Kicker Brandon McManus on Broncos' New STC Dwayne Stukes: 'He'll Motivate his Guys'
Special teams have been a conundrum for the Denver Broncos for far too long. Consistently losing the third phase of the game has put the Broncos behind the eight-ball with alarming regularity, and several coaching changes have failed to alter the depressing narrative.
Denver's new special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes becomes the latest coach entrusted with what has become a poisoned chalice in recent times. Stukes found success with the Los Angeles Rams as an assistant special teams coach, but the pressure will be on from the get-go to turn around a massively floundering unit in Denver.
Placekicker Brandon McManus has been on the Broncos roster long enough to remember when special teams was a core strength, so he has an idea of what is required to whip the unit into shape. Getting players who previously dominated in high school and college to buy into putting their bodies on the line on kick and punt duties, perhaps for the first time, is no easy ask.
Since arriving as head coach Nathaniel Hackett's special teams czar, Stukes has put his stamp on the new unit. Stukes' blunt, intense delivery is a massive change of pace from his predecessor Tom McMahon and could be quite intimidating.
Enter McManus, who's not only a ninth-year veteran, but also the Broncos' players' union rep and recently promoted to the NFLPA's executive committee. It wasn't until this past week that McManus was able to even meet Stukes in person.
“Just getting to know him the past two weeks during OTAs has been great," McManus said on Thursday. "I’ve talked to him on the phone. He has a ton of energy. He’s going to motivate players. He’s been a special-teams player himself, which is great in reciprocating what it is."
As the last player from the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 championship team still on the roster, McManus was brutally honesty when he admitted to the difficulties that will confront his new position coach but feels he is well equipped to handle it.
"We all see these college players," McManus said. "Those are the best players on their teams when they came here. Obviously, there are great players here already, so they’re not going to be the No. 1 player here. We have incredible players. Their role to help this team is going to be special teams. I think that’s difficult for a lot of players to realize.”
Inherent difficulties persist when attempting to pull all the various strands of special teams together. That being said, McManus provided the example of how Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons initially dedicated himself to excelling on special teams before ascending to superstar status.
“Justin Simmons was a four-core special teamer and now is [one of] the highest-paid safeties,” McManus said. “Some people say you have to pay your [dues] to the game, but someone like [CB] Patrick Surtain [II] doesn’t have to play special teams as a first-rounder (laughs). I think that’s what Coach Stukes will do —help motivate his guys.”
Coach Hackett's desire to play all three phases of the game effectively was further addressed during the draft when he somewhat surprisingly selected return specialist Montrell Washington in the fifth round. Getting chunky returns and even big scoring plays is the ultimate goal, but most in Broncos Country would settle for just diligently covering kicks, avoiding costly penalty flags, and not missing tackles.
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