Take away the perfection of kicker , and there wasn’t much to cheer during the preseason when it came to the special teams units of the Broncos.
The coverage teams struggled, giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown. The return teams failed to make many big plays. Penalties often littered the field when the Broncos lined up for a punt or kickoff.
So why did special teams coach embrace the hair-pulling miscues in August?
“In preseason you want to get exposed as much as you can because then you have tape to coach off of and you have stuff to correct with your guys,” Olivo said. “If you go through the preseason ‘perfect,’ then you really don’t know what you are and what you have to correct. We tried to expose our guys as much as we could, and we had an idea coming out of preseason of what we needed to work on. The guys gave a great effort Monday night. They showed up, they rolled their sleeves up and they went to work. A lot of good performances and really proud of the guys of their effort, though, above all else.”
Indeed, Broncos special teams played a key role in Monday night’s 24-21 victory over the Chargers. averaged 48 yards on three punts, and his net was actually 49 yards because the one time the Chargers returned when of the punts, sprinted down the field and tackled for a 3-yard loss. Latimer also had a 36-yard kickoff return and had a key block that sprung Isaiah McKenzie on the rookie’s 31-yard punt return in the first half, the longest by the Broncos since 2015.
“Cody fell behind the gunner on the back side, at least 10 yards behind him, and made up the ground with sheer desire to make the block that sprung Isaiah around,” Olivo said. “That, to me, was the play of the game for Cody. The gunner play (when he tackled Benjamin) was awesome and the (kickoff) return. Itap those little things. Thatap blue collar work out there that nobody’s going to notice. He displayed right there his true heart, his grit, as we talk about all the time.”
But the biggest special teams play — the biggest play of the game, period — was Shelby Harris’ block of Chargers rookie kicker Younghoe Koo’s would-be game-tying field goal of 44 yards as time expired. Olivo provided insight Friday on the Broncos’ approach on that play, which began with coach calling a timeout just before Koo made his first attempt at the kick, which sailed through the uprights.
“With a rookie kicker, I think it was a great decision,” Olivo said. “I think you do that with a rookie kicker. There have been studies done on icing the kicker against the veteran guys, and really it doesn’t make a big difference. I think definitely when you have a rookie out there in his first game, yes, by all means.”
As for the block itself, Olivo passed all the credit to Harris and fellow defensive lineman .
“Honestly, itap Shelby Harris,” Olivo said. “We recognized in the preseason that he had a knack for doing that. Some guys just have it — they have a way to slip through the ‘A-gap,’ the ‘B-gap’ or whatever it may be. He’s a guy who we designed blocks around. Really, he and Derek Wolfe in there are a force to be reckoned with. Derek’s big and strong so he can knock the guard and Shelby can slip through. Shelby is an all-out effort guy. I’m just really proud of him and the way the guys executed.”
