Peyton Manning Says Broncos Will Go For It On 4th Down More

Peyton Manning wants fans to pipe down when he’s trying to go for it on fourth down. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

We all know the Broncos have an explosive offense. We also all know that the offense got even better in 2013 than it was in 2012, when it was among the best in the league.

It’s safe to say there are high expectations for the Broncos’ high flying offense this season, and something that proved to be a bit of a weakness last year was the conservative play calling on third down at times. There were too many times–including late in the team’s playoff loss against the Ravens (didn’t I say I wasn’t going to mention that again?) where Mike McCoy or whoever was in charge decided to put the ball in the hands of Ronnie Hillman or not Peyton Manning, and it wound up burning the Broncos.

So, you can imagine the jubilation among fans when Manning gave this little nugget on 850 KOA in Denver with play-by-play announcer Dave Logan:

“I believe we are going to go for it on some fourth downs this year and maybe not cheering when we’re going for it on fourth down – wait and see and if we get it, cheer then.”

The article, originally published on DenverBroncos.com, was actually about the fact that Manning wants the Broncos fans to quiet down when the team gets into third and fourth down situations, and then he let the cat out of the bag.

Here is an amazing statistic from Douglas Lee of ItsAllOverFatMan.com, via Jon Heath at Mile High Report:

Manning is 45-of-63 for 323 yards, nine scores, and zero picks, with a 122.6 rating over his past three seasons (including 2009 and 2010 with the Colts) when going for it on third and fourth down situations with two or fewer yards to go. He has converted 86-of-131 tries, which is a 65.5 percent success rate.

Absolutely incredible. Manning is near flawless in the most critical situations in games, at least statistically. That has translated to just one Super Bowl victory since 1998 when he was drafted, but there’s no doubt about Manning’s Hall of Fame credentials and his ability to lead a team to a Lombardi Trophy.

Certainly a little more aggressive style from the Broncos in situations like Manning has described will be a welcome sight for the fans.

As if there weren’t already reason enough to be excited about the Broncos’ offense…