Broncos offensive line a work in progress - The Orange Mane

dragondawg · 08-11-2008, 03:26 AM

By FRANK SCHWAB
THE GAZETTE

ENGLEWOOD • Denver Broncos rookie left tackle Ryan Clady received a quick welcome to the NFL.

On the Broncos' first drive in Saturday's preseason opener, Texans end Mario Williams beat him and tackled running back Selvin Young for a loss. Later, Williams pushed Clady into the backfield and again tackled Young.

Clady, a first-round pick, has been very good in training camp but he admitted Williams surprised him.

"Yeah, a little bit," said Clady, who added that he has to come off the ball harder and play more physical. "Not too bad though."

Clady is typical of the Broncos' revamped line. There's talent, but there will be some growing pains.

Clady is a rookie. Right tackle Ryan Harris is in his second season, his first as a starter, and missed a lot of time last year with a back injury. His inexperience showed Saturday when he took four penalties in the first half.

Center Casey Wiegmann is a veteran, but is new to Denver's scheme. He's filling in for Tom Nalen, who has a sore knee.

Left guard Ben Hamilton missed all of last season with concussion symptoms. Chris Kuper started at left guard last year, moved to left tackle early in the offseason, moved to right tackle after Clady was drafted and then to right guard before training camp.

There's a lot of learning ahead for the unit. That's why when the rest of Denver's starters departed after two series Saturday, the starting line stayed for the rest of the first half.

"We have a whole new offensive line up there right now, with two young guys on the tackles," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "We're going to have to grow with them and they're going to have to learn game-by-game and make mistakes rookies make. We'll work with them."

There could still be some moves on the line. If Nalen is healthy, he would be a starter. Montrae Holland, a starting right guard last year who will resume practice this week after showing up to camp overweight, could reclaim a starting spot. Then Kuper and Harris could compete at right tackle.

Harris, a third-round pick last year, started the preseason poorly. He took an illegal formation penalty that negated a long play by Young. Later he had a false-start penalty, and then he took two holding penalties on Denver's last drive of the half, which cost the Broncos a chance at a field goal.

Harris said he never had a game that disappointing, at any level.

"This is not how I wanted to come out, but I'll learn from that and go on," Harris said. "There are no excuses for stuff like that. I didn't play very well."

The Broncos' new offensive line has about another month to learn more lessons and get some cohesion before the regular season.

"There's definitely some things we need to improve on," said Clady, who will be tested by Dallas' two-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware when the Cowboys practice and play against the Broncos this week.

http://www.gazette.com/sports/progre...k_broncos.html

fdf · 08-11-2008, 03:38 AM

Bottom line, Cutler and Ramsey didn't get sacked and they passed a lot. That's the starting point for a decent OL. The run blocking sucked and I expect that to improve some. But run blocking will probably still be a work-in-progress at year end. For the time being, we are not big enough to do good road-grader run blocking and not experienced enough to do good zone blocking. We need to cut our RB's some slack. It's not going to be their fault this year.

I expect to see a lot of passing this year, much of it very successful, and a mediocre to bad year running for the broncos. Next year, it will probably be a different story.

dragondawg · 08-11-2008, 04:02 AM

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...ffensive-line/

bpc · 08-11-2008, 04:07 AM

There's definitely room for improvement but I thought our 1st team OLine did very well especially pass blocking against a VERY good Houston defensive line.

Broncoman13 · 08-11-2008, 07:08 AM

I thought they did pretty well too bpc, Clady and Harris are BOTH rookies. Harris may have a year up on Clady in knowing the system, but this was his first game action.

The first couple times I saw him in camp he was terrible. He was abused play after play by Engleberger. I swear Engleberger looked like Julius Peppers vs Harris. It was ugly. Three days later I go back and he's only getting beat half as often. A week later I go back and he's only getting beat on occassion. Steady improvement, when Holland comes back Kuper is going to have a fight on his hands to see who gets that postion, I think it's Harris' if he keeps improving. He's very athletic and quick for a big man, don't be suprised to see Harris fight Kuper off. Kuper as the "swing" man isn't a bad deal. He can play every OL position outside of center. He and Myers would have been excellent depth on this OL. Not saying that Kuper isn't good enough to start b/c he is, I just think there is more upside with Harris at this point. Time will tell.

rugbythug · 08-11-2008, 08:30 AM

Pass pro is about athleticism, Run Blocking is about strength and unity. Unity you can build - athleticism you are born with. I think we are definitely on the right track. Keeping Jay Vertical alone will win us 10 games. One of which would be the Chargers. We lost that game because of faulty pass pro. Shore that up and Shanny can scheme us to a win.

Drek · 08-11-2008, 08:35 AM

We're facing some good pass rushing defenses in pre-season, nice trial by fire for our youngsters. Good 4-3 fronts in Houston, Green Bay, and Arizona (the front seven is one of the bright spots on their squad). Dallas is a upper tier 3-4 front. The youngsters are going to get a big blast of how to handle trench fights in the NFL, and I don't think they did particularly bad on Saturday.

Something to look forward to, I'm expecting this OL to grow very quickly into something to be proud of.

