Defending Manning: Short Passing Game

Lost in all the hoopla surrounding Peyton Manning's record breaking season has been the fact that post-neck surgery Peyton doesn't exactly have the "laser rocket arm" he used to. Patriots fans saw this first hand when Manning struggled to drive the ball through extremely windy conditions back in November.

Now, this isn't necessarily a criticism. In fact, it's been borderline remarkable to see how well Peyton has adjusted his game to work around his physical limitations. Manning's usual stellar work as a field general has helped, of course, but so has an emphasis on the short passing game.

This was particularly evident during the Broncos divisional round win over the Chargers. According to Profootballfocus, Manning was a combined 5-13 (38%) for 84 yards, no touchdowns and his lone interception on intermediate and deep passes. On short passes? He was a hyper efficient 17-20 for 122 yards and both of his touchdowns.

Those short passes serve multiple purposes. Their efficiency enables Denver to constantly move the ball, consistently gaining positive yardage and staying out of drive-killing third-and-longs. It also fits their personnel, as Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Eric Decker are all capable of quickly winning their individual matchups and gaining good yards after the catch.

In fact, one of Denver's most effective plays this year has been a simple wide receiver screen to Thomas. The Broncos line up with "trips" (three receivers) to one side of the formation, before throwing quickly to Thomas on that side. With the other two receivers available as blockers, Thomas is immediately able to use his beastly physical ability (4.38 40 time in a 229 pound body) in the open field.

These short passing plays also take very little time to develop, which helps Denver's offensive line in protecting Manning. Case in point: Manning has taken one or no sacks in 12 of his 17 games this season, despite being hobbled with a high ankle sprain for a stretch this year. This was also very evident last Sunday against San Diego, when Manning was only pressured on three of his 36 dropbacks.

So, how can the Patriots defend this super efficient short passing game? For one, they have more depth in their secondary than most teams (a sentence I certainly didn't think I'd by typing this season). Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard seem to be healthier and better than they've been in months, Kyle Arrington, for all his flaws outside, is an effective slot corner, and Logan Ryan has answered every challenge thrown his way as a rookie. Throw in Devin McCourty's excellent play at safety and the Patriots have more cover guys than most teams to throw at Denver.

Another key against these Broncos is sound open-field tackling. Much of Denver's success has been predicated by those yards after the catch, with Demaryius Thomas being particularly difficult to bring down. You can live with Manning completing tons of three and four yard passes; it's when those plays turn into 8 and 12 yard gains thanks to missed tackles that Denver becomes seemingly impossible to defend.

Bill Belichick has always valued strong tackling from his corners, and that emphasis should play dividends on Sunday. Every one of New England's aforementioned corners are willing to mix it up and generally sound in their tackling. If that tackling can limit Denver on early downs, it could go a long way towards pushing Denver into some tougher situations on third down and giving the defense better chances of getting off the field.

Finally, the emphasis on short passing could also lead to an emphasis on physical press coverage by the secondary. Many of those shorter passing plays are reliant on timing, which can be disrupted with good jams at the line of scrimmage. Giving these receivers too big of a cushion is simply inviting Manning to exploit that space with quick passes, opportunities that Peyton will certainly be looking to exploit. This strategy also fits the Patriots personnel well, as both Talib and Dennard are at their best when playing physical at the line of scrimage.