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Denver defense again dodges danger

For second week, luck, gumption save the game

Brad Byler, Special to the Rocky

Published September 21, 2008 at 7:19 p.m.

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Broncos linebacker Nate Webster, right, is congratulated by linebacker Boss Bailey after Webster returned a Reggie Bush fumble 34 yards for a touchdown to help put the Broncos up 21-3.

Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Broncos linebacker Nate Webster, right, is congratulated by linebacker Boss Bailey after Webster returned a Reggie Bush fumble 34 yards for a touchdown to help put the Broncos up 21-3.

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Along with the excitement of Denver's 3-0 start on Sunday came a sigh of relief from the Broncos' locker room.

For the second straight week, Denver's defense performed like a trapeze artist, dangling close to danger before performing a breath-taking escape at the end.

Sunday's victory came after New Orleans kicker Martin Gramatica's field-goal attempt from 43 yards in the final seconds sailed wide right.

"A little luck didn't hurt us," said Denver cornerback Champ Bailey. "We needed that."

Like San Diego's Phillip Rivers last week, Saints quarterback Drew Brees could not be stopped on Sunday. The Broncos did everything they could to fluster Brees, but the Pro Bowl quarterback was successful on 39 of 48 passes for 421 yards and a touchdown Sunday.

Denver switched out of a 3-4 alignment early in the first quarter, but putting extra pass rushers on the line didn't make a difference. The Broncos recorded only one sack, in the first quarter, and couldn't intercept one of Brees' passes.

Most of the Broncos credited Brees' performance, but Denver safety Marlon McCree said the Saints had no choice but to pass when the Broncos had them down 21-3 early in the game.

"When you get a team down 21-3, they're not going to run the ball," he said. "You could put my mom back there, and she's going to make about half the completions. She's got five sons so she's thrown a lot of footballs in her day. All jokes aside, when you're up on team like that, teams are going to go away from the run game and make some completions."

As good as Brees looked, the Broncos could point to several game-changing plays that kept the Saints from putting more points on the board.

In the second quarter, Broncos defensive end John Engelberger caused Saints tailback Reggie Bush to fumble.

Broncos linebacker Nate Webster scooped up the ball and returned it 34 yards for a Broncos touchdown, putting Denver ahead 21-3.

Near the end of the first half, Denver stopped the Saints three times on the Broncos 1. New Orleans ran the ball three times just 12 inches from the Denver goal line for no gain. On fourth down, Brees handed the ball to Pierre Thomas. Webster hit Thomas first, and Denver linebacker D.J. Williams finished off the play to keep the Saints out of the end zone.

"Nate Webster read the play perfect and hit the running back in the backfield," Williams said. "That saved seven points. If they had scored that touchdown they would have won the game. It was a huge momentum swing and a huge moment in the game."

Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban, who had the Broncos' only sack, said the season is still early, and the Broncos will get it together on defense.

"It's not going to be like that every week," he said. "We just have to step up. It's a work in progress. The good thing is that it's still early in the season. We aren't doing this in November or December. If we were, it would be scary."

Comments

  • September 21, 2008

    9:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ddawgsam writes:

    the defense failed to show up(took day off)looks as if def. coach took season off or doesn't watch game or film ?

  • September 21, 2008

    11:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Woody writes:

    How many years is this 'work in progress' going to continue letting down the fans, Ekuban?

  • September 22, 2008

    9:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    denfanincali writes:

    "It's not going to be like that every week," he said. "We just have to step up. It's a work in progress. The good thing is that it's still early in the season. We aren't doing this in November or December. If we were, it would be scary."

    I hate when they say that. They say this every year and it just sounds like a bunch of lip service to me. It's just silly and very frustrating. I don't want lip service. I want to see an improvement on the field. This 3-4 alignment is KILLING us. This is exactly why we got rid of Bates; to go back to the 4-3 alignment Shanahan was more comfortable using. But, this prevent Defense...its horrible. The only thing it prevents is our Defense from stopping anyone. I mean, if they are going to dink and dunk on us all day anyway, might as well take a shot at the QB and run a full on blitz package once in a while. Sheeshus.

