PDA

View Full Version : Man-made lift needed by Broncos



Lonestar
03-07-2010, 04:22 AM
Klis: Man-made lift needed by Broncos
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
POSTED: 03/07/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
UPDATED: 03/07/2010 01:41:49 AM MST

As the Broncos move through their annual free-agent shopping period, they are buying as if they want to change their look.

Instead of the Broncos, they want to become the BRONCOS. Big and bold.

This local offseason strategy took me back to the rear of the press box at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium in January 2008.

The Chargers were about to play the Tennessee Titans in an AFC first-round playoff game. Phil Simms, who ruined John Elway's first Super Bowl experience in the 1986 season and is the father of Broncos backup quarterback Chris Simms, was there to do color commentary for CBS.

I asked Phil Simms about his thoughts regarding the Broncos, who had finished the 2007 season with a 7-9 record. Simms' biggest problem with the Broncos was their lack of big players upfront.

"Denver needs men," Simms said. "You look out here at this game today, you're going to see men."

The nose tackles in that game were Albert Haynesworth and Jamal Williams. Simms' coach during his playing career, Bill Parcells, had just taken front-office control of the 1-15 Miami Dolphins.

"You watch," Simms said then. "The first thing Bill Parcells is going to do is he's going to go get men."

The Dolphins traded away their best player, Jason Taylor, during the offseason, yet went from 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 in 2008.

Now we move to the Broncos' on- going offseason of 2010. Brandon Marshall, the Broncos' best player, may be on his way to Seattle. Meanwhile, the Broncos have gone about the business of acquiring men for their front lines. Justin Bannan in the middle of the defense. If they can reach a compromise on money, Rex Hadnot would anchor the middle of their offense. And the Broncos are hosting Dwan Edwards for a visit that will last into today.

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels branches from the Parcells school of building a football organization. Everybody says Bill Belichick was McDaniels' mentor. But what Bill Walsh was to George Seifert, and Seifert was to Mike Shanahan, Parcells was to Belichick, and Belichick was to McDaniels.

"I don't want to say (Parcells) is the ringleader, but I think he coached at Army, coached at Air Force," said Indianapolis and ex-Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri. "It's a different type of philosophy, and it's a philosophy that works."

The hope is that a few more good men will correct the Broncos' decade-long problem of late-season fades. As defensive players became dramatically bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic in the past 10 years, the Broncos began to increasingly have matchup problems.

They were 8-5 in Shanahan's last season of 2008 when they traveled to play a stout Carolina team. The Broncos needed just one win in their final three games to clinch a playoff spot, but it was almost as if they conceded the game against the more physical, powerful Panthers, losing 30-10.

This past season, the Broncos played each of their AFC West rivals on the road first. Won them all too, by 20, 11 and 31 points. The second time they played San Diego, Oakland and Kansas City, it was at Invesco Field at Mile High. The Broncos lost them all, by 29, one and 20 points. A combined 112-point free fall.

Enough, already, with the smaller, agile players upfront. The Broncos have been beaten up late in the season for 11 years. Even in the years when they made the playoffs, a time when the men separate from the boys, the Broncos were quickly exposed as weaklings.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints, coached by Parcells disciple Sean Payton; the New York Giants, coached by Parcells disciple Tom Coughlin; and the Patriots, coached by Parcells disciple Belichick; have won five of the last 10 Super Bowls. And rough, tough Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Baltimore won four of the other five.

To keep up with those rugged teams out East, to match up against the physically superior Chargers in the AFC West, the Broncos had to shift their roster priorities from quarterbacks, receivers and running backs to men, men and more men.




Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14526946#ixzz0hTsqtZcJ

gobroncsnv
03-07-2010, 09:03 AM
Interesting take, yet when you look at Shanny's record against Belichek, he's typically been the winner against the Pats, one of which was a playoff game... Same for McD this season against his uncle Bill.
I don't disagree that we need to get some more, um, size where it matters, up front. Just wierd that we could usually beat a team that employed this philosophy.
On the other hand, when we play the Ravens, or Steelers, it goes the other way, mostly, both of whom employ a power game on both sides of the line.

Ziggy
03-07-2010, 09:50 AM
Yeah we beat up the Pats. Only once when it really counted, and they won 3 super bowls the last decade with the Parcell's way of personnel.

elsid13
03-07-2010, 09:54 AM
Interesting note out of DC, is that Shanahan and his staff are going big on the offense line. They signed Hick (320), kept Mike William (340), resigned Rachbak (sp?) (300) and very close to getting Pasho (320). All those guys can move but bigger then what Shanahan played with in the past.

Ziggy
03-07-2010, 10:18 AM
Interesting note out of DC, is that Shanahan and his staff are going big on the offense line. They signed Hick (320), kept Mike William (340), resigned Rachbak (sp?) (300) and very close to getting Pasho (320). All those guys can move but bigger then what Shanahan played with in the past.

They still going to go to the zone blocking scheme?

Lonestar
03-07-2010, 10:21 AM
I have been wanting this for almost a decade. We have been gettting killed by most teams that had a real DLINE.

I had not equated the smaller LOS as the reason for the "shanny"fade that we have had for most of those years. But when you LOGICALLY think about it makes a ton of sense.

Seeing the numbers above of power teams winning 9 of 10 really is graphic.

It also makes me wonder how OVER hypded our OLINE has been the past couple of years.
********
Mike also is cleaning house of dead wood.

Has cut 60 milion in DEAD money this uncapped year. If he had to do that in a capped year right now he would be 30+ mil over the cap.


Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Lonestar
03-07-2010, 10:25 AM
Can't believe they could keep it as they do not anyone to teach it. Gibbs and Dennison are in HOU IIRC and he does not have time. $



Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

rcsodak
03-07-2010, 10:27 AM
Interesting note out of DC, is that Shanahan and his staff are going big on the offense line. They signed Hick (320), kept Mike William (340), resigned Rachbak (sp?) (300) and very close to getting Pasho (320). All those guys can move but bigger then what Shanahan played with in the past.

I don't see a small Oline working, against the likes of Dal/Phi/NYG 2X a year.

Shanny tried to go big in Denver, first with Foster, then with Clady.

I imagine if he can find big guys that are fluid enough for him, he'll take 'em.

*On a sidenote, on Sirius NFL last week(?), they were interviewing a rookie Center, Matt Tenant, and asked him which NFL Center he thought he played most like.....his answer? Tom Nalen.

6-5, #300

Ziggy
03-07-2010, 10:35 AM
I don't see a small Oline working, against the likes of Dal/Phi/NYG 2X a year.

Shanny tried to go big in Denver, first with Foster, then with Clady.

I imagine if he can find big guys that are fluid enough for him, he'll take 'em.

*On a sidenote, on Sirius NFL last week(?), they were interviewing a rookie Center, Matt Tenant, and asked him which NFL Center he thought he played most like.....his answer? Tom Nalen.

6-5, #300

Shanny tried, but Foster was a huge reach in round 1. He wasn't even a starter his last year at Georgia. It wasn't until the Goodman's came in that he went after Clady.

Tennant is my 3rd rated center. I love the comparison though. JD Walton is the one that reminds me of Nails. Just plain nasty demeanor on that one.

elsid13
03-07-2010, 10:41 AM
They still going to go to the zone blocking scheme?

Yes, it will be similar to one he ran with team his last season here. More pulls and dives but primary a ZB scheme

Lonestar
03-07-2010, 11:49 AM
I don't see a small Oline working, against the likes of Dal/Phi/NYG 2X a year.

Shanny tried to go big in Denver, first with Foster, then with Clady.

I imagine if he can find big guys that are fluid enough for him, he'll take 'em.

*On a sidenote, on Sirius NFL last week(?), they were interviewing a rookie Center, Matt Tenant, and asked him which NFL Center he thought he played most like.....his answer? Tom Nalen.

6-5, #300

Guessing that Tennant can put some weight on that 6-5 frame also.

WARHORSE
03-07-2010, 12:19 PM
Unless you have the Oline of the 97-98 season, the smaller upfront guys we have utilized here in the Shanahan era have been exposed when it counted the most: at the goaline.

Im all for changing the priorities from QBs, RBs and WRs.....to the beef along the line.

Im all for the change from flash................. to smash.

Lonestar
03-07-2010, 01:30 PM
Unless you have the Oline of the 97-98 season, the smaller upfront guys we have utilized here in the Shanahan era have been exposed when it counted the most: at the goaline.

Im all for changing the priorities from QBs, RBs and WRs.....to the beef along the line.

Im all for the change from flash................. to smash.

We have sucked in the redone for as long as I can remember once Zim Etal left it was a comment in mikes EOS pressers almost every year. we are bad there and have to improve. IIRC there was one year that Mike Bell played really well down there having 8 or 9 TD in the deep redone.

Infact he may have had more TD's than yards that year.:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

elsid13
03-07-2010, 01:50 PM
We have sucked in the redone for as long as I can remember once Zim Etal left it was a comment in mikes EOS pressers almost every year. we are bad there and have to improve. IIRC there was one year that Mike Bell played really well down there having 8 or 9 TD in the deep redone.

Infact he may have had more TD's than yards that year.:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Bell had about 700 yards that season. I really wish that Bell hadn't ****** off during the off season and came into camp in shape and ready to go. If that had happened we won at least 10 games.

rcsodak
03-07-2010, 02:27 PM
Bell had about 700 yards that season. I really wish that Bell hadn't ****** off during the off season and came into camp in shape and ready to go. If that had happened we won at least 10 games.

Maybe Bell comes back this year as a FA. :D

elsid13
03-07-2010, 03:02 PM
Maybe Bell comes back this year as a FA. :D

For Bell he needs to end up in ZBS team. Seattle and Washington would be great fits for him.

JDL
03-07-2010, 03:15 PM
Guessing that Tennant can put some weight on that 6-5 frame also.

Center's don't need to be huge... as long as he stays in the 290lbs he is going to be a very solid center in the league... better than Dan Koppen who tips the scales in the low 290lbs mid-season, if that. BC knows how to train interior OL for the NFL level (they typically don't get the type of talented players to play LT but do produce a few good RTs as well where athletic talent isn't as big an issue... extremely good technicians.)

Centers get so much help inside, as long as you are good one of your LG spots your are fine. I really hope we get Tennant... very safe mid-round pick

gobroncsnv
03-07-2010, 08:39 PM
Yeah we beat up the Pats. Only once when it really counted, and they won 3 super bowls the last decade with the Parcell's way of personnel.

No, look at the Broncos record against the Pats since Parcells, Belichek, and all have been there... We have a FABULOUS record against THAT team... (The Broncos are Killing the Patriots!, and beyond that) I think we're like 8 out of 10 against them... Crazy!
Wasn't making any more of a point than that, just odd that we have a great record against ONE team with that philosophy... If you went on to read the post, I also pointed out that we're pretty bad against the Ravens and the Steelers.

spikerman
03-07-2010, 08:50 PM
I agree that the struggles inside the 20 are due to the small offensive lines, but I think the fade at the end of the season is more reflective of small defensive lines.