There are reasons to be worried about the Broncos offense

It’s just the preseason. It’s just the preseason. It’s just the preseason.

Say it enough times and everything becomes less worrisome. Any problem that an NFL team has in August won’t necessarily be an issue come September and beyond, so there’s no sense getting all worked up about things before then.

At least that’s what everyone keeps saying.

Four games into the exhibition season, the Broncos offense has been less than stellar. They’ve scored a grand total of 49 points, which is the third-lowest points per game in the league during the preseason. They’re averaging just 228.5 yards of total during that time, which is 29th in the NFL. And they’ve posted just 135.5 yards per game through the air, which is 31st in the league.

All of this has occurred under the watch of a first-year offensive coordinator, with a new starting quarterback. But according to most, there’s nothing to be concerned about when it comes to Denver’s offense during the preseason.

It doesn’t matter that the starters never found their way into the end zone. There’s no reason to be worried about five trips into the red zone that ended in short field goals instead of touchdowns. And there’s no concern that aside from a 50-yard run by Royce Freeman at Seattle, there have been no big plays to speak of during four preseason games.

After all, Rich Scangarello isn’t showing opponents anything; the new OC is playing his cards close to the vest, intentionally keeping things vanilla until the opener in Oakland. That’s why things have looked so boring and predictable thus far during the exhibition season.

Or so they say.

But that doesn’t really add up. It’s a convenient excuse, but it doesn’t necessarily pass the smell test.

For one thing, Scangarello is like anyone else who is taking on a new job; he wants to show that he’s up to the task. So it’s hard to believe that he’s not eager to show that his version of the Mike Shanahan / Gary Kubiak / Kyle Shanahan offense can be a juggernaut, as well. He’d like nothing better than to watch his group march up and down the field, posting touchdown after touchdown in the process.

In addition, the notion of keeping secrets until Week 1 is pretty silly. After all, what is Scangarello going to break out that is so out-of-this-world creative than Jon Gruden and Company won’t know what hit them in the season opener? Might he have a new wrinkle or two that catches the Raiders by surprise? That’s clearly possible, but it won’t be anything that takes four quarters to figure out.

This is the NFL, where everybody knows what everyone else is going to do. Oakland will have studied every offense that Scangarello has ever touched in any way, shape or form, so they’ll know what he may or may not have up his sleeve. This isn’t high school football where there’s limited access to game film, coaches can devise never-before-seen formations and plays, and opposing teams are slow to adjust.

And finally, everyone else is keeping things basic during the preseason, too. While it’s true that the Broncos aren’t game planning for their opponents, it’s equally as accurate that the defenses they’re facing aren’t doing anything to specifically counter what Denver wants to do on offense, either. So it should all even out, with both sides running their bread-and-butter plays.

That being the case, it would stand to reason that the Broncos would find some level of success during the preseason. At some point, they’d stumble upon a successful drive or two, with their base plays outperforming the base defenses they’re facing. But for the most part, that hasn’t been the case; Denver has struggled in every game, on almost every possession.

To dismiss this as meaningless would be irresponsible. It has to raise a red flag or two, just based on the circumstances.

Nobody knows if Scangarello knows how to run an offense at the NFL level. He’s qualified on paper, and he seems to know what he’s doing during practice, but there’s no track record of success to provide reassurance that Denver’s offensive coordinator will be fine.

So in reality, there’s nothing more than blind faith to suggest that things will turn around once the games start for real. At this point, it’s simply hope that is keeping optimism afloat when it comes to the Broncos offense.

That might prove to be well-placed positive thinking. Perhaps a heavy dose of Joe Flacco running the show will change Denver’s fortunes through the air. And maybe the combination of Phillip Lindsay and Freeman will jumpstart the team’s running game.

But those things are far from guaranteed.

If Flacco had capped a drive or two with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton, Emmanuel Sanders or Noah Fant during the preseason, there’d be evidence to suggest that he’s going to continue that pattern once the regular season rolls around. If Lindsay and Freeman were taking turns darting through gaping holes, that’d be a sign that the Broncos run-first offense is going to be a well-oiled machine starting Week 1.

Those things haven’t happened, however. Instead, the complete opposite has essentially been true.

Granted, most of those offensive struggles have occurred with players who won’t be around come Sept. 9 in Oakland. But that explanation doesn’t wipe away all of the ugly performances.

Denver has had plenty of opportunities with key contributors on the field during the preseason to answer questions, quell fears and instill optimism. For the most part, they’ve failed to do so at every turn.

Is it time to push the panic button? Nope. But to not at least be moderately worried about what Rich Scangarello has demonstrated through four preseason games would be equally foolish.

Other teams are keeping it simple during the exhibition season, but they haven’t struggled this mightily. So simply repeating the same soothing mantra over and over and over again doesn’t make all concerns go away.

It’s just the preseason. It’s just the preseason. It’s just the preseason.

The Broncos had better hope that’s the case.

Follow @jamesmerilatt