Thread: Broncos decide against 5th year of holding calls

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

What is MO's opinion of Bolles? I'm too lazy to look it up.

He, like Coach, G and a couple others have football opinions I really respect.

looks like you misspelled "dogfish" there, joe. . .

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

What is MO's opinion of Bolles? I'm too lazy to look it up.

He, like Coach, G and a couple others have football opinions I really respect.

The penalties are killer, and his feet are slow on the outside rush. He’s a mauler in the run game, but again, bad footwork gets him in position where he has to hold. He was a lot better in the last five games of the season, which lends credence to my theory that the quarterbacks have been the problem.

A couple thoughts on why I say Siemian, Lynch and Flacco were part of the offensive line problems. Denver’s clear instruction to tackles was to force rush ends around the outside and the back end of the pocket. Most teams do this, but I think it’s particularly effective against AFC West pass rushers because there’s a lot of speed in the division. But for some reason, the instinct of all three of those quarterbacks was to back peddle or try to escape the pocket in that same direction, backwards outside of the back end of the pocket. They weren’t quick enough to accomplish that at all (few guys are, and Lock isn’t, but he’s quicker).

Lock, thus far, has made quick reads and stepped up in the pocket, or escaped after the rush end has been pushed past the top of the pocket. His scrambling instincts are better. Now, the key moving forward for Bolles is to continue to improve. I imagine the reads were pretty basic for Lock last year, cutting half the field, only instructed to make one or two reads before scrambling/improvising, and he seems to be good enough at that to make it work. Once the playbook opens up and there’s more film and defensive coordinators find weaknesses, how does Lock react to that? That’s where the problems Bolles had could surface again.

Protect Lock. That's all we ask. I believe Lock can make up for Bolles boneheaded plays, just hope he limits them. I'm hoping Lock makes Bolles better.

Dispelling 5 Common Misconceptions About Broncos' LT Garett Bolles

For a while now, there have been wild misconceptions about Garett Bolles within Broncos Country that paint him to be far worse than he is. This is not to say that Bolles is a great offensive tackle and that he doesn’t have any issues with his play.

https://www.si.com/nfl/broncos/news/...misconceptions

Bolles sucks and he's as dumb as a bag of hammers. Hope we have a different LT IN 2021.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

https://www.si.com/nfl/broncos/news/...misconceptions

I can hear it now... "But Erick Trickel isn't a former OL like Schlereth and Franklin. I'll take their word over everyone else."

Personally, I think the rest of the roster and controlling the cap is the main reason they declined the 5th year option. If he plays well this year and next, he'd be in line for an extension in 2022. So would Lindsay, Alexander, Sutton and maybe Miller. Add Chubb's 5th year option that same year and that's a ton of money to have to dole out on your own players in one season. Whereas in 2021, the only free agents are Harris, Wilkinson, Heuerman, Davis and a few others that won't command a ton of money. So, by not exercising the option, they can use this year to decide if they want to extend him and determine other contracts the following year. It basically buys them a year to make assessments on the 2022 FA's and decide who to keep and who to let go without having to add another contract to the mix. So...more of a move that is indicative to the intelligence of the front office and has less to do with Bolles performance.

Originally Posted by CoachChaz

So...more of a move that is indicative to the intelligence of the front office and has less to do with Bolles performance.

do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Originally Posted by CoachChaz

I can hear it now... "But Erick Trickel isn't a former OL like Schlereth and Franklin. I'll take their word over everyone else."

Personally, I think the rest of the roster and controlling the cap is the main reason they declined the 5th year option. If he plays well this year and next, he'd be in line for an extension in 2022. So would Lindsay, Alexander, Sutton and maybe Miller. Add Chubb's 5th year option that same year and that's a ton of money to have to dole out on your own players in one season. Whereas in 2021, the only free agents are Harris, Wilkinson, Heuerman, Davis and a few others that won't command a ton of money. So, by not exercising the option, they can use this year to decide if they want to extend him and determine other contracts the following year. It basically buys them a year to make assessments on the 2022 FA's and decide who to keep and who to let go without having to add another contract to the mix. So...more of a move that is indicative to the intelligence of the front office and has less to do with Bolles performance.

It's kind of funny how it works. Pundits without the benefit all available information can make whatever statements they want and somehow they're experts.

Originally Posted by dogfish

do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Not necessarily, but I think it leans more toward one than the other when you consider the fact they did not, draft, sign or trade for an alternative option.

Originally Posted by CoachChaz

I can hear it now... "But Erick Trickel isn't a former OL like Schlereth and Franklin. I'll take their word over everyone else."

Personally, I think the rest of the roster and controlling the cap is the main reason they declined the 5th year option. If he plays well this year and next, he'd be in line for an extension in 2022. So would Lindsay, Alexander, Sutton and maybe Miller. Add Chubb's 5th year option that same year and that's a ton of money to have to dole out on your own players in one season. Whereas in 2021, the only free agents are Harris, Wilkinson, Heuerman, Davis and a few others that won't command a ton of money. So, by not exercising the option, they can use this year to decide if they want to extend him and determine other contracts the following year. It basically buys them a year to make assessments on the 2022 FA's and decide who to keep and who to let go without having to add another contract to the mix. So...more of a move that is indicative to the intelligence of the front office and has less to do with Bolles performance.

I don’t listen to much local radio, I just can’t do hours and hours of Broncos talk. It’s too much for me, and I watch almost every game and have eyes for myself. I see what’s going on and prefer to get more information from around the league when I turn to radio and podcasts. That’s just a personal preference.

When I have listened to Schlereth since his return to full time work in Denver, it seems like he’s found his particular hammer point (which he obviously has a decade of experience at, at the highest level) and he’s just going to beat it until it’s been dead. He’s a smart guy, has good criticisms. I like that he hasn’t been afraid to call out Elway when he feels it’s warranted. I think I’ve agreed and disagreed with his stances in that department. And I don’t disagree with him that Bolles has struggled throughout his career. I’m just not interested in hearing it much anymore because it’s the same thing over and over again.

Just my personal opinion of the situation. BTW, when the national guys talk about Denver’s line, it’s not usually a high point. It’s been an issue. But, as I’ve said and have heard from them, the biggest problem point for the Broncos offensively since Manning retired has been quarterback. If that’s fixed, the offensive line will look better and they can really hone in on problem points on that line, and maybe it is Bolles.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

I don’t listen to much local radio, I just can’t do hours and hours of Broncos talk. It’s too much for me, and I watch almost every game and have eyes for myself. I see what’s going on and prefer to get more information from around the league when I turn to radio and podcasts. That’s just a personal preference.

When I have listened to Schlereth since his return to full time work in Denver, it seems like he’s found his particular hammer point (which he obviously has a decade of experience at, at the highest level) and he’s just going to beat it until it’s been dead. He’s a smart guy, has good criticisms. I like that he hasn’t been afraid to call out Elway when he feels it’s warranted. I think I’ve agreed and disagreed with his stances in that department. And I don’t disagree with him that Bolles has struggled throughout his career. I’m just not interested in hearing it much anymore because it’s the same thing over and over again.

Just my personal opinion of the situation. BTW, when the national guys talk about Denver’s line, it’s not usually a high point. It’s been an issue. But, as I’ve said and have heard from them, the biggest problem point for the Broncos offensively since Manning retired has been quarterback. If that’s fixed, the offensive line will look better and they can really hone in on problem points on that line, and maybe it is Bolles.

It could be...but the revolving injury door at RG, the hole at LG until this past year, constant failures and injuries at RT...all play into it. I am not now and never have been one to defend Bolles. I just think he takes the brunt of the criticism unfairly. When you look at the line in totality, he has been the one constant there and perhaps sadly...the most consistent performer.

Will he improve? Would he be a better option at RT with an upgrade at LT? Will we be replacing both after this year? We have a season (maybe) to figure it all out, I guess

Originally Posted by CoachChaz

It could be...but the revolving injury door at RG, the hole at LG until this past year, constant failures and injuries at RT...all play into it. I am not now and never have been one to defend Bolles. I just think he takes the brunt of the criticism unfairly. When you look at the line in totality, he has been the one constant there and perhaps sadly...the most consistent performer.

Will he improve? Would he be a better option at RT with an upgrade at LT? Will we be replacing both after this year? We have a season (maybe) to figure it all out, I guess

Yes, the line has definitely felt patchwork the last five or so seasons, and we’ve had decent years from Paradis, and Bolles has actually probably been the steadiest player. I think Risner is a decade-long rock for the Broncos, and I’m hoping this center can be the same type. That alleviates a lot of pressure on the outside, and coupled with better quarterback play, I think we might get a fairer evaluation of Bolles, who for the first three years was kind of on an island and definitely got exposed.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

Yes, the line has definitely felt patchwork the last five or so seasons, and we’ve had decent years from Paradis, and Bolles has actually probably been the steadiest player. I think Risner is a decade-long rock for the Broncos, and I’m hoping this center can be the same type. That alleviates a lot of pressure on the outside, and coupled with better quarterback play, I think we might get a fairer evaluation of Bolles, who for the first three years was kind of on an island and definitely got exposed.

Agreed. I think a season of healthy play from the line as it exists today could prove to be MUCH better than we've seen for a few years. Now, will that result in a 16 million dollar per year extension for Bolles? I think we'd have to see a TON of improvement to justify that, but we don't write those checks.

Sidenote: Was just going to look at tackle salaries, and holy smokes I forgot Houston gave Laremy Tunsil $50M guaranteed and $22M a year. What are you doing Bill?

I think Bolles, right now, could get somewhere between $8-10M guaranteed with $18-25M guaranteed. I don’t think that would be unreasonable for his experience.