Peyton Manning lacking arm strength? John Fox says notion is 'semi-comical'

There have been concerns through the first three weeks of the regular season about how strong the arm of Peyton Manning actually is, but his head coach isn't buying it for a second.

The new Denver Broncos quarterback has not performed all that well to start the season, throwing three interceptions to go along with his five touchdowns while compiling an average passer rating of 85.6. Manning's current yards per pass attempt is only around 7.17, placing him around the middle of NFL quarterbacks, and his current passer rating and completion percentage both have him sitting around 20th overall.

On the eve of the game between the Broncos and the Raiders this weekend, Broncos coach John Fox seems to dismiss out of hand that Manning's arm strength is diminishing by any measure. Paul Gutierrez of CSN Bay Area has this report:

So Broncos coach John Fox was asked about a purported lack of arm strength in his quarterback. Fox huffed, laughingly.

"The people," Fox said, "that look at the tape and study it would think it's semi-comical."

It should be noted Manning still is currently ranked as a top 10 quarterback by Football Outsiders with their ratings. Manning will get a good test of his abilities against the Raiders. Oakland has the 29th worst pass defense in the league, according to Football Outsiders.