The Denver Bronco Goofy Coaching Assignments

[Mingo]

Lights, camera, action: Von Miller moves into Bill Kollar's room

On offense the Guards and the Center have one coach and the Tackles have another. On defense Bill Kollar has all the interior DLinemen and Von Miller - the other OLB, ILB personnel are coach by someone else.

This could be thinking out of the Box and this could be just stupid.

*Obligatory words about the determination of using Von Miller more in rushing the QB and less dropping back into coverage (third year in a row I've read that).

It makes me wonder how they Broncos will achieve continuity on the Oline and with the front seven on D.

 

[MileHigh64]

As long as they bring the heat on every play, I'm not too concerned. I just want Woods to unleash the hounds, Wade Phillips style. With Shane injured last year, Von was getting double teamed all game long. Put 'em all out there, I say. Chubb, Miller, Ray, Barrett, Wolfe, Gotsis (maybe?), Shelby Harris, Walker.........8 man blitzkrieg! I want our defense to feast on the blood and fear of opposing quarterbacks.

 

[Mingo]

My thought is - if you split the coaching like that on the Oline and the Dline - how do you get everyone to play together - when literally a system has been set up to put them under different coaching regimes.

 

[fightinredantz]

My thought is - if you split the coaching like that on the Oline and the Dline - how do you get everyone to play together - when literally a system has been set up to put them under different coaching regimes.

It may have more to do with the technique each position requires then anything. If you think about the oline the guards/center and tackles have different responsibilities. I think the same can be said for ILB and OLB. We will see if it works or not.

 

[Mingo]

It may have more to do with the technique each position requires then anything. If you think about the oline the guards/center and tackles have different responsibilities. I think the same can be said for ILB and OLB. We will see if it works or not.

I certainly agree with your assessment. However, where is the mechanism that works to bring it all together? Like I said - this could be a good example of thinking outside the box - or it could be stupid. What it is - is unusual. I'm neither for or against the way the coaching is set up, but I wonder how an important function of coordination between Olinemen is fostered by this approach.

 

[fightinredantz]

I certainly agree with your assessment. However, where is the mechanism that works to bring it all together? Like I said - this could be a good example of thinking outside the box - or it could be stupid. What it is - is unusual. I'm neither for or against the way the coaching is set up, but I wonder how an important function of coordination between Olinemen is fostered by this approach.

Only time will tell, but the working together part might be more important in practice and games.

 

[cdumler7]

Well at this point whatever has been done with our OL has not exactly been working so worth a try to see if this can work. I"m also excited that 4 of the 5 starters from last year are actually going to be back this year. More than anything I think that hurt this OL group just changing starters so often.

 

[listopencil]

I'm hoping that the OL coaches are hammering in basics for each group. As I look back it seems like Denver has had crap coaching for a few years now for those guys. When is the last time that an O-Lineman came to Denver and improved while playing for the Broncos?

 

[cdumler7]

I'm hoping that the OL coaches are hammering in basics for each group. As I look back it seems like Denver has had crap coaching for a few years now for those guys. When is the last time that an O-Lineman came to Denver and improved while playing for the Broncos?

I would say Matt Paradis would fall into that category. Started out on the practice squad then became a pretty darn good Center. Connor McGovern has done decent since his rookie year when he got pushed around quite a bit in the preseason.

 

[cdumler7]

I would say with the OL there have been a few problems

1) Coaching changes. We went from Kubiak's Zone Scheme to a more Power Scheme system under Joseph now. What they wanted as coaches is very different when it comes to the OL. Reminds me when the Broncos went from Fox to Kubiak and Vasquez (yes he was hurt) just was not a great fit. He went from All-Pro to off the roster pretty quick.

2) Connected to the first but they have had huge turnover every single season for what the past 3 straight years. 3-4 players on the OL different than the year before. I would say there is no other position in football that the unity among the unit matters more so than individual talent. So the fact the Broncos have 4 starters returning this year should be a big help.

3) I would add that the Broncos are not the only team to struggle to develop OL talent. This is why the league has seen such a huge jump in FA contracts for OL players. They are getting way overpaid at this point. A great example is that of Solder now being the highest paid Tackle in football. He was maybe 20th last year among LT's. He got better as the season progressed but he was not anywhere near top-5 for sure.

