This year’s Broncos squad is going to have a different look across the board. From new coaches to young players to new signees to players at new positions, there are going to be some new faces in the spotlight once the season kicks fully into gear.
While the coaching staff is still mostly non-committal about who exactly the face will be at quarterback, it’s clear that the staff as a whole is excited about what they are seeing so far in team activities.
Here’s a quick rundown of what the coordinators had to say about the new guys on the team, courtesy of Broncos PR.
HC Vance Joseph
On signing CB Chris Lewis-Harris
“I had him in Cincinnati. He was my fourth or fifth corner my two years there. He’s a smart player and he’s an experienced player. He’s played nickel and he’s played as an outside corner also. We wanted to add a guy with experience to the secondary room as far as the fourth or fifth corner. Losing [Rams CB Kayvon] Webster in free agency is a big deal. That fourth or fifth corner is one play from playing so we wanted to add a guy to the roster that’s played an NFL game. If something would happen, we’d feel OK about it.”
On switching Ronald Leary and Max Garcia around at guard
“It’s really about the best overall fit. The best offensive lines play well together. It’s not having five Pro Bowl players, it’s about having five guys that play well together and guys that are tough and smart. Max’s best position is left guard, so for us to be the best offensive line we can, Max has got to be the best left guard he can. Ronald being a veteran player, he had no problem going to right.”
OC Mike McCoy
On T Garett Bolles
“I think like everybody in our system, we’re throwing so much at them. All the rookies right now, not just one or two of them, are learning. We’re throwing a lot at them and the key thing we told every player on this team is to put ourselves in a position in training camp to compete for a job. That’s what they’re all doing. That’s why we’re moving guys around so much.”
On TE Jake Butt
“I love the way Jake comes and prepares every day. As you watch the film of practice, he’s always back there behind the offense and going through his steps. He asks great questions in meetings. He loves the game of football and he’s a gym rat, so you love the way he approaches it every day.”
On providing the young players with a lot of information
“That’s the challenge every year. When you have the rookies come in or it’s the first year in a system, we’ve got to install in phases. That’s why we tried to have 10 installs. There’s plenty of offense in there to run for a couple years, but we told them we’re not going to run all of this right now. They’ve heard the install a couple times now, and at some point in time we’re going to figure out what we’re best at as an offense. We’re going to take advantage of our players’ talent and put them in a position to succeed.”
DC Joe Woods
On the young defensive backs
“They’re a critical part of our defense. Last year between [S] Justin [Simmons] and [S] Will [Parks], they played some substantial time for us. Everybody knows from the first year to the second year that you expect a big jump. I think those guys did a great job last year in the role we had them play, but we expect them to step in and be able to do even more for us.”
On if a new coaching staff helps aid the ‘reset’ mentality
“Yeah, I think so. Guys get wired in because they’re used to doing the same thing all the time. It’s not like we’re really changing our system defensively. We have some new tweaks in terms of what we’re doing, but [Head Coach] Vance [Joseph] has definitely been a great help. When he talks to those guys, they really wire in. They know that he’s been through this as a position, a coordinator and now a head coach. He’s been through those position battles and they trust him.”
