2008 Offensive Philosophy
by super7 on May 16, 2008 2:45 PM MDT
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PrintI wanted to get a discussion going about Denver's offensive philosophy for 2008.
The Broncos have plenty of options because of versatile players like Selvin Young, Tony Scheffler, Dan Graham, Brandon Marshall, and our Fullback corps.
I'm on board with the Broncos using a 3 WR, 1 RB set. I think they play to their strengths in this type of offense, but does denver also play into San Diego's strengths using that type of offense?
There was a great article on nfl.com today highlighting a new focus on an old offense:
Will bigger be better?
As we continue to see defenses get faster and more athletic to handle all the matchup problems offenses throw at them, perhaps it is time for offenses to try a different tact. The trend is to use 230-pound middle linebackers who can get to the deep middle, 250-pound defensive ends who are best known as pass rushers, safeties with corner skills who are a bit undersized from the old-school 6-foot-2, 225-pounder, in-the-box strong safeties, weakside backers who are converted safeties, and extra defensive back packages based on down and distance. The defenses did what they had to do -- build units based on speed.
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| Marc Serota / Getty Images |
| Don't be surprised to see new Dolphins boss Bill Parcells mold his team's offense into a jumbo unit that can bully undersized defenses. |
I get the feeling that a few offensive coordinators are starting to see a new opportunity emerging from these defensive tactics.
It was suggested to me that a few teams may be considering an old-fashioned offensive mentality that might be more from the Vince Lombardi school than the spread offense of 2007. It just might be time to send two big in-line tight end types out on to the field with a big old-fashioned fullback and a power runner. It might just be time to punch these quick defenses right in the nose with some smash-mouth power football.
One coach told me his team's divisional opponents dictate this switch -- tighten the line splits down so quick defensive linemen can't penetrate a gap, and roll a short-yardage philosophy out in the middle of the field.
It's still in the formative stages, but here's the plan as I understand it: Force the undersized weak linebacker to play on the line of scrimmage; make the hybrid safety play in the box, make the undersized pass rusher play over the offensive tackle with a tight end able to block down on him and send a fullback, who is bigger than the middle linebacker, right at him. It might not be exciting football but it would be a very interesting way to attack speed defenses.
The first team that came to mind when I had the discussion about attacking defenses this way was the Miami Dolphins. Picture the right side, with Justin Smiley at guard, Jake Long next to him and tight end Anthony Fasano next to Long. In the backfield, 250-pound FB Boomer Grigsby is leading Ronnie Brown. There would be some running room over there -- and it might look just as inviting going to the left.
The Dolphins could shorten the game, not expose their quarterbacks and keep the team in games a lot longer. Everyone knows Bill Parcells always loved big defensive players; when he sees all of the undersized defenses popping up around the NFL, he knows they will struggle with bulk and power offense.
The true test will come when a team uses this philosophy when they are down by six or seven points, deciding not to panic and throw more than they are capable of, risking turnovers. Last year, we saw the Raiders stick with the run when they were down in games and at times they were able to climb back in games by staying committed to the run. They had no other choice at the time; a team like Miami could be in the same boat this year.
It's too early to tell if it will be a trend in 2008, but I do know offenses are getting very tempted to bring a power game to the undersized defenses around the NFL. As one offensive coordinator said to me: "Everything that goes around comes around, and it just might be time to dust off the tight splits and heavy personnel."
Looking at Denver's draft and biggest divisional rival, is it possible that the Broncos are working on developing a power game to mix in with it's more wide open passing attack?
Thoughts?
This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR
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Interesting
I read the same article and must confess that I didn’t think of San Diego, but instead the Colts. I think the power game plays well to our strength (great at running), but the key will be to be flexible enough to shift offenses depending on the type of D on the other side. For example, power running would be useless against the Jags. Denver has the potential to open it up with both the running and throwing game. I hope we keep mixing it up depending on the situation.
Regarding our recent draft, I believe Denver felt the need to get more strength on the offensive line because of its inability to punch in at the end zone. Our line is great at creating gaps from sideline to sideline, but not so great at simply pushing defensive tackles back.
Also, I think we’ll see more traditional passing pockets with Clady and Cutler (versus the Plummer bootlegs).
Not so sure...
Clady, in spite of his size is a prototypical zone-blocking tackle. His game is predicated more on his agility and less on his strength, though from what little I have seen of the kid, he has plenty of the latter. I really look for the Broncos to try and move back towards the cutback style running game that we utilized so well with Davis, Portis and Anderson. I can’t remember the last time I really saw a decent cutback out of our runners…
I'm not so sure about that GA
Young’s biggest runs last year were cut back runs. I don’t like to see a RB go blindly into a pile so it was refreshing. I hope the rest of the sable can take notes.
