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Schlereth: Broncos line needs unity, ‘no excuse’ for mental busts

Oct 17, 2016, 3:20 AM | Updated: 4:00 am

During his playing days, Mark Schlereth said he and his offensive line group would call upon players to walk up to a dry erase board and explain the responsibilities each lineman had on a play.

Should he get it wrong, he could expect a dry erase marker flying full speed at him.

The co-host of 104.3 The Fan’s “Schlereth and Evans,” who played for six years with both the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos, also said if he gave up a sack his teammates would jump “on the hand grenade” for him, saying it was their fault.

“That’s how that goes. It’s not about having five great single players. It’s about having five guys become one,” Schlereth said Friday.

And that lack of continuity, he said, along with mental lapses sunk Denver’s offensive line Thursday in a loss on the road to the San Diego Chargers — the team’s second straight.

“They did not block anybody last night,” Schlereth said Friday. “They looked like they had no continuity. They look like they don’t know what they’re doing. They looked like they’re physically getting outmatched. There are not enough bad things to say about how that group played last night.”

Schlereth said he saw continued communication issues, protection breakdowns, and mental miscues that had him shaking his head.

“We have some issues physically, but the one thing you can’t allow to happen to you is you can’t allow (yourself) to get beat because mentally you’re not prepared, because mentally you consistently make mistakes, because you don’t know where your help is, because you don’t understand the pace with which you need to play to get your help,” Schlereth said.

On the season, Pro Football Focus grades just one Broncos offensive lineman above average — center Matt Paradis — but Schlereth said in this offense it’s not about a bunch of individual players but rather a cohesive unit playing together.

And until that issue gets fixed, Denver will continue to struggle.

“You don’t have to have the greatest players, but you damn well better understand how to play together. You better be connected,” Schlereth said Friday. “It doesn’t have to be the best individuals. You’ve got to be the best collective group. And right now, you’re struggling with technique, you’re struggling with physicality, and you’re certainly struggling because you’re not all tied together. And last night was living proof.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @Johnnyhart7.

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