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Posts Tagged ‘Defense’

Toughness on Display

October 5th, 2008 - 8:47pm by mike_riceOther posts by

Sometimes you just have to put your foot down. The Broncos did that in Sunday’s 16-13 win over the Buccaneers.

Don’t get me wrong. I love watching shootouts. But there is something to be said for winning a defensive struggle. The Broncos showed they could do that.

I won’t pretend the Buccaneers have an elite offense. The fact remains, however, that they were averaging 350.2 yards per game entering Sunday’s game. They had only 307 against the Broncos.

They were also averaging 22.8 points per game before Sunday. They had just over half that against the Broncos.

The Bucs had allowed just four sacks in the first four games and none in the two games leading up to Sunday’s contest against the Broncos. Denver had three sacks in the 16-13 win.

For as much as the Broncos’ defense struggled early in the season, it toughened up against the Buccaneers. In seven of their 11 possessions, the Buccaneers had the ball for under 2:30. Only four of their possessions netted 37 yards or more. The other seven drives netted nine yards or fewer.

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Look Added to Defensive Arsenal, Starting Strong

September 22nd, 2008 - 4:19pm by Jake GrilleyOther posts by

The Broncos showed their defensive flexibility during Sunday’s win against New Orleans. At times Denver mixed things up by implementing a 3-4 defensive scheme instead of the team’s traditional 4-3 formation.

The team’s four linebacker alignment allowed them to utilize different defensive groupings allowing Jamie Winborn to join Boss Bailey, D.J. Williams and Nate Webster as a member of the linebacking corps. With so much talent on the defense, Williams said switching between schemes lets more of that talent see action.


Photo: Eric Lars Bakke

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Through the Roster: Jordan Beck

February 5th, 2008 - 5:14pm by AndrewOther posts by

As the regular season dawned, Jordan Beck was unemployed and headed for a six-week stint in which he went through eight tryouts.

“It was some kind of world record,” he wanly acknowledged.

But as the season faded, he was one of the Broncos’ leading special teamers, placing himself in position to compete for playing time at linebacker next season.

Beck finished second on the team in total special-teams tackles last season in spite of playing in just 11 games; his 10 stops — eight solo with two assists — placed him just one behind Jamie Winborn.

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Through the Roster: Champ Bailey

February 1st, 2008 - 9:20am by AndrewOther posts by

Champ Bailey

Once more, Champ Bailey will start in the Pro Bowl. Once more, he finished the year among the elite at his position, earning second-team All-Pro honors.

Yet the ninth season of Bailey’s exemplary career left him somewhat disheartened. He hadn’t been a part of a losing season since his final campaign with the Washington Redskins in 2003.

Individually, his streak of Pro Bowl bids continued to expand, and with eight in succession, Bailey is beginning to approach the territory at which Hall of Fame status becomes a legitimate possibility many years in the future.

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No Decision Yet for Lynch

January 28th, 2008 - 6:29pm by AndrewOther posts by

John Lynch

A larger-than-usual crowd was at John Lynch’s monthly ceremony to honor local student-athletes, but he knew that the increased turnout wasn’t for his “Salute the Stars” program.

“I’m sure you guys want some other information,” he said.

As it turned out, there was little new information to offer. Six days after being named an injury replacement to the AFC Pro Bowl roster, Lynch still has not finalized his plans for the 2008 season.

“I haven’t made that decision yet,” he said. “I’m not being evasive or anything; I’m just being true with you guys. I haven’t come to that time where I’ve made a decision yet.

“When I know, you guys will know.”

Watch the video below to see what Lynch had to say:

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Through the Roster: Hamza Abdullah

January 16th, 2008 - 1:59am by AndrewOther posts by

Hamza Abdullah

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.

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It’s Starting To Get Interesting

November 21st, 2007 - 7:57am by mike_riceOther posts by

It’s called a season for a reason. All 16 games count. And the Broncos have to be glad for that.