This will be a big year for that unit. The Broncos showed a lot of faith by not adding anyone until the 6th round to help the OL. They believe in the development of their group and we shall see if that gamble pays off.

 

[MileHigh64]

I would say with the OL there have been a few problems

1) Coaching changes. We went from Kubiak's Zone Scheme to a more Power Scheme system under Joseph now. What they wanted as coaches is very different when it comes to the OL. Reminds me when the Broncos went from Fox to Kubiak and Vasquez (yes he was hurt) just was not a great fit. He went from All-Pro to off the roster pretty quick.

2) Connected to the first but they have had huge turnover every single season for what the past 3 straight years. 3-4 players on the OL different than the year before. I would say there is no other position in football that the unity among the unit matters more so than individual talent. So the fact the Broncos have 4 starters returning this year should be a big help.

3) I would add that the Broncos are not the only team to struggle to develop OL talent. This is why the league has seen such a huge jump in FA contracts for OL players. They are getting way overpaid at this point. A great example is that of Solder now being the highest paid Tackle in football. He was maybe 20th last year among LT's. He got better as the season progressed but he was not anywhere near top-5 for sure.

This will be a big year for that unit. The Broncos showed a lot of faith by not adding anyone until the 6th round to help the OL. They believe in the development of their group and we shall see if that gamble pays off.

These are all very good comments and fit the history. However as Broncos fans, we should be able to expect that the team finally fixes this chronic problem. Allowing a weakness to fester for this long has been tough to stomach.

 

[iknowftbll]

These are all very good comments and fit the history. However as Broncos fans, we should be able to expect that the team finally fixes this chronic problem. Allowing a weakness to fester for this long has been tough to stomach.

But let’s put it into perspective.

2015 was the first year the line saw massive turnover from the year prior. The 2011-2014 teams were pretty stable. The line’s ability to pass block as the team transitioned from run heavy under Tebow to pass heavy under Manning was proven relatively quickly. The transition from the McCoy/Gase offense to Kubiak/Dennison was far less graceful.

But this is where the perspective comes in. The 2012-2014 offenses were pretty to look at but the team went 3-3 in the playoffs in that stretch with a pair of one-n-dones and a no-show at the Super Bowl.

The 2015 offensive line saw some pretty significant changes and was the first year of constant churn at the position group. And we all know it was defense that carried that 2015 team, but my Point here is even as this began to fester we enjoyed a SB winning season.

2016 saw the line turn over again, and 2017 saw more of the same. The only good thing about the 2017 unit was the fact it was likely the start of a unit that would actually see some continuity going forward.

I really do think the line is going to be a pleasant surprise in 2018. The coaching arrangement may seem unconventional but the thought of it doesn’t annoy me nearly as much as when the team will sign or draft a player, say for example, a DE, and expect them to play LB.

 

[cdumler7]

Like I've said every team in the NFL is going to have some kind of weakness. It is a matter of how well a team can work around that weakness and even sometimes the type of matchups that show up. Such as that 2015 run for the Broncos in the playoffs set up perfectly where the QB's struggled with pressure and well that was the strength of this Bronco team. Throw in having home field advantage didn't hurt either. The defense could more than make up for the lack of a great OL in 2015. Unfortunately 2016-17 the defense couldn't cover up having both a bad OL and even worse QB play on top of that. And add in this past year all the struggles on special teams.

I definitely feel much better about this Broncos team heading into 2018 than I ever did in 2017. I'm pretty sure I predicted the team to win 6-7 games last year with just the lack of QB play. Got a little excited when the team started out so strong, but the lack of talent and just the overall dysfunction of the team showed through as the season wore on.

This season they seem to have done a few things to stabilize the boat. They have a QB that players seem to be responding to well so far. The draft is one that many have talked in very high regard and should have some instant impact. In fact nfl.com predicted the Broncos to have 3 players make their all-rookie team in Chubb, Jewell, and Freeman.

 

[Mingo]

Report: Broncos want DeMarcus Ware for part-time coaching role

Yes, please!

 

[fightinredantz]

Report: Broncos want DeMarcus Ware for part-time coaching role

Yes, please!

That would be awesome.

 

[cdumler7]

He is one of those players that it is easy to see they would make a great coach if given the opportunity. I remember when he first came in he had coaches asking him questions on things they should be coaching players to do. He worked with the OL of what to look for in a pass rusher. So even him just coming for a few days could pay off huge.