Schlereth: Credit Joseph, Broncos staff with developing young talent
Dec 4, 2018, 10:46 AM | Updated: 11:47 am
For most of the season, there has been a steady sentiment among Broncos Country looking for Denver to move on from head coach Vance Joseph.
However, on Tuesday, “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth said Joseph and his coaching staff deserve their due credit for developing young Broncos into contributors for a playoff-contending team.
“You’ve got a bunch of young guys who, let’s face it, at the beginning of the season either weren’t playing at all or weren’t playing well at all who have all improved,” Schlereth said. “And when you have that kind of improvement, it means to me that the head coach is setting the tone and the assistant coaches are following through with the tone that is being set.
“They’re getting coached, and they have gotten better.”
AUDIO: (For more from “Schlereth and Evans,” tune in to the audio above at the 23-second mark)
Schlereth pointed to the strong seasons from linebacker Bradley Chubb and wide receiver Courtland Sutton and the recent contributions from tight end Matt LaCosse, linebacker Josey Jewell, and cornerback Isaac Yiadom.
But, perhaps the biggest improvement has been within the offensive line, Schlereth said.
“Your best offensive lineman, Matt Paradis, is out. Your second-best offensive lineman in Ronald Leary is out,” Schlereth said. “You’ve shuffled guys from tackle to guard in both Turner and Wilkinson. You shuffled your starting guard to center. You’ve coached up your starting left tackle, who was frankly a basket case early in the season. I mean from a basket case to playing really good football.
“Just that in and of itself, kudos to the o-line coaches, to (Sean) Kugler and to Chris (Strausser) over there. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”
However, Schlereth said “nobody’s out of the woods yet” and it “remains to be seen” how this coaching staff performs the rest of the season. But these young players seem to be getting better every week, he said.
“… They see to be getting better every week. They’re growing in confidence, but they’re growing in technique. And that, to me is a great thing,” Schlereth said. “This coaching staff is doing a good job preparing them.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
