Perhaps Hamza Abdullah’s starting opportunity might have come sooner had he not sustained a hip-flexor injury in Week 2 against the Raiders. He missed the following five games, but by the time he returned on Nov. 4 against Detroit, he was in line for the most extensive action of his career to date, splitting time with then-starting safety Nick Ferguson.
A week later, Abdullah was in the starting lineup — for good, as it turned out. He started at free safety in Kansas City while John Lynch recovered from a neck stinger, then moved to strong safety for the balance of the regular season.
Flashes of brilliance defined Abdullah’s half-season as starter. He notched 40 total tackles in his eight starts — tied for third on the team and first among defensive backs along with Champ Bailey — but also missed some stops, perhaps most notably in the Week 15 loss at Houston, when tight end Owen Daniels got free past him in the open field after a reception, leading to a 15-yard gain on third-and-6 that pulled the Texans out of purgatory at their own 8-yard-line.
But that came in start No. 6 for Abdullah, a player who remains young enough to be defined by his potential, whose growth could be essential to the Broncos’ hopes of defensive restoration in 2008 and beyond.
“We’ll find out,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. “When he did play, he played well. He had some good games (and) some poor games, but I think he’s got a big upside, and hopefully he’ll play well in the future.”
The defense will doubtless have a laundry list of goals to check off as it looks to return to the league’s top 10, where it was perched from 2001-04. Abdullah has goals of his own — which revolve around helping the defense flourish as a whole.
“I’m doing everything towards those goals. I definitely haven’t achieved them. I just want to be a great teammate and a great player, and I want to do whatever it takes to help this team win,” Abdullah said in November. “Little things, whether it’s alignment, no missed assignments, mental errors, things like that.”
Added Lynch: “It’s important for him to be a good player. He works each and every day. When you can match that with the physical traits he has, that’s when you can be special.”
In 2008, Abdullah and the Broncos will find out whether he actually is.
Tags: Defense, Hamza Abdullah, Safeties
Umm, he should be a free safety, not a strong safety.
That might explain the poor games.
Talk about playing to a guys weakness, instead of his strengths.
Really, really glad Bates is gone.
While I’m at it, if they are gonna play bump and run, Paymah is better than Bly.
Just my .02
I think he plays really fast and put himself in the right place at the right time but didn’t have the power to put the guy down. I hope all the young Bronco defenders really work hard this off season! The sky is the limit! On a side note.. is Al Wilson done completly??? We really missed him this year in so many ways
Playing at SS was not his calling card to say the least. He’s not a sure tackler to say the least. Not sure if Lynch is going to return or not, but I would say no. Either way the top free agent and drafting priorities need to be DT, S and RB. If Slaton’s there in the 2nd round Shanny better not blink.
i remember seeing hamza laying some wicked hits on a few guys and on the other side of the coin missing tackles. he gained a lot of experience last year and like many of our defensive players, should be much better next year. i think he could play free safty as well as lynch played last year. i’m a big john lynch fan but i thought he definately lost a step last year and missed more tackles than i’d ever seen him miss. maybe it was just bate’s defense putting him out of position or maybe he’s slipping just a little. he’s given all he had every game for a lot of years, that has to take its toll.
I’m not a big fan of Abdullah, I think he’s a backup at best. I think we need to make changes at both safety spots this year, draft a safety early this year, and bring someone else in during free agency, as it was a major weakness on our roster.
Though I don’t disagree that we need upgrades at DT and Safety, I definitely don’t think we need more RB’s. Our biggest need currently is O-line. Our starting LT retired and two of our best interior linemen are hurt or recovering from injury. That being said, there’s little chance we draft an o-lineman in the first round since we look for the smaller, quicker players that few other teams covet. I have to say I’ll be a little more than pissed off if Shanahan passes on Kenny Phillips if he’s there. He could be the next in a long line of great Miami safeties. The DT group is deep this year but we really need difference makers in the secondary. We could also use another LBer. My wish list is Phillips, a solid young LBer, DT and a great return man. Fill the o-line depth in the later rounds.
time will tell whether hamza abdullah should be a starter or not. i think he is at least a solid backup and should be on the roster come regular season. there will more than likely be a lot of change ups at the safety position if lynch retires. i think lynch was one of the greatest safeties ever and i have enjoyed watching him play here in denver but i think he has lost a step recently. i just don’t want to see an NFL legend go out on a bad note. i wish that lynch was 5-6 years younger because giving everything you got every play throughout his entire career has taken a toll on his body. i dont know about nick fergeson, he doesnt seem to make big plays and at times it seems like he is nonexistant. for the most part, i like our cornerbacks. we definately need to move dj williams back to olb and get a mlb. i think our de’s our progressing (love dumervil!) but they need help at dt to help out our de’s. i like the fact that jim bates is gone. maybe now we can get back to playing d-fense instead of learning a new scheme!
ps – is wilson coming back?
