Brock Osweiler ready for his first start as Broncos quarterback Sunday against

We knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

Peyton Manning isn’t giving Brock Osweiler any unsolicited advice this week as his longtime understudy prepares for his first National Football League start. The media in general and ESPN in particular go right to their playbook, which is excuse, explain, blame others and say the failure won’t affect Peyton Manning’s “legacy”.

And if he can deliver it accurately, that would be an upgrade over what the Broncos experienced early last week – and might get the offense back to league average, which with their defense, might be enough. Yet when Rodgers visited Denver three weeks ago, he was harassed and bullied all night, throwing for just 77 yards in a 29-10 loss. Manning wasn’t even attending meetings this week but just spending his days with the athletic training staff, Kubiak said….

For the Bears, however, as he has been in each of their four wins and surprisingly competitive losses to Minnesota and Detroit, Cutler does have to be the Bears’ leading man again.

Although he downplays the impact of this game and any starts to come on his future, his expiring contract lurks over his first start – and any more he might make while Manning heals. Osweiler’s mobility will have something to do with that.

But execution will be crucial – beyond just the quarterback.

“We have to do things that we’re doing better first”. “The more you know is always the better”. If the Bears have any realistic shot at making a serious playoff push, they have to play almost flawless football for the rest of the regular season.

There is plenty of room for improvement. Even though they still have a three-game lead in the AFC West, the surging Chiefs have played the meat of their schedule, while the Broncos still have home games remaining against the undefeated Patriots, 8-1 Bengals and a trip to 6-4 Pittsburgh in Week 15. He makes the Cardinals more dynamic than Johnson and is their best option going forward.

“I think we’re very familiar with him spending the last few years with him”, Fox said of Osweiler. “I talked to him a little bit about it. Hopefully, he’ll figure out a way to feel as good as he can and get a plan for getting back to playing the way he knows how to play”.

Osweiler has served as Manning’s understudy since being drafted in 2012. When he fired coach John Fox last January, Elway hired a quarterback whisperer in Kubiak. “No, he needs to cut it loose and go play”. But in this case the run will need to be blended in with the pass. The play-action pass and runs on downs when the defense expects a pass will be also need to be involved in the approach.

With the ability to absorb mass quantities of information, Osweiler wasted no time trying to get any extra edge he could find.

“As soon as I found out that I was the starter, the first thing that I asked Coach Knapp was, ‘If you’re the defensive coordinator and you’re going against a quarterback in his first career start, what are you going to do differently?'” Osweiler said.

“I like to think that we’re prepared and we’ll be ready to go”. Manning remains hopeful to practice this week and play in Sunday’s game. They’ve been largely unsuccessful as run blockers this season and will have to make a concerted effort to move it on the ground with Osweiler at quarterback.

He has the tools, both mental and physical. Sunday, he’ll begin to apply them.