Originally Posted by
mark kiszla
Age-old question: Too old?
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist
Article Last Updated: 09/06/2007 12:37:38 AM MDT
For guys who have lost a step, the graybeards of the Broncos defense sure do turn grumpy real quick if you suggest they're old.
"It doesn't matter whether a football player is young or old. All that counts is if you can make plays," 34-year-old defensive tackle Sam Adams said Wednesday.
These Broncos, from 35-year-old safety John Lynch to new defensive end Simeon Rice, better get used to the grumpy old men jokes.
Denver will start the oldest defense in the NFL this season.
Should a defense once proudly known as the Orange Crush be renamed the Thin Gray Line? Can the Broncos, behind the proven pass-rushing ability of Rice, lead the league in sacks? Or will they give the term "defensive wrinkles" a whole new meaning?
So I asked the 33-year-old Rice, who became a free agent after he flunked a physical with Tampa Bay, if he had grown better with age, or if he was only growing old?
"Both," replied Rice, smiling with the confidence of a pass- rusher with 121 NFL sacks to his name. "When I came into the league, I wasn't as damaged as I am at this point. But I feel as though I'll hold up and be as adequate as I ever was."
His definition of adequate? The best in the NFL.
While projecting lineups is an inexact science because the health of every player is snap- to-snap, the addition of Rice figures to make the Broncos the lone team with a starting defensive 11 whose average age will be in excess of 30 years.
It's enough to make me scratch the thinning hair atop my head and wonder: How does this compute as a dominant defense that won't break down long before the playoffs begin? Are all those X's and O's scribbled by new Broncos defensive guru Jim Bates some sort of Grecian Formula?
"Age is not a determining factor in how one performs on the field," 32-year-old Broncos safety Nick Ferguson insisted.
Although coach Mike Shanahan wasn't certain how much Rice would play in the season-opener at Buffalo on Sunday, the defensive end was listed No. 1 on the depth chart by the team's official website before the 11-year NFL veteran could be assigned a uniform number.
Once Rice gets his groove back and his legs in football shape, Denver figures to be the only league team to start six defensive players with a 30th birthday already in the books. Significant? You bet.
In a young man's game, that's twice the average number of starters in their 30s employed by the NFL's other 31 teams.
"Where having a veteran defense is an advantage is you have guys who have been in tough situations and they know how to fight back," Ferguson said. "You could be down by 14 points, and it could be third- and-5 when we haven't stopped them all day, but veterans keep clawing and scratching until they get back in the game, and they actually have the experience to know how to get it done."
A defense need not lose its teeth due to age. The Baltimore Ravens, who grudgingly surrendered 201 points to lead the league last season, still takes a bite out of foes with 32-year-old linebacker Ray Lewis. Go ahead. Try handing Lewis an AARP card. It might shorten your life span.
The average age, however, of these grizzled Baltimore defenders is 28, nearly two years younger per man than the Broncos. Denver will start three players older than 30 in the secondary alone, which would seem like an invitation to get burned if Denver's cornerbacks were anybody other than Champ Bailey and Dré Bly.
While the Miami defense rests on the enduring pillars of strength that are Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas, the average age of the Dolphins unit is a tick under 30 years old. This sport hurts. Won't it take the old bones of the Broncos longer to heal? Won't it be harder for the Denver defense to perform in the body-creaking chill of December than during September, when everything seems fresh?
"No," Ferguson said. "It's not based on age, it's based on the individual and how he takes care of his body. Most teams put so much emphasis on age, but that's not all there is to consider. I know some players who are way younger than me, maybe they're 25 years old, but the way they take care of their bodies it's like they're freakin' 38."
OK, no reason to get grumpy.
Maybe the old, gray Broncos ain't all what they used to be, but these guys can still play some serious "D."
There's no time to waste, however, for thirty-something defenders. The NFL isn't known as the Not For Long without good reason.
This Denver defense is built to win a Super Bowl now, then ask questions about retirement parties later.