GO BRONCOS!
Just a curious thought, anyone have a say on whether Ian Gold could play the SS spot as the “Extra man in the box”? I think he can cover as well as lynch probably an could be a good blitzer. Any thoughts?
Abdullah is a perfect strong safety. First of all, he hits like a linebacker. He has the speed and agility to cover down field. But his pass coverage ability in the flats and shorts of the field is why I think he is a fantastic strong safety. I would like to see Lynch come back for one more year so Abdullah can have two solid years on the roster to be groomed as a successor.
Abdullah can play both strong and free good. Next year even if john lynch retires they still will have strong safteys after picking up marvel underwood. Abdullah is going to be alot of help in the future
Abdullah is a fine up and coming safety. He of course cannot make every play. He’s still young and very promising. I love him across lynch/the next safety in line. Perhaps Phillips? Another thing. Someone said dre bly is a worse bump and run CB than Paymah. Paymah is not better than dre bly at anything as it pertains to corner. IDK why everyone has a thing against dre. He had a solid year. He got burned against GB. And a few other times. But certainly played well. How many times did paymah get beat. And Ian Gold by TE’s. And everyone else? Alot more than Bly.
hamza is a good player. he’s got CB speed with SS viciousness. I watched his lil brother play at washington state this year. he takes from hamza a lot. hamza will start at FS is lynch doesn’t come back. i love lynch too, but 15 years is starting to show (40 something tackls this year). i’m looking foward to a good roaming S that hamza can produce. maybe denver could draft his brother and the Abdullahs could be our safeties haha. go broncos!
Why does everyone want to draft a RB? Did no one watch our horrible defense last year, this is where we need to improve. Broncos need to make some changes at the D-line, but a LB and S is also needed. Maybe next year they will beable to force teams to pass the ball more instead of running it all of the time. Bly needs to pull his head out of his a** and learn how to play corner again, he wants to try to jump routes to make the big play, but should worry more about just covering his man and preventing them from making the big plays.
I do think he is more of a coverage safty, and would fit better as a free safty… We need to draft a strong safty this year maybe in the first round if anyone is worth it, or at least in the second round.
is he muslim? I mean, it really doesn’t matter, but is he?
I think Hamza will make a great safety and he should play at the Free position. His build and the way he plays reminds me of Steve Atwater. I think that Atwater may have been more physically gifted but the two look very similar. Another similarity can be found in Atwater being able to cut his teeth under the watchful eye of Denis Smith. I agree that it would be nice for Hamza to spend one more year watching how Lynch does his job. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lynch play a final year in ’08 but I could be surprised if he doesn’t line up like a linebacker for the majority of his snaps. Lynch is simply to slow to play coverage on the deep end of the field. If Shanahan convinces him to come back it will be with the promise that he will play closer to the line of scrimmage on a more consistent basis. I also agree with many of you that the number one need in the off season is at DT. I really like Marcus Thomas and in the Slowik system I can see him turning into a real terror but he needs help not only from another DT but enough DL to ensure a decent rotation system which we will see more of in Slowik’s defense.
As for the draft I think that Shanahan needs to heed his own words and draft to the strengths of his philosophy. That means getting a real honest to god fullback in here. One name makes this an obvious trait of Shanahan’s offense. Howard “the human plow” Griffith. Denver’s running game has been the leagues best over the last ten years, a fact that I won’t deny, but it is not the same as the running game that got the Broncos to the Super Bowl. What’s missing? A true FB! There are a couple of really good looking prospects in this years draft. Arkansas’s Peyton Hillis had some fantastic games this year and has shown the ability to be a great runner and a great receiver but most importantly he loves to block. If Denver insists on bringing in smaller backs (even Travis Henry is on the small side) then Denver needs to shield them. Look at what happened to Denver’s running game after Howard Griffith had to retire. Injury after injury after injury. Give Travis Henry or, more importantly, Selvin Young a true FB to run behind and see what happens.
