Month: November 2016

Midweek Musings: What’s Up With Special Teams?

Good afternoon, Bronco fans! As we’ll recall, last Sunday night was a long night and I imagine most everyone was left drained after that game, and would have felt that way even if the Broncos had won. But that brings me to the biggest reason the Broncos lost: Special teams.

If you look at Pro Football Reference’s season summary for the Broncos thus far, in last Sunday’s game, the Denver special team had an expected points of -18.09, the worst it’s been this season. When you look at Football Outsiders DVOA, the Broncos rank 22nd in special teams this season. Now, it’s easy to throw Joe DeCamillis under the bus for that, but I think laying the blame on him is over-simplifying matters. The Broncos ranked 14th in special teams DVOA last year, so it’s not something that can be attributed to coaching alone.

The big issue with special teams is personnel and, while there are some obvious areas to point out, others are not as obvious. I wanted to look at those areas, starting with those that may be less obvious to most of you, given the areas we tend to focus on.
Continue reading Midweek Musings: What’s Up With Special Teams?

Observations: Kansas City vs Denver (27-30)

Our program had a motto that we lived and died by throughout the year: W.I.N. This is also known as “What Is Next”. When going through adversity or coming out of a difficult loss, keep in mind that you can only control the events that happen after. The Broncos need to put the mistakes behind them and move forward if they are to have a shot at making the playoffs. A playoff berth is the goal going forward. Thinking any farther than that is a distraction.

A short disclaimer before I go forward: I do not know the workings of the Broncos organization. What the coaching staff decides to do going forward is more informed than I ever hope to be. These are merely suggestions and if they decide to go another route, I am sure they will have weighed the options and deemed that their way is better for the health of their team. They are qualified and apt, that is for sure.

Continue reading Observations: Kansas City vs Denver (27-30)

Broncos Extend Darian Stewart

Somebody clearly needed to get his mind off a crushing Michigan loss to Ohio State.

Confirmation, with an early estimate (always beware those) on total contract value and guarantees:

A $7 million average per year puts him on the second tier of safety pay in the NFL.  The most recent relevant contract would be what Tashaun Gipson agreed to with the Jaguars.