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View Full Version : Broncos' base formation on offense leaves little room for a fullback



Denver Native (Carol)
04-12-2013, 02:16 PM
Q: I really liked the way the Broncos used to run the ball — with zone blocking and a two-back set. Do you think that the Broncos will ever go back to, at least, the two backs?

A: Steve, in a word: No. The fullback ship has sailed for the foreseeable future.

Or at least until we all see something different happening with the roster or in the offensive huddle.

After trading for a fullback, tinkering plenty with two-back sets all through offseason workouts last spring and even into training camp last summer, the Broncos never really committed to it once the games were played for real.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_23005983/broncos-base-formation-offense-leaves-little-room-fullback

Joel
04-12-2013, 03:03 PM
Long term, I'd bet it depends on what we have under center post-Manning. That multi-receiver hydra is darned effective, but demands many good receivers and QBs like Manning and Brady to run it, and they're hard to find. Meanwhile, Fox and Del Rio are still smashmouth coaches who want to win on time of possession with smothering D and hard running.

We'll probably stay singleback as long as we have Peyton, but I'd wager big money fullbacks return in two years or Fox leaves (maybe even both.)

Dapper Dan
04-12-2013, 07:52 PM
The only reason we have a FB is as a short yardage runner. Hester is really a RB. If we get a good short yardage guy then I'd say Hester is gone.

aulaza
04-14-2013, 07:07 AM
Lets just use Unrein!!!

TXBRONC
04-14-2013, 08:31 AM
Forseeable future means it can change however it's unlikely. I wouldn't expect it to change even if Manning isn't one under center. We may lean more on the run but I wouldn't say we'll go back to a two back system just Manning is not here.

Chef Zambini
04-14-2013, 10:05 AM
the fullback is a relic in the new pass happy NFL.
the morphing TE who moves into the backfield is a more likely scenario going forward. SHANNY was the first to do it, now BB is making use of the morphing TE / FB.
we wil see more teams do it based on their TE's versatility.

SR
04-14-2013, 10:23 AM
I don't recall Shanny really using TEs as a runner aside from maybe a trick play once in a while but he surely wasn't the first coach to call a play like that.

Chef Zambini
04-14-2013, 10:45 AM
never said he used the TE as a runner, just moved him into the backfield as a blocker and also to change the defensive assignments and coverages.
BB has utilized the morphing TE as a ball carrier.

SR
04-14-2013, 10:50 AM
never said he used the TE as a runner, just moved him into the backfield as a blocker and also to change the defensive assignments and coverages.
BB has utilized the morphing TE as a ball carrier.

Still not sure Shanny was the first to do something like that.

Chef Zambini
04-15-2013, 01:46 AM
i have seen teams move their FB to the LOS to act as a TE (cowboys) but shanny was the first coach i ever saw in watching football since 1960 to move a listed TE into the backfield as a back.

TXBRONC
04-15-2013, 09:48 AM
Still not sure Shanny was the first to do something like that.

I don't recall who invented the H back but I do know the Chargers starting doing back in the late 80s/early 90s with Rod Bernstine.

FanInAZ
04-15-2013, 12:42 PM
I don't recall who invented the H back but I do know the Chargers starting doing back in the late 80s/early 90s with Rod Bernstine.

Steve Sewell was considered an H-Back (RB/TE/WR) for us during that time.

TXBRONC
04-15-2013, 01:13 PM
Steve Sewell was considered an H-Back (RB/TE/WR) for us during that time.

He was? I don't recall him called an H back but I do remember being used as a receiver quite a bit.

slim
04-15-2013, 01:16 PM
Lets just use Unrein!!!

I'm not sure we want to take those hands or that speed out of the passing game. Might as well move Welker to FB.

Chef Zambini
04-15-2013, 01:45 PM
bingo on the H-back. but those guys were usually FB that moved out of the backfield and out to the LOS or in the slot.
Shanny was the first to take a guy listed as a TE, line him up in his traditional spot and then shift him into the backfield, I NEVER saw that before shanny did it!
you all know I am not a shanahan ass kisser, but I have to give him his props for being the first HC I ever saw to move the TE to the fullback during a shift in formation.

FanInAZ
04-15-2013, 02:05 PM
He was? I don't recall him called an H back but I do remember being used as a receiver quite a bit.

He certainly wasn't a FB that could pound out a yard for you on 3rd down. I'm sure the Giants fansite can provide proof of this in the form of a still shot of their D stuffing him on the goal line during SB XX. Then again, if you needed a Broncos RB to get 1 yard for you on 3rd down back then, you might as well just send in the kicking team right then and not chance an injury on a play that had no chance of working.

On the other hand, he & Willhite were 2 of the best when it came to throwing on a HB option. The only time I ever recall either 1 of them missing on 1 of those was thrown by Willhite & should have been called D pass interference on the Stealers.

Joel
04-15-2013, 02:48 PM
Joe Gibbs in the '70s is usually credited as the H-back inventor (I wish he'd used a different playbook shorthand, because it creates confusion between "H-back" and "halfback.") Moving a TE to FB isn't nearly as innovative; it's the same kind of build doing the same kind of job but starting from a slightly different place. Playing OTs at FB is a bigger deal, but there's less ability to hand him the ball on 3rd and 1/4th and G.

SR
04-15-2013, 06:11 PM
bingo on the H-back. but those guys were usually FB that moved out of the backfield and out to the LOS or in the slot.
Shanny was the first to take a guy listed as a TE, line him up in his traditional spot and then shift him into the backfield, I NEVER saw that before shanny did it!
you all know I am not a shanahan ass kisser, but I have to give him his props for being the first HC I ever saw to move the TE to the fullback during a shift in formation.

Prove it.

Chef Zambini
04-16-2013, 10:36 AM
E= Mc 2

TXBRONC
04-16-2013, 10:41 AM
He certainly wasn't a FB that could pound out a yard for you on 3rd down. I'm sure the Giants fansite can provide proof of this in the form of a still shot of their D stuffing him on the goal line during SB XX. Then again, if you needed a Broncos RB to get 1 yard for you on 3rd down back then, you might as well just send in the kicking team right then and not chance an injury on a play that had no chance of working.

On the other hand, he & Willhite were 2 of the best when it came to throwing on a HB option. The only time I ever recall either 1 of them missing on 1 of those was thrown by Willhite & should have been called D pass interference on the Stealers.

Just to be clear I'm not saying you're wrong. Sewell was a versitle player.

Chef Zambini
04-16-2013, 10:51 AM
fullbacks are only for terams with a legitimate commitment to the run game.
just look at what happened to the chargers when they let their all pro FB go !
we are ten times more likely to see an empty backfield versus a formation with a fullback.

Ravage!!!
04-16-2013, 12:35 PM
I remember when Bobby Ross decided he was going to bring a FB to lead for Barry Sanders. Barry was PISSED.. didn't like the idea, and publicly criticized the the need. Of course, Barry didn't show up to any of the offseason workouts (he never did anyway).... and as a result of having that bad idea of a FB leading the way, Barry rushed for a measly 2053 yrds that season.