Broncos put 3-4 defense in storage

Denver will stick to 4-3 against Johnson, Chiefs

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 4, 2008 at 2:03 a.m.

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Photo by Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press

Kansas City running back Larry Johnson ran rampant through the Denver defense's three-man front for 198 yards Sept. 28.

Usually ultrasecretive about game-planning issues, Bob Slowik on Wednesday revealed a strategic tidbit likely to surprise no one as the Broncos approach their next game.

The Broncos (7-5) likely will keep their 3-4 look in mothballs when Kansas City (2-10) visits Invesco Field at Mile High and stick with the base 4-3 look they have employed since the bye weekend.

"Yeah," Slowik, the Broncos' defensive coordinator, said with a wide smile. "I don't know how much of that you'll see."

The Chiefs, running extensively against the Broncos' three-man front Sept. 28, managed 213 yards on the ground, and all but 15 came from backfield workhorse Larry Johnson.

It was a season low point for Denver - that is, until the Broncos went to New England three weeks later and gave up 257 rushing yards, including a whopping 10 carries of 10-plus yards.

Denver then increased its padded practices and simplified the defensive scheme. And the results against the run in the past five games largely have been positive.

Still, the Broncos rank 28th against the run at 144.3 yards per game.

In the seven games through the New England loss Oct. 20, Denver yielded 154.6 yards and 5.4 yards per attempt. Since then, those totals have dropped to 129.8 and 4.2.

"I think we're just hitting better," Slowik said. "Guys are hitting their blocks - the whole defense. The defensive line is more physical because we've gone through it in pads and have been able to practice it. The tackling has been more physical. Do we miss tackles at times? Sure. But overall, it's more physical.

"I think the pad practices have made a huge difference because we're able to see," he added. "When you don't have pads on, you tag a guy or reach out and say, 'He would have had him.' He wouldn't have had him until you see it here, wrapping him up and so on and so forth."

But the biggest bugaboo continues to be big plays, even in recent weeks. There have been seven runs of 20-plus yards in the five games since the bye, compared with nine in the previous seven games. That includes touchdown runs of 59 and 29 yards by the Jets' Thomas Jones on Sunday.

In fact, Denver's problems against the rush almost singularly can be traced to allowing breakout runs. While 306 of the carries against Denver this season have netted 757 yards, a 2.5-yards-per-carry average, the other 47 attempts have gone for at least 10 yards.

That means a whopping 974 yards and seven touchdowns emanate from just those 47 plays. Broken down further, that's 56.3 percent of the total rushing yards against Denver this season on only 13.4 percent of the rushing attempts.

"When we're playing good, solid run defense - against Jacksonville, Miami, the Jets - 95 percent of the runs we're playing really well and hitting and forming up, and one breaks and, bam, it's 50 yards. We have to eliminate that, and then we're where we want to be," Slowik said.

"But until that's corrected, it's hard. That's points on the board. As opposed to having 60 percent efficiency and productivity against the run, we're now maybe 95. But those last five, though, we can't let score."

All those long runs have translated into an overall 4.9 per-carry average, which would be a franchise worst, higher than the 4.7 figure Denver put up in 1967.

The longest gain by a Broncos opponent this season belongs to Johnson, who sprinted 65 yards on the second play of the first Denver-Kansas City meeting. And Johnson's 198 yards that day still represent the best performance in the AFC this season.

Johnson has made a habit of burning Denver's defense. In eight appearances, and only four starts, he has five 100-yard games against the Broncos.

Dating to 2006, Denver is 4-14 when allowing a running back to reach triple figures, including losses in nine of the past 10 games.

But that single victory came Sunday against the Jets, who got 138 yards and, yes, two long touchdowns from Jones but lost 34-17.

"They've really made it difficult to run the ball," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said in assessing the differences between Denver's defense now and the one he saw more than two months ago. "Schematically, they're playing their gaps well and the linebackers are filling them."

Kansas City ran Johnson 24 times for 92 yards in Sunday's victory at Oakland.

Of late, the Chiefs have employed a modified approach by spreading the field, mostly out of base personnel. The goal is to bring defenders outside the area around the line of scrimmage and, in effect, give Johnson more room to roam on his initial move.

But the Broncos present a different look, too. Only four starters in the first Kansas City game were in the starting lineup Sunday.

Their attitude to stop the run is more readily apparent. And they've ditched that 3-4.

