Broncos' expert names staff member that could be the difference in 2023
The Denver Broncos have a very important season coming up. They had an important season last year, but we all know how that went. The expectations set before the season started only added to the sour taste in fans' mouths when they saw that their team wouldn't even win five games. The Broncos needed a […]
The Denver Broncos have a very important season coming up. They had an important season last year, but we all know how that went. The expectations set before the season started only added to the sour taste in fans' mouths when they saw that their team wouldn't even win five games.
The Broncos needed a quarterback, and they got Russell Wilson, a guy who won a Super Bow with the Seattle Seahawks, ironically against the Broncos, and took the Seahawks to another one. Before last season, everyone thought that getting a quarterback would solve the Broncos' problems, and that’s not what happened. Somehow they got even more problems.
So this off-season was about starting fresh again. They got Sean Payton, a guy who can turn around franchises, and he has put together a pretty incredible staff. In fact, there is one guy on the staff that fans should be watching closely, as he is responsible for something important on the offense.
“The one guy outside of Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, we should keep our eye on with this is new offensive line coach Zack Strief." James Palmer of NFL Network said. "And this is a guy that Sean Payton thinks is a special person. He targeted him right away.
“He [Strief] knows this offense so well, it was a big reason Mike McGlinchey was excited and joined the Broncos so quickly because his position coach knows exactly what Sean Payton wants as he played the position for him for 12 seasons. So what he does up front with all the moves they've made in free agency to protect Russell Wilson, he might be the guy that really plays a very large role in turning around an offense that Sean Payton said was very difficult to watch a season ago."
In 2022 Butch Barry, the Broncos' former offensive line coach, ended up getting fired for the job he did with the offensive line last season. The Broncos were tied with the Chicago Bears as the worst offensive line in football as both units allowed their quarterbacks to be sacked 55 times.
It’s safe to say they needed a change in that department. For Palmer, an expert on the Broncos, to say that Strief was a huge reason McGlinchey came to the Broncos, just shows how important he will be on the staff.
The biggest area of improvement after the first wave of free agency has to be their offensive line, and I would assume it was the biggest point of emphasis going into the off-season. A ton of the Broncos' offensive issues last year came because of how bad the line was. Obviously, quarterback play, coaching, reliever play, and injuries didn’t help either, but the line was terrible.
Broncos fans should keep an eye on how Strief does this year, because if the offensive line is good, elite, or even just better than last year, a huge reason why will be the new offensive line coach.