Also, Clady’s size alone will allow him a better oppertunity to be a more physical presence. I’m not predicting anything from a rookie, but he is a sizable guy who fits the Denver scheme.
I tend to agree. Young broke off some huge gainers because of his
nifty one cut an go. Henry is the same way, just different style. I think what you were seeing was just rather poor play on the offensive line. I think that’s where Clady jumps in and helps us right away.
Welcome to MHR!
I like this article. Perhaps offenses around the league are adapting to the changing defenses. It feels to me that, though we are undersized on defense at the DE position, we are one of the more physical defenses in our division. Or at least was, until last season. We may have less of a learning curve than the other small defenses out there once the offenses bulk up.
I just hope that is what Shanny was thinking when he drafted this year..although I doubt Eddie Royal is part of that equation. lol
Couldn't agree more.
Great call on the horizontal gaps verus vertical push. Great point.
I really hope your last line rings true. I think one of Denver’s biggest strengths has been one of our biggest weaknesses, and I’m talking about the bootleg/play action plays. It seems that some teams simply shut it down and some teams just can’t figure it out. I feel like it is typically run in fairly predictable situations. Also, we haven’t had enough of a threat in the running game to scare off an aggressive pass rush on the edges. Personally, I think there’s less reason to do it as often as Denver has now that they have a QB that can throw accross the field with velocity.
I want to see Denver mix up their passing attack and formations and not rely on so much play action and bootlegging. It seems to me that Cutler is at his best when passing between 10-20 yards. He throws a great deep ball and can get it there quickly, but Denver hasn’t had the best personnel to get deep consistently. Also, I assume we’ll see more short passes and WR screens to get Marshall into space and get Stokley and Royal on a drags over the shallow middle.
I like the way Henry runs on the edges and I like the way Young can speed up in the flat. Henry can run in between the tackles, but last season, I felt as though Denver couldn’t run in between the Tackles with any consistency because of injuries and youth at RB, not to mention the injuries on the OL and generally, sub-par performance of the blocking unit as a whole.
I really like Denver’s depth, experience, and veratility on the O-Line going into 2008 and I think the key to the Broncos’ offense in 2008 will absolutely be whether or not the front 5 can play at a high level or not. Denver has talent all over the field on offense, and elite talent at that, but if the O-Line isn’t performing at their levels, it could be another long year.
You hit that nail on the head 7.
That last paragraph is true for any team any year. Bubby Brister looked like a player behind the ‘98 line.
Nalen and Hamilton returning, Holland in his second year in the system and Clady will allow the offense to get things done next season.
As for Cutler’s range of 10-20, a little more time will help to lengthen the playing field.
Anyway, this was an interesting piece super7. It kinda took me back to the old days of dominating games on the ground.
Behind the 1998 Line
and with TD in the lineup, I was at the game in KC where Brister set the record for longest TD run by a Broncos QB. Part of that was excellent scheme (especially with TD) and part of that was…Bubby Brister on a freakin’ NAKED BOOTLEG??!
But Brister was an A+ backup. He wouldn’t be a Super Bowl caliber starter, but he filled his role perfectly (don’t make mistakes, run the offense…and hand off to TD as much as possible!)
Slight detour…sorry. :o)
~Uffdah
i still believe we are going to be a finesse offense. we added some size, but we don’t really have 325 lb. linemen across the board and a bruiser fullback. it’s not our game. we should be better at the inside running game, but not by much. short-yardage situations will be an issue, but i think shanny likes the way we move the ball between the 20’s right now. i’m not sure we can excel at both. there are teams that seem to have an advantage against the speed defenses, though, i’m not sure denver is one of them. we still lack punch. probably always will, unless we abandon the zone scheme and go with a power running attack. but again, we appear to be trying to improve in this area.
our defense has good speed overall, but should be a hard-hitting one this season. we should be ok with this. we got a little bigger there, also, and have better balance between the two. against the ravens(huge), for instance, we may have to send numbers at them to compensate for their size. but that can work, too. if we’re playing 8 in-the-box again, i don’t see us getting pushed around much. i like our versatility on both sides of the ball, and we should be able to handle this trend pretty well. we need to be more physical, though, and i think we will be.
