There is no question that the Denver Broncos want to win in the trenches on both sides of the football. The Broncos have an offensive mindset to run the ball and rely on the running backs, which starts with the offensive line.
Vic Fangio wants to get pressure on the quarterback with as few pass rushers as possible on the defensive side of the ball, which means winning in the trenches.
The Broncos have a lot of talent on both sides of the trenches. The offensive line that has four positions essentially set and already gelling together. There is a lot of upside with this unit, but the Broncos need to figure out the right tackle spot.
As for the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos are five-deep with a good range of skills in the unit. This allows Fangio's defense to have a good rotation of players to help keep everyone fresh. In so doing, it limits the drop-off from D-line as the game goes on.
What can make it hard to win in the trenches is the fact that those positions often take the longest amount of time to adapt to the NFL — for both sides of the ball. The increase in level-of-competition and strength players experience from college to the NFL often creates many problems. That is why linemen on both sides of the ball typically take 2-to-3 years to incubate and show what they can do.
With such a long development path for those in the trenches, it takes good coaching to bring that out. That makes the Broncos very fortunate to have two of the best position coaches in the NFL, one coaching the offensive line and the other coaching the defensive line. The presence of Mike Munchak and Bill Kollar make the Broncos’ plan to win in the trenches an obtainable reality.
Denver is just starting to really put it together in the trenches under these two coaches, and there is so much more room for them to grow. The overall success of the offense and defense will largely come if the Broncos can maintain their identity in the trenches.
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