C.J. Anderson has his offensive linemen’s backs. That’s a good thing, because he needs them to open up holes for him this season. And Anderson says don’t blame them for failures in the offense over the last two seasons.
Anderson is looking for a bounce-back year after rushing for just 437 yards and four touchdowns in seven games before an injury ended his season.
Unfortunately, Anderson was still Denver’s second-leading rusher behind rookie Devontae Booker, who ran for only 612 yards. So, it should come as no surprise that Denver’s offense ranked 27th in total yards last season. But again, Anderson says don’t blame the offensive line.
“People just tried to make it seem like our o-line was just a huge problem. I don’t think our o-line was the problem,” Anderson told the collected media after Wednesday’s OTA practice at UCHealth Training Center.
He also won’t blame the old coaching regime and their offensive scheme.
“I’m not saying the scheme was bad, because it wasn’t. We obviously won a Super Bowl with it,” Anderson said.
In the 2014 Pro Bowler’s estimation, the offensive struggles was a combination of both scheme and personnel.
“I just don’t think our o-line fit well in that scheme,” he continued, “which is why [former head coach Gary] Kubiak was trying to make changes and do things. He only had two years to do it though. It’s not like this was Kubiak’s fourth or fifth year and we have the o-line that we need for Kubiak’s scheme.”
So, really, time (or not enough of it) was as much to blame as anything else.
“People forget to understand that Kubiak was only here for two years and it takes some time to get the people you want for your scheme,” Anderson said.
That notion makes it even more impressive that Kubiak and the Broncos were able to win a Super Bowl in 2015 while trying to implement a new scheme with personnel that was more in line with the kind needed for the offense Mike McCoy has returned to Denver this offseason.
The positives for Anderson and the current Broncos offense is that they are returning returning to an offensive scheme that is better suited to their current personnel.
“I think we have the right scheme for the right linemen,” Anderson said on Wednesday when asked about the changes to the offensive line.
This offseason Denver added guard Ronald Leary and offensive tackle Menelik Watson in free agency, in addition to drafting tackle Garett Bolles in the first round.
“Bringing those guys in will definitely help us a lot,” Anderson said, while still giving a nod to a pair of Broncos veterans. “Having [guard] Max [Garcia] and having [lineman Michael] Schofield will help them a lot.”
Perhaps the best news is that three of Denver’s biggest returning playmakers are familiar with the system, having played in it under either McCoy or under Adam Gase who took over for him when he took the head coaching job in San Diego.
“A lot of it is carry-over,” Anderson said. “Myself, [WR] Emmanuel [Sanders] and [WR] Demaryius [Thomas] have all played in this offense, so that’s a good thing. We have some familiarity of it. It helps us play fast at practice but there are some things that we still have to know and still have to do. That’s the reason why we’re sitting here in OTAs.”
