How Can the Denver Broncos Jump-Start the Ground Game?

The Denver Broncos want to play with physicality on both sides of the ball. They have the defense figured out and firing on all cylinders. In fact, the Broncos have arguably the best defense in the league today. However, the Broncos have yet to show a physical identity on the offensive side of the ball.

Against the Detroit Lions this week, the Broncos will do whatever they can to make their rushing attack work.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak believes in being physical and how that can wear down an opponent.

“You've got to be physical running the football," Kubiak said. "Being physical is a state of mind. It's an identity. It's a commitment. It's not something you talk about and go do. It's something you work at all the time.”

Some things have been holding back the Broncos rushing attack this year. After 10 days between games, the Broncos may have some of those issues fixed—or fixed enough to have success on the ground against a poor Lions defense.

How can the Broncos jump-start the ground game? Let’s take a look.

Get C.J. Anderson Healthy

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Over two weeks, we’ve seen Anderson struggle to produce at the level most expected before the start of the season. In two games, Anderson only has 24 carries for 56 yards. He’s also chipped in with five catches for 21 yards—and Anderson has yet to score a touchdown this year.

This is much different than the production level we saw from Anderson at the end of last year. Over the final six weeks of the 2014 regular season, Anderson led the league in rushing and rushing touchdowns. He also finished third during that time in all-purpose yards behind only New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.

Anderson hurt his toe and ankle in the opening game against the Baltimore Ravens, and he hasn’t looked the same since then. He didn’t get much time to heal after Week 1, as the Broncos had to turn around and travel just four days later to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.

Kubiak likes the positive attitude that Anderson is keeping despite his early-season struggles.

“He’s working hard. [RB] Ronnie’s [Hillman] working hard, [RB] Juwan [Thompson]—I mean they’re all working hard," Kubiak said. "When things aren’t going the way you want them to, you try to do something about it, try to work through it. That’s what I see guys doing. It’s part of this league.”

Kubiak concluded, “It’s another opportunity this week, another big opportunity. Everybody’s got to get better.”

Anderson’s professionalism comes through as he puts the blame for the ground game struggling on his shoulders.

“You have to blame yourself," Anderson said. "I won't put anything on those big boys [offensive line]. It's on me. That's just how I feel personally.”

Anderson continued, “Even if things are not looking clean, I believe that I'm the type of player that can make plays. That's just something that I haven't been doing the last two weeks. I have the opportunity to do that, go out there, make plays and help my team win.”

Anderson has been a full participant in practice every day this week. By the time Sunday night's game rolls around, it will have been 10 days since we last saw the Broncos on the field. Perhaps this extra time off has allowed Anderson to heal so he can look like the star back he became in 2014.

Create Bigger Rushing Lanes

The Broncos offensive line needs to improve if they're going to jump-start the ground game. The team has four new offensive linemen compared to the unit that began the 2014 season. With limited work together, the offensive line has to get used to each other’s tendencies and work as one in this zone-blocking system.

This collection of offensive linemen have only worked together for two games, and that’s contributing to the issues we see up front. Perhaps with more time the line will look better.

On this play we see a huge lane on the left side of the line before the snap. It’s no surprise that the play is going to go that way, and the Broncos only need to make a few key blocks to spring Hillman for a big play:

NFL.com - Game Rewind

As Hillman gets the rock, you can see the rushing lane is still intact and it looks like he can use his speed to gash the Ravens:

NFL.com - Game Rewind

Then left tackle Ty Sambrailo failed to block his man. Safety Will Hill gets by the big man to stop Hillman for a loss of one yard. In order for Hillman to make the most of that carry, Sambrailo needed to secure that one block. He didn’t, and the play lost yardage for the Broncos:

NFL.com - Game Rewind

In addition to improved blocking from the offensive line, the Broncos can also use their wide receivers as blockers to help spring their running backs. The team has a fine collection of pass-catchers, and all of them are willing blockers.

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas believes that a strong rushing attack can set up big plays downfield for the passing game.

“Once you get the ground game going, you'll see more big plays. The past two weeks, as you know, we haven't really had a big play in this offense. Usually, as a receiver, either [WR] Emmanuel [Sanders] or I have a couple of big plays and it still hasn't happened yet. Once the guys keep coming up and trying to stop the run, and we get the safeties coming up to help, that's when we'll go over the top.”

A simple mistake here or there has kept the Broncos from creating field-flipping plays with their running backs. Cleaning up those simple mistakes could lead to the type of impact on the ground the team is looking for.

Use Ronnie Hillman the Right Way

The Broncos have a nice change-of-pace back in fourth-year pro Ronnie Hillman. He’s arguably the fastest player on the team, and Hillman can use that speed to eat up chunks of yardage in a hurry.

Having worked in a zone-blocking system in college at San Diego State, Hillman is already used to the patience and burst required to succeed in this scheme. So far this year, we’ve seen Hillman look good on a small handful of carries. However, we’ve also seen the Broncos ask him to do things he just can’t do.

Here we see the Broncos looking to punch it in on the Chiefs goal line. Notice how Kansas City has 11 defenders in the box as they are anticipating a run up the gut:

NFL.com - Game Rewind

Even though the Broncos were only one yard away from paydirt, Hillman’s carry went for no gain. He’s a fast player who can work well in the open field, but Hillman is not—and cannot be—a pile-pusher. Simply putting Anderson in here would have likely yielded a touchdown for the Broncos.

Hillman is ready for whatever workload the team wants to give him.

“Like I always say, you just have to be ready for whenever your number is called," Hillman explained. "If my number is called more than usual, that's what it is. If not, I'll just go in there and do what I can when I get in.”

Hillman is a talented reserve runner. However, there are certain ways he must be used for maximum effectiveness. The Broncos need to realize that he’s not a short-yardage back and take him out in those situations.

Summary

Kubiak and the coaching staff are going to work diligently to fix the rushing attack. They should be able to get things going against a Lions team that is not strong against the run. Entering Week 3, the Lions rank 29th in the NFL with an average of 147.5 rushing yards allowed per game. Things could be looking up for the Broncos and starter C.J. Anderson.

We certainly know that Kubiak is committed to running the football.

“You stay committed to what you believe in. We’re going to get to where we want to go offensively if we stay committed to something. We believe in what we’re going. [We’ve] been doing it a long time. We’ve just got to get better at how we’re doing it.” Kubiak explained, “As coaches, that always starts with us. You don’t run away from something. You work at it, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The team has had plenty of time to prepare for their opponent this week. Anderson has had plenty of time to heal from the ankle and toe injuries that he originally suffered in Week 1. The offensive line has had time to jell and work out some of their kinks. Now, the Broncos just need to show that physicality they want to have on offense this Sunday night.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.