Mike in San Diego
Abdullah is going to be an awesome Safety in this league, I just hope that it is with the Broncos, Hopefully they don’t let him go, I thought that letting Curome Cox go was a mistake, Him and Abdullah would be a good FS, and SS. I saw a lot of good things from Curome last year and alot of good things from Hamza this. Hopefully John does come back but if he doesn’t Hamza will do a good job trying to feel his shoes, We just need to keep Nick Ferguson and have those 2 as our safties. As for the Draft we do need a DT not a RB, We have Henry, Young, and Hall in our backfield. We need DT and some Offensive Lineman. Leave the Secondary alone. we have some of the best CB’s in the leage with Bailey, Bly, Foxworth, and Paymah. Mike needs to make sure to concentrate on the defensive guys this off season and don’t get any of these HAS BEENS.
Is Paymah a Tampa 2 corner ? Decent at best.
Look, I saw him play bump and run with my own eyes at the Vikings game.
He absolutely ran guys out of the play. shoulder to shoulder down the field, his angle would veer the guy out of bounds.
Over and over again, they tried to pick on him, couldn’t do it.
Looked like Lester Hayes.
I do not dislike Bly, glad he is on the team, but opposing teams run right at him because he is small, in coverage, he is a high risk/high reward type of DB.
I saw it with my own eyes, Paymah is solid as hell in man coverage.
Hamza and Kenny Phillups gets me excited! Lynch has lost a step no question. I like Lynch just as much as you all do, but he can’t cover and I don’t think he will accept a limited roll on the team. I could be wrong. It would be great to have him in there teaching these two one-day stars. In a new system that one-day could be next year with Bly and Bailey back there with them. Abdullah was one of the few players that seemed excited to play and hit along with Dumervil. Paymah has gotten progressively better. I can’t say that I saw him get beat deep this year, Bly is good, he came into a bad system and you all want to run him out of town. Why don’t you run everyone out, Bailey didn’t play much better. Bailey tackles better which is something most corners don’t usually have to do as much. We’re lucky to have them both.
DT is a definite need and this draft is deep. Dre Moore is a monster that could definitely be in the 2nd depending on the combine. Walker seems to want out according to Sharper so maybe we can get another draft pick for another DT in the early rounds. There are going to be a lot of good safeties in next years draft so maybe it would be good to keep Lynch/Ferguson/Abdullah and wait till next year and take DTs in the 1st and 2nd this year.
One of Hamza Abdullah’s goals for the 2008 season should be more consistent tackling.
I think Abdulah is a preety good safety who will get much better with time. I think that lynch will retire, so we should get a DT in the first round, and a Safety in the second round of the draft, and maybe a receiver in the third or fourth round since walker is ditching us.
2008=supply of quality safeties thin compared to linebackers of which a tough run-stopping MLB is needed. DT? Aren’t several already on hand? It appears the Broncos have multiple 2nd day picks. 1st & 2nd need to be immediate starters. The rest all need to be good enough to make the team…like 2006 draft. Let’s have another one like that.
I agree with however thinks that we need a safety in the 2nd round. We need to address out d-line first.
I agree we need another draft like 2006 but we need it a little better. We got half of what Scheffler can do. He may need to step up for Graham. Cutler did exceptionally well. Marshall has done well (he should be starter). And Dumervil has been awesome right outta the gate. I think we should’ve kept Dominik Hixon though. Look what he did for the Giants.
Again some of you are talking over your heads. These guys are premier players. They know that they have to improve their game. I’m excited about having the majority of them back, especially Champ, Fox, Dre, Humza, the new linemen drafted in 07 and of course Lynch. The defence was in the top 10 in 05 and 06, and dropped a little towards the end in 06, but certainly took a dip in 07. Why, not because these players are bad, maybe because they were not coached well enough. When I look at how Fox played every position in the secondary, and given his excellent cover and tacking skills when he’s on the field, he’s best at corner and nickle. In fact, he should be starting on a team now. Humza is great and if he’s not back there, this shows lack of commitment to keeping and developing good players. I don’t claim to know all, but with John, Champ and Dre allong with Humza, Fox and Paymah, they should be as good as 05.
