Den21vsBal19
03-24-2009, 02:16 AM
Let's take a quick break from all the McJaygate stuff ;)
Champ eyes changes on defense (http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11980840)
The cornerback says the new-look Denver "D" must establish its identity to erase 2008's woes.
By Lindsay H. Jones
There's a new, 3-inch scar on Champ Bailey's left elbow.
Consider it just another reminder, albeit a tangible one, of the painful 2008 season.
Bailey underwent surgery Jan. 8 to repair the elbow — injured in the season finale against San Diego — and said late last week he is about a month away from being fully recovered.
He only hopes the defense can be so easily repaired.
"We've got to know what we're good at and what we're best at," Bailey said. "That's been a distant thing around here the last two or three years."
Bailey, who turns 31 in June, is coming off the worst statistical season of his career after missing seven games with a torn groin. Bailey said he likes at least some of the changes he has seen so far from the Broncos' new staff, starting with the addition of three proven veterans: safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill, and cornerback Andre Goodman.
"I'll tell you what, we're a pack of veterans," Bailey said. "We've got a lot of experience back there. I think if there's one area where we can definitely look at and say, 'We're going to be good,' it's definitely our defensive backfield."
It is too soon to tell, Bailey said, how the rest of the defense will perform.
New head coach Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who was Bailey's defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins in 1999, plan to run a 3-4 defensive scheme at least part of the time and have made several personnel moves in the offseason to help make the switch from a 4-3.
But none of the additions to the defensive line (such as tackle Ronnie Fields) or the linebacker corps (such as ILB Andra Davis) match the impact of the players added to the secondary, and Bailey said he was interested to see how returning players such as Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss handle the switch from defensive end to outside linebacker.
"We still don't have all the pieces for that, so I don't know how we're going to turn it around," Bailey said about the switch to a 3-4 scheme. "I don't know how we're going to train guys to get up and get their hand off the ground and drop back in coverage a lot, because they've never done that."
Whatever system the Broncos employ — and Bailey said he expects the team to use a variety of schemes — it will be critical the defensive unit quickly finds its identity.
That's the main thing that never happened in 2008, in part because of former coach Mike Shanahan's decision to switch to a 3-4 several games into the season.
"I think one thing going into that year was we tried to establish who we were going to be, and I don't think we ever did that," Bailey said. "We didn't know if we wanted to be a 3-4 or a 4-3, and when you start changing like that in the middle of the season, sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn't. But for us, it definitely didn't work."
Bailey and his brother Boss Bailey, a linebacker who is recovering from knee surgery, are among a handful of Broncos who have spent much of their offseason at the team's Dove Valley headquarters rehabilitating their injuries. Champ Bailey said there is a noticeable change in the atmosphere at the facility since McDaniels arrived in mid-January, starting with the decor.
Gone are many of the large pictures of Shanahan — obviously. Also, some of the pictures of former Broncos have been replaced by large shots of current players, including Champ Bailey.
"I saw two of me, so somebody likes me around here," he said.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
Champ eyes changes on defense (http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11980840)
The cornerback says the new-look Denver "D" must establish its identity to erase 2008's woes.
By Lindsay H. Jones
There's a new, 3-inch scar on Champ Bailey's left elbow.
Consider it just another reminder, albeit a tangible one, of the painful 2008 season.
Bailey underwent surgery Jan. 8 to repair the elbow — injured in the season finale against San Diego — and said late last week he is about a month away from being fully recovered.
He only hopes the defense can be so easily repaired.
"We've got to know what we're good at and what we're best at," Bailey said. "That's been a distant thing around here the last two or three years."
Bailey, who turns 31 in June, is coming off the worst statistical season of his career after missing seven games with a torn groin. Bailey said he likes at least some of the changes he has seen so far from the Broncos' new staff, starting with the addition of three proven veterans: safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill, and cornerback Andre Goodman.
"I'll tell you what, we're a pack of veterans," Bailey said. "We've got a lot of experience back there. I think if there's one area where we can definitely look at and say, 'We're going to be good,' it's definitely our defensive backfield."
It is too soon to tell, Bailey said, how the rest of the defense will perform.
New head coach Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who was Bailey's defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins in 1999, plan to run a 3-4 defensive scheme at least part of the time and have made several personnel moves in the offseason to help make the switch from a 4-3.
But none of the additions to the defensive line (such as tackle Ronnie Fields) or the linebacker corps (such as ILB Andra Davis) match the impact of the players added to the secondary, and Bailey said he was interested to see how returning players such as Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss handle the switch from defensive end to outside linebacker.
"We still don't have all the pieces for that, so I don't know how we're going to turn it around," Bailey said about the switch to a 3-4 scheme. "I don't know how we're going to train guys to get up and get their hand off the ground and drop back in coverage a lot, because they've never done that."
Whatever system the Broncos employ — and Bailey said he expects the team to use a variety of schemes — it will be critical the defensive unit quickly finds its identity.
That's the main thing that never happened in 2008, in part because of former coach Mike Shanahan's decision to switch to a 3-4 several games into the season.
"I think one thing going into that year was we tried to establish who we were going to be, and I don't think we ever did that," Bailey said. "We didn't know if we wanted to be a 3-4 or a 4-3, and when you start changing like that in the middle of the season, sometimes it backfires and sometimes it doesn't. But for us, it definitely didn't work."
Bailey and his brother Boss Bailey, a linebacker who is recovering from knee surgery, are among a handful of Broncos who have spent much of their offseason at the team's Dove Valley headquarters rehabilitating their injuries. Champ Bailey said there is a noticeable change in the atmosphere at the facility since McDaniels arrived in mid-January, starting with the decor.
Gone are many of the large pictures of Shanahan — obviously. Also, some of the pictures of former Broncos have been replaced by large shots of current players, including Champ Bailey.
"I saw two of me, so somebody likes me around here," he said.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com