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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos aren’t holding back when it comes to Peyton Manning. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said Thursday he isn’t making any special allowances for the four-time MVP who’s returning from a nerve injury that caused weakness in his throwing arm, forced him to sit out last season and led to his release from the Indianapolis Colts. McCoy said Manning is working on all of his throws — short, intermediate and deep — in offseason workouts as the Broncos ramp up toward training camp. Manning’s workload is being watched by head athletic trainer Steve “Greek” Antonopulos, who is monitoring the quarterback’s rehab along with strength and conditioning coach Luke Richesson. “Greek and (Manning) have sat down and determined how long he can go, how many throws he can make each week,” McCoy said. “But the mental challenge … we’re throwing everything at him like every other player and as we go his reps will increase.” McCoy said there are no limitations on the types of throws Manning is making or the kinds of routes his receivers are running: “No, he’s fines. He can do everything.” Reporters have been allowed to watch two of Manning’s practices so far. He looked great in the first one last week, showing zip and accuracy on his passes, comfort under center, complete command of the offense and no ill effects from his nerve injury that led to a series of neck operations. His second open workout wasn’t so sharp. He and receiver Eric Decker stayed late after Wednesday’s sloppy practice to iron out the wrinkles and work on their timing. Afterward, coach John Fox blamed the offense’s troubles on rust from the long Memorial Day break. McCoy said days like that are inevitable and that the offense rebounded nicely at Thursday’s practice, which was closed to the media. “That’s going to be the give and take of any OTA practice, any training camp practice,” he said. “We’re installing a system with everybody. We’re not slowing down. We’ll just keep piling on the players, so there’s going to be some days, hey, the offense is going to make some mistakes, the defense is going to get the best of us. And then there’s days where it’s going to work the other way. “The offense did a nice job today of coming out and responding to the challenge.” McCoy said the other quarterbacks — Caleb Hanie, Adam Weber and rookie Brock Osweiler — have benefited from watching Manning and his famous attention to detail, and he’s encouraging them to ask plenty of questions of the 11-time Pro Bowl player. McCoy isn’t shy about picking Manning’s brain himself. After all, McCoy is plucking plenty of plays out of the Colts’ playbook. He and quarterbacks coach Adam Gase watched Indy’s 2010 game films during the Broncos’ pursuit of Manning, who signed a five-year, $96 million deal with Denver in mid-March after his release from the Colts. They meshed the Colts’ concepts with the Broncos’ system, minus the read-option plays that went out once Manning signed and Tim Tebow was traded to the New York Jets. Then, they sat down with Manning and sought his input. “The first thing he said to us was, `Hey listen, you guys have a system in place. I want to learn your system but also have the flexibility to do a number of the things that we’ve done for the last 14 years in Indy,”‘ McCoy recounted. “And hey, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t listen to him.” The public perception is that McCoy’s job description has changed dramatically with the switch from the inexperienced Tebow to the polished perfectionist that is Manning. “No. I’m still the offensive coordinator and I’ve still got to do a job of preparing the football team every week with the rest of our staff,” McCoy said, “and let’s plan together and listen to the players and do what we do best.” That means more passes and fewer handoffs or keepers. Manning is known as a coach on the field, often changing plays at the line of scrimmage after deciphering the defense. McCoy said he appreciates Manning’s famous attention to detail. “This is the type of player you want to coach,” he said. “(I’m) very fortunate. These types of players don’t come around very often, so we’re going to all take advantage of it.” (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Broncos Aren’t Holding Back With Peyton Manning

While there has been talk about an 18-game schedule, 17 could do the trick.

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The 17-game season (National Football Post)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) The Denver Broncos aren’t holding back when it comes to Peyton Manning.

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Broncos aren’t holding back with Peyton Manning (The Associated Press)

Can you tell the true greatness of a player in his absence? That’s most certainly what NFL Films, and the NFL players who voted, believed when it came time to tally the votes for the NFL Network’s Top 100 rankings shows this year. These shows always crate controversy, which makes sense — you can have the shows in which players are ranked, and then have a panel of people (usually Jamie Dukes most of all) yelling about who got ranked where. This year, one ranking piqued more interest than most others — Peyton Manning was selcted as the NFL’s 50th best player (down from #2 in 2011), despite the fact that he didn’t play a single down last season. Obviously, the ranking wasn’t a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 13 years with the Indianapolis Colts, and had nothing to do with what he might accomplish with the Denver Broncos this season. So, was that ranking about just how far the Colts fell in Manning’s absence? From a perennial playoff entrant to the Worst Damn Team in Football? Apparently, yes. <br /> “He’s a guy who because he didn’t play [last year], it took a team who perennially wins their division and who is always hosting a playoff game, and [now] they’re going to be picking first [in the NFL Draft],” Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark told the NFL Network. “If we’re talking about the impact that a certain player had on the success or failure of his team, Peyton Manning may need to be number one.” Tennessee Titans safety Jordan Babineaux agreed. “I’ve never seen one player in particular have this kind of an impact on a franchise when he doesn’t play.” There’s no question that the Colts fell completely apart without Manning under center and running the offense in 2011, and the fact that Indy’s drafts and free agent moves over the last half-decade were less than spectacular brings Manning’s value into sharper relief. Despite playing on teams that were starting to atrophy in positions of importance (offensive line, running back, receiver), Manning held it all together and was brilliant enough to make the Colts look like what they once had been.

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Peyton Manning named 50th best player in 2012, despite not playing a down in 2011 (Shutdown Corner)

METAIRIE, La. (AP) Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt and Drew Brees have spoken about preparations for training camp, and Vitt said he expects the star quarterback to be back with the team by then.

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Vitt confident Brees will be in training camp (The Associated Press)