On Broncos' front burner: patience

Cutler must use light touch against Bucs' hot defense

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 2, 2008 at 7:25 p.m.

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Tampa Bay defenders tackle Jacksonville running back Chauncey Washington. With eight interceptions and 11 sacks, the Buccaneers' defense is "sound and fast," Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler says. To counter, the Broncos might be forced to rely on short or intermediate pass routes.

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The stove is right there, easy to see for Jay Cutler.

And it's hot. Very hot, very big, very fast, has eight interceptions and 11 sacks. Cutler knows he shouldn't touch it, knows he shouldn't get lured into thinking it won't hurt.

Because when he stands at the line of scrimmage Sunday, it will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense across from the third-year quarterback, testing every fiber of patience in his 25-year-old body.

"I know a quarterback has to be patient against that defense, you just have to take your 5-yard completions, your 6-yard completions, and, you know, quarterbacks in the NFL, you get tired of doing that," Cutler said. "You get tired of that, and then you take a shot downfield and that's when they pick you off. Peyton Manning is probably the best in the league at taking what's given, moving the ball down the field however he has to.

"Sometimes, it's not very glamorous, and, in a lot of ways, you have to be the same way on offense. Be careful with what you do."

The Buccaneers' eight interceptions are tied for the league lead, and they have scored three defensive touchdowns already this season - two on interception returns and one on a fumble return.

Defensively, the Buccaneers vary things a little more these days than they did when Tony Dungy was the team's head coach, but at the root of it all is still a cover-2 scheme.

"And they don't make mistakes in it," Cutler said. "They're sound and fast."

In essence, the defense is built - by pushing the two safeties deeper down the field, each responsible for half the field, and dropping seven defenders into the passing lanes on many downs - to take away the big plays.

Even if a receiver escapes a cornerback, he still has a safety waiting well down the field.

A quarterback is then often forced to look at the short or intermediate pass routes, where the defenders then converge on the ballcarrier. A team needs plenty of speed to pull it off - two of the Buccaneers' starting linebackers, Cato June and Derrick Brooks, are former college safeties - and quality tacklers who get the ballcarrier down on first contact.

The Buccaneers also primarily rush with only their front four - also a prerequisite to making the scheme work - and while some believe an offense can take advantage of a little more room to run the ball as the defenders move away from the line of scrimmage, Dungy always has said a front four that "defends the run on the way to the quarterback" can be difficult to run against.

"When a defense is dropping people into coverage, they want to see how good the quarterback is," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "And, eventually, I believe a quarterback can find somebody if you maintain the line of scrimmage."

But maintaining the line of scrimmage can be difficult against a team built for the scheme. The Buccaneers consistently have generated a pass rush with their front four - nine of their 11 sacks have come from their defensive linemen.

Greg White, who hasn't started a game this season, leads the team in sacks, with 3 1/2, and the two starting ends, Gaines Adams and Kevin Carter, have two sacks each.

"Their defensive ends are really playing well, with a lot of power and speed," Cutler said. "On defense, they're kind of like we are on offense right now, with a good mix of some older guys and some real young guys who are giving them a lot. They're just sound, so you have to stick to what's there - if you miss the big one, you miss the big one.

"If you take a chance down the field in the wrong spot, they'll pick you off and that's that."

Cutler is coming off a two-interception game in Kansas City, with both interceptions coming when he tried to work a ball into coverage.

Quarterbacks have moved the ball some against the Buccaneers - 7.18 yards per attempt - and have seven touchdown passes. But the eight interceptions, two of those by Adams in the defensive front, to go with the sacks have tipped the scales toward Tampa Bay enough times that the team is 3-1 despite nine turnovers of its own this season.

And when it comes to Cutler, Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden already has invoked a name of a noted risk taker at the position to describe Cutler's abilities and potential in the Broncos offense.

"He's got a cannon," Gruden said. "He's just got a cannon. He reminds me so much of Brett Favre when I was at Green Bay in '92, '93 and '94. Creative playmaking ability."

"(The Broncos) are going to attack you. . . . We think we've got a pretty good defensive football team, and we'll try and do what we can to neutralize their big-play ability."

• October 3, 2008

  7:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  bilco writes:

  WOW! The Tampa Bay defense is spelled out in capitol letters, so why doesn't the Denver D do something similar?

  HELLO?????????

• October 3, 2008

  10:13 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  cutlerscannon13 writes:

  Because of lack of talent up front?
  Just a quick thought... but once we get used to having Robertson in the middle, and Elvis putting pressure on the QB and once the LBS (webster, williams, bailey) begin to trust each other more and get used to their styles ... we will see a difference. I still would like to see more of Jack Williams, hes an animal... I think something will definately happen before the bye week though, or shanny will be doing some hollering!!

  Lets play tough this week and get the running game going so we can start bombing on em... but honestly Marshall is going to rip Barber apart, and Royal will come up with about 5-6 grabs over the middle for a few first downs.

  good game overall i say if it goes my way ... Den 35 - TB 21

• October 3, 2008

  10:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Midnight127 writes:

  Lol it's Denver's no-"D"-defense vs. Tampa Bay's DEFENSE. Man...if Cutler can't make some big plays...we're screwed because our D won't stop anything.

• October 3, 2008

  1:16 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  azis1100 writes:

  "we'll try and do what we can to neutralize their big-play ability."

  lmao, ya, good luck with that chucky~

• October 3, 2008

  1:38 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Ahab337 writes:

  Midnight127, you said it. Our defense is a joke. If we can't get our offense going, then Tampa Bay will easily walk all over us.

• October 4, 2008

  2:53 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  NJBroncosFan writes:

  Our defense isnt a joke.... our front 4 is the joke just like previous years... cant stop the run.. cant rush the QB... then we have drop extra defenders in the box and it opens up the pass.....and its a little rediculous Jay takes any heat at all for the performance versus the Chiefs.. have we already forgotten we have 3 wins because of this young man?

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