TXBRONC
09-19-2007, 06:41 PM
Don't let the title fool you. Read the article I think you'll like. Shanahan isn't blowing sunshine up any one's rear end.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5701384,00.html
Points, not yards, is focus of Broncos defense
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 18, 2007
The numbers certainly don't lie; they stick out like a bruised psyche.
It's just that the Broncos say the numbers don't tell the whole truth about their run defense at the moment.
"Look, I'm the first to say we know we have to get better," coach Mike Shanahan said. "And we do have to get better because there are stronger offenses out there that we'll see, and over the long haul you're just not going to be one of the better defenses if you can't defend the run consistently."
And, despite all the heroics that have come in the Broncos' two opening edge-of-the-seat victories, they have certainly not defended the run consistently.
Buffalo rookie Marshawn Lynch rumbled for 90 yards on a 4.7-yards-per-carry clip in the opener, and then LaMont Jordan pounded out 159 yards at 6.4 yards a carry Sunday. Jordan gained 107 of those yards in a second-half push when the Raiders scored 17 points after the Broncos' Jason Elam missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter.
The Raiders also did it having faced the Broncos' base defense on about 63 percent of the snaps. Oakland also chose to run against the Broncos' nickel package — five defensive backs — eight times, a total that included a 21-yard scramble by quarterback Josh McCown.
"We know what's happened, but we're not getting overpowered," Shanahan said. "I think it's a technique issue, an experience issue with playing our scheme. The more they play it, the better guys will be."
The Broncos hired Jim Bates as assistant head coach/defense in the offseason because Shanahan said he wanted a "top-five defense," which he has said is necessary for the team to go deep into the postseason.
And the Broncos currently rank No. 1 in the league in pass defense as they play Bates' scheme.
But they still are adjusting to the look against the run.
"We play some different fronts and I think it's put some people off-balance when they play us," safety Nick Ferguson said. " . . . The total defense, everything, it's gotten done when we have to get it done. It's just a matter of tightening things up."
The Broncos re-made the defensive roster in the offseason, especially in the defensive front, where Bates prefers bigger players at defensive tackle than the Broncos used last season. In 2006, 325-pound Gerard Warren and 300-pound Michael Myers started a combined 31 games inside.
This season, the Broncos have started 350-pound Sam Adams alongside 312-pound Amon Gordon at defensive tackle. D.J. Williams has replaced Al Wilson at middle linebacker, and Nate Webster has moved into Williams' former strong-side linebacker position.
That's a lot of new faces in new places, which Shanahan said would bring some expected growing pains in the early season.
"It's going to happen with offense, it's going to happen with defense," Shanahan said. "But let's not get carried away — how many points did they give up? That's the bottom line: Just like offense, you brag about the yards, but you want to score points.
"The bottom line is to do what? Find a way to win. (The defense gives) up seven points one week, 13 points the other week — that's pretty good."
The biggest issue at the moment is that, in Bates' scheme, things usually are designed to bottle things up in the middle of the field and funnel the running plays to the outside. Then, because the bigger defensive tackles have engaged the guards and center to keep them off the linebackers, the linebackers are free to run down the plays.
However, two NFL pro personnel directors contacted this week said the Broncos have let the back through the gaps in the middle of the field too often in their first two games, or at least more than has happened when Bates' defense has been its best with other teams.
Close down those gaps, and the rushing yardage likely will go down.
"Guys aren't getting flat beat right now," Shanahan said. "That means we know it has to be better and that it can be better by getting ourselves in sync with what we're doing."
ETC.: The Broncos worked out five defensive backs Tuesday — cornerback Marquice Cole, who was cut at the end of training camp by the Raiders; cornerback/safety Tanard Davis, who was released by the Colts; cornerback Anthony Madison, whom the Buccaneers released last week after re-signing Sammy Davis; cornerback DeMario Minter, who was released by the Browns at the end of training camp after spending the 2006 season on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury; and cornerback Christian Morton, a third-year veteran who was released by the Panthers at the end of training camp. Morton was a seventh-round pick by the Patriots in the 2004 draft ... The Browns waived former Broncos punter Paul Ernster ... Former Broncos defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy had a workout in Buffalo ... Loveland native Jeremy Bloom had a workout in Cleveland.
legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5701384,00.html
Points, not yards, is focus of Broncos defense
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 18, 2007
The numbers certainly don't lie; they stick out like a bruised psyche.
