After the burning dumpster, on a fiery chariot, plummeting over a cliff that was last week’s game against the Saints, it may be hard to find much to be excited about in Broncos Country.
But, Joe Rowles and I had the opportunity to talk to a great guest on this week’s podcast that left us more optimistic about the Broncos future than I have felt, probably since the season started.
Coach Brian Vaughn has been a defensive coach at the college level for sixteen years, and recently started the Blitzology blog, breaking down pressures and protections better than I have seen anyone else doing online.
He was kind enough to join this week’s Cover 2 Broncos podcast and talk ball with us, and give us his thoughts on what he has seen on Denver’s tape so far.
Offense
I think his insight into the offense and the in depth explanation of just how difficult the task this young team is faced with right now really put in perspective how important the calls for patience with this offensive line and Drew Lock really are.
He breaks down all the things that a rookie center and essentially a rookie in Lock need to be looking for from a protection standpoint every time they step up to the line, and how teams have seen film on Lock from last season and are trying to take away what he was successful with last year in empty sets.
Coach Vaughn also talks about how well coached Denver’s game against Miami was, and what a great game-plan the coaching staff drew up for the young offense.
Our motto on the podcast is “process over results” and this is a super deep dive into what is going into the process on offense and why it may warrant a little more trust, even if the results aren’t good yet.
Defense
Vic Fangio is a hell of a defensive coordinator, which we all knew, but Coach Vaughn breaks it down even further, discussing how impressive what Fangio is doing with guys like Bradley Chubb and Alexander Johnson is, and how he’s adapted his scheme to bring the heat, but not totally sacrifice coverage.
Denver building an X backer look (some teams call this a Joker) w/ OLB 55 as the Joker. This allows Joker to be moved around in pass rush & attack any area. Nice example of DE/Nose twist game opposite Joker's rush. DE goes up & under while Nose attacks G then loops to contain. pic.twitter.com/mEbYq22lyW
— Blitzology (@blitzologyblog) December 2, 2020
Listening to him describe how well coached Denver is on defense, and how well Fangio has adapted to the injuries thrown at them, makes me super excited to see this defense at full strength next year with Von Miller in the fold.
Check out the podcast above or right here, and I can’t recommend Blitzology enough, if you’re looking for a deeper understanding of the game.
I hope you’re as encouraged as we were after talking with him that there is still good football being played in Denver, if you look for it, and some good coaching taking place too.