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Last week, Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was criticized for calling the first quarter timeout in the team’s Week 9 fight with the Atlanta Falcons. Fangio was questioned in the game by the CBS broadcast team, as well as in the Denver media for what was seen as the questionable waste of a time out at best and for wasting a scoring opportunity at worst.
The situation: After Matt Ryan scored three points on the board on the Falcons’ opening possession in the first quarter, Drew Lock led the Broncos to the Atlanta 50-yard line. A 3rd&-15, Lock hit wide DaeSean Hamilton for a 9-yard gain, placing the ball on the Falcons 41-yard line and bringing in fourth.
Faced with the prospect of attempting a 58-yard field goal or punting, Fangio called time out. The expectation in the game was that after a brief palaver with special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, placekicker Brandon McManus would be sent onto the pitch to attempt the kick.
Instead, Fangio took out Sam Martin and the punting unit. We later learned from Fangio himself that his conversation with McMahon had dissuaded him from calling McManus’ number. On Thursday, four days away from the action, McMahon provided the context for his advice to Fangio at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Well the most important thing – what I do is give my advice to Vic on where Brandon is in the pre-game with the distance, and the coach makes that decision from there,” McMahon said during his weekly Zoom Press. “My biggest job is when I see a situation like that – distance to the 42-yard line, 39-yard line, 44-yard line, where I have to get involved, I give him my advice. In this case, he thought about it and made the decision to throw the ball.
McManus begged not to agree with McMahon’s reading of the situation. Later Thursday, in response to Denver7’s Troy Renck, the Broncos free kicker (sometimes) took to Twitter to refute the idea that his pre-game kick in Atlanta – a dome-shaped stadium , you notice – was a reason to push the brakes. attempt what would have been a 58 yards to get the Broncos early.
“It had to be another pre-game. The Jets game and New England, I was awful. [In] Atlanta I was (fire). #DontSilenceThePlayers, ”McManus tweeted.
The kicker followed that up by saying, “Situationally it may make sense not to kick. I can agree with that. But not because of my warm-up.”
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McManus has always been a player who will call him what he sees. As the Broncos player representative for the NFL Players Union, he is a leader in the locker room and a strong advocate for his teammates.
In the point in question, the hindsight is still 20/20. However, the decision, especially in light of McManus’ retrospective opinion, will remain highly questionable.
On the season, McManus is 5-of-6 on kicks over 50 yards. In the two seasons leading up to 2020, its effectiveness from the age of 50 and above had dropped significantly, but it has been consistent this year.
Pushing the ball away, instead of attempting a basket, deprived the Broncos of an opportunity to score and put three points on the board on their opening possession. It could have given the course of the game a completely different complexion, as the Falcons would take that next possession and walk 85 yards into the dirt, extending their initial 10-0 lead.
Devoid of momentum, the Broncos didn’t get onto the plateau until the start of the second quarter, when McManus struck through a 43-yard dash, slashing Atlanta’s lead 10-3. In consecutive weeks, Lock and the company’s failure to launch in the first three quarters have raised their heads, but this time the offensive fireworks in the last frame proved too little, too late then. that the Broncos fell to the Falcons 34-27.
Those question marks only intensify the scrutiny and pressure on McMahon, whose special teams unit has been a thorn in the Broncos camp all year. Denver’s third phase is ranked among the statistically worst in the NFL and is the last in the league according to Pro Football Focus.
Last week’s first quarter snafu with McManus was questionable and although the returning Broncos didn’t allow a big slash game in Atlanta, the special teams unit was penalized for an illegal substitution scratching. the head on a return of kick which canceled a beautiful. gain and a face mask penalty when the Falcons return.
McMahon’s unit leaks every week and it’s always something different, which doesn’t speak well to the coordinator’s command and control of the unit. The Broncos still have eight games to straighten things out, but the pressure is definitely on the veteran special teams coach.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
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