Broncos committed to fixing special teams coverage issues: “We just need to keep sawing wood at it.”

Within an hr of finalizing the Broncos’ archetypal 53-man roster connected Aug. 31, wide manager George Paton was inactive focused connected his team’s biggest flaw: peculiar teams coverage.

“We request assistance connected peculiar teams,” Paton said. “From past twelvemonth and adjacent successful grooming camp, (we’re) astir apt not bully enough.”

Two games in, it’s wide the Broncos inactive request assistance contempt Paton’s roster tinkering aimed straight astatine that deficiency.

Paton traded for linebacker Jonas Griffith and claimed cornerback Mike Ford disconnected waivers and some played the bulk of the peculiar teams snaps successful wins implicit the New York Giants and Jacksonville. Coach Vic Fangio said the added velocity from those players has helped, but hasn’t been an elixir for the unit.

“Obviously it’s (still) a problem,” Fangio said. “It’s not 1 that we haven’t addressed. We went retired and got immoderate guys, claimed immoderate astatine the last cutdown to assistance america with peculiar teams. We played (starting wrong linebacker) Josey Jewell connected peculiar teams, and helium got wounded connected a peculiar teams play. So, it’s been addressed. We conscionable request to support sawing wood astatine it.”

The Broncos’ kickoff sum ranks past successful the NFL with a 46.5 yards allowed average, a fig skewed by the 102-yard touchdown instrumentality by the Jaguars’ Jamal Agnew successful Sunday’s game.  Fangio called the garbage-time people “disappointing” and the effect of a fig of sum miscues. But the aboriginal inclination is simply a continuation from past play erstwhile Denver ranked 31st successful kickoff sum (29.9-yard average).

“We had immoderate atrocious stacking successful determination wherever we could person stacked the blocker connected our backmost a small much and made the play,” Fangio said. “There was a atrocious space from the backmost broadside successful peculiar which could person got him down aft helium got done that archetypal wave. We could person tackled it astatine the 25 (yard-line)…. Obviously, we request to hole that.”

In summation to Griffith and Ford, the Broncos’ different superior peculiar teams pillar has been choky extremity Eric Saubert, who’s played 89% of the unit’s snaps. Safety P.J. Locke and rookies Andre Mintze, Caden Sterns and Jonathon Cooper person besides each been halfway contributors to sum oregon instrumentality units that person seen wholesale changes from 2020.

While the names are different, the unit’s deficiency of subject has remained.

The Broncos are tied for 2nd successful the NFL with 4 peculiar teams penalties, which person outgo them 40 yards (second-most successful the league). Two of those were post-whistle flags connected Ford, 1 for unnecessary roughness against the Giants and different for unsportsmanlike behaviour against the Jaguars. And the different 2 came via pre-snap mendacious starts connected Baron Browning and Nate Hairston successful Jacksonville.

It’s those sorts of miscues, and an wide sum of inconsistencies, that led the Broncos to putting Jewell connected the punt sum team. Jewell suffered what is apt a season-ending pectoral wounded connected a tackle connected a second-quarter punt .

Fangio didn’t apologize for his strategy, re-emphasizing the squad “made a committedness to amended our peculiar teams.” Against Jacksonville, Jewell and Saubert (considered a part-time starter) were the No. 1s who played connected those units, not including point-after/field extremity attempts oregon the onside kick.

“We person a fewer guys that bash that, that play connected peculiar teams who are considered starters,” Fangio said. “We’re looking to marque our peculiar teams better. When I was successful San Francisco, (linebacker) NaVorro Bowman, who was All-Pro each 3 years and contending for Defensive Player of the Year, covered each azygous punt for 3 years successful San Francisco.”

Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon said precocious that “the biggest extremity for each portion is tract position.” Denver’s been doing a mean occupation astatine that truthful far.

The discourtesy ranks 16th successful mean starting tract presumption astatine the 28.4-yard line, portion the defence is faring better, ranking 5th with an mean starting tract presumption of 23.9. Of course, tract presumption cannot beryllium attribution wholly to peculiar teams play, but McMahon knows it’s a large factor.

“We privation to fundamentally (set america up) to play half-court offense, and that’s our No.1 extremity for our instrumentality units,” McMahon said. “(We besides want) full-court defense. If you were to inquire conscionable to summarize our goals, each extremity is astir that.”

And contempt Agnew breaking 4 Broncos tackles and outrunning everyone other for his highlight-reel TD return, the Broncos’ peculiar teams has had its wide strengths aboriginal on.

Denver ranks archetypal successful punt sum done Week 2 (2.0-yard average) and 2nd successful punt returns (13.3 yards). The directional punting quality of seasoned Sam Martin has overmuch to bash with that archetypal number, and the evolving maturity and accomplishment of returner Diontae Spencer has overmuch to bash with the latter. Meanwhile, squad skipper Brandon McManus is 5-for-5 connected tract goals and has the second-highest vocation tract extremity percent successful squad past astatine 82.8%, conscionable down Matt Prater’s 82.9%.