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Published on 10/14/2010 at Thu Oct 14 18:00.
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O-Line shuffle continues – McDaniels needs to make up his mind

Posted Thu Oct 14th by

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh #90 of the Detroit Lions battles the blocking of offensive tackle Ryan Harris #74 of the Denver Broncos during preseason NFL action at INVESCO Field at Mile High on August 21, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Ryan Harris blocks rookie Ndamukong Suh during the 2010 preseason. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos right tackle Ryan Harris returned to the starting lineup for the first time since injuring his ankle in the preseason last Sunday. His return might be short-lived.

The Broncos experimented with their offensive line formations at practice Thursday, with a healthy Harris splitting starting reps with Zane Beadles at right tackle while Russ Hochstein and Stanley Daniels took turns at left guard.

“They’re rotating in there right now, and we’ll see how that goes,” head coach Josh McDaniels said. “Competition has got to continue to try to make us better.”

McDaniels’ leaning on competition to settle the formation may seem like a good idea, but the Broncos’ starting lineup against Baltimore — from left to right, Ryan Clady, Hochstein, J.D. Walton, Chris Kuper, and Harris — was already their fourth different formation in five games. Might some of that depth chart upheaval be contributing to the Broncos’ struggles in run blocking and pass protection this season?  At some point the Broncos need to settle on a distinction between starter and backup, right? 

“I think we’ve tried to push a lot of players to be in a competitive situation even though the season has already started,” McDaniels said.

To us, that’s just silly. Months of mini-camp, training camp, preseason games, and regular season work should have already settled the offensive line pecking order when everyone’s healthy.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are preparing for a New York Jets team that is about to blitz them in ways they have yet to see this season. Rather than setting his lineup and focusing on what Rex Ryan is scheming, McDaniels is messing with the works.

Furthermore, this experimenting gives whoever ends up starting half the reps, messes with everyone’s confidence (and we mean everyone), and disrupts the rhythm and chemistry their adjacent blockers — Clady, Walton, and Kuper — should be able to expect.

In our opinion, the Broncos should move Beadles back over to left guard, where he started throughout training camp and preseason, and keep Harris at right tackle.  This lineup reflects the expected starters heading into the season and puts the Broncos’ five most talented blockers on the field.

Bad job, McDaniels. Make up your mind.

  • http://twitter.com/jholm7 Jason

    I agree with yer final assessment of Ryan, Zane, JD, Chris and Ryan. And of the “let them freakin' be” mentality. They need some time to gel and work out the kinks.

    The “win now” philosophy is gonna kill our chances of winning at all. If the offense line coach can't teach them or they are just incapable of learning how to work together, I get it- but they need time to get there.

  • areferee

    It's quickly becoming time for Pat Bowlen to fish or cut bait, as to the type of team he wants. McDaniels is blowing in the wind like dust, afraid to land anywhere for long. There is no stability, no continuity, no leadership. You can't win this way.

  • anthony33

    Wow… no wonder the running game stinks. Just like Hillis fumbling a couple or times last year and Cox dropping a punt this year… they go in the dog house McD built, never to escape.

    This is getting utterly ridiculous. The key to any offensive line is working together and building trust in one another. Couldn't he frickin' wait to do this on the bye week and give one group a couple of weeks to gel?

    I've said it before, this team plays scared. Look at Ryan, those players want to play for that guy. McD's guys play with the fear that one mistake and you're done.

    John Gruden??

  • http://ehalseymiles.com E. Halsey Miles

    In our opinion, the Broncos should move Beadles back over to left guard, where he started throughout training camp and preseason, and keep Harris at right tackle. This lineup reflects the expected starters heading into the season and puts the Broncos’ five most talented blockers on the field.

    Words cannot express how much I agree with this sentiment.

    Statistics show that the #1 quality that contributes to the success of an offensive line is stability, well beyond any amount of talent or other intangibles you might have. A line that plays together for an entire season tends to do better than other lines, regardless of who the players actually are. Sure, you can't just plug scrubs into the line and expect them to do well after a year, but by the same token, if you've got a backup who performs reasonably and has been playing for most of a season, the backup is likely to perform at least as well as the veteran simply because the rest of the line understands the tendencies and timing.

    Playing with the line, right now, is hopeless. No matter what McJosh tries, it is going to fail.

    All McJosh can do now is to pick a line he likes, stick with it and pray it improves as the season goes on. Right now, all that can happen is suck, suck and more suck, and fiddling with the line simply extends how long that suck is going to last. “Win right now” doesn't matter on the O-line. We have to bank on “win in December” and the only way to do that is to try and create a consistent O-Line.

  • Jake White

    Wow. McDaniels continues to sabotage any chance of this unit playing together and building continuity – what this unit has been missing. Good luck finding a running game this way.

  • Mark Angeletti

    We switch-out the running backs weekly, we switch-out the o-line weekly, at some point we will need to switch-out the guy calling the plays.

  • Rcsodak

    Maybe ya'll, with your 'matter-of-fact' drivel, should upload your NFL coaching resumes.
    I'll stick with the guys that SEE them every day in practice, and on the game tapes afterwards.
    Because EVIDENTLY they're NOT GETTING IT! You don't keep pissing into the wind, thinking the wind will soon die down!

    But continue on, sounding like doodinks. It's great comedic relief.

  • areferee

    We “Doodinks” have earned the privilege of sounding off with every ticket, hot dog and team jersey we have ever purchased, and don't you forget it. It is the typical fan that drives this machine, and if it wasn't for this fanaticism, there wouldn't BE an NFL.

    BTW: WTF is a “doodink”, there Noodnink?

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Damn straight.

    Better than blindly following a coach who has run this ground game into the ground.

  • Jake White

    Wow. McDaniels continues to sabotage any chance of this unit playing together and building continuity – what this unit has been missing. Good luck finding a running game this way.

  • Mark Angeletti

    We switch-out the running backs weekly, we switch-out the o-line weekly, at some point we will need to switch-out the guy calling the plays.

  • Rcsodak

    Maybe ya'll, with your 'matter-of-fact' drivel, should upload your NFL coaching resumes.
    I'll stick with the guys that SEE them every day in practice, and on the game tapes afterwards.
    Because EVIDENTLY they're NOT GETTING IT! You don't keep pissing into the wind, thinking the wind will soon die down!

    But continue on, sounding like doodinks. It's great comedic relief.

  • areferee

    We “Doodinks” have earned the privilege of sounding off with every ticket, hot dog and team jersey we have ever purchased, and don't you forget it. It is the typical fan that drives this machine, and if it wasn't for this fanaticism, there wouldn't BE an NFL.

    BTW: WTF is a “doodink”, there Noodnink?

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Damn straight.

    Better than blindly following a coach who has run this ground game into the ground.