The Denver Broncos offensive line took the brunt of the blame for Trevor Siemian‘s six sacks and six hits in Sunday’s 25-23 win over New Orleans (notably right tackle Donald Stephenson), but head coach Gary Kubiak was very clear on Monday that Siemian needs to do his part to cut down on those numbers.
“He took a lot of shots. Some of them he has to take responsibility for. We have to make sure that he’s stepping up in the pocket and doing those types of things, but he’s sore,” Kubiak said about his quarterback’s health. Leading up to the game a major storyline was Siemian’s ailing left shoulder, which has been injured since Week 4. While parts of the offensive line have struggled (Stephenson has graded as the worst right tackle in the NFL through 10 weeks), Denver also boasts arguably the best center in the league, Matt Paradis. Kubiak says a key to Siemian staying upright is staying near his center.
“Right now, sometimes his depth is bad in the shotgun,” Kubiak said. “[It’s] something we’ve got to work on. When it’s good, he’s stepping up. Sometimes he’s drifting and getting hit when he shouldn’t be getting hit so it’s something that we’re addressing and we have been actually addressing for about a month. It is something that we have to improve upon. He gets on the road, gets loud, you get in the gun, you start getting away from the center a little too far and now all of a sudden you’re back there hitting 11 yards. We’re not going to protect you if you’re doing that. It’s just something that we have to improve with him.”
Two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden of 120 Sports says it’s a joint effort, but ultimately things start and end with the offensive line protecting their young quarterback.
“That’s what quarterbacks are called to do: Look down the barrel and still deliver,” McFadden says. “Some quarterbacks get a little nervous – happy feet a little bit. Unfortunately that allows [Siemian] to receive more hits from defensive players, but most importantly its up to the offensive line. Help him make this transition a lot easier in standing in the pocket and being able to deliver passes.”
Kubiak acknowledged that not all is right with his line, but did find positives in their overall performance on Sunday.
“We just need to find some consistency,” he said. “I’m concerned in the consistency of what we’re doing. Yesterday we stayed on the field. We were 11-of-18 on third downs. We ran 80-plus plays. They ran 50. That’s a really good formula for our football team and it was just the opposite two weeks ago so a lot of positive things going on. We have to get more consistent in what we’re doing up front and consistency in our play throughout the course of the game. And if that means we have to play six, seven guys, we have to go find it. That’s why we’re in evaluation mode—big time, everywhere—but we’ll definitely do that. Ty [Sambrailo] came in [for Stephenson] and did some good things, but we have to get more consistent these last six weeks.”
Denver has a week off to heal and find answers to those inconsistencies. They host Kansas City on Nov. 27 following the bye week.