Thread: How Shanny is Turning This Team Around

Denver has had some serious problems falling behind other teams in talent and competetiveness. Looking at the roster and the film, the root of it can be traced to 2 areas. The offensive and defensive lines. We have been bullied at the line of scrimmage and in the red zone for too long. What is Denver doing about it you may ask? Let's take a look.

Last year's draft was spent entirely on both lines. This year's draft? The 1st, 3rd, and 6th picks Denver held were spent on the lines along with a trade for Dwayne Robertson prior to the draft. Are these guys going to pan out? Only time will tell. The Broncos are investing in the line of scrimmmage.

The offensive side of the ball:
The Broncos are moving towards bigger, stronger lineman that can play in the zbs and still hold thier own against the bigger defensive lines in pass protection. Montrae Holland-322 pounds, Ryan Clady-320 pounds, Ryan Harris-300 pounds Kris Kuper-302 pounds Erik Pears-305 pounds Kory Lichtensteiger- 310 pounds These are some of the names you can expect to see on Sundays manning the O-line for Denver in the next 2-3 years, if not sooner. Smaller lineman like Nalen, Hamilton, and Wegeman are sure to get thier time this season, but due to injuries and age, might be in thier last year or 2.
Has the era of the zbs come to an end? No, but I think it's time to usher in the era of the zbs with 300+ lb lineman. Times, they are a changing. Atheletes are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every year. We can now find lineman at 300-330 pounds that have the athletic ability to play in this scheme. The downfall of the zbs has been been decreased pass protection due to the size of lineman used to run it. Mark Schlereth recently admitted so in an interview on NFL today. Shanahan has seen this, and is addressing it aggressively.

On the defensive side of the ball:
Last year we tried to run a scheme that has worked on other teams by bringing in the guru of that defense(Bates) and aquiring personel that would fit that scheme on paper. Instead of bringing in an athlete like Dwayne Robertson at DT, we bring in an aging DT that weighs 350 pounds because he fits the defense "on paper". It was a horrible failure. Count on Slowik to use a scheme that best suits the abilities and strengths of the players on the roster. What that scheme is exactly, none of us know. I do know that it will involve using the strengths of the players on the field. Shanahan has brought in athletes, and spent high draft picks on the D-line. What kind of D-tackles do we have now? The kind that have the athletic ability to play in multiple schemes and defensive sets. On the edge, we have speed rushers(Moss and Doom),with the ability to bring in power guys like Crowder and Peterson. In Powell, Thomas, and Robertson, we have 3 DT that can hold thier own at the point of attack. Now the success of this defense will be heavily reliant on how the young guys progress in thier second year, and how Robertson adjusts to a new defense. There are always IFS that factor in to a team's success. 2 things that can't be taught are speed and heart, and the Broncos have been aquiring plenty of both.

If the Broncos investments in the lines turn out to be failures, I still applaud the effort. If we're going to make mistakes, let's make them building up trenches, and not on sexy picks that belong more on a Madden video game than they do on the field.

Excellent post. I think the Broncos are going to be more competitive this year than a lot of fans think. We had a lot of injuries last year and I think we played below our talent level...not to mention our defense showed absolutely no heart.

I'm excited for the season to start! Go Broncos!

I think he's turning it around with hugs. More hugs is really what it comes down to.

I hope you are right and that all this pans out over the next few years. This year would be good to see some of the results and get a feel for what we have now and if it will work out better for us.

this draft class was filled with good linemen. and good linemen only. maybe some decent WR's..will our bigger heavier O linesmen be able to zone block though. i always thought the quicker smaller linemen were good at zb schemes.

Originally Posted by jrelway

this draft class was filled with good linemen. and good linemen only. maybe some decent WR's..will our bigger heavier O linesmen be able to zone block though. i always thought the quicker smaller linemen were good at zb schemes.

I beleive that they can. These guys are bigger, but just as athletic, and just hopefully just as skilled, if not more so.

Originally Posted by jrelway

this draft class was filled with good linemen. and good linemen only. maybe some decent WR's..will our bigger heavier O linesmen be able to zone block though. i always thought the quicker smaller linemen were good at zb schemes.

Shanny has always said that the guys he targets aren't small. Its just he needs athletic lineman and when they usually choose O-line its late in the draft, where all the athletic lineman are smaller. This is why he went for the big fella, he's just as (if not more) athletic as the smaller ones we used to get.

I think the biggest change is going to come in special teams. There was a reason why Shanny chose the Safety Barret(sp?) and Williams, they are suposed to be very good on special team coverage.

Well lets hope so I have been an advocate of getting bigger for 5 years or more..

Everyone has said we have to be athletic for ZBS.. therefore smaller.

There is no law out there that says a big guys can't play ZBS, the only reason we taken the later round guys. Then spent 2-5 years working them into the system was they were cheap and frankly folks Mikeys day one drafting outside of LB has left alot to be desired..

There is no reason that clady can't be the guy IF he can wrap his head around mikeys play book.. With his wunderlick score, that seems to be the only question. He has been playing ZBS for 3 years so should have the basics down already..

Mikey seems to have finally figured out what every other GM and HC has already you win and lose games on the LOS.. Once you get inside the 10 yard line our guys simply were not able to finesse the goal line defenses out of position..

Wonderlik doesn't mean anything There is too much emphesis on it. Some people don't do well on exams, but when they see the field they kick a$$.

Griese had an excellent wonderlik score, Marino had a horrible one. Its all about how much effort you put to get better...that and talent.

Originally Posted by Drill-N-Fill

Wonderlik doesn't mean anything There is too much emphesis on it. Some people don't do well on exams, but when they see the field they kick a$$.

Griese had an excellent wonderlik score, Marino had a horrible one. Its all about how much effort you put to get better...that and talent.

Well I believe they do count.Remember that wunderlick was a novelty back in 1983 when Marino and group took them..

greasy was a great QB just had ZERO personalty, could not get along with his teammates, was to cerebral..

Hopefully Graham can be his training wheels until he gets it down pat..

But I'm not holding my breath that he will not be another foster.. He has all the talent and physical requirements..

But how many false starts are going to cost us games over the next 10 years..

I hope I'm wrong..

From what I've read about Slowik.

He likes man coverage (a strength of ours, especially with Paymah)

He likes bringing the heat. (Thank friggin God)

Still doesn't use much 3 technique for DT's, wants linebackers to make plays.

He does not line up the defensive ends 4 yards outside of the Tight end. (I never understood that one Bates, no wonder they could run on us)

Prefers 8 in the box.

Hands the guys an assignment they are comfortable with. (no more confusion)

Allows players to change the play. (If it's "their" call they will always try harder)

The nice thing is that it's year number "two" for 3 of our guys, the improvement from year 1 to year 2 on d-line is significant. (Although Moss will still be behind due to injury, he might not break out till next year)

Clady is a much better prospect than Foster was. I think he will be a stud.

The "really" smart thing the Bronco's did is try to upgrade Fullback. (to help Clady block)

lets hope slowlic is better here at DC than he was before..

Originally Posted by Jrwiz

Mikey seems to have finally figured out what every other GM and HC has already you win and lose games on the LOS.. Once you get inside the 10 yard line our guys simply were not able to finesse the goal line defenses out of position..

I wish he had that figured out when Terrell Davis was tearing up the post season and setting records. Heck, if our superbowl lines had the knowledge of Shanahan today in the mind of Shanahan back then, our runningback would probably hold the all time single season rushing record in the history of the NFL!!!!!!






Wait a minute..............





Terrell Davis does hold the single season all time rushing record.



Wow............the universe is ours...............

Originally Posted by honz

Excellent post. I think the Broncos are going to be more competitive this year than a lot of fans think. We had a lot of injuries last year and I think we played below our talent level...not to mention our defense showed absolutely no heart.

I'm excited for the season to start! Go Broncos!

I tihnk the Broncos will be a lot more competitive than most think.

The second biggest problem our offense had last year was all the injuries on the offensive line, inluding Lepsis losing a step from the previous years injury.

The first biggest problem with our offense was Heimerdinger's influence on the offense and him spending two years trying to force an offensive scheme on to the team that didn't match the personell (specifically the offensive line).

With the line appearing to be in better shape with hamilton and Nalen back, along with the young guys with another year of experience and Clady at RT or LT, Cutler should see some better protection. Add to that another year of experience for Cutler and the offense should be more productive, assuming the Broncos get back to the bread and butter offense that has worked so well for them during the Shanny tenure.

On Defense, Bates was a disaster. Starting the year he had the LBs playing 7-10 yards off the LOS and the D-line spread out and not stopping the run. by the time the LBs made a play, it was 2nd and 3, because he had the LBs playing in deep center field.

Rather than playing to our strength, which was 8 in the box, with agressive blitzing and letting our leagues best corner duo fending for themselves, we played defenses that created no pressure and gave the QBs and WRs all the time in the world to get open. No matter how good a DB is, if the WR has enough time, he will get open.

So, with some personell upgrades (Robertson, Clady, maybe B. Bailey) and playing offensive and defensive schemes that actually match our personell, I expect the team to be much better than last year.

Then again, I am sure I just drank a little too much koolaid this weekend.

Originally Posted by WARHORSE

I wish he had that figured out when Terrell Davis was tearing up the post season and setting records. Heck, if our superbowl lines had the knowledge of Shanahan today in the mind of Shanahan back then, our runningback would probably hold the all time single season rushing record in the history of the NFL!!!!!!






Wait a minute..............





Terrell Davis does hold the single season all time rushing record.



Wow............the universe is ours...............

People tend to forget that TD ran behind a great line when he set those records. LT- Zimmerman HOF, and Tony Jones, pro bowler LG- Mark Schlereth pro bowler, C- a young Tom Nalen in his prime, pro bowler RG- Brian Habib, very underrated RT- Harry Swayne, servicable, and Tony Jones

Now I'm not taking anything away from TD. He had great vision, a quick burst, and could hit the hole quicker than anyone in Broncos history, but let's not forget about that great O-line when we talk about his records.