The Offensive Wildcard

[Ziggy]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Ryan_Harris_(American_football).JPG/250px-Ryan_Harris_(American_football).JPG

Word out of minicamp is that Ryan Harris and Orlando Franklin were already splitting time at right tackle with the first team. Harris has spent more of his career in the training room that he has on the field. Counting on him to stay on the field for an entire season is a risky proposition, but one that may pay dividends for the Broncos in the long run. Despite all of his injury concerns, long time Broncos fans know that when healthy he's the best right tackle this team has had on the field since Tony Jones in 1997. While his run blocking is not as effective as Orlando Franklin's, his pass blocking skills are far superior. Let's face it folks. If Manning goes down, the dream is over. I've heard all of the lip service out of Dove Valley. If anyone really thinks that the Broncos will still be a run heavy team, I have some swamp land to sell you in Denver. Protecting Manning is priority #1 for the offensive line.

If Harris can show the coaches that he can man the RT position, Franklin will be moved inside to guard where he belongs. Re-sign Clady and move Franklin to next to him and the Broncos have left side of the offensive line locked down for years to come. In one swift move, the Broncos become much improved in 2 positions along the offensive line. If Harris goes down during the season, Beadles moves into the RT position. The best part of this plan is that the RT position can be helped with a TE kept in to block, or a RB to chip on the way out. It's much easier to overcome a weakness on the outside of the line than the inside.

Is this all a pipe dream? More than likely. Call me stubborn but I refuse to give up my dream of Clady and Franklin dominating the left side of the Broncos line for years to come.

[OrangeHoof]

Or you can pencil in both Harris and Franklin at RT so when one goes down, the other can take over. I'm not as concerned with the individual o-line members as much as I wonder how they'll adjust from an option running QB to a statue and whether they can hold their blocks. I do think Manning will make it as easy as possible since he tries not to hold onto the ball long and runs a lot of timing routes with fast checkdowns.

[topscribe]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Ryan_Harris_(American_football).JPG/250px-Ryan_Harris_(American_football).JPG

Word out of minicamp is that Ryan Harris and Orlando Franklin were already splitting time at right tackle with the first team. Harris has spent more of his career in the training room that he has on the field. Counting on him to stay on the field for an entire season is a risky proposition, but one that may pay dividends for the Broncos in the long run. Despite all of his injury concerns, long time Broncos fans know that when healthy he's the best right tackle this team has had on the field since Tony Jones in 1997. While his run blocking is not as effective as Orlando Franklin's, his pass blocking skills are far superior. Let's face it folks. If Manning goes down, the dream is over. I've heard all of the lip service out of Dove Valley. If anyone really thinks that the Broncos will still be a run heavy team, I have some swamp land to sell you in Denver. Protecting Manning is priority #1 for the offensive line.

If Harris can show the coaches that he can man the RT position, Franklin will be moved inside to guard where he belongs. Re-sign Clady and move Franklin to next to him and the Broncos have left side of the offensive line locked down for years to come. In one swift move, the Broncos become much improved in 2 positions along the offensive line. If Harris goes down during the season, Beadles moves into the RT position. The best part of this plan is that the RT position can be helped with a TE kept in to block, or a RB to chip on the way out. It's much easier to overcome a weakness on the outside of the line than the inside.

Is this all a pipe dream? More than likely. Call me stubborn but I refuse to give up my dream of Clady and Franklin dominating the left side of the Broncos line for years to come.
I've been on that soapbox for some time. Back in 2008, Harris was considered
one of the better RTs in the game. What caused his demise was not declining
production, but injuries. Why wouldn't a healthy Harris now have the skills he
had at that time?

Harris can make a better RT than Franklin, IMO (because pass blocking is more
important), and Franklin can make a better LG than Beadles, also IMO. What
that amounts to would seem a better offensive line. And Franklin over there
beside Clady would be a lot of beef . . .
.

[Shananahan]

I think run blocking is a very underrated part of Harris' game. When he was healthy, he did very well in that department.

[Simple Jaded]

Harris at RT and Clady and Franklin on the left side of the line could be ideal but I wonder if the main reason Harris is getting 1st team reps is to prepare for the Kuper injury.

There were a few people talking Harris months ago but most of us didn't give it much thought.......

[NorCalBronco7]

Harris is an average RT who moves well with his feet and can pass protect very well against speed rushers, but struggles against powerful opponets......when he was healthy (9 years ago).

His biggest problem is hes just a weak big man. He gets no push in the running game at all. If Jeff Otah in Carolina is any indcation of what Fox wants out of his RTs, then Harris is probably a backup.

Franklin got tore up last year but was much, much better as the season went along. He showed me he could play RT in the NFL. For only being a rookie, I was more than happy. Hes a physical guy on the edge, and I cant help but think Fox requires that out of his RTs.

I get where a lot of you are coming from with Harris being a proven pass protector and that being more important to the offense now. It is. But Harris hasnt played in years, and hes not a physical lineman. Franklin has showed enough potential at the postion already, and was drafted by Fox in the second to start at RT. I dont see the competition being close.

[bcbronc]

So, Franklin isn't good at pass blocking
It's easier to help a RT than an interior lineman in the passing game
Protecting Manning is priority one
So let's work Franklin outside and then move him inside when the bullets are for real.

Sure, makes sense to me.

I get the appeal of a 330lb road-grader at OG, I really do. But c'mon, it ain't happening.

[Ravage!!!]

BLocking for Manning is EASIER than blocking for a "Mobile" QB that doesn't know how to stay in the pocket. It doesn't have to do with "holding" your blocks, because its the moving out of the pocket that makes things difficult for OL. There is a reason that Manning is VERY RARELY sacked, and its not because he had great OL across the board.

There is no higher chance of Manning getting hurt than anyone else. The quicker people do their research, and understand this, the better off the "concerns" will be in this regard.

I'm not convinced that Franklin "belongs" inside at guard, at all.

[MOtorboat]

I agree with Ravage. I don't think we know a whole lot about Franklin's pass-blocking skills.

[Chef Zambini]

we should moce franklin to safety.

[Dzone]

There could be two Canadian born starting on the offensive line.
That will give us an advantage in an ice bowl.

[Ziggy]

So, Franklin isn't good at pass blocking
It's easier to help a RT than an interior lineman in the passing game
Protecting Manning is priority one
So let's work Franklin outside and then move him inside when the bullets are for real.

Sure, makes sense to me.

I get the appeal of a 330lb road-grader at OG, I really do. But c'mon, it ain't happening.

When the bullets start flying for real, you want your best 5 lineman out there. If Harris is healthy, Beadles is not one of the best 5.

[bcbronc]

There could be two Canadian born starting on the offensive line.
That will give us an advantage in an ice bowl.

That's almost unfair to the rest of the league.

:canada:


When the bullets start flying for real, you want your best 5 lineman out there. If Harris is healthy, Beadles is not one of the best 5.

It's not 2008 anymore. Harris is just another tall, skinny dude with a bad back now. He's played in 18 games since the 2008 season, including 0 last year. Not only that, but you're moving another guy (Franklin) to a position he hasn't played (at least as a pro) and just expecting him to fit in seamlessly. And that completely ignores how much our guards pulled and trapped last season in the run game. And it ignores how Fox has has had a tendency to go with big, power blocking RTs, not skinny finesse guys whose best attribute is handling the speed rush.

Any reports of Beadles not going with the #1s in OTAs? Any reports of Elway or Fox trying aggressively to upgrade the guard position, even with Kuper's injury? Me thinks the FO is comfortable going with Beadles this season (let's all hope he's been hitting the squat rack like an animal this offseason). I've been saying since last season ended that I'm completely comfortable having all 5 OL back in their same position...our offensive wildcard is actually how another year of continuity will benefit the unit as a whole.

[topscribe]

BLocking for Manning is EASIER than blocking for a "Mobile" QB that doesn't know how to stay in the pocket. It doesn't have to do with "holding" your blocks, because its the moving out of the pocket that makes things difficult for OL. There is a reason that Manning is VERY RARELY sacked, and its not because he had great OL across the board.

There is no higher chance of Manning getting hurt than anyone else. The quicker people do their research, and understand this, the better off the "concerns" will be in this regard.

I'm not convinced that Franklin "belongs" inside at guard, at all.
I don't think the issue is where a player "belongs." The issue is what will
make a better OL. If Harris is better than, or as good as, Franklin at RT,
and Franklin is better than Beadles at LG, for instance, then the issue is,
will that make for a better line? If it does, then go for it. If not, don't.
.

[topscribe]

Harris is just another tall, skinny dude with a bad back now.
Oh really? So you attended mini-camp and OTAs? So is that why they had
Harris splitting with Franklin with the first team?

Every time I turn around, I'm finding on these boards that Fox & Co. are
getting progressively worse at judging their own talent . . . :coffee:
.

[Jsteve01]

Harris is just another tall, skinny dude with a bad back now.
Oh really? So you attended mini-camp and OTAs? So is that why they had
Harris splitting with Franklin with the first team?

Every time I turn around, I'm finding on these boards that Fox & Co. are
getting progressively worse at judging their own talent . . . :coffee:
.

Haha

[Cugel]

BLocking for Manning is EASIER than blocking for a "Mobile" QB that doesn't know how to stay in the pocket. It doesn't have to do with "holding" your blocks, because its the moving out of the pocket that makes things difficult for OL. There is a reason that Manning is VERY RARELY sacked, and its not because he had great OL across the board.

There is no higher chance of Manning getting hurt than anyone else. The quicker people do their research, and understand this, the better off the "concerns" will be in this regard.

I'm not convinced that Franklin "belongs" inside at guard, at all.

It's a lot easier to block if you know where your QB is going to be instead of him moving around all the time. Tebow reversing field on a cut-back drives the fans wild with excitement, but try and imagine that you're one of his linemen. Where do you block your man so that you're not blocking him right into Tebow's path?

And when Tebow reverses direction, suddenly your defender is between you and the QB. That's how holding penalties happen. Manning doesn't do that.

He's a "statue" but he gets rid of the ball in a hurry and with tremendous accuracy. Plus he has already recognized what the defense is trying to do and has the right play called to take advantage of that. All these things help make him the LEAST sacked QB in football.

People are blathering a lot about Manning having an injury, but he rarely even gets hit. With the QB rules the way they are now to protect the QB in the pocket, combined with the fact that Manning seldom ever leaves the pocket makes him probably the MOST protected QB in the league.

It's not going to be easy for defenders to get to him. Which means he'll probably stay healthy.