Over the first half of the season, the Broncos were a team with enough talent to breeze by without much of a running game.
But after getting stonewalled in New England following multiple attempts to establish C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillmanlast Sunday, a harsh reality has surfaced: This Broncos team needs to improve the ground game.
"I was really frustrated with the fact that we did not run the ball better," offensive coordinator Adam Gase said, via The Denver Post. "We do need to find a way to do it better. It's something we have to keep working on. We have to find a way to get these guys covered up (blocked), get our backs back to the line of the scrimmage and see what they can do."
Currently, the Broncos have the 27th-best rushing attack in the league. They're attempting more than 25 carries a game and averaging fewer than 100 yards to show for it.
It will be an interesting test for Gase moving forward. As one of our five coordinators to watch for a head coaching job, the 36-year-old coach can go a long way toward convincing owners that he's not just a product of the Peyton Manning boost by making some alterations up front and sorting out his running backs.
They should get Montee Ballback soon, too, which should help.
Either way, we'd expect them to give Oakland a heavy dose of Anderson and Hillman again on Sunday, if only to prove to themselves that the capability exists.
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