The Broncos have had their struggles against the no-huddle offense this season, specifically starting with the game in Baltimore against the Ravens. Several teams during the 4-game losing streak did much of the same, keeping the Broncos from doing what they like to do on defense - rotate several players in and out, especially along the defensive line, depending on down and distance. Of course, no quarterback may be better at running a no huddle than Peyton Manning, who seemingly spends much of the game calling plays from the line of scrimmage.
The topic seemed like a good one to pass along to Frank Schwab, who covers the Broncos for the Colorado Springs Gazette. Schwab, who often asks fans via his Twitter Page(@fs3142) for their suggestions, was nice enough to report on what Josh McDaniels said when asked about the no huddle.
Broncos coach Josh McDaniels had a pretty blunt response when asked about defending Indianapolis' no-huddle offense, basically conceding that Denver won't be able to freely substitute because of the threat.
"We're not going to try to run a bunch of guys in and out the game," McDaniels said. "Nobody does against this team and we're not going to try to do it either."
One of the reasons teams have hurried up against the Broncos is to stop their substitutions. The Broncos rotate defensive linemen, and on passing situations bring in linebackers Wesley Woodyard and Robert Ayers and cornerback Ty Law. When McDaniels was asked how it would affect the defense if it can't substitute often, he again said it wasn't a viable option.
"We will not try to do something that's impossible to do, and that's impossible to do," McDaniels said. "If you don't have the right time - if the ball hasn't been thrown downfield 40 yards, if there's not a timeout on the field - you don't try to do that and disrupt the entire flow of your game by allowing (Manning) to create situations where you have to call timeouts or get 5-yard penalties that keep drives going. We're going to play with the guys that are out there and when we feel like we can substitute without issue, then we'll substitute if we need to."
In a lot of ways that answer was to be expected and much of it is coach-speak. Common sense tells us the Broncos will likely try and find ways, especially early in the game, to keep the Colts from getting into a rhythm in the no huddle - using timeouts perhaps - especially in the first half.
Whatever the case, the Broncos need to have an answer if they are going to have a shot at the upset on Sunday. Thanks, Frank!