Broncos Journal: Alex Palczewski on his quietly critical role, handling compliments and ‘MOT’ blocks
Alex Palczewski knows the saying s a bit crude The message behind it though is critical to his process The third-year Broncos offensive lineman spent six years at the University of Illinois and his first offensive line coach was Luke Butkus Yeah familiar name Nephew to the big guy the Chicago-area native says with proper Second City reverence for Hall of Famer Dick Butkus Luke Butkus would like any coach give out atta-boys when his pupils did something well But he had a caveat Invariably He announced If I pat you on the butt you should expletive in my hand Palczewski recalled to The Post early in training camp Uh what PG-rated translation please It s kind of like don t eat the cheese the -year-old nicknamed Palcho declared Where else can you be cleaner You had a great block well maybe the aftermath of it was great Well will that work on the the majority crucial down against the best athlete That keeps Palczewski on his toes daily despite the fact that he s worked his way into what feels like an critical role for head coach Sean Payton He s likely the Broncos No right tackle and right guard and could end up the top reserve at left guard as well If any of Mike McGlinchey Quinn Meinerz or Ben Powers misses time this year it ll likely be Palcho stepping in to be what s supposed to be among the best offensive line units in football Related Articles Grading The Week Broncos-Nuggets Christmas doubleheader is welcome gift but couldn t NBA delay the Denver tip Renck Broncos Sean Payton believes run match is better So prove it coach Broncos have new grass at Empower Field for season Broncos roster watch Four key position battles to track Saturday vs Arizona Broncos make another round of front-office promotions name two new vice presidents I try to keep that mentality of I have to earn every single day and every single day I can t think Oh maybe I ll just take in contemporary times off or mess around Palczewski reported Every single day I have to be able to earn it and make the the bulk out of it There s not a lot of opportunities you get to be out here and get good work with the guys Payton last week noted he thought the Broncos depth on the offensive line was good and had particular praise for the No unit When that second unit came in the other night they were really good he announced of the preseason opener against San Francisco noting that the club is going to have tough roster decisions to make up front Palczewski and the rest of the reserve units were in line for major playing time Saturday night against Arizona after Payton commented he planned to sit nearly all of his starters due to the heavy workload over the past days Palcho s been there and done that He started three games last fall for McGlinchey when the veteran right tackle landed on injured reserve That provided valuable experience and plenty to learn from and also indicated Payton and offensive line coach Zach Strief that they could count on him Palczewski doesn t have graceful athleticism or play with the prettiest technique all the time but he has a knack for getting the job done Among the things he s learned in Denver How to reset when he doesn t Raiders meeting last year I gave up a sack and I was like OK where d I screw up he disclosed Balance brace stance explode to the spot see him through my hands Do that again This is the Strief Effect He constantly talks to the linemen about MOT blocks Moment of truth block Palczewski says What are the things you re thinking about It can t just be oh man I hope I win this Everyone thinks I want to win this block No kidding everybody wants to win this block How do you put yourself in that position mentally What s your stance What s your brace What are your cues If all goes well for the Broncos this fall he won t see a lot of crunch-time action on the offensive line That he says is just fine by him I like watching fullback Mike Burton tight end Nate Adkins guys like that Palczewski announced They re not guys that are running deep posts or getting touchdowns and all that But they do their job they work their butt off on special teams On any blocking play we have they re going to do their job the best they can That s kind of how I want to be seen also If I get put out there and I m only out there on field goal I want to be the best freaking end on field goal I can possibly be I know everybody else around here is preparing their butts off so I don t want to let anybody down Spoken like a guy who can get a pat on the backside and not feel too reassured Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis
