Brandon McManus Fires Back at Tom McMahon on Twitter Over Controversial Decision in Atlanta
Last week, Denver Broncos' head coach Vic Fangio was criticized for calling timeout in the first quarter of the team's Week 9 bout with the Atlanta Falcons. Fangio was questioned in-game by the CBS broadcast crew, as well as in Denver media for what was perceived to be the questionable waste of a timeout at best and for squandering an opportunity to score at worst.
The situation: After Matt Ryan had put three points on the board on the Falcons opening possession in the first quarter, Drew Lock drove the Broncos down to the Atlanta 50-yard line. On a 3rd-&-15, Lock hit wideout DaeSean Hamilton for a 9-yard gain, putting the ball on the Falcons' 41-yard line and bringing up fourth down.
Faced with the prospect of either attempting a 58-yard field goal or punting, Fangio called timeout. The expectation in-game was that after a brief palaver with special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, placekicker Brandon McManus would be trotted out on the field to attempt the kick.
Instead, Fangio rolled Sam Martin and the punting unit out. We learned afterward from Fangio himself that his conversation with McMahon dissuaded him from calling McManus' number. On Thursday, four days removed from the action, McMahon provided the context for his advice to Fangio at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Well, the big thing—what I do is I give my advice to Vic on where Brandon is during pregame with distance, and coach makes that decision from there," McMahon said during his weekly Zoom presser. "My biggest job is when I see a situation like that—distance at the 42-yard line, 39-yard line, 44-yard line, where I have to get involved, I give him my advice. In that case, he thought about it and made the decision to punt the ball.”
McManus begged to differ with McMahon's read on the situation. Later on Thursday, in response to Denver7's Troy Renck, the Broncos' (at times) outspoken kicker took to Twitter to rebut the notion that his pre-game kicking in Atlanta — a domed stadium, mind you — was cause to pump the brakes on attempting what would have been a 58-yarder to get the Broncos on the board early.
"Must have been a different pregame. Jets game and New England I was horrible. [In] Atlanta I was (fire). #DontSilenceThePlayers," McManus tweeted.
The kicker followed that up by saying, "Situationally it can make sense not to kick. I can agree with that. But not because of my warmup."
McManus has always been a player who will call it like he sees it. As the Broncos' player rep for the NFL Players' Union, he's a leader in the locker room and an outspoken advocate for his teammates.
In the point in question, hindsight is always 20/20. However, the decision, especially in light of McManus' opinion in retrospect, will remain highly questionable.
On the season, McManus is 5-of-6 on kicks from 50-plus yards out. In the two seasons prior to 2020, his efficiency from 50-plus had dipped dramatically but he's been consistent this year.
Punting the ball away, instead of attempting the field goal, robbed the Broncos of an opportunity to score and put three points on the board on their opening possession. It could have given the flow of the game an entirely different complexion, as the Falcons would take that ensuing possession and march 85 yards to pay-dirt, extending their early lead 10-0.
Bereft of momentum, the Broncos wouldn't get on the board until early in the second quarter when McManus pounded through a 43-yarder, narrowing Atlanta's lead 10-3. In back-to-back weeks, Lock and company's failure to launch through the first three quarters reared its head, only this time, the offensive fireworks of the final frame proved to be too little, too late as the Broncos fell to the Falcons 34-27.
These question marks only intensify the scrutiny and pressure on McMahon, whose special teams unit has been a thorn in the Broncos' side all year long. Denver's third phase is ranked among the NFL's worst statistically and is dead-last in the league according to Pro Football Focus.
Last week's first-quarter snafu with McManus was questionable and while the Broncos' return teams didn't allow a big gash play in Atlanta, the special teams unit did get penalized for a head-scratching illegal substitution on a kick return that negated a nice gain and a facemask penalty on the return by the Falcons.
McMahon's unit springs a leak each week and it's always something different, which doesn't speak well to the coordinator's command and control of the unit. The Broncos have eight more games to smooth things out but the pressure is definitely on the veteran special teams coach.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
