Broncos Game One Review of the Special Teams

The Broncos really need to make some major changes in their special teams coverage. Most of Seattle's points came as a result of bad special teams coverage. Tyler Lockett returned a Connor Barth kick for a touchdown in the second quarter. Part of the issue with Barth doing kickoffs is that they are low so the coverage team doesn't have as much time as they need to get down the field. Seattle finished with 6 returns for 236 yards, which is unacceptable.

The punt coverage was not too bad, but Lockett had one return for 18 yards. If he had more chances, the coverage team could have been exposed further. The Broncos signed Spencer Lanning before the game. He did not play, but Colquitt did absolutely nothing to prove the Broncos wrong. Im really exited to see Lanning because Colquitt has not played well lately and he had an abysmal 39.3 yard average against Seattle Friday night. Hopefully Lanning can play well in order to supplant him on the depth chart. 

The Broncos were not able to return any punts and both Jordan Norwood and Solomon Patton muffed returns. It was raining, but they still need to be able to field punts. They cannot give teams free yards by making mistakes like these. They had some success on kick returns Norwood had two returns for 53 yards so it could be interesting to see if he receives more work returning kicks. Patton had one return for 19 yards and was largely non-noteworthy.

They Broncos did do one thing well and that was making field goals. McManus showed up and made three field goals. He will need to be consistent throughout the preseason in order to have a shot at the final roster. Barth 2-2 and kicked both extra points, which could point to the coaching staff not still not trusting McManus to hit short field goals. 

The special teams unit still has a lot to work to go before it is ready for the regular season. Hopefully they are able to figure things out in practice before they face Houston on Saturday.