When Jim Bates first addressed Denver-area media after becoming assistant head coach/defense, he sounded a little like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor when discussing his plans for the defensive line.
“More power,” Bates said.
“There won’t be as much movement up and down the line of scrimmage. We will play with much more power up front, taking on blocks and being much squarer than in the past.”
And he wanted that power — and bulk to go with it — up the middle.
“We were able to manage with 290, 285-pound defensive tackles, but it makes the defense work a lot better if we have big guys up the middle,” he said at the time.
So in the last four days, the Broncos have signed Sam Adams and traded for Jimmy Kennedy. Adams arrived in Denver weighing 345 pounds; Kennedy checked in at 325 last year for the St. Louis Rams, when he started all 16 games at nose tackle — marking the first time in an injury-hindered career that he has started an entire season. Size-wise, Gerard Warren fits nicely alongside Kennedy and Adams; the seventh-year player is listed at 325 pounds.
Now, if you try and fit each of the Broncos’ defensive tackles into a large box, you’ll have room to spare in some instances. Returning tackle Demetrin Veal is 288 pounds, while fourth-round draft pick Marcus Thomas is 296 pounds and free-agent pickup Alvin McKinley is 294.
But the trend of this week is unmistakable. The Broncos haven’t been averse to having such massive tackles over the years — just not necessarily two of them on the field at the same time, as you can see with the season-opening, starting defensive-tackle couplings of recent years:
2006: Gerard Warren 325 lbs., Michael Myers 300 lbs.
Average: 312.5 lbs.
2005: Gerard Warren 325 lbs., Michael Myers 300 lbs.
Average: 312.5 lbs.
2004: Mario Fatafehi 300 lbs., Trevor Pryce 295 lbs.
Average: 297.5 lbs.
2003: Darius Holland 330 lbs., Monsanto Pope 300 lbs.
Average: 315.0 lbs.
2002: Chester McGlockton 334 lbs., Lional Dalton 309 lbs.
Average: 321.5 lbs.
If the Broncos start some combination of Kennedy, Warren and Adams, it would give them their heaviest defensive-tackle combination in recent memory, and what Bates surely hopes would be an effective one.
“It always starts up the middle,” Bates said. “and if you’re good in the run defense up the middle, it makes your whole team better.”
AND ONE MORE THING …
There’s a few number changes on the roster today. Adams now has No. 95, which had belonged to Jarvis Moss, who moves to No. 94, his number at the University of Florida. Amon Gordon, who previously donned No. 94, will now take the No. 63 jersey that Adams so snugly wore in the last three days of OTAs.
Tags: Alvin McKinley, Defense, Defensive linemen, Demetrin Veal, Gerard Warren, Jimmy Kennedy, Sam Adams
I like the pickup, lets just hope he can stay healthy because he is good. Very similar to Courtney Brown, good when healthy, just rarely healthy.
Love the way Broncos D is shaping up. I think with the idea of rotating the DT will keep them all fresh to finish strong towards the last 4-games of the season. Can’t wait to see how Jim Bates’ defense works in preseason games. Anyone who played all 16-games last season must be healthy I love the trade.
I like the way jim bates is doing things no more running up the middle
I believe in Coach Mike..*MILE HIGH SALUTE*
why do the broncos need more help up front. I think with adams and the three draft picks the broncos was in great shape. i only hope that the trade was not to costly for next year. What about the offence. the defence played good last year. It was the offence that really was not very good. they really made it tuff on the defence
No, we needed another DT, only had 2 w/ one being a rookie. It was a good trade. The offense has been revamped w/ Henry and Graham alone.
I love the pick. Looks awesome, even from my porch in California. Our defense (QB pressure and run stop) was a joke the last half of the season last year. I am very impressed with what Bates has done. Very pumped for this season….West Coast
For the price we’re paying for these guys to come into our program, we can’t lose. Bates is overhauling the line and I think ever new player he can get a good look at (in the DE or DT position) will only help him pick the bests ones when the roster starts shaping up.
