In the wake of high-priced right tackle Mike McGlinchey getting injured at the start of training camp, it understandably took the Denver Broncos offensive line a little extra time to get up to speed. The Broncos O-line was heavily criticized after its ugly performance in the preseason opener, resulting in Russell Wilson being the most pressured quarterback in the NFL that week.
However, since then, the unit has slowly rounded into a more serviceable crew, even without the vastly experienced McGlinchey being in the lineup with his bothersome knee sprain. McGlinchey's ultimate goal has been to return in time for Week 1's divisional home tilt against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Carefully managing McGlinchey's recovery timetable has led to head coach Sean Payton sounding confident that the free-agent pick-up from San Francisco is firmly back on track. McGlinchey turned a corner in time for Denver's joint practice sessions with the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the preseason finale, though he didn't play in the game.
"I think good. I think what was important—the joint practices, for him, I think were significant," Payton said late last week. "He wasn't going to play in the game, but if you counted the reps and studied how much we did against each other, it was beyond a game. That was his goal - ramping up and being ready to get some real live work versus good people. I think that really helped him."
The Broncos holding McGlinchey out of the real action was a no-brainer as time was being given to the second and third-stringers to make a final push for the roster in the preseason finale. Despite the missed time nursing his injured knee, Payton appears confident that McGlincheywon't miss a beat when he finally jumps back into the deep end this coming Sunday.
McGlinchey also missed a couple of days dealing with a family bereavement, but playing catch-up with the playbook shouldn't have posed that many issues for the experienced veteran. In terms of establishing some continuity upfront, McGlinchey's timely return can't be underestimated, particularly with the Raiders' elite pass rusher Maxx Crosby on the other side of the line of scrimmage this weekend.
For far too long, the Broncos have consistently failed to come up with solutions to the Raiders' sack-happy buzz saw, as Crosby has laid waste to numerous offensive game plans as a direct result. Crosby undoubtedly offers a unique challenge, but with the savvy McGlinchey now answering the bell, the Broncos are fixing to find out whether they've finally found the kryptonite to Vegas' super pass rusher.
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