Before the season, Head Coach Josh McDaniels and the coaching staff had a decision to make. Should the Broncos enter the season a 4-3 team, like they had been in 2008 and for many years before that, or make a switch to the 3-4 defense.

The way McDaniels saw it, the choice was simple. The Broncos didn’t have the pieces for a successful 4-3 defense this season.

“The way that they had played (in 2008), the style and the guys, we just felt like it wasn’t like we had a solid 4-3 defensive scheme in terms of our personnel to fit that scheme,” McDaniels said. “In other words, why take a year and (transition gradually) when it really wasn’t in place to begin with?”

So the transition began immediately, and players from Andra Davis to Robert Ayers to Vonnie Holliday were brought in for the way they fit the new 3-4 scheme.

The early verdict? The choice has paid off in spades.