The Denver Broncos are 7-1 at the halfway mark but coming off of a disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The offensive line, which has been a work in progress since their last loss to the Colts in January, has steadily improved this season. Sunday, they allowed pressure to get to Peyton Manning and the offense as a whole, failed to create any sort of run game. However, two veteran linemen, who joined the team in the offseason have the right approach to bounce back from a loss or a big win.
“It is pretty much the same objectives as coming off of a win,” Evan Mathis said Monday. “You need to correct the things you don’t do well but when you lose, those things are under a microscope and those are the reasons that you lost. Those need to get corrected, but you correct those and bury the emotions the day after the game. We don’t need to carry any negative emotions over from the game. If anybody wants to draw motivation from what happened that’s good but just like a win, when things are going really well you get over it, bury it and refocus.”
The Broncos dug themselves a quick 17-0 hole in Indianapolis and although both linemen admitted it does not change their approach, it did allow the Colts to play more aggressive against the pass. Ryan Harris was not ready to make any excuses Monday and believes the offense can win either way.
“You never want the defense to know what you are doing so they can pin their ears back and rush and blitz but you got to win games. Sometimes you win games running 40 times, and sometimes you win games passing 40 times, and we are willing to do either one in this offense.”
The Broncos offense passed 22 times, completing only nine of them, to only seven runs in the first half and failed to put up any points. In the second half they once again, only ran the ball seven times but found success on their 14 second half passes, completing 12 of them. The offensive line allowed only one sack on the day but allowed nine quarterback hits. The lone sack and five quarterback hits came from defensive end, Kendall Langford. Mathis, a typically stellar run blocking guard, does not care whether a play comes in as a pass or run. It is all about execution and moving on to the next play for the two-time Pro-Bowler.
“We focus on one play at a time. If we get stuck thinking about what is called, or what is going to be called, or what was just called then we are going to lose focus on the task at hand. As far as things affecting us, in this game you do your best to block out all that type of stuff and focus on doing your job.”
The Broncos came out at halftime and put up an outstanding comeback on offense. While allowing six more quarterback hits and the one sack in the second half, the unit found a rhythm and it is something both Mathis and Harris believe they can build on even in a loss.
“Its obvious that we have the ability to execute. We just need to do it more with more efficiency,” Mathis said.
Harris echoed his teammate’s statements and is ready to move on after watching the Colts film Monday.
“They just have good players and the silent count on the road makes it tougher and we have to do a better job of handling that. I’m confident we will and we saw some of the technique things we can improve on. The best thing about yesterday is that it is over and we can move on to a high quality Chiefs team who’s in our division coming to our house. No one is looking forward to next week more than we are.”
The Broncos will quickly move pass the loss and look to the Chiefs only six days away. The Broncos snatched a 31-24 victory from the jaws of defeat and the line in particular will be looking to improve. In Kansas City, the Broncos allowed three sacks and only ran the ball for 61 yards. Mathis was only into his third week with the team when he played on Thursday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium and is ready to test his progress against a formidable line that has 21 sacks in eight games.
“There is always the learning experiences that goes along with playing a team more than one time. Personally, there were a lot of techniques I didn’t really have down yet when we played Kansas City the first time. I’m ready to go out there and correct what mistakes I made and see things work more efficiently.”
Harris and the Broncos know they are in the middle of a marathon and are fortunate to be 7-1. With that said, week-to-week improvement is what is important to the eight-year offensive tackle and should be for any player in the Broncos locker room at the halfway point and beyond.
“We are halfway through the regular season and if you think we are as good as we are going to be, or want to be, than you’re wrong. Everybody has that mentality and everybody has that focus.”
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