ENGLEWOOD - In his first-ever NFL playing time, Michael Schofield started at right tackle for the Denver Broncos in their 23-20 win on Oct. 4 against the Minnesota Vikings.
"There's definitely some things I need to work on, but I felt overall it was a real good first game," Schofield said.
Schofield received a -1.1 score from Pro Football Focus, which is notoriously tough on offensive tackles. Consider the Broncos' other two starting tackles, Ryan Harris and Ty Sambrailo, have received of -9.2 and -10.3 grades, respectively, from PFF this season.
"I think for a guy that played his first NFL football game, I thought that he played really well,'' Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said of Schofield. "There are always going to be things that you have to get better at. He got called for a couple of penalties, just some alignment stuff that you have to go through to get better. I liked his effort, and I liked the way that he got to the second level. You can tell that he hasn't worked much with [right guard Louis Vasquez], just with them picking up some stunts and doing things that we have to improve upon.''
Vikings defensive Brian Robinson was lined up across from Schofield before stunting inside and blowing past an unsuspecting Vasquez and subsequently sacking quarterback Peyton Manning.
"I've got to be quicker about passing that off to Louis," Schofield said.
His playing time this week likely depends on Sambrailo's status. The starting left tackle through the Broncos' first three games, Sambrailo didn't play against the Vikings because of a left-shoulder injury. Harris moved from right tackle to left to make room for Schofield at right tackle.
Sambrailo figures to be iffy to play this Sunday against the rival Oakland Raiders in Oakland.
(© 2015 KUSA)
