TXBRONC
08-10-2010, 02:21 PM
Broncos O-line starts with a big Q
Denver has a lot of questions to answer upfront because of injuries, inexperience.
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/10/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Just before Kyle Orton gets the snap, a long line of question marks settles in before him.
From left to right, the Broncos' offensive front looks something like this:
?-?-?-?-?
Elvis Dumervil's chest that is to be surgically repaired today has been the root of so much "woe are the Broncos" circulating around Dove Valley team headquarters in recent days.
Dumervil is a one-man quarterback wrecking ball.
The offensive line is five men working together to protect their quarterback and open holes for the running back who will be healthy enough to play in the season opener Sept. 12 at Jacksonville.
And after right guard Chris Kuper wrenched his ankle last week, the Broncos now have a question mark of injury or youth at each of their five blocking positions.
"We just have to work harder than everybody else," right tackle Ryan Harris said. "We have to be willing to work harder than the defensive lines that are put together. We have to be able to work harder than anybody else on the offense. Because it all starts with us, run or pass."
Ryan Clady's false step on a basketball court created a large question mark at left tackle. Rookies will start at left guard and center. Question mark, question mark.
Harris is coming off toe surgery that forced him to miss the second half of last season. But he's been back a while, so only a small question mark there.
Kuper didn't take long to go from the offensive line's best young prospect to highest-paid mainstay, but there seemed to be no concern at right guard. None at all, until Kuper followed seemingly half the roster into the trainer's room.
One possible answer to all of these offensive line question marks was proposed to Orton, the Broncos' starting quarterback. How about if Orton becomes more mobile this year? He doesn't need to go Michael Vick or Tim Tebow, anything like that. But maybe Orton can slide in the pocket here, scoot for a couple of yards there.
"Their job's to block. My job's to throw," Orton said.
So much for that thought. The offensive line, it seems, will have to ease concern on its own. "They'll get it figured out," Orton said.
As a group, the offensive linemen understand why they are widely considered the Broncos' chief worry heading into the 2010 season. They don't share this fear, but they know there is nothing they can say — unless it's in the form of communication among themselves — that can lower the stress level among the masses.
Between injury and youth, there is mystery as to how well the offensive line will keep Orton clean, or create running room for Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter and LenDale White, not to raise more question marks.
If they were sensitive sorts, and not a rough, tough breed, Broncos blockers might deem it unfair for anyone outside Dove Valley to express so much angst. Nobody ever watches the offensive line anyway. Why pay attention now?
"It's early," Kuper said. "I haven't been in pads since January, and we're all just knocking the rust off. It's a battle, but we're working at it to get better every day. We've got a good defense we play against every day and that's going to help us."
Truth is, the people in Denver who really watch football — inside and out, up front to way back at safety, on film every day from inside the team's headquarters — are more excited than troubled about the Broncos' offensive line this year.
This franchise has moved on from its famed zone-blocking scheme. While great for the one-cut runner between the 20-yard lines, the smaller, nimbler linemen weren't much good near the goal line or in third-and-short in recent years.
The temporary replacements for the 325-pound Clady are Tyler Polumbus, an eight-game starter at right tackle last year who is up to 312 pounds this year, and D'Anthony Batiste, who took his 314 pounds to the first-team offense for the first time last week.
Zane Beadles, a rookie left guard, and rookie center J.D. Walton each weigh 305 pounds. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels decided he'd rather have big and strong kids than the grizzled likes of Casey Wiegmann and Ben Hamilton, neither of whom could crack 290 if they lived on a steady daily diet of spaghetti at midnight.
"They're young guys, so they're going to make their mistakes," Dumervil said of Beadles and Walton. "But they both have got that junkyard dog in them. That's a good thing. As long as you've got some dog in you, you can coach that other stuff."
Kuper, a four-year starter, is listed at 303 pounds but there's no telling how much he weighs now that he's carrying around a fresh $28 million contract.
Harris, at 300 pounds, is the lightest of the 15 offensive linemen on the camp roster. Let that crush the consciousness one more time — 300 pounds and the smallest of the bunch.
Missing from this training camp are the classic, all-pro confrontations between Clady and Dumervil.
"We all know what Ryan can do," Polumbus said. "But we've got five guys out there trying to work together. Who's lining up come Jacksonville, who knows?"
Clady should be there. The rehab on his surgically repaired left knee is coming along well.
Which leads to one last question regarding the offensive line: If Clady were here taking on Dumervil in camp, would there be so much concern? Yes, Beadles and Walton are rookies, but in 2005 the New England Patriots won the AFC East with McDaniels as their rookie offensive coordinator and Logan Mankins and Nick Kaczur as starting rookie offensive linemen.
"Think about Ryan coming back, and you have Kupe and Harris on the other side," McDaniels said. "Yeah, we may have youth at left guard and center, but the snaps they're going to get between now and the beginning of the season, they're going to be that much more ahead of the curve.
"And they've got good players around them now. On both sides of the line. Hopefully, by the time we line up in Jacksonville we're going to look the way we want to look."
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15725608
One thing I find troubling is Orton basically saying it's not his job to slide away from pressure when need be.
