NFL Preseason Blitz: Peyton Manning looks fine in Gary Kubiak's offense

You wonder if sometimes coaches do certain things in the preseason as a bit of a wink to pundits who have asked the same questions over and over through the offseason.

When the Denver Broncos came out for Peyton Manning's first preseason play in Gary Kubiak's offense in the shotgun, with four receivers and an empty backfield and then ran a bubble screen, it sure seemed like Kubiak was having a little fun with everyone. The Broncos have run similar plays out of that type of formation hundreds of times in Manning's three Denver seasons. There might have been a message too: Don't think you have all the answers on what Kubiak's offense might look like.

This wasn't precisely the offense we expected after an offseason of wondering how Manning would transition to being in the shotgun nearly every play to being under center nearly every play. Manning did line up plenty under center, but he was in shotgun a lot too, especially in third-down situations. He went 8-of-14 for 52 yards in the Broncos' 14-10 win over the Houston Texans. It was nothing special, but he looked fine in the new scheme.

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Manning showed some zip on his passes, and that was the other big offseason story around Denver. He had good zip on a third-down completion to Owen Daniels early on. When the Broncos had a third-and-17, Manning threw with good velocity over the middle, it was just well defended and broken up. Manning also got rid of the ball quickly on many throws, which you can expect to see a lot this season due to the Broncos' leaky offensive line.

The calling card of Kubiak's offense is the running game, and that was pretty good. C.J. Anderson had 24 yards on four carries. He should have an enormous season if he stays healthy. But when Manning was in the game, until a little more than 11 minutes remained in the second quarter, the Broncos threw 14 times and ran five times.

That might not mean a ton, but it's worth keeping in mind. For all the talk this offseason of what we thought would happen in Denver, maybe Kubiak has different plans than we expect.

This section could be for the Miami Dolphins, who looked really good on Saturday night. Their starting offense has been very sharp this preseason.

But we also need to talk about the Carolina Panthers, who were on the receiving end of a dominating performance by the Dolphins' starters before Carolina's backups rallied for a 31-30 win. It was not a good look, preseason or not.

The offense was without top receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who will miss the season with a torn ACL, and it showed. Cam Newton had at least three passes that could be considered drops by his targets. Newton wasn't great either, though his receivers weren't exactly getting a ton of separation. Six of Newton's first seven passes were incomplete.

When it was starters vs. starters, the Dolphins destroyed Carolina. At the end of the first quarter, the Dolphins had run 27 plays and the Panthers had six. The Dolphins had 116 yards and the Panthers had just eight. On the first play of the second quarter, Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw a touchdown pass. Then on the next play, Newton threw an interception. When the Panthers finally got a drive going it stalled inside the 5-yard line, with Newton diving for the end zone on fourth down and coming up just short. It was that kind of night.

The Panthers were also without defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who is hurt, among others. And the Panthers suffered a potentially big blow when defensive end Frank Alexander left Saturday night's game with a foot/ankle injury that looked serious. The performance was concerning, especially on offense because Benjamin isn't coming back for 2015. The Panthers are hoping Devin Funchess can be a No. 1 receiver, but that's a lot to ask of a rookie. The Panthers are also a Jonathan Stewart injury away from a probable lineup of Cameron Artis-Payne, Funchess and Corey Brown being their top running back and top two receivers behind a shaky offensive line. Not exactly the type of help that Newton needs to keep progressing.

There has been a lot of concern that Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett won't be able to repeat last season, when he exploded for 1,266 yards at age 29. That was more than twice as many yards as he had in any other NFL season.

But Forsett looks like the same back who took to the zone scheme that Kubiak introduced as Ravens offensive coordinator last year. New coordinator Marc Trestman has said he's not going to change much in the offense, and that's good news for Forsett. In an otherwise forgettable 40-17 loss to the Eagles, Forsett stood out for the Ravens.

Forsett gained 29 yards on five carries. He looks so comfortable in the scheme, picking the right hole and exploding through it. It's possible Forsett won't gain 1,266 yards again, just because plenty of factors work against any back putting up those numbers, but Forsett looks just as effective as he did a year ago when he shocked everyone with a huge breakout season.

Bears 23, Colts 11: Pernell McPhee, the Bears' big free-agent pickup this offseason, showed why Chicago gave him so much money to come over from the Baltimore Ravens. McPhee had a great pass rush from Andrew Luck's right and got the Colts quarterback down for a sack. The Bears desperately need an effective one-on-one pass rusher.

