'Perfect complements': OC Rich Scangarello has seen a duo like Lindsay and Freeman before

Miles

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Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Rich Scangarello has seen this running back duo before.


Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman may have made names for themselves in Denver, but they also remind the Broncos’ new offensive coordinator of two running backs he coached in Atlanta in 2015.


The Falcons’ Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman possessed different skill sets that worked in favor of an offense that led the NFL with 34.1 points per game the year after Scangarello left Atlanta.


And while Lindsay and Freeman aren’t the same duo as Coleman and Devonta Freeman, they play to each other’s strengths in similar ways.


“Royce and Lindsay are perfect complements,” Scangarello said Sunday. “It kind of reminds me of Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman in Atlanta. They [have] different skill sets, they’re both talented in their own way, they’ll both be able to [use] their strengths so they can be the best players they can be. Royce is big, he’s physical in pass protection. That’s a big deal in the NFL, that durability that comes with it. As far as running the football in the scheme, they both can do it. One’s just probably going to do it with a little bit more physicality and the other’s going to make you miss.”


Lindsay, who rushed for 1,037 yards and scored 10 total touchdowns as an undrafted rookie, was part of the allure that drew Scangarello to Denver.


“One of the great things about coming to Denver that really excited me from the day I walked in the door, there are very few players in the league like Phillip that have the ability to win a one-on-one matchup at any time,” Scangarello said. “I think that the easiest matchup to create in the NFL is the halfback on a linebacker, and that’s what we try to do in this offense a lot. I think he has that gift and that ability and those traits, so [I'm] excited to try to do that and try to force defenses to put a DB on him and open up other players.”


And that’s before you add in Freeman, who had all five of his touchdowns in the first eight weeks of the season.


“He’s just a physical dude,” Scangarello said. “He’s smart, he’s instinctive and I’ve enjoyed coaching him so far.”


Together, they can make Denver better.


“They’re both different, but they both can do the same things in different ways,” Scangarello said. “But you don’t want Lindsay, a smaller guy, to take A-gap pressure from linebackers on a regular basis. To be able to share the load and put those guys in position to do something they can do better, that’s our job.”
 
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