With Manning, is the Broncos defense up to the task?

[Northman]

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/42101/can-denvers-defense-take-next-step


Bill Polian, who knows Manning well, has said he thinks the potential of the Broncos' defense is one of the reasons Manning chose to play in Denver. Polian, the Colts’ former general manager who brought Manning to Indianapolis and who is now an ESPN analyst, said last week he thinks the Denver defense could be a spark for the Manning-led offense.

“John Fox is going to coach up that defense and it has a chance to play great defense,” Polian said. “That will only help Peyton.”

However, I believe the Broncos have work to do before they can start playing great defense.


The 2011 Denver Broncos (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/den/denver-broncos) will be remembered for the wild days of Tim Tebow (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13200/tim-tebow), but it was the defense that rose up and solidified the team.

[chazoe60]

We have to shore up the middle(DT and MLB) and we need to get younger in the secondary or at least the young guys we have need to keep improving.

I wish we could find a three down ILB to lead our defense. I would love to draft Kuechly, but he'll be long gone. Hell, I think I'd trade our entire draft for Kuechly and Fletcher Cox. :D

[TXBRONC]

Right now our defense is very similar to the Colts defense in it's prime. Two terrfic pass rushers and and the middle of the defense that is suspect. It worked for the Colts because played from the front most of the time which allowed Mathis and Freeney to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback. If Manning can do the same thing for us that he did with the Colts it would play right into the hands of Dumervil and Miller. That said, I sure hope we can make the middle of defense stronger than what the Colts had in Mannings time in Indianapolis.

[Northman]

We have to shore up the middle(DT and MLB) and we need to get younger in the secondary or at least the young guys we have need to keep improving.

I wish we could find a three down ILB to lead our defense. I would love to draft Kuechly, but he'll be long gone. Hell, I think I'd trade our entire draft for Kuechly and Fletcher Cox. :D


We should have a shot at Cox, but there is still Brockers, D. Still, and Worthy available. I agree, Luke will be gone but im not interested in trading up for him, especially with Hightower out there.

[threefolddead]

Well our defense is very different than the defense they built in Indy with Peyton in mind. They were bend but don't break and had the luxury of knowing what they got to watch after they got off the field. We have a defense that played three quarters every game knowing the offense wouldn't score and they would probably go three and out. I love our defense and love watching good defense. I hope we continue to improve and I think with the fewer minutes on the field the defense can really shine this year. I was impressed with them last year but man they looked gassed when the fourth quarter rolled around and for obvious reasons. I think Peyton can keep them off the field for sustained drives and that will only make us better. So the question is is our D up to the task? They are a hell of a lot better than any D that Indy has had and I'm sure they will continue to improve.

[Northman]

Right now our defense is very similar to the Colts defense in it's prime. Two terrfic pass rushers and and the middle of the defense that is suspect. It worked for the Colts because played from the front most of the time which allowed Mathis and Freeney to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback. If Manning can do the same thing for us that he did with the Colts it would play right into the hands of Dumervil and Miller. That said, I sure hope we can make the middle of defense stronger than what the Colts had in Mannings time in Indianapolis.


Yes and no. I think because of Manning's age we will have to be MUCH better on defense than they were in Indy because even with the talent they had on Indy they only made it too 2 SB's in Manning's career. For a long time they ignored defense and it cost them more opportunities in my mind. I think we should just let Manning do what Manning does and give him a stronger defense than he has ever had. With that i think we have a great shot at a title.

[Tned]

What's the story with Porter (is that his name, the CB from Saints??)? When I was flying home Sunday I was working my way through the defense. Assuming Porter is a good upgrade to Goodman, then I see the biggest holes up the middle. DT of course, possible MLB unless Irving is ready to step up this year, and then some major questions at safety. On the other hand, assuming Porter is solid, then the outside of the defense (OLB's, DE's and corners) should be good to go.

[MOtorboat]

What's the story with Porter (is that his name, the CB from Saints??)? When I was flying home Sunday I was working my way through the defense. Assuming Porter is a good upgrade to Goodman, then I see the biggest holes up the middle. DT of course, possible MLB unless Irving is ready to step up this year, and then some major questions at safety. On the other hand, assuming Porter is solid, then the outside of the defense (OLB's, DE's and corners) should be good to go.

Porter is probably an upgrade over Goodman, but the question now is if he will be one of the players suspended in the Saints bounty thing.

They signed Mays to fairly decent money, so it looks like he's the short-term middle linebacker. With the signings they've made the logical position they will target in the draft is defensive tackle, but how many times have we thought that going into the draft?

[SOCALORADO.]

Porter is probably an upgrade over Goodman, but the question now is if he will be one of the players suspended in the Saints bounty thing.

They signed Mays to fairly decent money, so it looks like he's the short-term middle linebacker. With the signings they've made the logical position they will target in the draft is defensive tackle, but how many times have we thought that going into the draft?

We all know of the endless highjinks and shenanigans of this organization in regards to the DT position.
Drives us all crazy. However, how fricken low can they go? They gotta draft a DT high now, or its all over for the defense.

[Nomad]

Yes and no. I think because of Manning's age we will have to be MUCH better on defense than they were in Indy because even with the talent they had on Indy they only made it too 2 SB's in Manning's career. For a long time they ignored defense and it cost them more opportunities in my mind. I think we should just let Manning do what Manning does and give him a stronger defense than he has ever had. With that i think we have a great shot at a title.

