Denver Native (Carol)
08-13-2010, 10:23 PM
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/08/13/broncos-mario-haggan-fills-void-left-by-injured-elvis-dumervil/
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Broncos linebacker Mario Haggan shrugs off the burden of expectations that have come his way since stepping into the defensive vacuum left by injuries to pass rushing star Elvis Dumervil and his backup, Jarvis Moss.
"When I move to a spot, I don't replace guys," Haggan said. "I have a different type game that I bring to the table, and obviously they feel like I have something that can help this team win or I wouldn't be out there."
Typecast as a special teams player through much of his career, Haggan didn't make his first NFL start as a position player until last season, his seventh year in the league. He went on to start all 16 games at strong outside linebacker for the Broncos, becoming the first NFL player in a quarter century to start over the course of a season after previously playing as many as 73 games without starting any of them.
On Sunday, he'll get his first chance to show what he can do as the team's lead pass rusher when the Broncos play their first exhibition at Cincinnati.
"I want to work on everything and just get a feel again for some real football," said Haggan. "It's our first performance as a team defense going against someone else and I want to do my part to start on a road to dominance.
"You're never complete as a player and I've got a lot to work on. Pass rushing almost every down is going to be pretty much new to me. I'm going to work on hand technique and my get-off, and when it's my time to rush, get a good pass rush, make some tackles and get a feel for what we're about to get into."
Haggan was thrust into the weak-side pass rushing linebacker role when Dumervil, who set a franchise record and led the NFL with 17 sacks last season, was lost, possibly for the season, with a torn pectoral muscle suffered during training camp drills Aug. 4. Moss broke his hand in practice two days later, but could come back, with a protective cast, in a couple weeks.
For Haggan, the ascension to a premier defensive role began last year and coincided with Josh McDaniels' arrival as the Broncos coach.
Limited to special teams duties in his first five seasons with Buffalo and eight games with Denver under Mike Shanahan in 2008, Haggan finally broke through last season to earn the strongside outside linebacker spot opposite Dumervil.
Haggan, who has three career sacks, including one last season, opened training camp at inside linebacker before being moved back outside once Dumervil and Moss went down.
"We feel like Mario can do a lot of the things we need and he has that versatility that we want," McDaniels said.
Haggan admitted there were times he got frustrated over the years because he always felt that he had the ability to play a major role. But he never let himself get so down about it that he would let up on his work or change his relentless approach to the game.
"There comes a time when you're at the crossroads of your career, maybe some people don't value you as much as others," said Haggan, adding he remains grateful to McDaniels for giving him his first major career break. "I'm just lucky to be in a place where I'm valued."
And he's keeping a promise that he made to himself over and over again.
"No matter what happened, when the opportunity did come, and I always believed that it would, that I would seize it and I wouldn't look back. So far, I've been blessed to do that," Haggan said.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Broncos linebacker Mario Haggan shrugs off the burden of expectations that have come his way since stepping into the defensive vacuum left by injuries to pass rushing star Elvis Dumervil and his backup, Jarvis Moss.
"When I move to a spot, I don't replace guys," Haggan said. "I have a different type game that I bring to the table, and obviously they feel like I have something that can help this team win or I wouldn't be out there."
Typecast as a special teams player through much of his career, Haggan didn't make his first NFL start as a position player until last season, his seventh year in the league. He went on to start all 16 games at strong outside linebacker for the Broncos, becoming the first NFL player in a quarter century to start over the course of a season after previously playing as many as 73 games without starting any of them.
On Sunday, he'll get his first chance to show what he can do as the team's lead pass rusher when the Broncos play their first exhibition at Cincinnati.
"I want to work on everything and just get a feel again for some real football," said Haggan. "It's our first performance as a team defense going against someone else and I want to do my part to start on a road to dominance.
"You're never complete as a player and I've got a lot to work on. Pass rushing almost every down is going to be pretty much new to me. I'm going to work on hand technique and my get-off, and when it's my time to rush, get a good pass rush, make some tackles and get a feel for what we're about to get into."
Haggan was thrust into the weak-side pass rushing linebacker role when Dumervil, who set a franchise record and led the NFL with 17 sacks last season, was lost, possibly for the season, with a torn pectoral muscle suffered during training camp drills Aug. 4. Moss broke his hand in practice two days later, but could come back, with a protective cast, in a couple weeks.
For Haggan, the ascension to a premier defensive role began last year and coincided with Josh McDaniels' arrival as the Broncos coach.
Limited to special teams duties in his first five seasons with Buffalo and eight games with Denver under Mike Shanahan in 2008, Haggan finally broke through last season to earn the strongside outside linebacker spot opposite Dumervil.
Haggan, who has three career sacks, including one last season, opened training camp at inside linebacker before being moved back outside once Dumervil and Moss went down.
"We feel like Mario can do a lot of the things we need and he has that versatility that we want," McDaniels said.
Haggan admitted there were times he got frustrated over the years because he always felt that he had the ability to play a major role. But he never let himself get so down about it that he would let up on his work or change his relentless approach to the game.
"There comes a time when you're at the crossroads of your career, maybe some people don't value you as much as others," said Haggan, adding he remains grateful to McDaniels for giving him his first major career break. "I'm just lucky to be in a place where I'm valued."
And he's keeping a promise that he made to himself over and over again.
"No matter what happened, when the opportunity did come, and I always believed that it would, that I would seize it and I wouldn't look back. So far, I've been blessed to do that," Haggan said.