There’s no question the Denver Broncos are the Belle of the ball.
Just about everywhere you look, Bo Nix, Sean Payton, and the Broncos are talked about as the team to watch. The team that could make a deep run in the playoffs. The team that will finally dethrone Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
A lot must go right for all of this to happen. Nix must avoid the blasted sophomore slump. The offensive line must hold up and be as good, if not better, than last season. The defense
must remain dominant. The special teams can’t lose games. And, of course, that word everyone in sports detests – health.
But for the Broncos to have success this season, it comes down to the running game — on both sides of the ball. Denver’s offense must be able to run the ball consistently and stop the run on defense. The Broncos struggled in both areas last season. For them to take the next step this season, both must be better.
The pieces are there for Denver’s running game and the run defense to do just that.
“I can’t speak for other teams,” Payton told the local media this week after practice. “I just remember always being taught that the offensive line will permeate the building. In other words, if the offensive line is where you want it, very quickly, that defensive line has to bow up, defend, or get replaced. It’s the first line of attack. It’s the first contact. When that group is right, your protection, your run game, all of those things have a chance. All the schemes that you like in the running game and the passing game, without that room being right, become much more difficult.”
The Broncos finished last season 16th in the NFL with 112.2 yards per game on the ground. Honestly, I was surprised it was that high. The problem last season was that Denver couldn’t get consistency. The offense would get flashes, but none of the running backs were able to carry the load. Enter rookie RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins, who will likely be the tandem to get the brunt of the action this season.
If the running game improves like Payton and the Broncos expect, that opens up the whole offense. Nix will have play-action at his disposal. The run-pass-option and Nix’s running ability become more dangerous. Basically, the offense will look completely different from last season if Denver can consistently and effectively run the ball.
What certainly helps is having one of the best offensive lines in football.
“Certainly, my position group, we’ve had a lot of continuity, “ right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. ”I think I spoke about it earlier this spring of how rare it is to be returning almost everybody from the two-deep plus to a roster. I’ve very rarely have seen that, and I think that’s what we’re doing at a lot of different positions groups, not just the offensive line. We believe in the people that are in this building, we believe the coaches that are developing the talent, it definitely makes it harder on those guys upstairs to figure out what happens over that last three days.”
As for Harvey and Dobbins, the two have the potential to be one of the better running back duos in the league. Harvey will need to develop, and Dobbins needs to stay healthy.
“I think he’s starting to play with more confidence, certainly,” McGlinchey said. “… (Running backs coach) Lou (Ayeni) is doing such a good job in the running back room, and we’re all trying to get on the same page. We’re doing some different things in the run game; we’re trying to get detailed a little bit harder, and that’s hard on a rookie, especially when your life’s kind of spinning all over the place.
“You’re in a new city, you have to find a place to live, you have new teammates to learn, you have a new playbook, all this stuff that’s coming into our offense and our offense isn’t exactly easy to pick up at all times and certainly there’s going to be a lot put on RJ’s plate because of how talented and capable he is. The reps that he’s getting are so valuable. J.K. being in that room for him is huge because he’s got a ‘vet’ that he can lean on, and that’s been really helpful for him. I think RJ’s going to have a great year.”
Stopping the run on defense is vital, especially when you remember what happened in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen and that offense had their way with the Broncos defense. The Bills finished the 31-7 beatdown with 44 rushing attempts for 210 yards.
Denver finished third in the league in rushing defense with 96.4 yards per game allowed. But that’s a distant memory given the dreadful showing in the playoff loss.
“We’ve talked a lot about building through the trenches,” Broncos GM George Paton said to the media this week. “We felt all seven were really good players. That’s how we won last year, and that’s how we want to win this year, offensive and defensive line. So, shame on us if we were to get rid of a really good defensive line player. In regards to Zach, Zach obviously makes this thing go up front. He has had a tremendous few seasons here. (He is) really good on the field, even better off the field. Obviously, it was a priority to get Zach done. We feel good that he’s going to be here hopefully for the rest of his career.”
As the Broncos embark on what could be a fun and magical season, the key to success is the running game — on both sides of the ball. If Denver improves at running the ball and stopping the run, watch out.
“We like our roster,” Paton said. We like the depth of this roster. I think you could see that depth throughout the preseason. We extended leads with our second and third phase. How talented this roster is, we’ll see. Last year, we were the 31st roster in the league, and we didn’t believe that.
“We have a strong roster, and obviously, that’s day-to-day, that’s week-to-week. We feel we’re strong in the trenches. We feel like we have a franchise quarterback. We like the weapons we have on offense, and we play really good defense. That’s a recipe to win a lot of games, so we feel good about this roster.”