It's just that the Broncos say the numbers don't tell the whole truth about their run defense at the moment.
"Look, I'm the first to say we know we have to get better," coach Mike Shanahan said. "And we do have to get better because there are stronger offenses out there that we'll see, and over the long haul you're just not going to be one of the better defenses if you can't defend the run consistently."
And, despite all the heroics that have come in the Broncos' two opening edge-of-the-seat victories, they have certainly not defended the run consistently.
Buffalo rookie Marshawn Lynch rumbled for 90 yards on a 4.7-yards-per-carry clip in the opener, and then LaMont Jordan pounded out 159 yards at 6.4 yards a carry Sunday. Jordan gained 107 of those yards in a second-half push when the Raiders scored 17 points after the Broncos' Jason Elam missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter.
The Raiders also did it having faced the Broncos' base defense on about 63 percent of the snaps. Oakland also chose to run against the Broncos' nickel package — five defensive backs — eight times, a total that included a 21-yard scramble by quarterback Josh McCown.
"We know what's happened, but we're not getting overpowered," Shanahan said. "I think it's a technique issue, an experience issue with playing our scheme. The more they play it, the better guys will be."
The Broncos hired Jim Bates as assistant head coach/defense in the offseason because Shanahan said he wanted a "top-five defense," which he has said is necessary for the team to go deep into the postseason.
And the Broncos currently rank No. 1 in the league in pass defense as they play Bates' scheme.
But they still are adjusting to the look against the run.
"We play some different fronts and I think it's put some people off-balance when they play us," safety Nick Ferguson said. " . . . The total defense, everything, it's gotten done when we have to get it done. It's just a matter of tightening things up."
The Broncos re-made the defensive roster in the offseason, especially in the defensive front, where Bates prefers bigger players at defensive tackle than the Broncos used last season. In 2006, 325-pound Gerard Warren and 300-pound Michael Myers started a combined 31 games inside.
This season, the Broncos have started 350-pound Sam Adams alongside 312-pound Amon Gordon at defensive tackle. D.J. Williams has replaced Al Wilson at middle linebacker, and Nate Webster has moved into Williams' former strong-side linebacker position.
That's a lot of new faces in new places, which Shanahan said would bring some expected growing pains in the early season.
"It's going to happen with offense, it's going to happen with defense," Shanahan said. "But let's not get carried away — how many points did they give up? That's the bottom line: Just like offense, you brag about the yards, but you want to score points.
"The bottom line is to do what? Find a way to win. (The defense gives) up seven points one week, 13 points the other week — that's pretty good."
The biggest issue at the moment is that, in Bates' scheme, things usually are designed to bottle things up in the middle of the field and funnel the running plays to the outside. Then, because the bigger defensive tackles have engaged the guards and center to keep them off the linebackers, the linebackers are free to run down the plays.
However, two NFL pro personnel directors contacted this week said the Broncos have let the back through the gaps in the middle of the field too often in their first two games, or at least more than has happened when Bates' defense has been its best with other teams.
Close down those gaps, and the rushing yardage likely will go down.
"Guys aren't getting flat beat right now," Shanahan said. "That means we know it has to be better and that it can be better by getting ourselves in sync with what we're doing."
ETC.: The Broncos worked out five defensive backs Tuesday — cornerback Marquice Cole, who was cut at the end of training camp by the Raiders; cornerback/safety Tanard Davis, who was released by the Colts; cornerback Anthony Madison, whom the Buccaneers released last week after re-signing Sammy Davis; cornerback DeMario Minter, who was released by the Browns at the end of training camp after spending the 2006 season on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury; and cornerback Christian Morton, a third-year veteran who was released by the Panthers at the end of training camp. Morton was a seventh-round pick by the Patriots in the 2004 draft ... The Browns waived former Broncos punter Paul Ernster ... Former Broncos defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy had a workout in Buffalo ... Loveland native Jeremy Bloom had a workout in Cleveland.
legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359