I think most fans, and other teams, believe the key weakness for the Broncos over the last few years has been line play – both offensive and defensive lines. Obviously, the disappointing play of George Foster, and Lepsis unable to regain his old form prior to injury were key let downs. However, I believe the Broncos realized over the last 3-4 years they need to get a little bigger at guard, while still maintaining the quickness of their zone system. Hence, the acquisition of Holland (320) and the drafting of Kuper (305). Once Nalen retires, and Hamilton is replaced, every offensive lineman will be around 300 lbs. or more. The need to get bigger and stronger is as much a need in pass protection as in short yardage run blocking. For most of Plummer’s days as a Bronco he had the line bull rushed into his face and one tackle getting blown by. They can’t have that if they want Cutler to reach his potential. I personally feel they have the players to have a very good line now. They just have to gel and work as a unit. I do not think Kuper is any more key than Clady or the others, but they need them all to play well together. If Kuper plays great, but Clady is a bust, and they have injuries again to Nalen and others, then they will still have troubles.

On the defensive line Gerrard only had one good year with the Broncos (his first- 2005), and Trevor Pryce was becoming too inconsistent and injury prone (his 2007 season was very injury plagued in Baltimore), so they let him go. Then of course, they had the failed Bates experiment (or run contain system) in 2007, which created a revolving door at D-Tackle. And Ekuban and Moss get injured. So the D-Line would still be rated as inadequate by most outsiders, until they prove otherwise. However, I also think they have the horses on d-line (short of key injuries again) to improve dramatically. But once again, I do not think Robertson is anymore key than Thomas, Dumervil, Moss, Crowder. They all need to play well, cause they will use their typical 8-9 man rotation, and they will often be using an 8-man front. They need good D-TAckle play and good DE play. They need to be able to stop the run and get pressure at times with only four.

I think Robertson’s impact will be most helpful in short yardage and goal line, where the impact of the 8 man defense is sometimes neutralized, cause offensive line splits are narrowed and most teams just man up (zone) for power blocking. In those situations a tackle has to be able to hold and shed the point of attack. Unless Thomas develops into that ability, Robertson will be our most proven player in that situation.

However, much of the time, Slowik will go back to using Lynch in an 8-man in the box to stop the run. Like Coyer’s defense each lineman only has to contain one gap in the run, when there are 8 men down. A tackle does not have to be a stud to do that (except in short yardage). The weakness to the 8 man defense is on the edge (cause that is still only one gap, the “D” gap, but it is a big gap to cover cause it is extends to the sideline). That “D” gap in the 8-man could be assigned to an OLB, CB, or DE. So the timing of the assignments, and consistency have an effect. Of course, the biggest challenge in the 8-man defense is pass coverage. This is where I believe a key weakness in the past (Coyer’s defense) was the man to man coverage on good TEs and backs. Our linebackers and safeties could not get that done when we really needed them to. Coyer would often still only rush four or five and try to back into a zone, which still did not work against the good passing teams with good TEs and backs, cause those players were always open quickly for 4-8 yard gains. Indy and Clark, and the Chargers and Gates, would just nickel and dime us down the field, until they busted a big one. I really hope that Slowik uses more man under coverage, and I hope we can cover it.

So I agree Robertson’s play will be a factor in how good our defense is, cause short yardage and goal line defense is key. But I think a bigger factor is how well we man up on the underneath routes. That means Boss Bailey, DJ, and the safeties (McCree).