I’m going to start this review off with a spoiler: the Denver Broncos have found their new left guard.
Not to pat myself on the back too hard, but as soon as Ben Powers went down I was instantly hoping
they’d just move their extra lineman into that LG spot. And while we can’t give Matt Peart a fair shake of things due to his injury, I do not think he’d have a game as good as Palczewski did against a comparable defensive line. Palcho held things down on Sunday.
He was not perfect in this game, and he did have some reps where he was outmatched or out-techniqued, but he was consistently getting movement on what is a pretty dang good defensive line and he filled in just fine when it comes to the chemistry side of things.
Let’s take a deep dive into Alex Palczewski’s first NFL game as on offensive guard.
Stat crunch
The Broncos ran 76 offensive snaps (not including the two-point conversions) and Palczewski was on the field for all of them. They ran 24 designed run plays and 52 designed pass plays.
On three of Denver’s longest rushes, they were either running behind Palczewski or he was down the field lead blocking.
Palczewski played a clean game up front. He had zero blown blocks, gave up zero TFL’s, and gave up zero pressures, QB hits, or sacks.
Palczewski finished the game with one “Bad” block, eight “Meh” blocks, 12 “Alright” blocks, and 55 “Good” blocks for a score of 68 points or 89.5%. This is one of the better Bronco OG scores of the season.
In the run game he had 19 points or 79.2%. In the pass game he had 49 points or 94.2%.
At one point Palcho logged 18 “Good” blocks in a row. All but two of them were in pass protection and these were the final 18 plays of the game. Talk about being clutch.
In general
There’s not too much more you could ever want from a player getting his first reps of offensive guard in the NFL while going up against guys like three-time Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence II or two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns. Palczewski flawlessly inserted himself into this dominant offensive line. The only thing that might have been different if they had Powers is that they would’ve pulled the left guard more (Power, Trap, or Counter were near non-existent, but that might have been a apart of the scheme of not running much Gap-scheme against NY).
In the run game Palczewski was stout, often getting the better of the defensive tackles on the initial contact. He had good feet, and was effective in his downfield blocking. And on his double teams he was getting good contact with whoever he was double teaming with and he quickly popped off to the linebacker and got sticky on them.
His pass blocks nearly all looked the same. Either it was him nailing the early battle for leverage and using his hands effectively or it was him passing off his man when working with Luke Wattenberg and going to help Garett Bolles with his guy, delivering a good pop or sealing off the inside pass rush lane. He was incredibly clean and looked comfortable out there. Maybe it’s the fact that playing tackle is a lot harder in pass protection and his skills on the edge transferred well to the interior.
The specifics
Run play – Inside Zone Swipe – Alright block
Let’s start off with a play that shows Palczewski isn’t perfect, but there’s still something good to take away here.
The Broncos are running Inside Zone to Palcho’s side, and given he had a three-tech on him, he has this DT one-on-one and needs to work through the inside shoulder and drive him vertically.
His footwork is clean initially and he visibly makes good contact as the DT’s head snaps back, but where this block goes wrong is he ends up on his toes, losing all power and hope of getting this guy moving backwards, and he is head-up with the DT, allowing for the DT to shed to the inside and try to make a play.
Really close to this being a solid zone block.
Run play – Inside Zone – Good block
Here’s an example of how quickly and effectively Palcho could bump off of the first-level defender and get to the linebacker on his Inside Zone combo blocks.
The first thing he does is deliver contact to the side of the DT, sealing off that A gap and getting him bumped over just a touch to help out Wattenberg. The second thing he does is is bump out to the linebacker, keeping inside leverage on him and he delivers a good pop at the point of impact. He then drives the backer even further off of the ball.
Good stuff.
Run play – Inside Zone Swipe – Good block
This is film of essentially the same block he made in the previous clip, but I think it shows a better initial pop on the DT before he moves up the linebacker.
And with the camera being behind them this time, you can see how effectively he uses the gallop technique to shuffle into the DT’s hip and bump him across the face of Wattenberg.
Run play – Crack Toss – Good block
As a team, the Broncos are so dang good at executing Crack Toss. I don’t think there’s another team in the league that runs this play as consistently well as they do. And with that being said, Palcho does a great job of getting up to the backer and taking him for a ride.
Palcho really gets a good jump off of the snap with his reach step, gaining plenty of ground laterally, and that puts him in a good position to work vertically up to the linebacker to cut him off. he doesn’t make the mistake of working out to the linebacker but rather keeps his track and lets the linebacker come to him.
And then he gets his hand underneath the shoulder pad of the linebacker, works him vertically and then towards the boundary at the end, giving Dobbins plenty of space to make his moves.
Pass play – Dropback – Good block
I want your initial focus to be on the hands of Palcho on this rep. He’s so smooth and you can really see his experience as a tackle shine through.
An easy mistake to make in pass protection is to lunge when you go to strike the DT or to attempt to strike too early. The first gets you off balance, allowing for the defender to work a speed move around the edge, or they can work a push-pull, and that move can be catastrophic and usually results with your face in the dirt and your quarterback on his back. The latter can leave your hands hanging in space, allowing for the defender to get a hold of them.
Palcho does such a great job of sitting back in his pass pro stance, waiting for the DT to come to him, and he then strikes with his hands at separate times, making it so they are both coming in from close range. This technique gets a good pop in, stands the DT up a little, and forces him to rush the B gap, allowing for Palcho to just work him upfield, as he gets a hand in the DT’s rib and washes him at the end.
And you can see just how strong he is with his left arm being anchored tightly on the chest plate of the DT, whose efforts to swat away Palcho’s arm are done completely in vain.
This pass pro is just some really solid stuff. It looks like a simple block, but there’s so much good technique that goes into making this block looks easy.
Final thoughts
The Broncos are going to be just fine moving forward with Palczewski at the helm. He is solid and might end up being one of the better guards in the league by the time Powers comes back. And no, Powers’ job is not at risk. With the small sample size, Powers is better, but this shows just how good the offensive line depth on this team is.
And I’ve seen Palczewski as the potential replacement for when Bolles eventually has to retire, and him getting even more game reps only prepares him more for this possible role. You should all feel very confident in the future of this offensive line, and of course, let’s give a huge shout out to Zach Strief for putting together such a good group of dudes.