Giants 22, Jaguars 12: Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson could take a big step in his second season. The big target, who was a second-round pick last year, had three catches for 64 yards. He'll be a favorite target of Blake Bortles, who was OK on Saturday night, going 8-of-16 for 98 yards.

Patriots 26, Saints 24: Drew Brees, making his first preseason appearance this season, looked like the same old Brees. He was in rhythm and deadly accurate, as always. He was 8-of-10 for 159 yards and two touchdowns against the defending champions. (Oh, and Jimmy Garoppolo played marvelously.)

Vikings 20, Raiders 12: Before the game was delayed due to a lightning storm, second-year quarterbacks Derek Carr of Oakland and Teddy Bridgewater of Minnesota had some nice highlights. Carr hit a deep pass down the right sideline to Amari Cooper for a 40-yard gain that set up a touchdown. Carr needs to push the ball downfield more often in his second season, and that play to Cooper was a good sign. Bridgewater played well, going 10-of-14 for 89 yards. He threw a fantastic pass to Charles Johnson for a touchdown over cornerback D.J. Hayden. There wasn't much Hayden could have done on the play because the pass was perfectly placed.

Chargers 22, Cardinals 19: When Chris Johnson signed with the Cardinals this week, it probably meant more for rookie David Johnson's job security than starter Andre Ellington. And David Johnson responded very well. He had 66 yards on 13 carries and added two catches for 15 yards, giving the Cardinals' staff more to think about as they figure out their depth chart.

• Devin McCourty came into the NFL as a cornerback, but has developed into one of the league's best free safeties. But the Patriots are thin at cornerback, and McCourty found himself back at that position against the Saints.

According to CSNNE's Tom Curran, McCourty called the move back to corner "frustrating," but it was up to the coaches. It's worth watching going forward how the Patriots use their best defensive back.

• The Houston Texans are looking for a starting quarterback, and Bill O'Brien has said not to make too much out of who plays first. But for the record, Ryan Mallett started, but he was lifted pretty quickly as Brian Hoyer came on late in the first quarter. 

Nobody really took a step forward in the battle to be the starter. Mallett was 5-of-7 for 23 yards. Hoyer was 7-of-11 for 52 yards. Second-year quarterback Tom Savage, the clear No. 3 in the race, was 15-of-24 for 168 yards. The Texans didn't score an offensive touchdown.

O'Brien did great work to maximize the offensive talent the Texans had on hand last season. But it's hard to win without a reliable quarterback, and Houston can't feel confident it has one on the roster. 

• The Broncos can't be too sure if Brock Osweiler is a capable heir apparent for Manning, and Osweiler is still a mystery after two preseason games this year. Osweiler had a really nice 57-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell against the Texans. He also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and finished just 7-of-16 for 121 yards. 

Osweiler is set to become a free agent after this season. He'll be one of the most curious free agents in many years, as a former second-round pick who will probably command more money than he has earned just because many teams are desperate at quarterback. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos approach his free agency.

• Tannehill looks very comfortable this preseason, his second year in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's scheme. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Last week he was 6-of-7 for 56 yards and a touchdown. Miami's starting offense has scored three touchdowns on four drives this preseason. 

• The Saints got a touchdown from each of their top two tight ends. Ben Watson caught one from Brees, and Josh Hill caught one from Luke McCown. The Saints might not have the dominant Jimmy Graham at tight end anymore, but they'll be able to squeeze some production out of that spot. 

• Giants linebacker Jon Beason left Saturday night's game with a sprained knee. The Giants have been decimated by injuries each of the last two seasons, and injuries are piling up for this year's Giants already. Beason has had plenty of health issues the past few years, and the Giants hope they won't be without him long. Beason was seen back on the sideline late in the game walking without a wrap on his knee. 

• There's probably not a better No. 2 running back in the NFL than Ryan Mathews. The former Charger had a nice 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter. If DeMarco Murray gets hurt and Mathews stays healthy (not a sure thing), then he could have a really big year. Even with Murray starting, the Eagles run enough plays that Mathews will put up pretty good numbers. Nothing matters too much in the preseason, but the Eagles' offense looked very good. They piled up 476 yards and 31 first downs against the Ravens.

• Dolphins backup quarterback Josh Freeman (remember him?) completed just one of his five passes, but made the most of the completion. He hit tight end Gerell Robinson for a 56-yard touchdown.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab