Peyton Manning happy with LT Chris Clark

Denver Broncos offensive tackle Chris Clark had to step up in to one of the most important jobs in the NFL on Monday night, when he was called on to replace the injured Ryan Clady and protect the blindside of star quarterback Peyton Manning.

It was the first start of Clark’s career and his quarterback was more than happy with the way the five-year veteran out of Southern Mississippi performed.

When Manning was discussing Clark’s performance, he stated that Clady’s holdout through the team’s workouts had played a big part in Clark’s preparation and readiness for his debut in prime time.

“I thought Chris did a good job from a communication standpoint,” Manning said, via Pro Football Talk. “The fact that he’s been the starting left tackle in the offseason, the minicamps, the OTAs and training camp, from a mental standpoint, he was on top of it. No miscommunications or having to call timeout because he didn’t know what to do. He was very sharp that way.”

There was some concern that Clark would be a major drop off from Clady, but he showed that he is more than capable of keeping the team’s offense performing at an elite level.

Of course, it was just the Oakland Raiders, but Clark looked good and the Broncos have to be happy.