With the appointing of Rick Dennison as Bills offensive coordinator, I figured it’d be a great opportunity to hit up the fine folks at Mile High Report over at SBNation. Their film room feature is must see – not only for robust coverage of the scheme, but in terms of professional-level work done by folks who love a team. I cannot thank enough Jeffery Essary and Tim Lynch for taking the time to respond and drop some 411 from a local POV.
If you get a chance, check them out on Twitter and you can also follow Jeffery if you’re feeling frisky.
What were your thoughts on Dennison’s stints as Coordinator?
Unfortunately, Rick Dennison isn’t a fan favorite here in Denver; scoring 10, 3, 10 points (respectively) in your last three games of fighting for a playoff spot will do that to a fanbase. But that was really just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Some folks were calling for Dennison’s job last year after the offense underachieved during the Super Bowl run.
What’s interesting and makes evaluation challenging is the fact that Dennison and Gary Kubiak are so closely linked. For the last six/seven years, Dennison has been with Gary as an OC/HC combo, or as the QB coach/OC combo in Baltimore. Before that, Dennison was the OC under Mike Shanahan, so Dennison has never been a coordinator without a head coach that was essentially a dual OC/HC. Mike Shanahan always called the plays in Denver, and Gary Kubiak has always called plays as an HC.
This makes it hard to determine where Kubiak/Shanahan end and Dennison begins in terms of style, and production, so this will interesting to watch what happens as Dennison is now a bona-fide offensive coordinator (I assume, given McDermott’s background) who will solely be responsible for the offense which is something he’s never had in his career even though his resume boasts nearly a decade of “coordinator” experience.
What is/are the hallmark(s) of a Dennison-led offense?
Due to my comments above, keep in mind that these insights are reflective of a Kubiak/Dennison offense, as I don’t really know what a pure “Dennison” offense would look like. As I mentioned, this will be interesting because this will be the first time in nearly a decade that Dennison is an offensive coordinator without Gary Kubiak as the head coach. Regardless, what you’ll likely see with a Dennison offense is what he ran for nearly his entire career under Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak which is a west coast style, zone blocking attack.
Staples of this offense are first and foremost the zone blocking. Everything predicates off of the zone running attack. When this is clicking, the offense is clicking. Other staples to look for are QB bootlegs, two TE sets, use of a fullback, and QB under center the majority of the time. Most the play action and misdirection thrive off of the fact that the line movement looks the same on a run or pass so it sucks the linebackers up to chase the run, while leaving the backside open for some nice bootleg passing options.
For more insight into this offense, I’d recommend these pieces:
the MMQB did a great piece on the West Coast/Zone Blocking scheme that Kyle Shanahan runs in Atlanta. This is a very similar scheme to what Dennison has run his whole career. Now Kyle has added his own wrinkles and is a genius, so it’s not directly apples to apples but we always joked at Mile High Report that what Kyle is doing is what Kubiak was supposed to have brought to Denver, it just never quite materialized. Regardless, this piece will give you some great insight into what the zone blocking scheme brings to the table.
I’ve also done a few breakdowns throughout Kubiak and Dennison’s time here that you can check out at: http://www.milehighreport.com/mhr-film-study
Here’s a few where I specifically hone in on the offense.
http://www.milehighreport.com/2016/10/28/13447866/andy-janovich-fullback-fever
http://www.milehighreport.com/2016/5/10/11647282/film-study-fullback-fever
What players stood out as key contributors in Dennison’s time as coordinator?
Kubiak/Dennison have always done a good job getting production out of their #1 WR whether it was Rod Smith, Andre Johnson, or Demaryius Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders. Fullback is another position that they have creatively utilized at times as well (as the article linked above details).
As a fan from afar, I was amazed to see both Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler perform so well in the scheme, yet see Osweiler struggle when he went to Houston. What was the biggest difference?
When Brock Osweiler left Denver it was said that he preferred the scheme Bill O’ Brian ran in Houston because it was more cerebral and gave the QB more freedom, whereas Kubiak/Dennison’s offense is fairly restrictive to the QB in terms of checks and audibles (which is why it didn’t mesh well with Peyton Manning).
This is actually better for younger, less experienced QBs because it helps simplify things for them and allow them to play within the bounds of the system. I think what we see in Houston is that Brock clearly wasn’t ready for that next step it’s crazy to say with our poor offensive production, but our scheme likely made Brock look better than he actually is, and there is a chance that is true for Trevor Siemian as well.
Was there a game that stands out as a “Dennison piece of art”?
The game where everything clicked for Denver was the Green Bay game in 2015 (week 7 or 8 if memory serves). The running game was going, Peyton Manning seemed more comfortable within the system and we came away as fans saying “oh! so THIS is how the offense is supposed to look.” Unfortunately, Manning hurt his foot and the whole QB shuffle happened and the offense has not performed the same since.
This year, I would say the Texans game and maybe the final game of the season against the Raiders are when our offense looked the best. But that Green Bay game was one of the most epic beatdowns and beautifully executed games I have seen.
Was there ever a game where you just wanted to fire him into the sun?
Pretty much this entire year. The Broncos broke 30 points one time, and that’s because the defense scored 13, and I already mentioned how we finished the year. That three game losing streak to end the season where each game was essentially a playoff game in terms of implications, really soured the fans on the entire coaching staff.
What did players think of Dennison?
Dennison has always been pretty non-descript, in that, I haven’t heard a lot about him from players, good or bad. He always seemed to be well-respected by the players in his time here, and has a pretty laid back personality so I could see him easily getting along with staff and players.
What are Broncos fans saying about Dennison’s departure?
I think most Broncos fans are happy to see the current offensive staff go as it produced subpar, disappointing results for two years. That said, our QB and Oline situation didn’t help matters at all, so it can’t all be laid at the coaching staff’s feet. Additionally, in there time with the Texans, Kubiak/Dennison often fielded a top 10 scoring offense, and their efforts in Baltimore led to some of the best offensive football Joe Flacco has played in his career, so while things didn’t work out in Denver, it’s not to say it won’t elsewhere. Best of luck next year (except when we play ya’ll!) Do us a favor and beat the Pats a few times 😉
[I do also want to note that one of the things that Jeffery did want to impart was the relationship between Tyrod and Dennison and how that may be a positive to retaining the Bills QB, Shady should have a ball behind the blocking scheme and Sammy – as mentioned, will be a primary focus in the pass game. – Yay for all three! – Rich]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
