TXBRONC
08-31-2009, 09:51 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13237237
Dumervil still a rush job
Switch to new 3-4 position closer to being successful
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/31/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Three games down in the preseason, and Elvis Dumervil said he still has some work to do standing up if he's going to consistently be counted in the Broncos' pass rush.
Having spent his football life down in a three-point stance rushing opposing quarterbacks as a defensive end, Dumervil continues to make the adjustment to the world of the outside linebacker in the Broncos' new 3-4 scheme.
To the job of standing up at the snap, to playing the game with a different view of things.
"I'm getting used to it. I've been doing it one way for a long time. That was my game for 25 years," Dumervil said. "Like a sprinter, you know, with your hand in the ground, coming out at the start. I've got to keep working hard to get off the ball better standing up."
Dumervil didn't have a sack Sunday night during the Broncos' 27-17 loss to the Bears at Invesco Field at Mile High. But he hit Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler, a former teammate, several times during Cutler's half of work in the game.
Dumervil also was flagged at one point for roughing the quarterback during the Bears' 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive just before halftime.
And it was that proximity to Cutler without the reward of a sack, however, that told Dumervil all he needed to know about how he's progressing at his new position. After all, he has at least tied for the Broncos' sack lead in each of his first three seasons and certainly would like to add a fourth to the list even as the defense has switched to a 3-4 alignment.
"I got in there, I got some hits right after he got the ball out," Dumervil said. "You look at it, and I'll look at the film to be sure, but that tells me I have to get off the ball quicker. That I'm close, but not close enough, a step, a couple steps, away."
"We did get some hits on (Cutler)," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said.
Other former defensive ends have made the transition to outside linebacker before as they moved into a 3-4 scheme, but most did not have the pass rushing resume of Dumervil.
Dumervil had back-to-back seasons of 30 sacks as a prep player in Miami. He had a 20-sack season his senior year at Louisville and had 12 1/2 sacks with the Broncos in 2007.
"It's a process. There's a lot of work I've still got to put into it," Dumervil said. "I think we've made some strides (overall). . . . I like the direction we're going."
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
Dumervil still a rush job
Switch to new 3-4 position closer to being successful
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/31/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Three games down in the preseason, and Elvis Dumervil said he still has some work to do standing up if he's going to consistently be counted in the Broncos' pass rush.
Having spent his football life down in a three-point stance rushing opposing quarterbacks as a defensive end, Dumervil continues to make the adjustment to the world of the outside linebacker in the Broncos' new 3-4 scheme.
To the job of standing up at the snap, to playing the game with a different view of things.
"I'm getting used to it. I've been doing it one way for a long time. That was my game for 25 years," Dumervil said. "Like a sprinter, you know, with your hand in the ground, coming out at the start. I've got to keep working hard to get off the ball better standing up."
Dumervil didn't have a sack Sunday night during the Broncos' 27-17 loss to the Bears at Invesco Field at Mile High. But he hit Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler, a former teammate, several times during Cutler's half of work in the game.
Dumervil also was flagged at one point for roughing the quarterback during the Bears' 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive just before halftime.
And it was that proximity to Cutler without the reward of a sack, however, that told Dumervil all he needed to know about how he's progressing at his new position. After all, he has at least tied for the Broncos' sack lead in each of his first three seasons and certainly would like to add a fourth to the list even as the defense has switched to a 3-4 alignment.
"I got in there, I got some hits right after he got the ball out," Dumervil said. "You look at it, and I'll look at the film to be sure, but that tells me I have to get off the ball quicker. That I'm close, but not close enough, a step, a couple steps, away."
"We did get some hits on (Cutler)," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said.
Other former defensive ends have made the transition to outside linebacker before as they moved into a 3-4 scheme, but most did not have the pass rushing resume of Dumervil.
Dumervil had back-to-back seasons of 30 sacks as a prep player in Miami. He had a 20-sack season his senior year at Louisville and had 12 1/2 sacks with the Broncos in 2007.
"It's a process. There's a lot of work I've still got to put into it," Dumervil said. "I think we've made some strides (overall). . . . I like the direction we're going."
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com