"Players, we're creatures of habit, and when you've been doing something so long, going back to OTAs (organized team activities), minicamp, training camp - the 4-3 is all we knew," defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said. "And I just think we're more comfortable adapting with that 4-3 scheme rather than going to a whole new front."

• December 4, 2008

  1:17 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  MATTP1 writes:

  KEEP WEBSTER ON THE BENCH,KEEP WEBSTER ON THE BENCH,KEEP WEBSTER ON THE BENCH PLEASE. GO BRONCS

• December 4, 2008

  6:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Andynonymous writes:

  They are playing a different style of defense now. Maybe the scheme had something to do with how poor they looked. Now Webster will be playing on a shorter string and in this new scheme. Give him a break for a minute and let's see. THEN bench him bench him bench him...

• December 4, 2008

  8:09 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  AngelontheSidelines writes:

  It's the patented Bronco Ole`! formation that gives up those big gainers.

  When the Jets scored big, Woodyard missed his gap, and nobody else had a shot. It seems every game the defense gives one up, the special teams give one up, and Cutler throws his obligatory bad pass.

  If these three weakness are controlled the Bronx have a good chance to win. Woodyard needs to make mistakes to get experience, and special teams seems to be closing off the lanes better, and Jay, well he is Jay after all.

• December 4, 2008

  10:17 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Six_Does_Not_Equal_Seven writes:

  Woodyard missed his gap AND the safety was asleep at the wheel and playing pass deep on the other side of the field... Still - I agree. Let Nate play special teams and stick with what's been working better of late.

• December 4, 2008

  11:56 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  ssc writes:

  angelonthesidelines, it was winborn that missed his gap and fox that committed to the wrong side of the field, not woodyard. not the first time that we've seen big runs through winborn's gap, but unfortunately he's also not the only one guilty of overrunning plays.

  what i don't get is why everyone keeps emphasizing that the run D is good 90% of the time, and they just need to cut down on the big plays. they make it sound like the scheme is not desined that way, and the big plays are an aberration. but that's not true. they are intentionally overcommitting to defense the run, which means you will create a formidable wall and force a low YPC most of the time ... but when the ballcarrier manages those few times to get past that 8-man front, there will by definition be very few defenders left to keep that ballcarrier from taking it all the way. it's a high-risk, high-reward strategy. the strategy by definition will create a bunch of 2yd runs and then occasionally, preferably rarely, a 50yd run. it's actually more unreasonable to expect to NOT give up big plays. that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the strategy, and i still think it beats giving up long drives with a bunch of 5 yd runs. but let's not pretend the results differ from expectations.

• December 4, 2008

  2:10 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  orangealways writes:

  Couldn't agree more on benching Webster. The guy over runs plays constantly, misses gap assignments and like so many other " wiley veterans" on this team, couldnt tackle a stuffed bear! Always lowering the shoulder and bouncing off the runner. The big hit, which translates into big gains ( and lost helmets). Champ, DJ and Larsen are tacklers, they wrap up people. They have technique. Larsen is a rookie and has solidified that position for the first time all year. Is he the second coming of Butkis? No but he's a hell of a lot better than Webster. Nate's not a bad guy, just a lousy MLB. These kids that have come in and played with fire, hunger and determination deserve to stay. What happen to the Shanny law that whoever produces gets the spot?

  Lets hope one of two things happen Sunday. Webster plays like a demon, tackles like Gradishar and earns the faith the coaches seem to have in him. ( id love to see that, but I dont see how a few weeks on the sidelines will transform him). OR, he is on a VERY short leash and Larsen goes in after the first overrun, missed tackle for 20 plus yards.

• December 4, 2008

  4:39 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Dynamicdave writes:

  I'm interested in how Webster will play, as well? He should be "well rested", you think? He had better shine. Denver needs to make a statement to the NFL. The Jets were their 1st statement. The Chiefs, well, not so much a "statement", I guess, but rather, just plain and simple payback. Run the score up. Chiefs did it to us. Now it's our turn. No quarter.

• December 5, 2008

  3:35 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  denfanincali writes:

  I agree about making the statement but the people they need to make the statement to is themselves. We'd love them to blow out the Chiefs but until they do it they are going to wonder if being inconsistent is their lot this year. So, they really need to be well coached and motivated this week and really try to knock their block off.

  Anyone can call them the 'lowly' Chiefs but that doesn't matter. A big win at home to snap a 3 home game losing streak against your division rival whose got 1 or their 2 wins against you...it would be huge because so much of this game is mental. They need to believe their previous losses were flukey and behind them.

  A big win Sunday could carry us the rest of the season...

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