Denver Broncos need to plan for the future with Gary Kubiak
By Ryan Ratty
The Denver Broncos need to plan for the future
Despite going 46-18 including a Super Bowl run and four divisional titles over the past four years, John Fox is out as the Denver Broncos’ head coach. Even though Fox is out, the Broncos still have the pieces in place to make the Super Bowl. However, Peyton Manning needs to be at the top of his game for the Broncos to overcome the New England Patriots next year. Gary Kubiak is the new head coach of the Broncos and even though he will likely have Manning as his quarterback in 2015, the fact of the matter is that the time is now for the Broncos to prepare for the future at the quarterback position.
Over the past three years, Brock Osweiler has been the backup to Manning, and even though his potential is still undetermined, the Broncos really like Osweiler and they believe he can be the player to man the quarterback position after Manning retires. Osweiler is a 6’8″, 240-pound quarterback that has the size to see clearly out of the pocket. Despite that, Osweiler has an awkward throwing release and his weak arm strength makes me wonder if he can be a starting quarterback at the NFL level.
Knowing that, the Broncos have to start planning for the future and whether that is developing Osweiler even further or looking into this year’s draft to bring in a quarterback, having a quarterback for the future needs to be a need at a high level of the Broncos’ list of offseason needs.
The good news for the Broncos is that they are bringing in a head coach that always gets the most out of his players. In 2013, Kubiak’s first and only season with the Baltimore Ravens, he revitalized Steve Smith’s career at the wide receiver position. Kubiak also revived the Ravens’ rushing attack. After Ray Rice was gone for the season, it looked like the Ravens were going to struggle tremendously with their offense. Bernard Pierce didn’t do anything to help, but Kubiak basically made Justin Forsett relevant again. In 2014, Forsett ran the football 235 times for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns. This is a yards per carry average of 5.4.
Although it’s going to feel strange if it happens, I don’t see Peyton returning 2015. Over the course of the past two months, Manning has thrown over 300 yards just twice. Seeing that Peyton’s arm was deteriorating and his play was regressing tremendously, the Broncos started running the football more often. In the second half of the season, C.J. Anderson emerged as a quality running back and the main reason why is because the Broncos made it a point to win with the run.
In the same two-month span, Anderson has rushed the football 158 times. Late in the season, the Broncos switched their philosophy from a pass-first team to a rushing-first team. Although there were reports of Peyton having a hip injury over the past few weeks, to me, this injury was basically a cover-up to overshadow Peyton and how he is likely finished.
Looking back on Kubiak’s tenure as an offensive coordinator, he has really failed to develop quarterbacks. Sure he won two Super Bowls with the Broncos in 1998 and 1999, but the reality is that John Elway, the best quarterback in Denver’s history, was his starting quarterback and you really didn’t have to be anything special as a coach to win games simply because you have one of the greats quarterbacking your offense. This something that Denver saw in 2014 with Adam Gase. Once Peyton started to struggle, the Broncos looked close to hapless on offense and that is attributed to Gase’s inability to devise gameplans week in and week out.
Over the course of his career, Kubiak hasn’t had to develop quarterbacks. Instead, he has been given decent talent to work with and fit his offensive philosophy. Yes, Schaub is by no means a good quarterback, but during his prime, he was extremely accurate and he was competent behind a stacked offensive line and a vaunted running game.
For the future, I believe the Broncos brought in the right guy. With Kubiak, you get an experienced coach who has made quarterbacks like Schaub and Joe Flacco perform better than they are. Kubiak is a guy that will do whatever it takes for his team to have success and that’s why the the Broncos can do their best to win now and prepare for the future. However, if Kubiak has to deal with a young quarterback and develop him, I expect this team to struggle.
Going forward after the Manning era, maybe in 2015 if he is in fact finished, the Broncos will need to start running the ball a bunch to help their young quarterback grow. Osweiler will be entering his fourth year in the NFL in 2015 and if Peyton retires, the Broncos will have their hands full as they have a win-now mindset, but they will also be having to deal with a young quarterback. That being said, planning for the future at the quarterback position will be huge for Kubiak and the Broncos as a whole.
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