Shanahan’s formula for success is continuity

By Joshua Graham | Saturday, September 16, 2006 | ( 3 )

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Throughout the tenure of Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, players have come and gone but one thing remains, success. Shanahan trails only Pittsburgh Steelers sideline general Bill Cowher for the longest residence of a coach in the National Football League guiding the same franchise.

During that time, the Broncos have been a consistent contender. From 1995-2005, Shanahan's offense led all 32 teams in rushing yardage, total yardage, first downs, points, offensive TDs and, most importantly, wins. Those aren't the kind of numbers you obtain by accident. Shanahan has put up those facts with eight different quarterbacks, with John Elway, Brian Griese and Jake Plummer having the longest occupancies at the helm. Utilizing six different 1,000-yard rushers and many other changing faces, Shanahan has built the winningest franchise of the salary cap era.

Amongst all of the change, there is stability in Denver, starting with the coaching staff. Very rarely is the staff hired from outside the team. Most recently the Broncos lost their offensive coordinator, Gary Kubiak, and their assistant general manager, Rick Smith, to the Texans.

Shanahan hired former Broncos assistant Mike Heimerdinger, who was with Denver during the Super Bowl years of the '90s, and promoted Rick Dennison to offensive coordinator from within.

Evident in Week 1 was more of a pocket passing approach for Plummer, and that could spell disaster if used consistently by Shanahan, Heimerdinger and Dennison. Spotlighted throughout the first game of this season, Denver got away from its run, run, pass strategy and the Rams' defense made the Broncos pay the price and forced Plummer to become a dropback passer, a spot he often struggles at.

Throwing three interceptions on the road and losing one fumble is the old Jake, compared to his statistics last season. And, as Mike Shanahan will tell you, "you can't win in this league when you turn the ball over." However, everyone knows who's running that offense. The cornerstone is the head coach, and he spends more time on that side of the ball than any other area, so look for a rebound.

The big debate is whether the system or the tailback is what brings the powerhouse rushing attack to fruition. Mike Bell and Tatum Bell split carries against St. Louis and produced 161 rushing yards on 25 carries, for an astounding 6.4-yard average. Despite the loss, the Denver run game did produce throughout the game. So which is it, the system or the back? Both, with the head coach playing a big-time role, too.

Shanahan knows a talented back when he sees one, because nobody knows his system better than him. It is plug and play, but rarely can you plug a Denver back that has had success into another team's system with the same kind of production. The exception is Clinton Portis in Washington, who is a special player.

The knock on Shanahan has been his draft busts and free agent blunders. Daryl Gardner, Dale Carter and, now, Ashley Lelie are topping that list. To the contrary, the past two drafts have produced some gems. In the secondary, three of the five cornerbacks drafted in 2005 are on the 53-man roster and have made significant impacts. Darrent Williams, Dominique Foxworth and Karl Paymah figure to be a big part of a team looking to build on the success of the future Hall of Fame coach's career. These players, under the tutelage of Champ Bailey, should develop into solid contributors.

Denver has reloaded with an influx of youth in Tatum Bell, Mike Bell and a powerful Cedric Cobbs at running back. The cannon of the future, Jay Cutler, and a new tight end drafted in the second round, Tony Scheffler, were added to replace veterans. Scheffler is faster and has better hands than Jeb Putzier from the 2005 team that was in the AFC Championship game.

The traditional rivalry will come alive again on Sunday in the Mile High City, at Invesco Field, when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Broncos. Shanahan is 13-13 versus the Chiefs in his career and will look to take his record above .500. Kansas City will be without quarterback Trent Green, sidelined by a concussion, and will start Damon Huard in place of him. Huard is 5-1 as a starter and has been in the league for 10 years. Expect both teams to try to establish the run and build off of that success to open up the passing game.

Jake Plummer needs to rebound from his first week performance to cool off the rumors and speculation that Cutler is on deck to take over. The defense that stops the run first will give their team the best chance to win. Both squads are coming in 0-1 and know that an 0-2 hole, even though it is early in season, creates an uphill battle to win the division.

At each position, Shanahan plugs the right guy into his system. Not necessarily the player everyone else in the league is coveting, either.

The Denver Broncos have the look of a team that will continue their steadfast consistency and, with the added youth, could do so for a long time. Leave it to Shanahan to continue pushing his legacy to the pinnacle of head coaching in this league.

Look for Shanahan, the ultimate source of continuity in Denver, to earn his first victory of 2006 on Sunday.

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Comments: 3 | Sign Up View all comments


	No.1 Joey P.	04:22 PM 09/18/2006

	Josh Graham is one of the all time great Bronco fans and his facts are indisputable. My question is how all those facts from the ...


	No.2 Duke Mattingly	08:46 AM 09/20/2006

	On Jake the Snake: I agree that the naked bootleg is his forte, and I'd love to see it more as well. The problem is, they ran it ...


	No.3 Joey P.	04:47 PM 09/20/2006

	Duke makes a lot of good points but that being said I disagree with some of his remarks. I don't think the bootleg has lost it's ...