Denver Native (Carol)
03-17-2014, 03:33 PM
"Defense wins championships."
During my time as a scout with the Carolina Panthers, I routinely heard John Fox recite this familiar adage when discussing the ideal way to build a team in personnel meetings. He constantly stressed the importance of playing tough, physical football on the defensive side of the ball.
Relying on that formula, Fox guided the Panthers to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In Denver, Fox used a similar approach to guide the Broncos to an AFC West title during his first season at the helm -- with Tim Tebow at quarterback. However, the arrival of franchise quarterback Peyton Manning in 2012 seemingly shifted the Broncos' philosophical approach from a defense-driven team to one led by an explosive offense.
Now, this methodology certainly has produced nice results, with the Broncos posting consecutive 13-3 seasons and making an appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII. But in the wake of an embarrassing 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Super Sunday, Fox appears hell-bent on getting back to his core principles by building a dominant defense that's capable of guiding his team to the Lombardi Trophy next season. Thus explains three high-profile, defensive acquisitions in the opening week of free agency: pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward.
Here are three key aspects of the Broncos' defensive makeover:
rest - http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000334697/article/john-fox-retooling-denver-broncos-defense-in-free-agency
During my time as a scout with the Carolina Panthers, I routinely heard John Fox recite this familiar adage when discussing the ideal way to build a team in personnel meetings. He constantly stressed the importance of playing tough, physical football on the defensive side of the ball.
Relying on that formula, Fox guided the Panthers to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In Denver, Fox used a similar approach to guide the Broncos to an AFC West title during his first season at the helm -- with Tim Tebow at quarterback. However, the arrival of franchise quarterback Peyton Manning in 2012 seemingly shifted the Broncos' philosophical approach from a defense-driven team to one led by an explosive offense.
Now, this methodology certainly has produced nice results, with the Broncos posting consecutive 13-3 seasons and making an appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII. But in the wake of an embarrassing 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Super Sunday, Fox appears hell-bent on getting back to his core principles by building a dominant defense that's capable of guiding his team to the Lombardi Trophy next season. Thus explains three high-profile, defensive acquisitions in the opening week of free agency: pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward.
Here are three key aspects of the Broncos' defensive makeover:
rest - http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000334697/article/john-fox-retooling-denver-broncos-defense-in-free-agency