Short Passing Game, Defensive Personnel Add Wrinkles To Broncos

Looking at the 2009 Denver Broncos, one thing is evidently clear—change is on the way. Lots of change.

With a new head coach in Josh McDaniels, a new defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan, new starting quarterback and running back, and mostly an entirely new defense, this year’s team will be nothing like the 2008 squad.

Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on whether you’re talking about the team’s offense or defense.

Offensively, Denver ranked as one of the best in the league in 2008, finishing second only to New Orleans in total yardage. But, with Jay Cutler gone to Chicago, the team’s offensive focus will center around new signal-caller Kyle Orton, rookie running back Knowshon Moreno, and a corps of wide receivers that rank second to none.

More than that, the offense will have head coach Josh McDaniels playing a key part in running the show. McDaniels’ track record stands for itself. Even though the 33-year-old head coach lacks experience, there’s no denying the numbers his New England teams have put up since he started calling the offensive plays in 2005.

In 2007, with the Patriots on their way to an undefeated regular season, only to be stymied by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, New England put up 75 touchdowns, including 67 on offense.

That was with Tom Brady, Randy Mos,s and Wes Welker leading the charge. In 2008, with Brady injured in the season opener against Kansas City and Matt Cassel playing QB, New England still managed to win 11 games and just miss the playoffs.

Now in Denver, McDaniels will bring that short, effective passing game to the table with Kyle Orton throwing the ball to the likes of Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall. Orton may not have the arm strength that Cutler has, but, then again, Brady wasn’t considered the strongest thrower either when he left Michigan for the pros earlier this decade.

It’s that short passing game and the presence of Moreno in the backfield that will give Denver more than a one-dimensional look on offense, something that was almost necessary after seven Bronco running backs went down to injury in 2008.

But more than offense, the team’s defense will take on an entirely different look—and that’s a good thing.

A year after finishing as one of the worst teams in the league in yards allowed, Denver brings in former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan to lead the defense.

Prior to coaching in San Francisco, Nolan served as defensive coordinator for the N.Y. Giants, Washington, N.Y. Jets, and Baltimore. In each stop, the team’s defense had its best season in his first year at the helm.

With the Giants in 1993, New York gave up a league-low 205 points en route to a second-place finish to Dallas in the NFC East—a division that wasn’t won until the final game of the regular-season.

In 2001 with Baltimore, Nolan inherited a defense that was coming off a Super Bowl title. The talent was there that led to a No. 1 ranking in yards and points allowed, but the Ravens never repeated that effort, despite a pair of Top-10 finishes in 2003 and ’04.

That begs to ask whether Nolan’s defensive success in the 3-4 alignment has more to do with the personnel he had at his disposal or the scheme. It’s kind of hard not to think that it was the aforementioned players, something that Denver lacked in 2008.

With Brian Dawkins on board after coming over from Philadelphia as a free agent, rookies Robert Ayers, Darcel McBath, Alphonso Smith, and holdover Champ Bailey, the team has, hopefully, addressed its biggest weakness. Only time will tell.

I’m willing to bet that, while Denver’s offense will be the product of the new coaching staff in place, the defense, should it be successful, will have more to do with Dawkins’ leadership skills and the personnel around him then it will with Nolan’s 3-4 scheme.

History will prove that.