The Denver Broncos’ new head coach, interim Jerry Rosburg, is quickly getting to work on overhauling the Broncos’ putrid special teams unit.
“I said yesterday that I was going to jump into the middle of special teams, and that is what I’ve done,” Coach Rosburg told the media on Thursday. “I also complemented [Special Teams Coach] Mike Mallory on his ability to adjust to that because we have spent a lot of good time together over the last few days. We’re trying to improve the special teams because as you all would agree, it needed work. I’m providing Mike and the players with my view on things. Mike is doing all of the dirty work. He’s drawing up the schemes, he’s dealing with the depth charts, and he’s organizing the practices and doing all of that. Then I go and do my thing because I can.”
Although Coach Rosburg is largely trusting Mallory to oversee the special teams improvement, as the Broncos’ interim has to divide his attention across the entire team, Rosburg has tinkered with the way the team is practicing their special teams responsibilities.
Some of these tinkers relate to how the Broncos have broken up their practices in recent weeks.
“We changed the order of things. We didn’t change the structure,” Coach Rosburg said, of how he was adjusting practice, now that he’s in charge. “Maybe special teams are conducted a little bit differently. It’s all together at the top. We rearranged it with what I was familiar with and comfortable with in regard to the special teams and doing it early. At that point, I can turn my focus to the offense and defense. The rest of the practice is very similar to the structure that has been going on. I want all the work that these men and these coaches have put in during the course of this whole season to continue. I don’t want to disrupt that, but I did up end that part of it.”
Rosburg also shared his thoughts on Montrell Washington, who has had a disappointing rookie season, despite a phenomenally strong offseason and September.
“What I’ve seen from [WR] Montrell [Washington] is a young man that has a lot of skill,” Rosburg shared. “He’s a very talented young man. I aspire to help him get better. He needs to work on fundamentals that we are working on now. We are going to have a good drill today that’s really centered around he and the other returners. We are going to try and put him in a position so that he can use his skills as they fit into our returner plan.”
If Rosburg can get the special teams and Montrell Washington trending back in the right direction, it’d be a tremendous victory for the Denver Broncos, as they shift their focus toward 2023.