Denver has a lot of questions to answer upfront because of injuries, inexperience.
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/10/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Just before Kyle Orton gets the snap, a long line of question marks settles in before him.
From left to right, the Broncos' offensive front looks something like this:
?-?-?-?-?
Elvis Dumervil's chest that is to be surgically repaired today has been the root of so much "woe are the Broncos" circulating around Dove Valley team headquarters in recent days.
Dumervil is a one-man quarterback wrecking ball.
The offensive line is five men working together to protect their quarterback and open holes for the running back who will be healthy enough to play in the season opener Sept. 12 at Jacksonville.
And after right guard Chris Kuper wrenched his ankle last week, the Broncos now have a question mark of injury or youth at each of their five blocking positions.
"We just have to work harder than everybody else," right tackle Ryan Harris said. "We have to be willing to work harder than the defensive lines that are put together. We have to be able to work harder than anybody else on the offense. Because it all starts with us, run or pass."
Ryan Clady's false step on a basketball court created a large question mark at left tackle. Rookies will start at left guard and center. Question mark, question mark.
Harris is coming off toe surgery that forced him to miss the second half of last season. But he's been back a while, so only a small question mark there.
Kuper didn't take long to go from the offensive line's best young prospect to highest-paid mainstay, but there seemed to be no concern at right guard. None at all, until Kuper followed seemingly half the roster into the trainer's room.
One possible answer to all of these offensive line question marks was proposed to Orton, the Broncos' starting quarterback. How about if Orton becomes more mobile this year? He doesn't need to go Michael Vick or Tim Tebow, anything like that. But maybe Orton can slide in the pocket here, scoot for a couple of yards there.
"Their job's to block. My job's to throw," Orton said.
So much for that thought. The offensive line, it seems, will have to ease concern on its own. "They'll get it figured out," Orton said.
As a group, the offensive linemen understand why they are widely considered the Broncos' chief worry heading into the 2010 season. They don't share this fear, but they know there is nothing they can say — unless it's in the form of communication among themselves — that can lower the stress level among the masses.
Between injury and youth, there is mystery as to how well the offensive line will keep Orton clean, or create running room for Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter and LenDale White, not to raise more question marks.
If they were sensitive sorts, and not a rough, tough breed, Broncos blockers might deem it unfair for anyone outside Dove Valley to express so much angst. Nobody ever watches the offensive line anyway. Why pay attention now?
"It's early," Kuper said. "I haven't been in pads since January, and we're all just knocking the rust off. It's a battle, but we're working at it to get better every day. We've got a good defense we play against every day and that's going to help us."
Truth is, the people in Denver who really watch football — inside and out, up front to way back at safety, on film every day from inside the team's headquarters — are more excited than troubled about the Broncos' offensive line this year.
This franchise has moved on from its famed zone-blocking scheme. While great for the one-cut runner between the 20-yard lines, the smaller, nimbler linemen weren't much good near the goal line or in third-and-short in recent years.
The temporary replacements for the 325-pound Clady are Tyler Polumbus, an eight-game starter at right tackle last year who is up to 312 pounds this year, and D'Anthony Batiste, who took his 314 pounds to the first-team offense for the first time last week.
Zane Beadles, a rookie left guard, and rookie center J.D. Walton each weigh 305 pounds. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels decided he'd rather have big and strong kids than the grizzled likes of Casey Wiegmann and Ben Hamilton, neither of whom could crack 290 if they lived on a steady daily diet of spaghetti at midnight.
"They're young guys, so they're going to make their mistakes," Dumervil said of Beadles and Walton. "But they both have got that junkyard dog in them. That's a good thing. As long as you've got some dog in you, you can coach that other stuff."
Kuper, a four-year starter, is listed at 303 pounds but there's no telling how much he weighs now that he's carrying around a fresh $28 million contract.
Harris, at 300 pounds, is the lightest of the 15 offensive linemen on the camp roster. Let that crush the consciousness one more time — 300 pounds and the smallest of the bunch.
Missing from this training camp are the classic, all-pro confrontations between Clady and Dumervil.
"We all know what Ryan can do," Polumbus said. "But we've got five guys out there trying to work together. Who's lining up come Jacksonville, who knows?"
Clady should be there. The rehab on his surgically repaired left knee is coming along well.
Which leads to one last question regarding the offensive line: If Clady were here taking on Dumervil in camp, would there be so much concern? Yes, Beadles and Walton are rookies, but in 2005 the New England Patriots won the AFC East with McDaniels as their rookie offensive coordinator and Logan Mankins and Nick Kaczur as starting rookie offensive linemen.
"Think about Ryan coming back, and you have Kupe and Harris on the other side," McDaniels said. "Yeah, we may have youth at left guard and center, but the snaps they're going to get between now and the beginning of the season, they're going to be that much more ahead of the curve.
"And they've got good players around them now. On both sides of the line. Hopefully, by the time we line up in Jacksonville we're going to look the way we want to look."
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15725608
One thing I find troubling is Orton basically saying it's not his job to slide away from pressure when need be.