When the Denver Broncos hired former head coach Mike McCoy as their offensive coordinator in the 2017 offseason, excitement ran rampant throughout the Mile High City with thoughts of a faced-paced, top-ranked offense, led by one of the brightest minds in the NFL.
After Thursday’s practice, McCoy addressed the media to discuss some of the Broncos’ offensive concerns heading into this Sunday’s AFC West showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.
In their first year under McCoy, the Broncos’ offense has seen vast improvements from the previous season, where the offense was often labeled “stagnant.” Entering week six, the Broncos currently rank a respectable 12th in the NFL in total yards per game on offense.
However, after mustering just 10 points on offense against the New York Giants — and an average of only 14 over the last three weeks, there is still clearly work to be done to improve the offense moving forward.
First and foremost, the Broncos have struggled mightily in pass protection. The Broncos rank 27th in the NFL, allowing 3.4 sacks per game. Most of this pressure comes from the right side of the offensive line, where 2017 offseason acquisition tackle Menelik Watson has struggled thus far in the 2017 season. McCoy expressed his confidence in his offensive line when asked if concerns are growing about the play along the right side: “We have a lot of confidence in the guys we have. You always ask through the training camp and through the preseason games, do you rotate guys during games in certain positions? This is why — to get those guys ready. We have a lot of confidence in the guys that we have.”
While many believe the Broncos should look outside the organization to continue rebuilding their offensive line, McCoy appears to have confidence in not only the starters, but in the backups, as well. McCoy’s belief will be tested on Sunday; starter Watson and backup Donald Stephenson will miss the game against the Chargers with injury, pressing left guard Allen Barbre into the starting role. Barbre, who normally splits time at left guard with Max Garcia, did play at right tackle last season with Philadelphia.
Along with below-average pass protection, the Broncos have struggled mightily in the red zone when it comes to scoring touchdowns. The Broncos currently rank 27th in the NFL in percentage of touchdowns scored per red zone attempt (45%). Though the Broncos have moved the ball effectively, McCoy acknowledges the team’s struggles in the red zone, and states that he continues to stress to his players that they need to move on to the next play: “The one big message I have to the players all the time is just [to] play the next play, regardless of whatever the results are in a game. Any game you play — or after any rep — you just move on to the next play or the next game, whatever it is. You have to go. You have to have thick skin in this business. We haven’t finished drives in [the red zone] like we’ve wanted to. There’s plenty of opportunities and plays you can make.”
“We have to start scoring touchdowns. We move the ball, we’ve all seen that. We’ve been going up and down the field at times. We have to finish in the end zone.”
The Broncos were able to secure a victory over the Chargers in week one by scoring 24 points, which is just about how much they have scored in their previous two games combined (26). If the team wants to avoid falling to .500 on the season at 3-3, the Broncos will need to put points on the scoreboard early and often when they take the field against the team that McCoy served as head coach for only one year ago.