Broncos Offensive Scheme Should Dampen Worry Along O-Line
If there’s one area of the Denver Broncos that has more questions than any other, it’s the offensive line. The Broncos were going into the 2015 season with major question marks anyway, but a season-ending injury to Ryan Clady was added into the pile of worry, and the panic button was officially pushed.
Despite all of the questions surrounding the line, I think the Broncos can really dampen the worry early on with the scheme they are using and how well the players work together. Fans are not going to necessarily be at ease without a lot of ‘star’ players up front, but his can mold into a formidable unit sooner rather than later thanks to Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison’s scheme.
That is a tried and true theme for Kubiak-led offenses, and it should be yet again for the Broncos this season.
Dating back to the start of this decade, Kubiak-led offenses were among the league’s best in run blocking grades from Pro Football Focus, and had primarily positive grades in pass protection.
Why is that? Because the scheme focuses on movement, cut blocks, and getting to the second level rather than trying to win one on one matchups, which I think the Broncos really struggled with last year.
We saw Denver consistently beat in one on one situations in 2014, even with guys like Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin still in the fold. Even Manny Ramirez, who played at a really high level the year prior, was among the team’s worst offensive linemen last season and playing a lot more ‘man-to-man’ so to speak was a transition the Broncos dealt with pretty poorly, in my opinion.
The switch to a zone blocking scheme should prove fruitful for everyone involved, particularly the offensive line. It should be of significant importance to rookie left tackle Ty Sambrailo, who might just cement himself this year as the team’s top left tackle. He will now get to play a position as a rookie that he is comfortable with and in a scheme with concepts he is familiar with.
John Elway has done a good job of assembling talent that can fit his system, now it’s merely time for these guys to get out on the field together and execute.