Polumbus: This Broncos offense can still manage to put up points, win

The facts are the facts, and there is no hiding that the Denver Broncos offense has held back this team from winning a few football games.

The defense held the Tennessee Titans to only 13 points, which should equate to a check mark in the win column in most games, but unfortunately the Broncos offense was only able to muster up 10 points.

Denver only attempted to run the ball nine times and ended up with 18 yards on the ground.

Head coach Gary Kubiak and crew has essentially waved the white flag in the running game and decided to stop banging their head against a wall by attempting to the run the ball over and over with little success.

The good news? Trevor Siemian looked phenomenal, and his numbers continue to be huge. He was 36-of-52 throwing the ball and for 330 yards.

Siemian put his team in position to win this football game a few times, and unfortunately a lack of execution by his peers stopped his valiant efforts from yielding six points a few times.

One perfectly thrown ball that doesn’t bounce off the face mask of wide receiver Bennie Fowler, and this team still could have won the game.

So how can this offense manage to put up more points than its opponent and change the destiny of this team?

Elevate running back Justin Forsett

I would start with making Justin Forsett the full-time workhorse at the running back position.

Yes, Forsett fumbled the ball on his first carry with the Broncos, and no there are no excuses for it. Trust me, no one lost more sleep about that than Forsett himself.

However, this running game is struggling in large part due to the anxious play of running back Devontae Booker. I believe Booker has a bright future in this league and simply too much has been asked of this young, fourth-round draft pick in his rookie year.

Booker makes decisions very quickly and hits the hole fast, which is usually a great thing. But in this scheme the offensive line has to be setup for success by the running back, stretching the play front-side long enough before he cuts back.

If he doesn’t do that, the linebackers will not stretch far enough and the offensive line will not have a chance to climb to the second level and secure a block on them.

Forsett may be on his third team of the year, but one thing I know about him, having played together in Seattle, is that he fully understands the tempo that the offensive line needs from its running back.

He may or may not have another Pro Bowl season left in his 31-year old body, but I firmly believe that if Forsett had the majority of the carries, this running game would improve.

Let Siemian sling it at will

Siemian has had a ton of success late in the game recently, and much of that is due to the fact that Denver has abandoned the early game plan and put the game on his shoulders.

He has proven that he is ready to handle enormous tasks, and I think that it is time to consider letting Siemian sling it at will earlier in the game.

Potentially use some no huddle (we called it “Top Gun” last year), where it is not quite a 2-minute drill tempo but it keeps defenses on their heels and lets Siemian get the ball in the hands of the only two superstars the Broncos have on offense — Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

If Denver jumps ship on the initial vision of what this offense should be, then they should let the three best players on this team — Siemian, Thomas, and Sanders — have their hands on the ball as often as possible.

Kubiak was one step ahead of all of us, including myself, when I called for more runs early in the game a few weeks ago.  He knew then, and he knows now, that this offense needs those three to make plays early in the game to setup up the run for the rest of the game

This offense is not what Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison had envisioned during training camp, with sequential play calling built off of the running game.

But if the players start executing the plays called, there’s plenty of evidence to think that they can put up more point than opposing teams and walk away with victories.

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