Denver Native (Carol)
09-21-2009, 03:31 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13387138?source=rss
Back in January, when Josh McDaniels was hired to replace Mike Shanahan as head coach, he took a look at the Broncos roster and the way the team's defense had played in 2008.
McDaniels knew he wanted his Broncos to play a 3-4 defense, not in a 4-3 scheme like it did under Shanahan, and what McDaniels saw made his decision to switch systems an easy one.
No waiting, he decided. Do it now.
"The 4-3 really wasn't here. The way they had played, the style and the guys — we just felt like it wasn't like we had a solid 4-3 defensive scheme," McDaniels said Monday. "In other words, why take a year and do that when it really wasn't in place to begin with?"
Those comments from McDaniels are the closest the new coach has come to saying anything disparaging about his predecessor in the more than nine months since taking over as head coach.
McDaniels also called Shanahan's brief foray into a 3-4 defense last season — which ended after a disastrous 41-7 loss at New England in late October — a "hybrid, gimmicky deal."
"Everything from the first few weeks that we got here moving forward, we said, 'We're going in that direction regardless,' " McDaniels said. "It might not be perfect, but we're going to get it as close to perfect by the time we start playing games. It was that simple."
So far, it appears McDaniels made the right decision. The new defense, which features eight new starters, has held its first two opponents to 13 total points and is vastly improved against the run and the pass, and also has created five turnovers. The 2008 Broncos had only 13 turnovers all season.
"It's just executing what you're supposed to do, and being in the right place a lot of the times gives you a great chance to create turnovers," McDaniels said. "If you make a lot of mistakes, where you're not in the right position, then you find yourself with very few opportunities to create them. Our guys were kind of in the right place yesterday and kind of did some of the things we coach them to do."
Back in January, when Josh McDaniels was hired to replace Mike Shanahan as head coach, he took a look at the Broncos roster and the way the team's defense had played in 2008.
McDaniels knew he wanted his Broncos to play a 3-4 defense, not in a 4-3 scheme like it did under Shanahan, and what McDaniels saw made his decision to switch systems an easy one.
No waiting, he decided. Do it now.
"The 4-3 really wasn't here. The way they had played, the style and the guys — we just felt like it wasn't like we had a solid 4-3 defensive scheme," McDaniels said Monday. "In other words, why take a year and do that when it really wasn't in place to begin with?"
Those comments from McDaniels are the closest the new coach has come to saying anything disparaging about his predecessor in the more than nine months since taking over as head coach.
McDaniels also called Shanahan's brief foray into a 3-4 defense last season — which ended after a disastrous 41-7 loss at New England in late October — a "hybrid, gimmicky deal."
"Everything from the first few weeks that we got here moving forward, we said, 'We're going in that direction regardless,' " McDaniels said. "It might not be perfect, but we're going to get it as close to perfect by the time we start playing games. It was that simple."
So far, it appears McDaniels made the right decision. The new defense, which features eight new starters, has held its first two opponents to 13 total points and is vastly improved against the run and the pass, and also has created five turnovers. The 2008 Broncos had only 13 turnovers all season.
"It's just executing what you're supposed to do, and being in the right place a lot of the times gives you a great chance to create turnovers," McDaniels said. "If you make a lot of mistakes, where you're not in the right position, then you find yourself with very few opportunities to create them. Our guys were kind of in the right place yesterday and kind of did some of the things we coach them to do."