VonDoom
01-08-2016, 11:25 AM
I think this is the 3rd FO article I've posted this season from Ben Muth. All of them have been about our line. It started with how terrible it was, then how it was improving and now how it seems to be peaking. I encourage you to click on the link and see the whole thing, complete with some great gifs:
So between mediocre offensive tackle play, poor cut blockers, and backs that weren't used to seeing a lot of daylight, the Broncos' outside zone game has struggled to really get cooking. But that changed this Sunday. I don't know if it's the run game finally gelling late in the season or San Diego being a poor run defense (my guess is a bit of both), but I think the Denver running game looked as good as it had all year, and a lot of it was Denver cutting people down on the back side of the outside zone play. It seemed like after every running play there was a San Diego defender picking himself up off the ground.
The Broncos' running game looked good in the first half but really took off in the second half. Now, people have theories on changes Denver made that might have improved the running game, but I think it had a lot more to due with Denver's success hitting back-side cutbacks in the first half than any personnel changes they made in the second half.
And after a gif of Sanders laying out a safety:
I LOVE this. Sanders is lined up outside the numbers, and the safety is coming up in run support very aggressively, but Sanders still gets the block because he wants too. He busts his ass, flattens down the line, and gets a hat on the guy. It's rare that you see a wide receiver get there to make this block on a safety playing that aggressively (unless they really cut down their split, which Sanders didn't do). It only turned a 2-yard gain into a 6-yard gain, so it wasn't a game-changer, but it's indicative of the type of blocking effort Denver got from its wide receivers all night long, and it made a big difference. I LOVE this play.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2016/word-muth-denver-peaking
This, combined with the article Carol posted, has me thinking we might be on to something with the run game. Please be real, please be real ...
So between mediocre offensive tackle play, poor cut blockers, and backs that weren't used to seeing a lot of daylight, the Broncos' outside zone game has struggled to really get cooking. But that changed this Sunday. I don't know if it's the run game finally gelling late in the season or San Diego being a poor run defense (my guess is a bit of both), but I think the Denver running game looked as good as it had all year, and a lot of it was Denver cutting people down on the back side of the outside zone play. It seemed like after every running play there was a San Diego defender picking himself up off the ground.
The Broncos' running game looked good in the first half but really took off in the second half. Now, people have theories on changes Denver made that might have improved the running game, but I think it had a lot more to due with Denver's success hitting back-side cutbacks in the first half than any personnel changes they made in the second half.
And after a gif of Sanders laying out a safety:
I LOVE this. Sanders is lined up outside the numbers, and the safety is coming up in run support very aggressively, but Sanders still gets the block because he wants too. He busts his ass, flattens down the line, and gets a hat on the guy. It's rare that you see a wide receiver get there to make this block on a safety playing that aggressively (unless they really cut down their split, which Sanders didn't do). It only turned a 2-yard gain into a 6-yard gain, so it wasn't a game-changer, but it's indicative of the type of blocking effort Denver got from its wide receivers all night long, and it made a big difference. I LOVE this play.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2016/word-muth-denver-peaking
This, combined with the article Carol posted, has me thinking we might be on to something with the run game. Please be real, please be real ...