Getting time on the field is the most important thing. I think is the Bronx are not talking about more playing time, and being straight with the players, they lose some. Gold is still good and so is DJ. Offense needs some work also, as we are too predictable and have not stretched the field that much in a few years. We don’t have someone to scare them at times with, and we need to let the offensive coor call the game. Poor coaching ruins players also. I don’t hear you folks talking about this much, but this is a bigger part of the probelm- using players right and calling the right play. I’d take Fox and Gold any day on my team.
I like Kenny Phillips in the 1st round and Hamzah will be fine, a DT in the second, get rid of Javon (who has been on the field for 20 of 50 games in three years), re-structure Travis Henry, draft an OLB and a running back and some depth at the O line spots. Don’t count on Al Wilson comig back to Denver-keep DJ in the middle. I can see Karl Dorrell back on the offensive side and so long the dinger-he moves around a lot. Cutler will be a top five QB very soon. A #2 wide receiver is of concern as Brandon Stokely is a great #3. While I am on a roll-2009 will be our year as SD and Indy will fade a bit. Who knows about NE, unbelievable consistency. And is there anyone Mark Kisla thinks should not be fired? And Jim Armstrong should back off the buffet line and quit writing his four paragrapgh columns on a cocktail napkin. Who is available out there better than Shanahan at the moment? He took Jake and the Browncos to the AFC Championship just two years ago. And does Foxworth always arrive just a second too late to make a play? Quality guy but w/o great instincts.
Getting rid of Javon is the easy way out. You motivate your players to play the game, and sometimes taking the hardline is how to do it. Along with that leaders have to be consistent with how they do business, which seemed to me very lacking from top-down. Again, draft will take on itself, and what I see with the team overall is that the utilization of players was not there. I think Marcus Griffin at Tennessee is a better fit because of competition in SEC, his numbers, character and off the field behavior. Cutler telegraphs too much as he locks on one player, and at best he’s a long-term project before considered in the Peyton, Tom, or Bret box. I do see him getting better, but not top five yet, and he doesn’t show any passion or leadership. I don’t think quarterbacks should automatically be considered leaders anyway, as this is a deserved positon/title. Say what you want, Fox is a damn good corner and when playing CB or nickle, he’s on point. What the team did last year was took the best man capable of playing in SS/FS roles because of injuries and placed him there, which he did well. He’s best a CB, and the team allowed Paymah to have some playing time while Fox was holding down safety because of John’s inability to cover down field. He’s great with one-on one cover, can tackle and proved that by moving ahead of Paymah as a 3-97th pick and Paymah 3-77th pick. Also, no long balls thrown on Fox. I think there is some interest in Humza elsewhere also, so if the team is interested in keeping a good base they have, they better try to keep them. I also think with good coaching and really relating to players, this team is good to go. When coaches can’t relate, players don’t paly. You can’t tell me that in last game of 2006, needing that game to make play-offs, that our players couldn’t win that game. They didn’t want to, since coaches had given up while 7-4 and inserting Jay and suspect calling in other games, as well as inconsistent use of players. I think the same happen this year, excellent players, good leading the team to compete weekly. 97-98 is over. This is now, dealing with players is different and requires better communication and motivation strategies with players. So while I’m not a “get-rid-of-shanny” person, some change in leading is needed just as some players. Shanny didn’t take the team anywhere; the players did.
I’m a Bronco 4 ever. So don’t mistake my concerns with giving up on the team. I just feel that certain things will work, given what has taken place with other teams. Many folks blame players all the time, and refuse to look at coaching and ownership. The other day, Bowlen was asked about shanny’s future hear, and he said that as long as shanny wants to be here he can. While players deal with the uncertainties, this team allows for leadership to be mediocre at best year after year. If you’re always changing players, the team never gets good. Look at players who have left here, went elsewhere and be major contributors to success.
The writers tell it as it is also, instead of playing patsy to the owner and coach, which is what many who blog here do- afraid to address poor coaching. WHile I was in Miami, that team had good leadership at one point, and they will be back also, because they refuse to accept losing from the top. Broncos has excellent players0 they just need to learn how to use the talents better. Humaza is good at FS-SS and should be used more on ST. Gold just needs to get mentally right. Fox is great at corner/nickle and could do some returns- he run a 4.35. I like ALexander also, because of how he moves down field and blocks well.
charles
draft Kenny Phillips keep Hamza at strong and let him learn Phillips is a better replacement for Lynch