On Thursday, Denver brought back a Colorado native and a former Broncos tackle. It is a feel-good story that should have never been. Former Cherry Creek Bruin, Colorado Buffalo and journeyman NFL tackle, Tyler Polumbus rejoined the team that first signed him to an NFL contract to help bolster their thinning offensive tackle positions. Yet the signing did not represent a savvy move, but magnified a bad decision from August that may soon haunt John Elway and Gary Kubiak.
On Wednesday, a light-hearted moment got me thinking. An often-present media member made a humorous mistake. He asked head coach Gary Kubiak if it was nice to have veteran backup Chris Clark on the roster in a situation when the starting left tackle, Ty Sambrailo may miss Week 4 due to injury. The funny part, of course, is that Clark was traded away for a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans on August 31 to make room on the roster. Kubiak chuckled at the miscue and responded saying, “We don’t have him anymore.”
You sure don’t coach. How is Clark, who ranked as the 14th best left tackle according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) during the Broncos Super Bowl run of 2013, doing? He’s starting for the Texans at left tackle and playing well enough, with an overall PFF grade of 0.0 after not missing an offensive snap in Weeks 2 and 3.
To be fair, Clark started Broncos training camp as the starting right tackle and was beat out by Ryan Harris and then at left tackle by Sambrailo. Kubiak certainly knows how to evaluate who fits certain schemes, including his balanced, zone-blocking attack. The fact that Clark was sent back to the second string is not the surprising and shocking part of the team’s moves. The baffling move in August and certainly now is how Elway and Kubiak thought it was wise to deal Clark to Houston and rely on Michael Schofield, a second-year tackle out of Michigan that has done nothing but disappoint the brass at every turn, to be the swing backup tackle for this football team.
Now here we are. The Broncos and their already underperforming offensive line have again declared with the Polumbus signing, that Schofield cannot be relied on. In a predictable and understandable move, Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison downplayed the move Thursday. Kubiak chalked it up to normal problems teams face over the year saying, “We are just going through some of the pains of an NFL season.”
Hindsight is certainly 20/20 but Clark represents a far better option than Polumbus or Schofield and Kubiak’s comments on the newest member of the team confirms that.
“We need someone here right now with some playing under his belt,” Kubiak said of Polumbus Thursday. Although Polumbus, an eight-year veteran, has seen a lot of football, Clark’s versatility and performance shows that dealing him away was a big mistake. Just comparing the two players’ 2014 season speaks volumes.
Last season, Clark started two games at left tackle and 10 at right tackle. He gave up only two sacks, two quarterback hits and six quarterback hurries. Polumbus, on the other hand, started 11 games at right tackle for the Washington Redskins and gave up eight sacks, zero quarterback hits and 13 quarterback hurries, per PFF. Polumbus finished the season as the 62nd ranked tackle on PFF with an overall grade of -12.6, more than double that of Clark in the negative direction.
Elway, and Kubiak to a lesser extent, have been drawing praise from every direction in the football world for their offseason work; looking at the defense in particular, it is warranted. But the Clark move, quietly covered and even more quietly objected to by anyone, may hurt the team in the long run and devastate them this Sunday.
The Minnesota Vikings have two fantastic defensive ends that will try and sit Peyton Manning down in the turf regularly. Brian Robison, primarily the left defensive end and Everson Griffen, usually rushing from the right side, have combined for three sacks, six quarterback hits and 22 quarterback hurries through just three games. As of right now, no one really knows who will be trying to block them at left tackle.
Sambrailo did not practice the past two days after Kubiak “hoped” he would go Thursday. The coming days will shed light on how the team will deal with the situation. If the rookie left tackle can’t recover from a shoulder injury suffered during the win in Detroit, Louis Vasquez may have to move back to right tackle where he struggled in 2014 and Harris may shift to the left side. Schofield may finally get his feet went in a regular season game but that seems doubtful as well. Lastly, Polumbus will not be prepared to jump into a starting lineup just days after joining the team. Yet, Dennison for one, is not worried.
“We’ve had bigger tasks that have worked,” Dennison said in reference to getting Polumbus ready too play Sunday.
Finding a starting left tackle among three healthy players, one of which just got to town and a banged up rookie is a simple fix? I’m not buying it and deep down I bet Elway and Kubiak are not either. If they could go back in time they certainly would rethink dealing Clark away. Rethinking Wednesday’s misuse by the media member may have simply been wishful thinking on his part and the coaching staff may be wishing Clark was still in orange and blue Sunday when they face the Vikings and their formidable defensive front.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick
