The Denver Broncos Running Game (1 Viewer)

[nxmehta]

As I was contemplating my roster the other day, which includes Travis Henry/Selvin Young/Andre Hall, I started to think WTF happened here with my first round pick and his handcuffs. I don't want to start of these guys, and it's killing me. This was the one FBG "slam dunk" that really hurt me this year (I would be remiss to mention the countless other tips that are going to propel me to the playoffs in all leagues this year).

Looking at the numbers, I found the following data on the Broncos ground game:

Rush Yds/Game: 122.6 (12th)

Avg Rush Yds: 4.7 (2nd)

TDs: 5 (22nd - in a five way tie, so basically 26th)

Fumbles: 8 (26th)

And here's the individual stats for the primary backs:

Travis Henry - 580 yds, 4.5 ypc, 1 td, 2 fum

Selvin Young - 385 yds, 5.1 ypc, 1 td, 2 fum

Andre Hall - 108 yds, 7.2 ypc, 1 td, 1 fum

I guess we can conclude from these numbers that the Broncos RBs can sure pick up yardage, aren't given the chance enough, can't get into the end zone, and can't hang on to the ball.

Any Denver homers want to comment on why this might be? Will any of these guys have value in the playoffs (will someone eventually start finding the endzone)?

 

[Magnus_CA]

They only have 7 more passing TD's than rushing TD's. Their offense is anemic whether it's passing or running with the ball.

 

[PahtyTom]

They only have 7 more passing TD's than rushing TD's. Their offense is anemic whether it's passing or running with the ball.

Anemic? Really? They have a top 10 offense with some bad luck.

 

[SSOG]

Like any question, there are no simple explanations. We're looking at a massive confluence of factors. To run through a brief list...

Denver's attempted a VERY uncharacteristically low number of rushing attempts, first and foremost. Here's where Denver's ranked on a year-by-year basis in terms of rushing attempts- 19th, 9th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 11th, 6th, 4th, 9th, 2nd, 6th, 3rd, 16th. Basically, Shanahan's first year was an outlier, and since then, Denver has never finished below 11th in attempts (and has only once finished below 9th). This year, they're 19th. That's a precipitous drop in carries, and is the result of several different factors. First off, Denver's not been able to stake those big first-quarter leads that have been their hallmark under Shanahan. No leads = no clock grinding. Quite the contrary, Denver's been falling behind a lot this year, which has limited the number of rushing attempts.

Second off, there's a question of pace. Denver's run defense is bad this year, which combines with the lack of first quarter leads to ensure that both teams are grinding a lot more clock. Denver plays at one of the slowest paces in the league, resulting in among the fewest offensive plays in the entire NFL. This is probably going to come as a complete shock, but did you know that Denver averages the third most yards per drive in the entire NFL, behind only New England and Indy? The reason Denver's total yardage numbers are so mediocre is because there are fewer Denver drives per game than almost any other team. The Broncos are tied for fewest offensive drives in the entire NFL- fewer drives = fewer opportunities to score fantasy points.

Third off, there's Denver's red-zone struggles. These are pretty self explanatory. Normally, Denver gets a lot of fantasy value from rushing TDs. This year, the team as a whole only has 5 rushing TDs. As Cutler matures, the team will probably get better in the red zone- Cutler's already iceman on 3rd downs, when the coaching staff starts letting him loose he'll figure to be a really good red zone QB, too.

Finally, there's always the huge rash of injuries on the OLine. Last year's line, from left to right, was Pears / Hamilton / Nalen / Carlisle / Foster. This year's line, from left to right, is Lepsis / Kuper / Myers / Holland / Pears. Only one of the five guys is the same from last year (Pears), and he's playing in a different position. Lepsis is the only guy on the line who had a full season worth of starts in this system coming into the year. That's some incredibly massive upheaval on a unit whose performance is predominantly dictated by continuity. The line is still acquitting itself very well- notice that 2nd in the league in yards per attempt figure- but it could be much better if it weren't for the rash of injuries.

 

[Gerg73]

Like any question, there are no simple explanations. We're looking at a massive confluence of factors. To run through a brief list... Denver's attempted a VERY uncharacteristically low number of rushing attempts, first and foremost. Here's where Denver's ranked on a year-by-year basis in terms of rushing attempts- 19th, 9th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 11th, 6th, 4th, 9th, 2nd, 6th, 3rd, 16th. Basically, Shanahan's first year was an outlier, and since then, Denver has never finished below 11th in attempts (and has only once finished below 9th). This year, they're 19th. That's a precipitous drop in carries, and is the result of several different factors. First off, Denver's not been able to stake those big first-quarter leads that have been their hallmark under Shanahan. No leads = no clock grinding. Quite the contrary, Denver's been falling behind a lot this year, which has limited the number of rushing attempts.Second off, there's a question of pace. Denver's run defense is bad this year, which combines with the lack of first quarter leads to ensure that both teams are grinding a lot more clock. Denver plays at one of the slowest paces in the league, resulting in among the fewest offensive plays in the entire NFL. This is probably going to come as a complete shock, but did you know that Denver averages the third most yards per drive in the entire NFL, behind only New England and Indy? The reason Denver's total yardage numbers are so mediocre is because there are fewer Denver drives per game than almost any other team. The Broncos are tied for fewest offensive drives in the entire NFL- fewer drives = fewer opportunities to score fantasy points.Third off, there's Denver's red-zone struggles. These are pretty self explanatory. Normally, Denver gets a lot of fantasy value from rushing TDs. This year, the team as a whole only has 5 rushing TDs. As Cutler matures, the team will probably get better in the red zone- Cutler's already iceman on 3rd downs, when the coaching staff starts letting him loose he'll figure to be a really good red zone QB, too.Finally, there's always the huge rash of injuries on the OLine. Last year's line, from left to right, was Pears / Hamilton / Nalen / Carlisle / Foster. This year's line, from left to right, is Lepsis / Kuper / Myers / Holland / Pears. Only one of the five guys is the same from last year (Pears), and he's playing in a different position. Lepsis is the only guy on the line who had a full season worth of starts in this system coming into the year. That's some incredibly massive upheaval on a unit whose performance is predominantly dictated by continuity. The line is still acquitting itself very well- notice that 2nd in the league in yards per attempt figure- but it could be much better if it weren't for the rash of injuries.

 

[nxmehta]

Like any question, there are no simple explanations. We're looking at a massive confluence of factors. To run through a brief list... Denver's attempted a VERY uncharacteristically low number of rushing attempts, first and foremost. Here's where Denver's ranked on a year-by-year basis in terms of rushing attempts- 19th, 9th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 11th, 6th, 4th, 9th, 2nd, 6th, 3rd, 16th. Basically, Shanahan's first year was an outlier, and since then, Denver has never finished below 11th in attempts (and has only once finished below 9th). This year, they're 19th. That's a precipitous drop in carries, and is the result of several different factors. First off, Denver's not been able to stake those big first-quarter leads that have been their hallmark under Shanahan. No leads = no clock grinding. Quite the contrary, Denver's been falling behind a lot this year, which has limited the number of rushing attempts.Second off, there's a question of pace. Denver's run defense is bad this year, which combines with the lack of first quarter leads to ensure that both teams are grinding a lot more clock. Denver plays at one of the slowest paces in the league, resulting in among the fewest offensive plays in the entire NFL. This is probably going to come as a complete shock, but did you know that Denver averages the third most yards per drive in the entire NFL, behind only New England and Indy? The reason Denver's total yardage numbers are so mediocre is because there are fewer Denver drives per game than almost any other team. The Broncos are tied for fewest offensive drives in the entire NFL- fewer drives = fewer opportunities to score fantasy points.Third off, there's Denver's red-zone struggles. These are pretty self explanatory. Normally, Denver gets a lot of fantasy value from rushing TDs. This year, the team as a whole only has 5 rushing TDs. As Cutler matures, the team will probably get better in the red zone- Cutler's already iceman on 3rd downs, when the coaching staff starts letting him loose he'll figure to be a really good red zone QB, too.Finally, there's always the huge rash of injuries on the OLine. Last year's line, from left to right, was Pears / Hamilton / Nalen / Carlisle / Foster. This year's line, from left to right, is Lepsis / Kuper / Myers / Holland / Pears. Only one of the five guys is the same from last year (Pears), and he's playing in a different position. Lepsis is the only guy on the line who had a full season worth of starts in this system coming into the year. That's some incredibly massive upheaval on a unit whose performance is predominantly dictated by continuity. The line is still acquitting itself very well- notice that 2nd in the league in yards per attempt figure- but it could be much better if it weren't for the rash of injuries.

Thanks for the insight- that explains a lot. Outlook doesn't look great for the rest of the season...