2008 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Ryan Clady Left Guard:BenHamilton Center: Tom Nalen Right Guard: Montrae Holland Right Tackle: Chris Kuper
2007 Injuries:
G Ben Hamilton: All season
C Tom Nalen: Weeks 6 to 17
2007 Statistics:
LEFT END
LEFT TACKLE
MID/GUARD
RIGHT TACKLE
RIGHT END
Passing
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
Sacks
Rank
4.88
5
4.78
8
3.86
25
3.81
26
4.72
6
32
16
ALY (Adjusted Line
Yards): It is an alternate measure for yards per carry developed by Football Outsiders
that takes into account various factors including down, distance, situation and opponent. Source: www.footballoutsiders.com
Overview: The Denver Broncos offense ranked in the bottom half of the league in points scored
for the second straight year after being a top ten offense for six straight years.
It’s hard to put the blame on the offensive line which allowed the running backs to
average 4.6 yards per carry, good for third in the league. The offensive line did give up
32 sacks, their highest total since 2002 but still relatively impressive considering the
injuries to the line.
The retirement of starting left
tackle Matt Lepsis, who had been the starter since 1999, has opened up a hole on the line
which will be filled by 2008 first round pick Ryan Clady. Clady has good size at
6’6” and 315 lbs and is very athletic. He has quick feet which allow him to move
laterally with ease and make him a very good pass protector. He will however have to gain
some strength in order to improve his run blocking which is below average by NFL
standards. Clady is not a dominant tackle but he is the kind of player that will avoid
getting noticed on the offensive line. At the right tackle position there will likely be a
battle between Chris Kuper, Ryan Harris and Erik Pears but Kuper is the favorite to start
in week one. Kuper is a 25 year old from Anchorage, Alaska who started 11 games at left
guard in 2007 after Nalen went down with an injury and Myers made the move to center. He
is a smart player who has the versatility to play guard or tackle. He is not particularly
strong but has pretty good athleticism so can be used as a pass protecting tackle or as a
guard who pulls to the outside to run block. Ryan Harris was a third round pick by the
Broncos in 2007 but saw little action last season because of a back injury that bothered
him throughout training camp and the first few weeks of the season. Similar to Kuper, he
is an athletic offensive lineman who has the versatility to play guard or tackle. At
6’5” and 300 lbs, Harris is not particularly strong so he is a below average run
blocker and would likely be a better fit on the left side of the line. Erik Pears was
signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and started ten games at left tackle in 2006
after Lepsis went down with an injury. Pears is a very smart blocker and very tall at
6’8” but only weighs 305 lbs. He will struggle with lateral movements and will
get beat to the outside as we saw in 2006 when he played on the left side. Last season he
started all 16 games at right tackle where he is a much better fit but he remained below
average, especially in pass protection.
At left guard, the Broncos will
likely count on the return of Ben Hamilton who missed the entire 2007 season due to a
concussion. Hamilton had not missed a single snap for the Broncos in five years and has
now been cleared to play so the starting left guard position is his to lose. Hamilton is
small at 6’4” and 285 lbs but has arguably the best technique of any lineman in
the league. He has quick feet to stop defensive linemen from going around him and has the
lower body strength to stay in front of them. Hamilton is an average run blocker because
he does not have the strength to hold his blocks for a long time but it is not a problem
as long as the running backs are able to find the hole quickly. Overall he is a very good
guard and will help the Broncos as long as he is fully recovered from his concussion. On
the right side is the big 6’2” and 320 lbs Montrae Holland. Holland was signed
as an unrestricted free agent from the New Orleans Saints last season. Holland is average
in both run blocking and pass protection but does not have the ability to pull to the
outside like most other linemen on this team. The battle in camp will likely be between Holland
and Pears with Kuper filling in either at right guard or right tackle. The 35 year old
Casey Wiegmann was signed as a free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs and will provide
depth at the guard and center positions. He is another small lineman at only 285 lbs but
fits well in this scheme because of his quick feet and should provide good depth for this
line.
Tom Nalen is likely to return
as the starting center for the Broncos after missing most of the 2007 season with a bicep
injury. If Nalen is healthy, it would be his fourteenth season as the Broncos starting
center. Nalen is a five-time Pro Bowler but at 37 years of age he is starting to slow
down. He is the leader of this line and in charge of recognizing the defense in order to
adjust the zone blocking of the line. Nalen was injured in the week five game but kept
playing through the injury. In the four games that he played and was healthy, the Broncos
averaged 5.0 yards per carry and gave up only five sacks and then averaged 4.4 yards per
carry and gave up 26 sacks in the eleven games that Chris Myers played at center. The
Broncos selected Kory Lichtensteiger in the fourth round of the 2008 draft to eventually
replace Nalen. He has excellent awareness, quick feet and plays with great intensity but
is small at only 6’2” and 300 lbs; in other words he is a perfect fit for the
Broncos system. Wiegmann would likely be the replacement if Nalen is unable to go this
season but Lichtensteiger will learn from one of the best ever and should be a very good
replacement in a year or two.
2008 Outlook:
The Broncos struggled with injuries in 2007 losing Tom Nalen and his replacement Ben
Hamilton at the center position, the most important in the Broncos zone blocking scheme.
The loss of Lepsis will hurt but he didn’t have his best season in 2007 and is one of
the reasons why this line was not as effective last season. In 2006 the line struggled in
pass protection after his injury but the yards per carry average with and without Lepsis
was very similar. Clady is excellent in pass protection so should help lower the number of
sacks and should be decent in run blocking as well. This line has good depth with Pears,
Wiegmann and Harris, any of whom can come in and do a good job in run blocking. The line
may struggle in pass protection if Clady were to be injured but there are still very
capable backups. Overall this line will be much better in 2008 with the return of Nalen
and Hamilton and should once again be one of the best in run blocking and should also
improve in pass protection.
Updates:
August 4, 2008 - Tom Nalen has a sore knee but an MRI showed there was no serious damage
and he should be back soon. Although many disagree, we strongly believe that this line is
one of the bet in the NFL with Nalen and Hamilton in the lineup. Very few teams could
finish in the top five in yards per carry and in the top half in sacks allowed while
missing 2 starters on the line for almost the entire season.