It is my opinion
that Denver has set itself up well to be a very flexible offense. Denver could line up in a 2 TE, 2 back set…and reset to a 3-wide set pre-snap (with Scheffler, and presuming Hillis progresses as the season goes on.)
That is flexibility, with one personnel grouping having the ability line up in multiple formations. This would (ideally) allow the coaching staff to send in a group with several possible plays, then let Cutler audible to the most advantageous play.
~Uffdah
Broncos changing blocking philosophy?
Is it just me, or are we seeing a pattern emerging in the Broncos linemen acquisitions over the the last two offseasons?
Let me offer up this tidbit: The Broncos have historically been known for their undersized linemen, but they have made a number of pickups (through the draft and through FA) that make me think they are starting to rethink the Alex Gibbs taught zone blocking scheme.
While earlier in this article, I made mention of the fact that Clady’s agility made him a prototypical zone blocker, his strength and size lend themselves well to a more power-oriented running scheme. In addition, the Broncos added a 310lb center through the draft this year. Both Chris Kuper (302lbs) and Montrae Holland (322lbs) top 300lbs and tonight, they signed Wayne Gandy who is also a member of the 300lb club. That gives us a lot more meat than I remember having seen in our O-line in recent memory (In truth, I don’t think I have EVER seen so much meat in a Broncos O-Line)...
I think Super7 may just have a window into the Mastermind’s brainpan…Every tackle on this team is now 300lbs or better and at least one of our starting guards tops 300lbs now. If Gandy or Kuper can claim the other spot from Hamilton (I doubt it, but Hamilton may not return to his pre-concussion form), then that leaves Nalen as the lone member of the Broncos O-Line who weighs under 300 and he is probably looking at most at two more years in the league before Lichtensteiger (or someone else) takes over.
I'm pretty certain
the Broncos aren’t changing their blocking philosophy. The Broncos o-line is bigger but so is everybody else’s. The average is going up and the Broncos are still relatively small and athletic, but relatively small is now 300-310 lbs rather than 285-95. I think they might have moved closer to the league average, but without sacrificing the qualities they look for that make the zone blocking scheme work. Being relatively small but skilled with good teamwork doesn’t mean you can’t get the tough yards when you need them, even in the red zone. As I pointed out awhile back, the “gound Chuck” Steelers of the ‘70s, known for ramming the ball down teams’ throats, were actually a finesse blocking line. Our difficulty in running the ball in the red zone last year was atypical for a Broncos team. It wasn’t due to the scheme but to the injuries up front, most of all the loss of Nalen, which took away our ability to run up the gut. Myers filled in admirably, but the inside game went away when Nalen went down.
"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen
It's about pass blocking.
The difference between Plummer and Cutler is that Cutler is more of a pocket passer, Plummer was an escape artist and bootlegger. So Shanny has been rebuilding the O-Line to provide a better pocket for Cutler, it was one of the major problems with the offense last season. I can’t remember which O-Lineman it was, but they were saying that they liked blocking for Plummer because he made them look so much better. How many times did he evade sacks that most quarterbacks have not right avoiding?
Also, with the increased emphasis on pass rushing, barring a change in offensive scheming (like going to a more power run philosophy), it becomes paramount to have an elite pass-blocking O-Line. The team is evolving in order to play to it’s strengths, and Cutler is at the center of those plans.
I don’t know if there’s any correlation in this, but maybe we’re bringing in bigger guys for inside the 20. Some teams bring in a power back, we bring in a power O-line? I dunno just an initial thought. We had little trouble moving the ball last year until we got inside the 20. Maybe this is how they are addressing the situation. I doubt that we will get away from zone blocking any time soon.
by Bronco Billy on May 21, 2008 4:34 PM MDT up reply actions
Lot's to chew on in that article, and in the comments!
Great discussion you’ve starter Super!
First, I’m glad that NFL.com is catching up to the talk at MHR, and seeing the trend towards power and added TEs in the League.
Despite my agreement with the article (in terms of trends), I’m ok with the Broncos standing pat with speed. There will always be different offenses and defenses, and your defense should match your division, but be flexible enough (and well executed enough) to account for offensive systems that aren’t great matches.
My school of thought is predicated on speed at defense, and here’s why. “You can’t coach speed”. You have it or you don’t. I can get a smaller guy to tackle better, I can get a WR to block better, I can teach a FB to catch (the latter two I never did, being a defensive coach). But I’ll never be able to get a guy to be faster. I can get him to run longer, but not faster. In that vein, I feel I can adjust a scheme easier with fast guys than with slow guys (typically the bigger guys).
But the article is about offense. I think Denver is one of the better balanced offenses in the League, not just in terms of run / pass, but in terms of power / finesse. We have speed RBs, we have power RBs (both working out of a finesse zone block OL scheme). We have hardened possession guys (Marshall, Scheffler, Stokely) and we have speed guys (see FA and draft). Our flexibility makes our offense potent.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
Very well said
I think I’ve typed the words “flexible” and/or “versatile” in every post in the past month.
It seems to be the recrurring theme for the Broncos in 2008. The offensive talent on the team is the Broncos’ team strength, with Coach Shanahan, it always will be.
This team has a more dangerous offense than any team since Elway retired in my opinion.
Great post super.
What a great thing to contemplate in the reloading season. I think you stated the consensus conclusion very well.
This team has a more dangerous offense than any team since Elway retired
The larger frame of the O line gives us more options which makes it more difficult for opposing defenses. Once again, ht’s analysis is a work of art.
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. - Emerson
Right on.............
I think we are moving towards a more(here’s that word again)............versatile offense. One thing I love is a smashmouth game between the tackles. Not necessarily a line up and run it down their throats game but a game where we run between the tackles with authority and regularity. How many times in TD’s heyday did we smash it between the tackles when everybody in the stadium knew what was coming and still get the yards we needed? More often than not, we got more yards than we needed. I think we are on our way back to that status. We will be able to finesse it or smash it right at you. I think the best way to beat a team like SD is to run it right at all that speed in the LB core. You can’t beat em to the edge, it will take cutback lanes between the tackles to get it done and keep LT and Phyllis on the sideline. I’d be curious to see how much Phyllis runs his mouth when we take 10 minutes to smash the ball down the field and score touchdowns. As a coach and fan, my view is that it is not who has the most tricks that is successful, but the team that does what they do better than the opponent does what they do. Execution is the key, our offensive execution in the Super Bowl years bordered on wicked precision at times and nobody else could execute a defense well enough to stop it, even at times when they knew what was coming. It is proper execution of the run game that brings more defensive players to the line of scrimmage, thus opening up the passing game and vice versa. I think we have set ourselves up to have that same kind of execution with the current makeup of players. I might be nuts with this analyses, but I see the talent in place to execute whichever style of football we need to win on the offensive side of the ball. This is why I love the “dangerous” comment. Tell me if I got this wrong guys, I’d love to hear some feedback.
IMHO You ar enot wrong.
You are right on. In addition, the more time we have the ball, the less time Phyllis has it to give to LT. Well stated Broncofan.
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. - Emerson
Did I mention I love this site?
Excellent article Super7!
Broncofan nailed it when he mentioned proper execution. Super7 mentioning Vince Lombardi in his article. Lombardi would have a stop watch and make sure everyone hit there marks on the field at the exact same time to ensure the success of the Packer sweep. Everyone from Starr to Hornung to Taylor. Everyone’s footwork was choreographed to be pricesly in tune. That’s what really made our running game special with TD, IMHO.
My first thought when reading this article was the first half of the Indy game last year when we ran the ball down their throats in the first half using the 2 TE set to keep Manning off the field. They couldn’t stop it. I don’t see the BRoncos moving to big, bulky lineman who can wedge there way up the middle. Just like Lombardi’s power run game, I believe the BRoncos will still use power balanced with precision and athleticism involving everyone including the WRs. It’s just hard to get your timing down when you have a string of injuries like last year.
Sorry
Is there any way to edit something you wrote after posting it? I just noticed a bunch of spelling errors.
by Bronco Billy on May 21, 2008 4:46 PM MDT up reply actions
You must live with your spelling errors.
Along with the rest of us! lol Don’t go checking my spelling on any of my posts either…it is forbidden!
Not size but coordination
I don’t see the BRoncos moving to big, bulky lineman who can wedge there way up the middle. Just like Lombardi’s power run game, I believe the BRoncos will still use power balanced with precision and athleticism involving everyone including the WRs. It’s just hard to get your timing down when you have a string of injuries like last year.
You’ve nailed it. Size wasn’t the problem last year. It was injuries, injuries, injuries. A slightly smaller but more athletic and corrdinated front line can be as effective as big ones in short-yardage situations. More effective, as Denver has proved in the past. Our line wasn’t too small. It just wasn’t as good as in previous years. We especially missed Nalen. Previous drafts now bearing fruit, as well as the current one, as well as some nice FA moves, have made us less vulnerable to injury up front, and the odds are against us being that unlucky again anyway.
"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen
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