The man tasked with elevating the play of Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch to a level consistent with the great quarterbacks in Broncos history has a history of his own that should comfort Broncos fans.
There’s no denying the Denver Broncos have a history of excellent quarterback play. Yes, they have had some years of mediocrity, but they do also have two guys that can be included on a Mount Rushmore of top signal-callers. John Elway played 16 seasons in Denver, taking the Broncos to five Super Bowls and being named to the Pro Bowl nine times. Peyton Manning may have played the majority of his incredible career in Indianapolis, but he did have four amazing seasons in Denver, setting NFL passing records and winning a Super Bowl. So, when we saw the quarterback situation in Denver flounder last year, it was a shock to the system of many of the Broncos faithful.
It isn’t that starting quarterback Trevor Siemian was horrible. The first-year starter threw for over 3,400 yards and 18 touchdowns, while leading the Broncos to an 8-6 record as a starter. He definitely showed flashes of brilliance, throwing for over 300 yards, and four touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. His gutsy performance in a painful Week 10 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs may have been the best showing of his young career. Yet, the Denver offense struggled to find any consistency, averaging just 20.8 points per game. Third down is considered the “big money” down for NFL offenses, and the Denver offense converted just 34 percent of their attempts, ranking them 31st out of 32 teams. It wasn’t just Siemian. Rookie Paxton Lynch started two games, and the offense was actually even less effective. They averaged just 14 points in those games, and third down conversions dropped to 17 percent with Lynch at the helm.
Siemian and Lynch are both inexperienced, and they didn’t have an abundance of help around them. The offensive line struggled, and the running game was non-existent. The Gary Kubiak/Rick Dennison offense failed to put their young quarterbacks in the best positions to be successful.
Enter a new offensive coordinator, a new offensive scheme, some new talent and a new quarterbacks coach that knows something about teaching young talent.
Bill Musgrave was a standout high school quarterback in Grand Junction, Colo. before a solid college career at the University of Oregon. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. After a seven-year career, he jumped immediately into the coaching ranks. He has worked with some great offensive minds in the NFL, having coached under Joe Bugel, Joe Gibbs, Mike Mularkey, Chip Kelly, Jim Mora and former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan.
The lessons he took from those coaches have helped him when working with some notable young quarterbacks. While in Jacksonville, he transformed Byron Leftwich and the Jaguars into a respectable offense. In Atlanta, he worked with a young quarterback named Matt Ryan and helped him reach the Pro Bowl. And most recently in Oakland, he helped Derek Carr and the Raiders become one of the top-rated offenses in the NFL.
Prior to Musgrave’s arrival in Oakland, in Carr’s rookie year, the Raiders offense ranked 31st in points and dead last in yards. In two years under his watch as offensive coordinator, those rankings climbed to 17th and 24th, then seventh and sixth. Carr was named to the Pro Bowl both years working with Musgrave.
As quarterbacks coach in Atlanta, Musgrave took Ryan, a rookie, and produced the No. 6 offense in football. By his final year there, 2010, when he served as both quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, Atlanta was the No. 5 scoring team in the league. Ryan earned the first of four Pro Bowl nods that year.
He was impressive with Jacksonville in Leftwich’s rookie season, as well, taking an offense that ranked 25th in total yards prior to their arrival and elevating them to 12th in the league.
Musgrave has a background in the West Coast offense, which focuses on stretching out the defense horizontally, as well as vertically. It gives the quarterback multiple options, provided they can throw an accurate pass. Spreading the field to stretch out the defense can also allow the running game to flourish. Musgrave has been patient with his new quarterbacks, and has simplified the play-calling language to help make it easier for Siemian and Lynch to learn.
Last week, new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy spoke to Musgrave catering the playbook to his young passers.
“We’re trying to figure out what those guys do best,” McCoy said. “Billy (Musgrave) has done a great job with the quarterbacks while introducing our system to them. We’re learning about ourselves as an offense right now. Both coaches and players. We’re trying to figure out what we do best, and then when we get ready to play a game at the opener, we’ll figure out what those players do best.”
It is going to take some time for this offense to gel. The offensive line will need to develop, and become a cohesive unit. An improved running game could completely transform the look of this offense. And this new scheme could allow a talented wide receiving corps to show their talent and ability to turn short receptions into big gains. If Bill Musgrave can get his quarterbacks up to speed, there is no reason that this team can’t be back into Super Bowl contention.