couldn't lead the Broncos into the end zone.
"Would we like to be a finely tuned machine going into Week 1? Sure," Manning said, via ESPN.com. "With some newness, some different players and some different things that we're doing, that's what we're working toward. ... Not to make excuses you can still win games as you're kind of finding your identity.
"We're still very much figuring out who we are and what we're going to be as far as things we can really hang our hat on," Manning added. "I still think we can win games as we're developing kind of that identity."
Manning looks like he's still trying to fully grasp the harness on the Broncos offense, especially taking snaps from under center. All three of his sacks taken Saturday came from under center.
"The biggest thing offensively is we don't have a lot to show for some of the good things that are going on," coach Gary Kubiak said. "We hold the ball for 20 minutes in first half (Saturday night), you're over 50 percent on third down, you think you'd be scoring some points, that's the thing that's discouraging. ... I had us in a couple tough situations that I've got to do a better job with our quarterback. There are things we can fix. There needs to be a sense of urgency to get some things cleaned up."
Through two appearances, running a new offense hasn't been the only trouble for Manning. The quarterback's arm hasn't looked good, either. While he hasn't thrown a beautiful ball since neck surgery, his preseason passes have been particularly limp. The Broncos have yet to stretch the field with the starter and Manning has been off target an unusual number of times.
Luckily for Denver, it boasts a dominate-looking defense, and the C.J. Anderson-Ronnie Hillman running back duo appears dynamic. As much as we are used to seeing Manning carry the Broncos, it might be the other way around to start the 2015 season.
