There are a lot of questions in the air in Denver. The Denver Broncos have made several changes in the offseason, and that leads to questions about the direction of the franchise. The MHR Radio Podcast looked at some of those moves, and how they will impact the team.
First off, the signing of Sam Martin means a change at punter. Many in Broncos Country breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news. However, is the problem the punter or the special teams coach. Tom McMahon hasn’t exactly proven to be good at his job. Will Martin finally put an end to the punter search, or will McMahon continue to prove to be the problem.
The topic that stands out right now is about the Broncos backfield. With Phillip Lindsay, the incumbent starter, and Melvin Gordon, the future starter, possibly being used together, the question is how the offense will use them. As Ian said on the podcast, they aren’t paying Gordon $13 million to be a backup.
Both John Elway and Vic Fangio answered questions about the running back situation on their conference call. It’s clear that Elway and Fangio are both interested in creating competition. Gordon is being paid like the starter, but Lindsay will get the chance to prove he deserves to be on the field.
Pat Shurmur’s history has consisted of using a single bell cow back. Of course, he hasn’t really had two running backs like Gordon and Lindsay on the same team. Will Shurmur utilize both players, or will one of them take the lion’s share of the carries?
It makes sense that one of them will ultimately take the lead in that scenario, but the more weapons the offense can put on the field, the better. Drew Lock will benefit from having as many weapons as possible on the field at one time. That could mean two back sets, and opportunities for Lindsay and Gordon to find themselves with many opportunities to impact the game.
Finally, the discussion turned to the new playoff system in the NFL. The owners voted to add one playoff team. Now the only team with a bye will be the 1-seed from each conference. The 2-seed will play the 7-seed during Wild Card Weekend. The big concern here is that adding more teams will dilute the playoffs. This feels more like a cash grab by the owners.