This! Defense and Special Teams.......keep building both. If BRONCOS draft a wideout/TE, I believe I'll lose it.

[Chef Zambini]

the single best thing we can do to improve our defense is to cut GOODMAN !
opposing QBs just look into our backfield, locate goodman, and throw the ball in his direction ! We would be better off playing with TEN guys, because then the QB would not have an OBVIOUS target !

[Chef Zambini]

porter, with BOTH hands amputated is better than goodman !

[MOtorboat]

porter, with BOTH hands amputated is better than goodman !

Anyone want to place bets as to whether or not people will be screaming about Porter getting beat next season?

Cornerbacks always draw fan ire. I think Porter is just Goodman part deux, and he'll be getting screamed at by mid season. JMHO.

[CoachChaz]

Porter is mediocre, but probably better than Goodman. But if all we were looking for was better than Goodman, we could have sign Terrence 'The Human Hurdle" Newman and we would have accomplished that task. Fortunately, it's only a 1 year deal and hopefully we find a diamond in the rough in the draft or another one of those surprise UDFA's

[Northman]

This! Defense and Special Teams.......keep building both. If BRONCOS draft a wideout/TE, I believe I'll lose it.

Well, with the loss of Royal i think they will need to at least draft (or sign) a WR but i think they can do that in the later rounds. TE i would agree, there is no point drafting or signing anymore at that position.

[Northman]

Anyone want to place bets as to whether or not people will be screaming about Porter getting beat next season?

Cornerbacks always draw fan ire. I think Porter is just Goodman part deux, and he'll be getting screamed at by mid season. JMHO.


Indeed. Every DB gets beat and while i understand Goodman isnt a HOF'r he did have a very important role vs the Jets last year. I think Porter is a step up but i wouldnt be shocked if Porter gets picked on a lot next year.

[DenBronx]

It was simple, re-sign Bunkley. Bad mistake on our part of letting him walk.

[Chef Zambini]

re-sign
vs

resign

the hyphen makes a big difference folks. one means the player is coming back, the latter means they are not.

[DenBronx]

re-sign
vs

resign

the hyphen makes a big difference folks. one means the player is coming back, the latter means they are not.

I wish there was an auto spell checker here. It would do wonders...

[MOtorboat]

re-sign
vs

resign

the hyphen makes a big difference folks. one means the player is coming back, the latter means they are not.

Maybe we should critique your grammar.

:whoknows:

[Ziggy]

re-sign
vs

resign

the hyphen makes a big difference folks. one means the player is coming back, the latter means they are not.

Zam lecturing on spelling and punctuation. Now that's funny there, I don't care who you are.

[bcbronc]

Hate to say it, but I don't think our defense can recover from the loss of Tebow.

[Denver27og]

anyone opposite Bailey is bound to get picked on..

Its gonna be nice to have some offense finally...

I trust elway to have a nice draft..

[Cugel]

Bill Polian, who knows Manning well, has said he thinks the potential of the Broncos' defense is one of the reasons Manning chose to play in Denver. Polian, the Colts’ former general manager who brought Manning to Indianapolis and who is now an ESPN analyst, said last week he thinks the Denver defense could be a spark for the Manning-led offense.

“John Fox is going to coach up that defense and it has a chance to play great defense,” Polian said. “That will only help Peyton.”

However, I believe the Broncos have work to do before they can start playing great defense.
The 2011 Denver Broncos will be remembered for the wild days of Tim Tebow, but it was the defense that rose up and solidified the team.


I have no idea how anybody in their right mind could think Denver will have an elite defense anytime soon. :coffee:

They have NO elite players outside Doom, Von Miller and Champ Bailey. Their DTs are . . . what am I saying. They don't actually have any starting DTs at all. Their starting DTs from last season are both FAs and Bunkley is already gone, Thomas considering his options with other teams.

DE Robert Ayers has yet to show anything to justify his first round selection in the draft, but he's at least mediocre, not horrible.

Middle LB -- they re-signed Joe Mays. That's not a good thing unless you think mediocrity is wonderful. Weakness in the middle.

Secondary is aging. Porter is a one-year rental but at least he's better than Goodman. Bailey isn't getting any younger, but he played well last season. How long he can keep that up as the #1 CB remains to be seen. Hopefully at least this season. But, they need to draft another CB.

S is still a big weakness. The S's McMoron drafted in the 2nd round in 2009 (Darcel McBath and Alphonso Smith were complete busts/traded).

Quinton Carter was drafted in the 4th round last year; started 10 games, and had 56 tackles. Hopefully he can get better. If he does that solidifies the secondary now that Dawkins is likely to retire or be cut. He claims he's 100% now but remains undecided whether to try and play. The Broncos have signed Mike Adams so he may not be welcomed back. (http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/nfl/den/?r=1) Adams started last year for the Bengals and is not an elite caliber safety, but he is serviceable.

That's the problem with Denver's entire defense. Nothing horrible outside of the total lack of quality DTs now that Bunkley is gone, but not great either.

With Manning they are probably good enough to win the division and get into the playoffs, but how far can they advance?

The one year Indy won the SB their defense started playing amazing football in the playoffs. The rest of the time they ran into teams with similarly good QBs (Tom Brady) and better defenses and lost out.