08-11-2008, 03:26 AM	#1
dragondawg All Pro Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,009	Broncos offensive line a work in progress By FRANK SCHWAB THE GAZETTE ENGLEWOOD • Denver Broncos rookie left tackle Ryan Clady received a quick welcome to the NFL. On the Broncos' first drive in Saturday's preseason opener, Texans end Mario Williams beat him and tackled running back Selvin Young for a loss. Later, Williams pushed Clady into the backfield and again tackled Young. Clady, a first-round pick, has been very good in training camp but he admitted Williams surprised him. "Yeah, a little bit," said Clady, who added that he has to come off the ball harder and play more physical. "Not too bad though." Clady is typical of the Broncos' revamped line. There's talent, but there will be some growing pains. Clady is a rookie. Right tackle Ryan Harris is in his second season, his first as a starter, and missed a lot of time last year with a back injury. His inexperience showed Saturday when he took four penalties in the first half. Center Casey Wiegmann is a veteran, but is new to Denver's scheme. He's filling in for Tom Nalen, who has a sore knee. Left guard Ben Hamilton missed all of last season with concussion symptoms. Chris Kuper started at left guard last year, moved to left tackle early in the offseason, moved to right tackle after Clady was drafted and then to right guard before training camp. There's a lot of learning ahead for the unit. That's why when the rest of Denver's starters departed after two series Saturday, the starting line stayed for the rest of the first half. "We have a whole new offensive line up there right now, with two young guys on the tackles," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "We're going to have to grow with them and they're going to have to learn game-by-game and make mistakes rookies make. We'll work with them." There could still be some moves on the line. If Nalen is healthy, he would be a starter. Montrae Holland, a starting right guard last year who will resume practice this week after showing up to camp overweight, could reclaim a starting spot. Then Kuper and Harris could compete at right tackle. Harris, a third-round pick last year, started the preseason poorly. He took an illegal formation penalty that negated a long play by Young. Later he had a false-start penalty, and then he took two holding penalties on Denver's last drive of the half, which cost the Broncos a chance at a field goal. Harris said he never had a game that disappointing, at any level. "This is not how I wanted to come out, but I'll learn from that and go on," Harris said. "There are no excuses for stuff like that. I didn't play very well." The Broncos' new offensive line has about another month to learn more lessons and get some cohesion before the regular season. "There's definitely some things we need to improve on," said Clady, who will be tested by Dallas' two-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware when the Cowboys practice and play against the Broncos this week. http://www.gazette.com/sports/progre...k_broncos.html

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

08-11-2008, 03:38 AM	#2
fdf Ring of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 1,709	Bottom line, Cutler and Ramsey didn't get sacked and they passed a lot. That's the starting point for a decent OL. The run blocking sucked and I expect that to improve some. But run blocking will probably still be a work-in-progress at year end. For the time being, we are not big enough to do good road-grader run blocking and not experienced enough to do good zone blocking. We need to cut our RB's some slack. It's not going to be their fault this year. I expect to see a lot of passing this year, much of it very successful, and a mediocre to bad year running for the broncos. Next year, it will probably be a different story.

08-11-2008, 04:02 AM	#3
dragondawg All Pro Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,009	http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...ffensive-line/

08-11-2008, 04:07 AM	#4
bpc "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit" 1 sword keeps another in the sheath Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 12,574 Adopt-a-Bronco: Von Miller	There's definitely room for improvement but I thought our 1st team OLine did very well especially pass blocking against a VERY good Houston defensive line.

08-11-2008, 07:08 AM	#5
Broncoman13 Broncoholic JT #80 Join Date: May 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 16,962 Adopt-a-Bronco: Orange Julius	I thought they did pretty well too bpc, Clady and Harris are BOTH rookies. Harris may have a year up on Clady in knowing the system, but this was his first game action. The first couple times I saw him in camp he was terrible. He was abused play after play by Engleberger. I swear Engleberger looked like Julius Peppers vs Harris. It was ugly. Three days later I go back and he's only getting beat half as often. A week later I go back and he's only getting beat on occassion. Steady improvement, when Holland comes back Kuper is going to have a fight on his hands to see who gets that postion, I think it's Harris' if he keeps improving. He's very athletic and quick for a big man, don't be suprised to see Harris fight Kuper off. Kuper as the "swing" man isn't a bad deal. He can play every OL position outside of center. He and Myers would have been excellent depth on this OL. Not saying that Kuper isn't good enough to start b/c he is, I just think there is more upside with Harris at this point. Time will tell.

08-11-2008, 08:30 AM	#6
rugbythug Church Eyes. Salty Dog Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,788 Adopt-a-Bronco: Mr. Miller	Pass pro is about athleticism, Run Blocking is about strength and unity. Unity you can build - athleticism you are born with. I think we are definitely on the right track. Keeping Jay Vertical alone will win us 10 games. One of which would be the Chargers. We lost that game because of faulty pass pro. Shore that up and Shanny can scheme us to a win.

08-11-2008, 08:35 AM	#7
Drek Ring of Famer Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 12,319	We're facing some good pass rushing defenses in pre-season, nice trial by fire for our youngsters. Good 4-3 fronts in Houston, Green Bay, and Arizona (the front seven is one of the bright spots on their squad). Dallas is a upper tier 3-4 front. The youngsters are going to get a big blast of how to handle trench fights in the NFL, and I don't think they did particularly bad on Saturday. Something to look forward to, I'm expecting this OL to grow very quickly into something to be proud of.