Broncos "no sideline" rule

White Shogun

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Mar 2, 2005
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Tennesse Titans at Denver Broncos

Apparently, the Broncos have a team 'rule' in that no player is allowed to run out of bounds except the quarterback. After Mike Bell ran out of bounds after a 30-yard run, Rod Smith had this to say:

"There is no one on our football team who has the right to run out of bounds on his own unless it's the quarterback," Smith said. "You always fight for the extra yard. You never know. They might miss the tackle. They might slip. So, he didn't know that, so we let him slide on that one."

Smith intercepted a fuming running backs coach Bobby Turner and convinced him that the admonition should come from a teammate.

"The guy got like 30 yards. You can't be mad at him," Smith said. "But at the same time, you're like, 'Look, man, don't ever run out of bounds again. That sideline is not for us; it's for the quarterbacks."

The black rookie running back, who has already been nominated the Broncos' starter by Shanahan, runs out of bounds. But in that same game:

Which is something Denver coach Mike Shanahan had to remind Jake Plummer when he took a big hit from linebacker David Thornton while trying to score on a scramble to the pylon in the second quarter.

"I've got to be smart in the preseason to make sure I'm not taking those hits," Plummer said. "It wasn't like I got hit that hard but, still, the head coach doesn't like to see me take those hits in the preseason if I don't have to, so next week you won't see me do that again. I don't want to get yelled at."

White veteran quarterback tries to score on a scramble and doesn't even think of running out of bounds to avoid a hit from a linebacker.

Black ROOKIE running back runs out of bounds to avoid being hit by a safety.

What's wrong with this picture?

Anybody think Jesse Lumsden would have run out of bounds at the end of that play?
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
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Hell Lumsden would probably run straight over the safety then look around for a linebacker with his guard down but that's just him.

My problem with this sort of policy is that players who fight for additional yards will often fumble if they force themselves too hard and we all knows that fumbles are a great reason to cut players, especially those that don't fit the coach's 'vision'.

A good player will automatically fight for extra yards. Forcing such players to push harder than they normally would is unnecessary and a great way to get them injured or wind up with the ball going the another way.
 
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