Denver Native (Carol)
10-30-2009, 09:23 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_13673615
At the risk of ticking off the baddest man in the whole darn NFL, this needs to be said: Your reign of terror is over, Ray Lewis.
The No. 1 defense in the league can now be found in Denver.
There was a time when the angriest eyes in football belonged to Lewis, a Baltimore linebacker who put the nevermore in the Ravens' defense.
That's history. The Broncos and their Doom 'n' Gloom defense are what's happening now.
Pound for pound, the fiercest man in the game is Denver safety Brian Dawkins. I'll take him in a staredown against Lewis. Every time. "Dawk" doesn't blink.
You can attempt to quantify the nastiness of an NFL defense by sacks, interceptions, bruises inflicted or any number of other black- and-blue statistics. True nasty, however, is what chills the bones when you stare into the eyes of a defense that will hurt you.
"The thing is that look in the eye that a man brings to the game. Ray Lewis and 'Dawk' both have it. And you need it. That's what takes your defense to the next level," Broncos linebacker Andra Davis said Thursday.
"I think you can have a good defense without being really, really physical, but I don't think you can have an exceptional defense."
While Peyton Manning cashes in on the commercials and Tom Brady married a supermodel, here's a hunch that if a poll of rank-and-file NFL athletes were taken, the most respected player of this generation might not be a quarterback. It would be Lewis.
"Love him, love him," Dawkins said of Lewis. "I love the energy that he brings. I love the leadership he provides, both in playmaking and his vocal leadership. He is just one of those guys I call warriors. . . . As far as the aggressiveness, the nastiness of that defense, it has always been wrapped around (No.) 52."
Without question, Baltimore has been the dominant defense of the decade with Lewis calling the shots. But the Ravens ain't what they used to be. This season, they are surrendering more than 20 points per game.
In 2009, Denver pass rusher Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL in sacks. Dawkins has demanded a ready-to-rumble attitude. And Davis brings the pain to every Broncos game.
Is this a new era in which Denver can be the Kings of D? It's too early to answer definitively, but the Broncos can grow their reputation by being the meaner team during their next two games, when there will be steel-cage matches against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two franchises with fearsome defensive traditions.
While the violence of the big hit is what makes millionaires out of defenders, football is a game of so many moving parts there must be physical sacrifices made on every goal-line stand or interception returned for a touchdown that go unseen.
So here's a word maybe we don't often associate when thinking of keys to constructing an impenetrable defense, but it's precisely the word perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey used when asked to name a defining characteristic of this Denver unit: unselfish.
"I think that's why we've been successful our first six games, because we've been on the same page. Once things go crazy and people start doing their own thing, that's when things go bad. And you can't be selfish in any defense," Bailey said.
Added Dumervil: "It's not about the individual winning the battle; it's all about the defense winning."
An intimidating NFL defense is not built in a half dozen games. But there's something about these Broncos you can sense by merely looking at them when they break the huddle on third down. Dawkins and Dumervil have instilled the "it" factor.
What is it?
Angry eyes.
At the risk of ticking off the baddest man in the whole darn NFL, this needs to be said: Your reign of terror is over, Ray Lewis.
The No. 1 defense in the league can now be found in Denver.
There was a time when the angriest eyes in football belonged to Lewis, a Baltimore linebacker who put the nevermore in the Ravens' defense.
That's history. The Broncos and their Doom 'n' Gloom defense are what's happening now.
Pound for pound, the fiercest man in the game is Denver safety Brian Dawkins. I'll take him in a staredown against Lewis. Every time. "Dawk" doesn't blink.
You can attempt to quantify the nastiness of an NFL defense by sacks, interceptions, bruises inflicted or any number of other black- and-blue statistics. True nasty, however, is what chills the bones when you stare into the eyes of a defense that will hurt you.
"The thing is that look in the eye that a man brings to the game. Ray Lewis and 'Dawk' both have it. And you need it. That's what takes your defense to the next level," Broncos linebacker Andra Davis said Thursday.
"I think you can have a good defense without being really, really physical, but I don't think you can have an exceptional defense."
While Peyton Manning cashes in on the commercials and Tom Brady married a supermodel, here's a hunch that if a poll of rank-and-file NFL athletes were taken, the most respected player of this generation might not be a quarterback. It would be Lewis.
"Love him, love him," Dawkins said of Lewis. "I love the energy that he brings. I love the leadership he provides, both in playmaking and his vocal leadership. He is just one of those guys I call warriors. . . . As far as the aggressiveness, the nastiness of that defense, it has always been wrapped around (No.) 52."
Without question, Baltimore has been the dominant defense of the decade with Lewis calling the shots. But the Ravens ain't what they used to be. This season, they are surrendering more than 20 points per game.
In 2009, Denver pass rusher Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL in sacks. Dawkins has demanded a ready-to-rumble attitude. And Davis brings the pain to every Broncos game.
Is this a new era in which Denver can be the Kings of D? It's too early to answer definitively, but the Broncos can grow their reputation by being the meaner team during their next two games, when there will be steel-cage matches against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two franchises with fearsome defensive traditions.
While the violence of the big hit is what makes millionaires out of defenders, football is a game of so many moving parts there must be physical sacrifices made on every goal-line stand or interception returned for a touchdown that go unseen.
So here's a word maybe we don't often associate when thinking of keys to constructing an impenetrable defense, but it's precisely the word perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey used when asked to name a defining characteristic of this Denver unit: unselfish.
"I think that's why we've been successful our first six games, because we've been on the same page. Once things go crazy and people start doing their own thing, that's when things go bad. And you can't be selfish in any defense," Bailey said.
Added Dumervil: "It's not about the individual winning the battle; it's all about the defense winning."
An intimidating NFL defense is not built in a half dozen games. But there's something about these Broncos you can sense by merely looking at them when they break the huddle on third down. Dawkins and Dumervil have instilled the "it" factor.
What is it?
Angry eyes.