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It was not secret from day one of training camp what the Denver Broncos were trying to do. The team brought two players in to play fullback; the quarterbacks were under center, and when they threw, it was usually after a run fake. Head Coach Gary Kubiak was truly trying to bring back his zone-blocking, balanced rushing attack in his second year back.
On Thursday night, the team took on one of the best front-seven defenses in the National Football League in the Carolina Panthers and while narrowly escaping defeat, showed that the transition back to a power-running scheme is complete.
“We did what we wanted to do. It just felt good to execute the game plan,” tailback C.J. Anderson said Friday when asked about the run game. “We were just happy from what we are taking in the classroom, we are taking to the football field and making our plays and picking our spots and going.”
The Broncos ran the ball 29 times, spread evenly across all four quarters while passing just 26 times. Two seasons ago, that would have been unheard of. Anderson led the way, carrying the ball 20 times for 92 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He scored one rushing touchdown and added a spectacular screen pass reception that went 25 yards for another score. In the offseason, a lot of pressure was added to Anderson in the form of the commitment to the run but also in the money the team committed to him. He signed a 4-year $18 million to stay in Denver.
“It is something I was told after they matched the deal.,” Anderson said of his expanded role this season. “They said, ‘We are not just paying for what you did. We are also paying you for what we expect you to do and expect the workload.’ That is what comes with the type of payment I got. I am just trying to earn every penny of that paycheck, and I’m just having fun.”
Anderson certainly was a big factor in the run game but the offensive line, comprised of two new tackles and three young interior players, showed that they can zone-block well and against a very formidable front seven in the Panthers. The end result of the Broncos rushing attack showed 148 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per carry average.
One of the newest members of the team, right tackle Donald Stephenson admitted that there were errors in their execution but also liked the final numbers.
“There were a lot of things we missed out on that we need to correct before we go play a team like Indianapolis but anytime you beat a team and you get those type of yards running the ball you know you are doing something right,” he said. “We will take the positives from it and learn from the negatives. We are trying to get better every week and trying to be one of those great running teams the Broncos have had over the years.”
Rookie fullback Andy Janovich’s addition to the roster via the 2016 NFL Draft, was possibly the biggest signal of the return to a run-heavy offense and Sunday night he was used much like the revered former Bronco Howard Griffith. Janovich opened up several holes for Anderson with lead blocks and on his first career carry broke a tackle a yard into his run and continued for a 28-yard touchdown.
“It was great to see Andy do some of the things he was doing,” tight end Virgil Green said Friday. “As physical as he played, getting things rolling, getting C.J. to the secondary, it was a great thing to see.”
Every season is different, and Kubiak has stated he wants his team to move forward in 2016 and not look back. After a thrilling victory in week one, with many mistakes, running the football was not one of them. The moves leading up to the play-calling Thursday night were no accident.
“Obviously offensively, if we can continuously run the football how we ran it last night, [Kubiak] said it, this offensive line has an opportunity to not be good, but it has an opportunity to be special,” Emmanuel Sanders detailed Friday. “That’s what it’s about. If C.J. is running the ball and me and Demaryius [Thomas], ‘Virg’ [TE Virgil Green] and Cody [Latimer] and the whole wide receiving corps can make our plays, I think this offense has the opportunity to be really good.”
The first look at the old-school offense appeared to be just that, good.
