It’s good news ifO-line doesn’t make more news
By Mike Klis, The Denver Post
Ordinarily, the offensive line as a subject possesses all the thrills of a landuse-planning committeemeeting. The Denver Post is nothing if not a follower of popular trends. In the month of August, as the Broncos were preparing for their new season, undrafted rookie running back Juwan Thompson, who has 30 carries this year as the No. 4 running back, was either part or the main focus of 24 stories.
Ryan Clady and Louis Vasquez, the Broncos’ best offensive linemen, who have three all-pro selections between them and have played all but six snaps this season, were mentioned in 23 stories combined. And most of those were updates on Clady’s return from a season-ending foot injury. Yawn. Ah, but these are not ordinary times. “I’m available to talk about the situation,” Broncos left guard Orlando Franklin said in front of his locker Thursday.
One week, Richie Incognito, who last played left guard for the Miami Dolphins, generated considerable hubbub by visiting the Broncos’ headquarters for a workout.
“That says it all,” Mark Schlereth, the former Broncos guard who was in the midst of “the situation” Franklin referred, said Saturday as he awaited to board his flight home to Denver from the East Coast. “If anybody from the organization wants to refute what I said or pooh-pooh it, they brought in Richie Incognito before I said anything. That’s all you need to know. That’s confirmation that what I said is 100 percent legitimate.”
The Broncos didn’t sign the league’s most notorious bully, but Incognitio’s visit, which came 24 hours after the team unveiled a 60 percent change in offensive line positions at Oakland, sent out an alert the John Elway-led football operations department is not pleased with its blockers.
Schlereth didn’t need the heads-up. The NFL analyst for ESPN is paid to observe and comment. After the Broncos’ front confirmed concerns with its performance in a 22-7 upset loss at St. Louis last Sunday, Schlereth blasted the Broncos’ offensive line in general, Franklin in particular, on Denver’s local ESPN radio station Tuesday.
Franklin wasn’t happy with Schlereth, but he didn’t blast back. Schlereth is not just a former player, he’s a former left guard. Did he want to take back what he said? “No, they’re awful,” Schlereth said. “I don’t try to create headlines, or say anything to try to be inflammatory, or to get a reaction. I’m just honest. They’re a lot of people who don’t like my opinions. But they come from a place of study and preparation. And the truth oftentimes hurts.
“Understand this: I’m a national football analyst and I cover the entire league, but I root for the Broncos every week. Elway’s a friend. (Head trainer) Steve Antonopulos is a friend. The equipment guys are friends. I want that organization to put another Super Bowl ring on their finger. I want to see PeytonManning get another one. But the way that group up front is playing, you don’t have a chance in the playoffs.”
It wasn’t until the Broncos lost twice in the past three weeks that the gravity of “the situation” became evident and made a hot topic of the offensive line.
Demaryius Thomas can tie Calvin Johnson’s NFL record with a 100-yard receiving game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Johnson had eight 100-yard games in a rowin 2012. Yet, Thomas’ news conference became overshadowedwhen each of the five starting offensive linemen owned up to their strug-