Peyton to practice Wednesday; Osweiler will start vs. Steelers

[hawaiiansteeler]

Peyton Manning expected to practice Wednesday; Brock Osweiler will start vs. Steelers

Andrew Mason

http://www.denverbroncos.com/assets/images/imported/DEN/photos/650-front/manning_osweiler_CP_150721.jpg

The Broncos set their Week 15 plan for their top two quarterbacks in place Tuesday.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Peyton Manning is expected to take part in his first practice in over a month when the Broncos take the field Wednesday, but Brock Osweiler will start Sunday when the Broncos make their first trip to Pittsburgh since 2006.

Head Coach Gary Kubiak spoke with both of the quarterbacks to let them know of the plan for the coming days.

Returning to the practice field is the next step for Manning, who had three throwing sessions of about a half-hour each last week as he continued his recovery from a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.

"That's the next step: that [Manning] is coming back for practice," Kubiak said at his Monday press conference. "If you're coming back to practice, then you're working toward getting back on the field and playing."

Sunday's game will mark the fifth consecutive start for Osweiler. The fourth-year veteran has compiled an 85.4 quarterback rating by completing 108 of 170 passes for 1,140 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions since stepping in for the injured Manning late in the Week 10 loss to Kansas City.

The Broncos are 3-1 with Osweiler starting and 7-2 in Manning's starts.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Peyton-Manning-expected-to-practice-Wednesday-Brock-Osweiler-will-start-vs-Steelers/113c046d-bdf4-49dc-bece-9e0421ca0d46

[polamalubeast]

I would not be surprised to see Manning play against the steelers if Osweiler has a very bad start.

[salamander]

I'd rather play against Manning at this point.

[86WARD]

Definitely would like to play Peyton at his stage...

[dduc996]

Asswaller will cave.

[steelreserve]

The thing that gives me hope is that Osweiler has so far proven to be slow moving around in the pocket; he'll often take the sack before he can step up out of pressure. So with the way our pass rush tends to be, that could play right into our hands, and a lot of those near-misses could turn into sacks or at least fucked-up plays.

If we can rattle him and keep after him consistently, we've got a good shot. On the other hand, if we play the sit-back and dare him to throw on us, he's also shown that he's good enough to actually do it, and we'll be in for a long day. Fortunately, Butler has seemed to show the smarts to recognize most of those situations and do what will work.

The other big question is how much action Blake sees, preferably as close to zero as possible. We were able to mostly get away with it last week because we were manhandling them throughout the game - but if it had been closely contested, for fuck's sake, he still singlehandedly gave a free touchdown to the backup quarterback. Osweiler is capable of exploiting the shit out of that matchup, so the less we see of him, the better. Unfortunately, that decision seems like a Tomlin thing rather than a Butler thing, so I doubt we'll see a change.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Brock Osweiler has completed only 4 out of 21 passes of over 15 yards...

[JKLTO]

Brock Osweiler has completed only 4 out of 21 passes of over 15 yards...

Which, according to Steelers' Logic, means that Oswieler should expect to have a career day in passing...

[teegre]

Which, according to Steelers' Logic, means that Oswieler should expect to have a career day in passing...

Yards-wise: yes

Points-wise: no

[hawaiiansteeler]

Yards-wise: yes

Points-wise: no

I agree, Osweiler threw the ball 51 times and for over 300 yards last week against the Raiders and yet only got 4 FGs out of it.

in fact, the Broncos' offense has scored zero TDs in their last 23 drives...

[steelerdude15]

Hopefully the defense can get to Osweiler early and rattle him, but I'm more worried about the Bronco's stout defense.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Peyton Manning finally returns to Broncos practice, runs the scout team

By Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.com
December 17, 2015

http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/football/nfl/img19826834.jpg

Peyton Manning returned to practice on Wednesday, the first time he had stepped on a field wearing something other than jeans, sneakers and a baseball hat since he was pulled from the Chiefs game on Nov. 15 with what we later learned was a partially torn plantia fascia in his left foot.

At the time, he was playing like one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks (nine touchdowns, 17 interceptions). And now, five weeks later, he's finally resumed practicing. But come Sunday, Mannnig won't suit up against the Steelers; that job will fall to Brock Osweiler, who has struggled with consistency but is also 3-1 as the Broncos' starter.

"It was great to have him out there," Osweiler said of Manning, via 9News.com. "Out there throwing footballs with him, working on progressions. All the little things we do as quarterbacks on Wednesdays. Just to get him back on the field and working and having him beside you, it's great to have him back out there."

It's unclear when Manning will return to taking first-team reps; for the time being he's running with the third team.

"It was a little strange to see Peyton take those scout team reps today," Osweiler said. "But once again that's something that's out of my control. I was told to go to the first-team huddle and you're the starter this week. And that's what I did."

While Sunday's game is big for both teams -- the Steelers are trying to get into the postseason and the Broncos want a first-round bye, next week's game could be even bigger for Denver; they'll face Cincinnati, a team that just lost its starting quarterback and which also happens to be in the race for the aforementioned first-round bye. It could also be the week Manning returns.

"That decision is not up to me, so I'm not going to worry about it," Osweiler said. "That has nothing to do with me. I think the coaches will do a great job of making that decision and Mr. (John) Elway will do the same thing. Like I said I'm going to show up and do my job each day."

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25417097/peyton-manning-finally-returns-to-broncos-practice-runs-the-scout-team

[Rotorhead]

Manning will be inactive this weekend, so there is not chance of him playing against us. I imagine we may see him in the playoffs on our way to the SB!