I completely approve.
An Obsessed Fan
http://www.mydenverobsession.com
Wait before being impressed whith Bates job but so far i like .more bulk and power is nessecary but don’t forget the speed , the colts proved it last year , i hope Bates won’t forget it .
i like the move but don’t forget speed on D line
Good Job on the O-Line!!!
Joe Manzanares
Branch Manager
Director of Personel
Nu-Way Real Estate
It is spelled Defense not Defence and Offense not Offence luckyverno please learn how to spell. Adding depth to the D-Line is not a bad idea considering the D-Line was our weakest position last season besides RB and WR. Getting many players to rotate in and out during the game will keep the players fresh all season long. We really need to start getting younger tallent rather than settling for expensive free agents. Our team is aging and needs an explosive WR to compliment Javon Walker. We still dont know if he can bounce back from the terrible death of Darrent Williams. I really wanted denver to trade up to grab Calvin Johnson, I think he would have made a greater impact on this team than Javis Moss and Tim Crowder put together. Please prove me wrong Moss and Crowder, Broncos fans need another Super Bowl Win badly!!!
Calvin Johnson would have been next to impossible to get. The Broncos would have had to give up this years number 1 choice, next years number 1, and several other draft choices. The Broncos are getting old, and that would have compounded their problem with age. I think Kennedy, a first round draft choice, was a steal with the Broncos only giving up a 6th round choice. Putting aside his health, Kennedy’s major problem was playing for 3 different defensive coaches in 4 years. Is he a “great” defensive tackle? I doubt it. But, he is young and huge, and from what I’ve read, he is a high character guy with a great work ethic. Now the trainers just need to help him keep is weight under control.
UncleB53 I think this is going to be our Super bowl season, and I like all the new pick-ups.
Dont get me wrong, i would much rather have great starters on the d-line then a bunch of good players spelling each other during the game. But i guess its much cheaper to operate this way and thats why theyre doing it.
I like the move to get bigger in the middle. That will allow the ends to work more effectively on the outside. That should really be good for Dumerville and Moss with their quickness. Seems like that is similar to what the Colts have, larger interior with smaller, quick ends.
>>i guess its much cheaper to operate this way and thats why theyre doing it.
Fearless – you go and complain about someone’s spelling of defense (when it can be spelled either way, since ‘defence’ is the British spelling of the word – look it up), and then you go and spell ‘talent’ wrong, and don’t uppercase ‘Denver’?!
Either way you spell it, more help for Denver’s D-line is a good thing. New co-ordinator, new players…going to be some work getting everyone on the same page so its best to have as many options available as possible. It will definitely be quite a different team that takes the field on Opening Day this year than it was last.
I’m hoping for big things!
29
Love the depth!!! We can rotate/dictate run stoppers and pass rushers whenever the situation calls. If we can get consistent play from receiver position, we are ready!
finnally an answer to larry Johnson and more importantly L.T. lets see the chiefs and the Chargers try to run up the gut with these three Mountains able to rotate in the middle. its going to free D.J. and Ian and who ever starts at strong LB to make even more plays. its also going to help the secondary with pass rush since the QBs wont be able to step up inn the pocket JMoss and Elvis are going to have a lot of meetings w/the QBs this year and Champ and Dre r going to have a lot of rushed passes. Now since we have the D polished up all Jay has 2do is get the ball 2 Rod and Tony, I like Walker but he’s not a #1 yet.
Why are we going with 300 pounders, we need speed on the D-line. We seen what the so called Cleveland rejects did for us last year, what a joke. We need quickness up front and some good pass rushers, these big boys are going to be wore out and tired in the first quarter of all games. Why didn’t we get Lynch some help at the safety position, Ferguason sucks and we have all seen him play for the last couple of years, Bly was a great pick-up to help Bailey.
Real Estate Guide…
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…