It may not matter that much who is starting at quarterback for the Denver Broncos this fall. While most of the talk this summer will be about who will be the starting quarterback, the more impactful move to the offense may be the complete shift to the Gary Kubiak offense.
Last year, the Broncos offense was trying to do anything they could to win. There wasn’t a set playbook or style of offense, and it changed as Brock Osweiler stepped in for Peyton Manning and then again when Manning came back for the playoffs. Kubiak even joked at one point in the season, calling it the “Broncos offense,” as opposed to “his” offense or “Peyton Manning’s” offense.
Even disregarding the quarterback play, the offense struggled mightily because they didn’t have an identity. This year, John Elway and Coach Kubiak are making sure that this offense has a set identity, even before the summer rolls around.
There is no question that the offseason moves have pointed to a major shift towards running the ball more — resigning running backs CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman as well as drafting Devontae Booker in the fourth round. However, the Broncos are not trying to hide this philosophical change.
On Monday, during phase two of the offseason conditioning program, center Matt Paradis talked about the mentality shift that has already occurred in the Broncos locker room.
“We’re going to run the ball,” said Paradis. “As far as drafting a running back high, that’s just something we’re not too worried about. We’re just playing.”
When Paradis was asked if they would run the ball more this year that last, he gave nearly the exact same answer.
“I don’t know what our percentages were last year,” said Paradis. “We’re going to run the ball. That’s going to be our focus. Whatever that percentages turn out to be, if that turns out to be more than last year, then probably.”
While not saying much at all, Paradis certainly showed that the emphasis is already on the running game, and it will be the entire offseason. Even though this will be a major change for the offensive line, Paradis doesn’t think it will be a hard transition from Manning to a new offense, specifically a new quarterback.
“There are differences. There is a difference between every quarterback,” said Paradis. “There is nothing too special for us. We’re snapping and blocking our assignments either way.”
Paradis, and the entire offensive line, certainly received plenty of blame for the offensive struggles last year, but Paradis already thinks the line will be better this year.
“I think we’re ahead of where you would think we would be. We’ve got a lot of guys that —especially on the O-Line — have been in this type of scheme before,” said Paradis. “I’m very excited about this group we’ve got. We’ve got a lot of smart guys, athletic guys and guys that are going to work hard… I think we will be better.”
The quarterback position may be the hot topic all summer, but the move that could have more of an impact on the Broncos offensive success could be the complete shift to the Kubiak, run-heavy offense. If the line can improve, like Paradis thinks, then this offense has the potential for major improvement, no matter who is starting at quarterback.