With the win over the Titans on Monday night, the Broncos accomplished their first task of getting back to .500. Now, they have to keep it going.

One reason to think the Broncos can and will is the play of their defense. They have changed things up, they have made adjustments, and they have received more from young players who are developing.

While Vince Young isn’t the best quarterback in the NFL, he is dangerous. The Broncos didn’t let Young take over the game. They kept him and the Titans’ offense pretty well in check.

Another reason to think the Broncos can continue to play well is the emergence of the big play. For the first time in franchise history, the Broncos had four touchdowns of over 40 yards in one game.

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There’s Nothing Like A Win

October 22nd, 2007 - 2:48am by mike_riceOther posts by

The Broncos can exhale again. A win enables a team to do that.

Shaking off their three-game losing streak, the Broncos flat-out got it done Sunday night against the Steelers.

It wasn’t a work of art by any means, but it was a win. And that is exactly what the Broncos needed.

Let me summarize all the qualifiers by simply saying the Broncos still have work to do. They still need to improve. But the fact is they played well enough to beat a very good Pittsburgh team.

More than anything, the Broncos played with passion. From their first drive when they answered Pittsburgh’s touchdown with one of their own, the Broncos showed life and energy and toughness that seemed to lack during the three-game losing streak.

Hats off to the Broncos defense. That unit made adjustments during the bye week and it showed.

The Broncos’ eight-man front seemed to be effective. They forced three turnovers, sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times and scored a touchdown. In addition, the Broncos held the vaunted Steelers’ rushing attack to 119 yards. And let’s not forget Champ Bailey didn’t even play.

On offense, touchdowns were the order of the evening in the red zone. That was a big-time step forward. Instead of settling for field goals, the Broncos kept the pressure on the Steelers all night by getting into the end zone.

And how impressive was Jay Cutler in the clutch again? When Denver had to have a drive at the end of the game, he delivered. I know, he’s still young, still learning and at times makes mistake but Cutler embraces the crucial moments and has shown an incredible ability to make plays with the game on the line. That is something you can’t teach.

The Broncos gave people reason to feel better. Now we’ll see if they can keep it up against the Packers.

What pleased you most about the Broncos win? I’d love to get your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Best,
Mike

It’s All About the Bottom Line

September 9th, 2007 - 10:34pm by mike_riceOther posts by

The Broncos’ 15-14 win over the Bills on Sunday was one of those games where it takes a little time sink in. After the excitement wears off, one is left to ask something along the lines of, “Did they REALLY just do what I think they did?”

It also shows that it doesn’t really matter how a team wins. The bottom line is the most important thing. The Broncos’ bottom line on Sunday against the Bills was a “W.” That’s all that counts.

I know it didn’t look pretty. The Broncos had plenty of opportunities to pile up the points. They outgained the Bills 470 yards to 184. The Broncos had a 171-112 yard edge in rushing yards. They held the Bills to 72 net yards passing.

And yet, the Broncos still found themselves scrambling to pull out an improbable victory on kicker Jason Elam’s 42-yard field goal as time expired.

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Everyday Evaluation on the D-Line

August 22nd, 2007 - 5:16pm by AndrewOther posts by

John Browning

With John Browning making his practice debut Wednesday afternoon, the defensive line remained the focal point as the Broncos moved a day closer to what could well be a revealing preseason game against Cleveland on Saturday night.

But how much that game shows about Browning remains to be seen. It has been nearly 20 months since he played in a regular-season game, and after leaving the Chiefs with an injury settlement on Sept. 30 of last year after suffering a back injury, it has been nearly 11 months since he had a team to call his own. Wednesday afternoon represented his first session, and his coaches were pleased with his work, although there’s little that could be gauged from a practice that took place just hours after his signing.

“For what we did today, he looked like he did just fine,” defensive line coach Bill Johnson said. “But it takes time. We’ll get him some game time and see how it goes. It’s hard to tell after one practice when you’re in a game-week situation, but, he did show some striking ability and some firmness in there, and that’s a good start.”

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