  • September 22, 2008

    10:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    koloradokaos writes:

    Now would be a great time to trad Bly for Portis.

  • September 22, 2008

    10:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Uno_Cinco writes:

    we need a pass rush and a "hard hitting" safety not another RB...

  • September 22, 2008

    12:34 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SuperJay writes:

    Slowik in his best Ligntning McQueen voice: "There's a lot more to football than just winning. I mean, taking the game by a full touchdown... Where's the entertainment in that? I wanted to give folks a little sizzle."

  • September 22, 2008

    3:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Geezeroef writes:

    No kidding, why should it be in Nov or Dec to hit the panic button? The offense is not going to put up 30+ points every week. At some point the defense will be the reason we lose a game, then what cliches will they use to "put lipstick on a pig"? We will see when Denver is 4-4 how sunny everything is then.

  • September 22, 2008

    4:43 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cutlers_the_bomb writes:

    I agree with most of you, but you also have to realize that we have a few new starters on the defense from last year. We don't have Ian Gold, John Lynch, Nick Ferguson, DJ and Webster switched positions, and McKinley and Adams are gone. We have 4 starters from last year at the same position they were last year, and even then only 6 defensive starters returning. You HAVE to expect SOME assignment problems. However, our defense does need to kick it in gear. I don't mind close games, but I don't like ones like yesterday's game. I also think we are under utilizing our linebackers' versatility. We have arguably the fastest linebacker core in the NFL, and yet he won't blitz them. We should be sending 5 or 6 guys every play, to ensure that we can put pressure on the opposing QB. If you do that, you should be able to win, like what the Eagles did to Ben Roethlisberger yesterday. I think they should trade for that Mark Anderson, DE, from the Bears, because he's stuck behind Alex Brown, he has only a couple sacks less than Dumervil in the past two years, and also was a member of the same draft class. I also think Robertson is able to play more than they are playing him. When he was with the Jets, he was able to play about 80% of the plays roughly, and he won't break down anytime this year. In his 5 years, he has only missed two games and two practices, and they say he has a "history" of knee problems. Where? This guy was a big acquisition for us, but we are under-utilizing him as well.
    A good Defensive game plan would be to have either DJ or Boss lock up on either the RB or TE, based on where they are lined up in relation to the LBs, have Champ cover the biggest threat of a receiver they have, have Bly cover the second biggest threat, and play Jack Williams in the slot as nickle back, with Paymah on the fourth receiver. Then you would be free to blitz the rest, even blitzing one of our safeties. I think Slowik is too conservative in his play calling to effectively help the defense make the next step up, and also feel he needs to pull his "big girl panties" on, or grow a pair, and start using the blitz packages, and if he doesn't have some, then he needs to start putting some in.

  • September 22, 2008

    6:40 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kerrdawg writes:

    I swear...some of you Broncos fans sound as dumb as Raiders fans. For the past couple of years, fans have been screaming for the Broncos to implement a 3-4 defense because we couldn't generate a pass rush. So Sunday for the first time in over a decade we come out and play a lot of 3-4 and you guys blast the coaches for trying it. Bottom line is we haven't been getting a pass rush with four guys, so might as well drop an extra guy into coverage. It actually took the Saints by suprise and they had some real problems moving the ball in the first quater. Then as good teams do, they adjusted in the 2nd quarter and we adjusted to their adjustment after half time and played mostly a 4-3. And as far as blitzing goes...we blitzed plenty, and when we did we still didn't get to Brees and thats when they had their big plays, just like Rivers did when we blitzed last week. It doesn't matter the formation, and in the NFL even when you blitz, the teams are so good at picking it up you rarely get a man to come free. The problem remains that no one, not a defensive lineman or a linebacker on this team has been able to consistently beat the man across from them. Get used to it Broncos fans, there is no scheme that will help us, and there is no one available to sign to help. We are gonna have a tough time against the elite QBs this year because once again we don't have any pass rushers. I only hope that with all the pics we have stockpiled for next years draft that we use our first 5 pics or so on the DL. We need pass rushers and we need them by the boat load!