GSRelyea
07-20-2005, 06:48 AM
AFC West
Denver Broncos
The biggest challenge for the Broncos in 2005 is to cut down on the big mistakes that they made a year ago, and veteran QB Jake Plummer was responsible for many of them. This seems to be a feast or famine offense under Plummer, and while he will make his share of big plays, he will also force the ball into coverages.
Plummer had a lot of balls tapped or knocked down a year ago, and in training camp, this offensive line, which already is proficient at cut blocking and chop blocking, might continue to do more of it in pass protection to get Jake better throwing angles. Under offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, Jake will continue to use his running skills by getting outside on bootlegs and rollouts, and it allows him to only have to read half the field which really simplifies things for him. He is not a pocket QB, and the offensive coaches will play to his strengths. Kubiak must also be better in his play calling in the red zone than a year ago, and look for WR Ashley Lelie to become a big time vertical threat. However, the biggest improvement could come from TE Jeb Putzier.
Putzier almost went to the New York Jets in the offseason as a restricted free agent before the Broncos matched their offer. Not only is he a quality pass catching TE, but head coach Mike Shanahan brought in Tim Brewster, the former TE coach of the San Diego Chargers who developed Antonio Gates into a star. The Broncos hope the same thing will happen to Putzier, ultimately counting on him to become a big part of this offense and a guy that could bail Plummer out of a lot of problems.
Defensively, Larry Coyer would love to play a lot of man-to-man schemes, but he may not be able to do it unless his pass rush up front is better. The only quality cover corner he has is Champ Bailey, and even he gave up some big plays a year ago.
The Broncos raided the Cleveland Browns defensive line and brought in four ex-Browns who were underachievers. The expectation is to revive their careers in Denver and they even hired ex-Browns defensive line coach Andre Patterson to tutor this group. The Broncos are also tinkering with some 3-4 defensive schemes in 2005 because they think that their linebacking crew is their best unit, and getting them involved in pass rush schemes will help improve the pressure up front. However, they don't have a lot of depth, and with a defensive line that really has a lot of gelling to do, going to the 3-4 defense doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.
Denver Broncos
The biggest challenge for the Broncos in 2005 is to cut down on the big mistakes that they made a year ago, and veteran QB Jake Plummer was responsible for many of them. This seems to be a feast or famine offense under Plummer, and while he will make his share of big plays, he will also force the ball into coverages.
Plummer had a lot of balls tapped or knocked down a year ago, and in training camp, this offensive line, which already is proficient at cut blocking and chop blocking, might continue to do more of it in pass protection to get Jake better throwing angles. Under offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, Jake will continue to use his running skills by getting outside on bootlegs and rollouts, and it allows him to only have to read half the field which really simplifies things for him. He is not a pocket QB, and the offensive coaches will play to his strengths. Kubiak must also be better in his play calling in the red zone than a year ago, and look for WR Ashley Lelie to become a big time vertical threat. However, the biggest improvement could come from TE Jeb Putzier.
Putzier almost went to the New York Jets in the offseason as a restricted free agent before the Broncos matched their offer. Not only is he a quality pass catching TE, but head coach Mike Shanahan brought in Tim Brewster, the former TE coach of the San Diego Chargers who developed Antonio Gates into a star. The Broncos hope the same thing will happen to Putzier, ultimately counting on him to become a big part of this offense and a guy that could bail Plummer out of a lot of problems.
Defensively, Larry Coyer would love to play a lot of man-to-man schemes, but he may not be able to do it unless his pass rush up front is better. The only quality cover corner he has is Champ Bailey, and even he gave up some big plays a year ago.
The Broncos raided the Cleveland Browns defensive line and brought in four ex-Browns who were underachievers. The expectation is to revive their careers in Denver and they even hired ex-Browns defensive line coach Andre Patterson to tutor this group. The Broncos are also tinkering with some 3-4 defensive schemes in 2005 because they think that their linebacking crew is their best unit, and getting them involved in pass rush schemes will help improve the pressure up front. However, they don't have a lot of depth, and with a defensive line that really has a lot of gelling to do, going to the 3-4 defense doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.