Breaking Down the Offensive Line

It’s been difficult to try and take the collective pulse of Denver Broncos fans after Saturday’s preseason skirmish against the Houston Texans. There were definitely some bright spots (Jay Cutler), but also some real reasons for concern (the defensive line). Perhaps the topic more debated than any is the offensive line – and since that’s always the area to which I pay the closest attention, I’ll break down what I saw – and give grades!

LT Ryan Clady had an up and down game. After a few struggles early trying to contain Mario Williams, he pulled himself together, showing a lot of promise as an elite pass protecting left tackle. Before I bag on him, I want to say how good he was in pass pro. It was a good improvement over Matt Lepsis, who struggled mightily against Williams and the Texans last year. His run blocking was a different story entirely – he struggled at the point of attack and repeatedly lost his leverage. I was very disappointed, to say the least. He had a few really good run blocks – Cutler’s 15-yard run was only possible by the gaping hole Clady provided behind him (not to mention a great block by Eddie Royal at the end zone!), but overall it was ugly. He needs to get low and become a plow for this running football team or we’ll have a real problem on our hands. I understand that he’s a rookie and it’s his first game, but he’s been given the starting job. With it comes expectations. I’d give him a tough love grade of C.

LG Ben Hamilton was superb. Simply superb. I had heard some mixed reviews in training camp, but I didn’t notice any blaring mistakes in the least. One play that stands out – Hamilton began the play helping C Casey Wiegmann when a blitzing linebacker hit the A gap at full speed. It was the type of blitz that makes you sit up and pay attention, if you see it develop. Like a taut rubber band, Hamilton engaged the speedy opponent, slowed him to a halt, then pushed him back. It was fast (2 seconds) and amazingly efficient on Hamilton’s part. Major kudos, glad to have this guy back. A.

(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

C Casey Wiegmann was a pleasant surprise. I’m the biggest Tom Nalen fan out there, so anyone who replaces Tom goes under high scrutiny for me. I’m not sure if he was making the line calls like Nalen would, but the communication across the line was great, which is so important in the zone blocking scheme. Technically he was sound – a bit better in pass protection than run blocking – and a welcome addition to a team that might be missing #66 at times this season. I’d give Wiegmann a B+.

RG Chris Kuper gets my “Most Improved from Last Year” award – pay no mind to the fact that he’s the only guy returning at all. All kidding aside, I was very impressed with Kuper’s game. Very impressed. I was hard on Kuper last year, and felt he needed to improve his game over the offseason to merit a starting job. If Saturday’s performance is any indication, Kuper has potential to become the next Hamilton/Nalen-esque great Broncos offensive lineman. His run blocking was great, his pass protection was solid – I did notice a few mental errors, and once he let a lineman through. For that he gets downgraded to a B, but that’s better than the inconsistent Kuper of 07.

RT Ryan Harris actually played very well when the ref wasn’t forced to re-teach him the rulebook by the screeching sound of his whistle every five minutes. Four penalties isn’t pretty any way you slice it, but I just want to look at his performance on the field for a moment. The guy was solid. I saw no indication of back pains and his footwork was great in pass protection. I can’t ignore the penalties though – they came at some horribly inopportune times, too. For you, Harris, I dub a D – let’s clear these penalties and see you earn a B or better.

OVERALL – I am stoked to see what Cutler can do with a bit of time in the pocket.  The pass protection is miles ahead of last year’s unit.  Let’s see if it sticks through the preseason – especially against a 3-4 team like the Cowboys, who can help us see what to expect against San Diego.  The run blocking was inconsistent throughout most of the game – hopefully something that can develop as the players’ gain a bit tof chemistry.  The interior guys were solid for the most part but no one was truly exceptional in run blocking.  I’d give the line a B.

Considering that I would have easily graded last year’s o-line a D, that’s a very welcome improvement.

This was my opinion – what’s yours? What did you think of the offensive line play from Saturday?