As the second week of voluntary minicamp began Monday the offensive line continues to be the big story at Dove Valley and it appears that it will be for the foreseeable future.
Head coach Gary Kubiak quietly commented on the day’s practice and the subject of the offensive front once again dominated his statements before he gave some high praise to another offensive player.
“I think we are going to line up as we are now when we get to camp,” Kubiak said. “Louis (Vasquez) is the one guy who has been steady in what he has done. After that we are going to be competitive across the front.”
The trepidation among the media and fans is due to the lack of experience at the remaining four spots along the line. It is a huge problem that will be present for the entire season. Kubiak has stated over and over again that he likes the youth of Ben Garland and Ty Sambrailo who are currently running with the first team but those players could be switched out with other options at any time.
“We are going to be young whether I tell you the lineup today or in September. That’s a fact,” Kubiak said in reference to which offensive linemen appear to be the starters. “The good thing is we have gotten a lot of work and lot of reps already.”
Several Broncos were absent or left practice early Monday as the team struggled through the day. Jordan Norwood and Cody Latimer left practice with hamstring issues and T.J. Ward who was reportedly at the NBA Finals game five last night was not at practice. When asked about that Kubiak said with a grin, “Is that where he was? Like I said earlier this is voluntary.”
Ward is a huge Golden State Warriors fan, even getting the giant logo tattooed along his side earlier this year.
For weeks now Kubiak has asserted that C.J. Anderson was going to enter the offseason workouts as the starting running back and Monday he elaborated on how impressed he has been with the young back.
“Obviously C.J., in a lot of ways that is his spot to lose,” he said.
Anderson burst onto the scene in week ten of 2014 and has assumed a leadership role on the Broncos. It seems that any success he gained in 2014 is fueling his 2015 preparation. Kubiak finished his press conference making it clear what makes No. 22 the best option for the team’s backfield.
“You look for guys who can be three-down players,” Kubiak stated emphatically. “He has a knack for protection; he’s very bright in protection so he’s a guy that is not going to leave the field as much as he can stand. That’s what the greats do.”
Anderson will clearly get his chance to show if he can carry the load in a balanced attack that hasn’t been seen in Denver for several years. However, Kubiak did say that all of the backs have had a great offseason even describing Montee Ball’s progress as “great”. As for the poor practice, Kubiak is looking to move on.
“To be honest with you, we didn’t practice good today,” he said plainly. “We did get going and practiced better at the end of practice but we’ve got to push through. It wasn’t our best day, that’s for sure.”
The Broncos are definitely a stacked roster at many places but if Kubiak expects to “push through” the season with a less than stellar offensive line chances are Anderson or whoever gets the ball in September will appear to be much worse than what he has seen in June.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick.