Offensive Line Continuity....a Key to a Championship

by mdierk on Feb 7, 2011 10:21 PM MST

Hello folks! I am here in deep thought after the Super Bowl and the end of the 2010 season. Something that jumped out at me during our disastrous 4-12 campaign and in the Steeler loss. That something is offensive line continuity. For Denver, it was a combination of injuries, inexperience and shuffling lineman in and out of the lineup.

By now we all the story of Denver's OL for 2010. Ryan Clady partially tears a patella tendon while playing basketball, Ryan Harris gets hurt in the last preseason game and was even a healthy scratch for a couple of games, J.D. Walton and Zane Beadles were rookies. Russ Hochstein and Stanley Daniels filled in at LG at different intervals of the season to disastrous results. Combine those variables and you have a recipe for one of the worst running attacks in the NFL and a losing season. This was not the only reason for the losses, but it was a key issue. I talk with Tim Lynch on a regular basis and during the season I kept hammering the point that without an OL that was together and consistent, you never have success at any level of football.

Before the first Kansas City game, Denver averaged 67 yards rushing in eight games, with Moreno having a measly 252 yards. After the bye week, we finally witnessed our five best linemen in the right positions. The line awakened and the yards added up. The team amassed 1006 yards in the final eight games. Out of the four wins, the Kansas City game was easily the best outing for the OL. The rushing ranking went from 32nd to 26th at the end of the season. Those numbers were embarassing, but it shows improvement.

There is a glimmer of hope for Denver for the future. The OL is young and gained valuable experience. Ryan Clady will be healthier and the only change that could be coming is Ryan Harris. When Harris is healthy, he is one of he best, but his history had shown us that he is very fragile. Beadles will hopefully stay at LG and I like what JD Walton has done at C so far. Another offseason of working out and bulking up will help these two make improvements in their game. One thing that is hanging out there is the CBA. If the CBA is not resolved in time, these guys will be on thier own for improving themselves.

It is time for Denver to return to Bronco football and these bulldozers will go along way to keeping our QB clean and our RBs pursuing 1000 plus yard seasons for the forseeable future. This unsung group will help us stay proud to be fans of this team.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

Tweet Comment 21 comments | 5 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I like our young improving line

but we need to add depth badly. Hochstein and Daniels are terrible. I would also like the front office to resign Harris because we are going to feature more zone blocking. IMO Harris Kuper and Clady are better suited for the Zone Blocking scheme. Robert Gallery could be an interesting pick up in FA for insurance and depth.

When Tim Tebow pissses into the wind, the wind changes direction.

by Albuquerque on Feb 7, 2011 11:51 PM MST reply actions

I honestly don’t think Hoch is that bad. I think it’s one of those things where everyone started feeling like they heard someone else say he sucks, so therefore it just sort of became true through osmosis. The main thing about Hoch is that he isn’t young anymore, so that’s the only reason to consider Olsen over him. But Beadles and Hoch could make a very good 6th and 7th OLman. I do think we could do better for a starter-level left guard though.

by tunesmith on Feb 8, 2011 12:58 AM MST up reply actions

I disagree. Hochstein looked at times like somebody had nailed a 2 × 4 from the top of his shoulders all the way down to his knees. He looks so stiff, and didn’t seem to be nimble enough to get movement when we were zone blocking. There were several games were he allowed penetration in the run game and we could not run the ball until the second half of the season, when Beadles moved back inside.

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup event on a sprained MCL. Take that Jay Cutler!

by RockyMountainThunder on Feb 8, 2011 9:34 AM MST up reply actions

He is really bad bro....dont get me started he is our worsed player. Hands Down.

did you watch the preseason??

by ShyandObese on Feb 11, 2011 1:48 AM MST up reply actions

Dude thats exactly how i feel and agree with every statement to a T.

by ShyandObese on Feb 11, 2011 1:47 AM MST up reply actions

Ryan Clady alone

is a cornerstone of a team. With a LT like him, anything is possible. I would still like to see us get bigger on the line.

"When Tim Tebow does pushups, he's not pushing himself up, he's pushing the world down."

"Gear down there big shifter This is the "No Bull" review man…" a total Lebowski-esque one liner from Sadaraine, whether he realizes it or not - comedic gold.

by PaleHorse78 on Feb 7, 2011 11:54 PM MST reply actions

Clady, even when healthy this season, struggled

He needs to return to his 2009 form if we are to get some push from that line. I am looking forward to seeing our rookies grow next season though.

I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.

by Topher Doll on Feb 8, 2011 12:11 AM MST reply actions

he was never fully healthy this season

so no one can really say that.

