Mile High Monday: Shurmur and Fangio offer some insight on the offense

The NFL never stops. The Super Bowl wrapped up last week, but now the entire league is focused on the Scouting Combine at the end of this month and free agency which begins near the beginning of next month.

I like preparing for the draft with zero distractions. My film study begins in mid-December when bowl season kicks off in college football. Things ramp up for me when I make the “All-Star Road Trip” in January, but after the Super Bowl, there are no other things to focus on for me other than grading players coming into the NFL.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ – even in February! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Shurmur Sends a Message

On Thursday, we finally got a chance to talk to new Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. He’s been on the job for almost a month, but had not yet had an introductory press conference.

With the Super Bowl wrapped up and the Scouting Combine approaching in a couple of weeks, the Broncos decided to introduce Shurmur to the media. It was great to talk to Shurmur again, and there was one clear message that he repeated multiple times – he’s going to build an offense around the talent on the team.

“I’ve already been on the job now for about three weeks, running parallel with the free agency and obviously getting ready for the draft is us as coaches talking about how we want to run our offense. I think what’s important is we want to do what’s best for the Broncos. We’re going to try to do the things that our players do well and try to do what we can to move the ball and score points. That’s what our offense will look like,” Shurmur said.

It seems elementary, but so many coaches have their system and they stick to what they know rather than customize what their system is based on the talent therein. Shurmur is going with the best approach – he’s going to craft an offense that is custom fit for his players. This should be an aggressive offense and one that stretches the ball down the field in the air.

Shurmur is known as a teacher and loves to see a player grow underneath his guidance. The message he reiterated multiple times will come to fruition when he’s able to coach these players and design his offense to their strengths. It’s exciting to think about Shurmur’s offense in 2020.

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No Language Barrier

Once the Broncos made the change to Shurmur, some in the media and the fan base had worries that it would hold back quarterback Drew Lock as he has to learn a new system and a new language. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio sees no such issues with the coaching change.

“There will be a lot of carryover. You try and shorten it or use the same term. It’s overrated, the problems with that. All of these guys that have instant success as rookies or instant success with new teams, it didn’t seem to bother them. When I went to San Francisco in 2011, that was the lockout year, so we didn’t even meet our players until training camp. And we did okay. We were 13-3 and played really good defense. I just think that problem is a nice storyline, but it’s overrated,” Fangio said.

I agree with the coach here. Too many people try to stir the pot and mix up drama when it comes to issues facing the Broncos. That’s simply not the case here. Lock has had multiple offensive coordinators through his football career, so learning a new system won’t be much of a problem for him. Lock also has a tremendous work ethic and will put in the time to learn what he needs to.

The language of the Shurmur offense will not be a problem for the young quarterback. Anyone who brings that up as a potential problem is doing nothing but fear mongering.

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Wide Receiver Hunt

The Broncos have to be on the hunt for wide receivers this offseason. Free agency has only a couple of decent options and those players are likely to be overpriced. That means the Broncos should be turning their attention to the 2020 NFL Draft when considering wide receiver talent.

Good thing for them it’s an incredibly talented draft class at the position – perhaps the best in NFL history. On Thursday, I had to ask Fangio if they were looking at wide receiver a little more closely because of their need, but also because of the incoming talent being so talented.

“Sure, but no more work than we’re doing at every position. It remains to be seen what our offense will be from that point of view because all of these teams, the good offenses, they run the same offense, but there are different people out there in different spots. Kansas City is the offense du jour right now, but they can do all of their stuff out of what we call “Tiger” – two tight ends, two receivers and a back. Or they can run all of the same stuff out of “Zebra” – one tight, one back and three wideouts. To me, it’s what best fits your personnel and you can do many of the same things,” Fangio said.

I get what Fangio is saying here – but I believe the team must be looking at wide receiver closely. They have the chance to get more than one wide receiver in the first 100 picks because they have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL draft.

In the Shurmur offense, having a multitude of weapons at the wide receiver position is a must. Outside of Courtland Sutton, the Broncos don’t have dangerous receivers. That will be changed this offseason, likely through the draft – and most likely early in the draft.

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XFL Intriguing

On Saturday and Sunday, we saw the debut of the XFL. Well, it was the debut of the “new” XFL since this league has been tried before – around 20 years ago by league founder Vince McMahon.

The original XFL only lasted one season (2001) and then folded. McMahon has taken his time bringing back the league this time around, and he’s put some great football minds in place when it comes to running and coaching the new XFL.

The rules are different and the game is faster. I think that’s the first thing that stood out – in a good way. The XFL has a 25-second play clock, so things are much faster and there is not as much standing around. The game is about action and pushing the ball to score.

The hits are a big attraction, as well. I watched every game this weekend (only four games, only eight teams) and saw quite a few hits that we don’t really see today in the NFL – unless there’s a flag. The XFL is a bit of throwback football and that is going to hit a nerve with fans of that brand of football.

The biggest surprise to me had to be the quarterback play. The league doesn’t have huge names at the position, but there are players that NFL fans or big college football fans will recognize like Landry Jones or Cardale Jones. On Saturday, it was Houston Roughnecks quarterback P.J. Walker who made plays as a passer.

Walker helped his team to a 37-17 win over the Los Angeles Wildcats. Walker completed 23 of 39 passes for 272 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Walker spread the ball around to eight different receivers, and he also had 26 yards rushing on four attempts. I was shocked that this league just wasn’t abysmal when it came to quarterback play. That should help viewers and fans stick around.

I've been entertained by the #XFL2020 this weekend. What do you think tweeps? Did you watch? Will you keep watching? @1043TheFan https://t.co/IRWADdnitZ

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) February 10, 2020

I feel the XFL put on an entertaining product this weekend. It was the debut weekend, so that means there will be a lot of eyes on the league to see what kind of football we get.

With the hits, the rules and better-than-expected quarterback play, the XFL might have more staying power than the AAF did last year – or more than the XFL had back in 2001.

What do you think? Will you keep watching the XFL? Let me know on social media.

Follow @CecilLammey