Head coach Gary Kubiak didn’t come to the Denver Broncos expecting to win games on defense and low scoring affairs. He came here with a reputation as an offensive savant, a running game and offensive line guru, and a coach who did wonders for his quarterbacks.
In Denver, he’s faced many roadblocks; from having to adapt his offense to Peyton Manning in 2015 to now having to adjust to inexperienced players behind center, all the while trying to develop young backs and lineman. Far from an easy task.
But that’s been far from the issue, as the Broncos biggest problem offensively in 2016 has come down to their maddeningly slow starts.
“It’s really frustrating,” explained Kubiak. “You go back a few weeks ago, against New Orleans, we got off to a great start. First off, I don’t say that we got off to a slow start. We have to look at what we’re doing. I’m sitting there watching nine plays offensively. We missed a pass-protection. We had a couple busts. We put the ball on the ground. When you’re doing that, you’re not going to be successful. It’s not about the plays; it’s about execution. It’s about detail. Then you have to ask yourself, ‘Why?’ Why is the detail not there early in the game? That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Whether it’s personnel, scheme or execution there are people who are beginning to wonder if Kubiak’s philosophy of using scripted plays is the reason for the bad starts – Kubiak like his mentor Mike Shannahan is known for using 15 scripted plays to start off each half.
“I would disagree with that,” said Kubiak of the notion that non-scripted plays are having more success. “We’re struggling early in some games; I would agree from that standpoint here lately. If you look at Trevor’s [Siemian] numbers, obviously they’re big numbers, really big numbers in the game yesterday. If you don’t stay on the field and you’re not getting snaps, those numbers aren’t going to come. Yesterday, in the second half, we did that. We have to look at how we can start better and start faster as a football team in better detail than what we’re doing.”
Kubiak has talked about the importance of more snaps on offense. Part of that issue might stem from play in the trenches where the offensive line’s been less than stellar this season. Though the coach had a different view of things.
“I look at the game yesterday, and we threw the ball fifty-something [52] times,” said the coach. “We protected well. We had three sacks, and two of those were on Trevor. He has to get rid of the ball. He knows that. We protected our quarterback well. We’ve been searching for consistency at right tackle. I think Donald [Stephenson] has come back and played better the last two weeks. I think we’re battling and doing some positive things, but just like anything else, we need to be more consistent in what we’re doing.”
Rightfully, the coach is quick to point out that it’s really not one thing that is ailing the offense, not the slow starts, nor the offensive line play, it’s a mixture of things that need to be fixed, and execution has to be better.
“We won a lot of games last year. Somebody is doing something right,” said Kubiak when asked about the Broncos offensive struggles the last two years. “We’re sitting here at 8-5. I’m positive. I think we can be better and some things could be worse. I believe in what we’re doing. We have to just keep battling and keep doing it. We have some young players in some key positions. We’ll keep going. They’re doing some good things, but we need to do it more consistently.”
Spoken like a true coach, Kubiak needs more consistency and execution across the board on offense. Drives can’t be stuck in the mud by penalties that force third and long, fumbles have to be avoided, and the Broncos have to make the big plays when the opportunities arise. That’s what being more consistent and executing looks like.
It won’t always be pretty, but Kubiak knows his team has more to give, whether they can show it before it’s too late is the question.