"When Tim Tebow does pushups, he's not pushing himself up, he's pushing the world down."

"Gear down there big shifter This is the "No Bull" review man…" a total Lebowski-esque one liner from Sadaraine, whether he realizes it or not - comedic gold.

by PaleHorse78 on Feb 8, 2011 10:17 AM MST up reply actions

If he wasn't healthy by the end of the season

He is a bigger liability then I thought. Most of those injuries are back to playing after three months (July), and he should have been back to 100% a month or two after that (August or September). So if he was still having issues in November and December, maybe he struggles with toughness.

I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.

by Topher Doll on Feb 8, 2011 10:29 AM MST up reply actions

except that it’s possible that by playing on it, it slowed down the final steps of the recovery.

by tunesmith on Feb 8, 2011 1:39 PM MST up reply actions

he is no Jay Cutler, that's for sure!

by ConradA on Feb 8, 2011 1:50 PM MST up reply actions

Could be

But considering he was resting most of those 1st three months, and saw limited playing time early in the season, there really should be no excuses. Playing tough is great, but playing smart is better. If a player is injured, let him rest, Clady returning didn’t help our line at all, him sitting out longer wouldn’t have hurt us much and if him playing injured screwed him for a whole season, I’m pretty pissed at the coaching staff, medical staff, and Clady himself.

I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.

by Topher Doll on Feb 8, 2011 1:52 PM MST up reply actions

I'm just saying.

The calculation probably came out that Clady at 80% is better than anyone else on our line at 100%, even if that stuck him at 80% for a longer period of time.

Too many unknowns. It might have been that had he rested for three more weeks and gotten up to 100%, it would have been worth it to bench him… but that if it had taken him eight weeks to get to 100% anyway, then why not play him… front office had a ton of data we don’t. Who knows.

by tunesmith on Feb 10, 2011 4:20 PM MST up reply actions

It takes alot longer than three months

Football outsiders keeps a database of injuries and time missed. They only found one other case where someone with a torn patella that was able to come back in under a year. I think he probably tried to come back to early and I’m hoping he bounces back with a full offseason to recover.

by Beave35 on Feb 11, 2011 10:28 AM MST up reply actions

We totally need depth, even if we re-sign Harris

I haven’t heard anything about going back to ZBS, except on this site.

by ConradA on Feb 8, 2011 9:02 AM MST reply actions

Fox used Zone Blocking in Carolina

And Dave Magazu the O-Line coach is known for using zone-blocking. They do it a little different than Shanahan’s scheme so it will look different.

This is not to say there still won’t be man blocking, because there will be. It’s just what a team decides to do predominantly.

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup event on a sprained MCL. Take that Jay Cutler!

by RockyMountainThunder on Feb 8, 2011 9:29 AM MST up reply actions

Every team uses some zone blocking

Fox is a defensive coach, his offensive coordinator runs the offense.

by ConradA on Feb 8, 2011 10:05 AM MST up reply actions

Every team uses both it’s just a matter of what’s predominant.

Fox is a defensive coach, so yeah, he probably knows nothing about offense and won’t have any input at all, what with being the Head Coach.

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup event on a sprained MCL. Take that Jay Cutler!

by RockyMountainThunder on Feb 8, 2011 10:32 AM MST up reply actions

/sarcasm on?

My point was, why would Fox say “we are a zone-blocking team?” The offensive scheme would dictate what blocking scheme used. Hopefully, the player personnel would match the scheme.

by ConradA on Feb 8, 2011 11:29 AM MST up reply actions

I understand this is NOT a good year for getting OL through the draft,

does anyone know if the three OL they signed to future contracts comes from zone blocking schemes that would possibly help (Murphy, Ramirez or Taylor)?

Kansas Bob

by kansas bob on Feb 8, 2011 1:53 PM MST reply actions

One old guys opinion

We can have a very strong O Line next year by bolstering what we have through FA.
~We need a solid backup at RT due to Harris’ tendency to be injured.
~We need more competition at RG. I am not convinced Beadles is the long term answer.
~We need a solid T/G backup that can play either side and a solid C/G. This might be the man that does not win RG.

Whether we zone block or gap block will depend strictly on down/distance, field position,time and score. We will use plenty of both. With all respect to RockyMountainThunder, and I sure hope you are being sarcastic, Fox’s defensive mentality will be a great boost to our O line as he might very well be more tuned in to our potential weaknesses. Fox knows offense.

Excellent post matt, highly rec’d.

It all starts in the trenches - HT 11/11/08
Leave the hateful vitriol to the uninformed - HT 3/16/09

by firstfan on Feb 9, 2011 10:12 AM MST reply actions