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Reeling Broncos on verge of much-needed offensive overhaul

Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.

After losing at home Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos are now 3-7. Their playoff hopes are gone, and Mike McCoy was relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator Monday.

McCoy may be the scapegoat, but don’t expect the Broncos to completely turn themselves around because he's gone. They need to make a lot of changes to become competitive again. However, in the short term, they can take several steps in the right direction.

A major criticism of the offense under McCoy was excessive complexity. By many accounts, the Broncos' playbook was too diverse, with too many plays. The offense never looked comfortable and lacked confidence, as players were thinking too much. Things need to be simplified, and we should expect that to happen as Bill Musgrave takes over.

A simplified playbook also opens the door for Paxton Lynch to take over behind center. Many of Denver's offensive woes have been blamed on Trevor Siemian and, more recently, Brock Osweiler. On Sunday, Osweiler missed some throws in egregious fashion, further demonstrating that neither Siemian nor Osweiler is the answer at quarterback.

There's little room for error on this side of the ball in general, and while both players may be liabilities, they actually haven't been awful in 2017. Still, it's clearly time for Lynch to be the man.

With Denver's playoff chances shot, the organization needs to see what it has in the second-year signal-caller. Not so long ago, they liked him enough to give up a first-round pick in order to draft him. Lynch has done little to suggest that he's the solution for the Broncos, but he does have a lot of ability, and in a simplified system, maybe he'll show some encouraging signs.

Change could - and should - be on the way at running back as well. The organization is very high on Devontae Booker, who played 59 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday. His role needs to grow, though that could already be happening.

That isn't an indictment of C.J. Anderson or Jamaal Charles (the latter's been a rather pleasant surprise in a Broncos uniform). The key here is that Booker is only in his second season and is a very good receiving option for Lynch as the Broncos look to create easy throws for their quarterback. Running more screens and featuring the running back more in the passing game is one way to accomplish that.

Under McCoy, Denver employed far too many three-wide-receiver sets despite only having two starting-caliber players at the position: Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos need to get back to using a fullback and rely more on heavier personnel groupings. Andy Janovich has only played 76 snaps this year. He should be on the field with more regularity, which could kickstart the ground game.

And speaking of screens, it's surprising that McCoy didn't lean on quick-hitting wide-receiver screens to Thomas. Not only is that widely known to be Thomas' favorite route to run, it makes the quarterback's job much easier. Expect Thomas and Booker to see an increase in targets near the line of scrimmage.

The Broncos' lack of a presence at the tight end position, meanwhile, is glaring, and it won't get better this season. However, there is hope that Jake Butt can make an impact next year after spending his rookie season on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Denver's already started rebuilding the offensive line, but it remains far from perfect. That's a problem because, again, there's not much room for error - the team has to run the ball effectively for the offense to function. Against the Bengals in Week 11, the Broncos had a very difficult time getting blockers up to the second level, and as a result, Vontaze Burfict wrecked their running game.

This unit does have some promising pieces. Right guard Ronald Leary has been a success after being signed away from Dallas, Matt Paradis is a quality starting center, and there is hope for Garett Bolles as the long-term answer at left tackle. Still, Denver should put another starter or two on its offseason wish list.

Simplifying the scheme and cutting down the playbook will be a good start to improving Denver’s offense, and it is time to get some younger players more involved, with Lynch being the most obvious example. The coaching change can only do so much, though; from a personnel perspective, the offense only has about half the starters it needs in order to become an upper-tier unit. Those big changes - the ones the Broncos really need - won't begin until the offseason.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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