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KRIEGER: Broncos defense still in need of repair

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 28, 2008 at 7:35 p.m.

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Kansas City running back Larry Johnson runs into the end zone ahead of Broncos defenders D.J. Williams (55) and Dre' Bly (32) for his second rushing score of the game.

Photo by Reed Hoffmann © AP

Kansas City running back Larry Johnson runs into the end zone ahead of Broncos defenders D.J. Williams (55) and Dre' Bly (32) for his second rushing score of the game.

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It would be easy enough to chalk this one up as a fluke, a combination of inscrutable Arrowhead mojo and a sloppy day at the office.

It would also be a mistake.

The Broncos have now given up 30 or more points in their last three games. It was possible to rationalize the first two based on the quality of the opponents. San Diego and New Orleans have two of the best offenses in the NFL.

This was different. Kansas City came into Sunday's game 30th in the league in scoring. In their first 12 quarters of football, they scored 32 points. In four against the Broncos, they scored 33.

A team averaging 258 yards of offense per game rolled up 370. A team averaging 10.7 points scored three times that many. It is getting harder each week to claim that the Broncos have repaired the defensive problems that plagued them a year ago.

Having led through most of their first three games, the Broncos appeared to have improved their run defense, mainly because opponents had to pass. In a game in which they surrendered 213 rushing yards, they looked a lot like the defense that got Jim Bates fired a year ago.

"We gave up the big run quick and then it looked like we got back on track, and then at the end they had a couple big runs," Mike Shanahan said. "So, again, back to the drawing board."

Despite self-destructive tendencies that produced four turnovers, Shanahan's offense still had a chance to pull this one out, which is some testimony to its firepower. The last time the Broncos committed four turnovers and won was eight years ago.

All four turnovers were by the team's top playmakers - two interceptions of Jay Cutler and fumbles by Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal.

"Bad decisions," Cutler said of the picks.

"I'm just embarrassed," Marshall said. "We didn't do a good job of coming out with the fire. Myself and my teammates, we were just flat the whole day."

Even off its game, the offense rolled up 446 yards, 352 of them through the air. After scoring 41, 39 and 34 points the first three weeks, Sunday's sloppiness brought it back to Earth.

If there is a cause for concern on that side of the ball, it is the template the Chiefs established for other teams. Play the conservative Tampa Two defense, keep everything in front of you and test Cutler's patience.

"Once they got ahead, they wanted to run the ball and keep everything in front of them and make us check it down and dink it down the field and they did a good job, you've got to give them credit," Cutler said.

This was the book on Cutler coming into the season - keep him from using that big arm and he'll get frustrated and try to force things. With the originators of the Tampa Two coming to town next week, you can count on Shanahan making Cutler work those checkdowns all week.

But the fundamental question about the Broncos is on the other side of the ball.

"They just had too many big plays, man," defensive end Elvis Dumervil said of the Chiefs. "We've got to tackle better."

If that rings a bell, it's probably from last season.

By my unofficial count, the Chiefs had 12 plays from scrimmage of 10 yards or more, which is like 25 for anybody else. Larry Johnson's 65-yard jailbreak on his second carry set the tone. He also had runs of 17, 34 and 16 yards, the last one accounting for the game-icing touchdown, on his way to 198 for the game.

Nor could the special teams put together a complete game, surrendering a back-breaking 51-yard kickoff return midway through the fourth quarter just after the Broncos had pulled within a touchdown.

Of course, if the offense can provide a big lead every week, it can prevent opponents from running the ball 33 times, as Kansas City did.

"The only way you can run effectively is if you don't get behind," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards pointed out.

Even with all their mistakes, the Broncos had opportunities to climb back into the game in the fourth quarter. Their last turnover came in the third. Twice in the final period they pulled within a single score, needing only a defensive stop to get the ball back with a chance to tie. Each time, the defense gave up a scoring drive to one of the weakest offenses in the NFL.

"To be good in this league, you have to try to hold teams to under 20 points," said cornerback Dre Bly.

The Broncos will point out the Chiefs' average field position to start a drive Sunday was their 46-yard line. All four turnovers gave Kansas City the ball in Denver territory.

Still, if they can't stop the Chiefs in that situation, the question is whether the Broncos can stop anybody.

Comments

  • September 28, 2008

    8:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dynamicdave writes:

    Yeah, they can stop others..... Stop with the drama writing Krieger. We always stunk in Arrowhead. I was hoping this time would be different. Wasn't. BUT, they still have to come to OUR house. Nuff said.

  • September 28, 2008

    8:16 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SheikYurBooty writes:

    There's nothing wrong with the Broncos that an ... astute referee crew can't "fix."

  • September 28, 2008

    8:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    incognitoboy writes:

    now we get to see what kind of character we REALLY have, and i sincerely hope it's the kind we THINK we have!

    do we point fingers and whine, or do we su** it up and get to work on the problems. what i wanna know is this: if other teams are that much better than us on defense and spec. teams, why do we not STUDY those teams to see HOW their schemes are better, and maybe EMULATE some of that. i mean, according to our guys, it's NOT the talent level, so it must be the x's and o's, right? right??!

    how is it that year after year, our 'd' guys DON'T focus on stripping the ball, when others DO, and DON'T play the ball, jumping at the last second to disrupt or get an int......when others DO? am i the only one who sees this? WHY do our d.c.'s love zone coverages so much when most of our players are so slow to react in the zones??

    GAWD i hate trap games that actually TRAP. especially in K.C.

    LET'S GO BRONCOS!! GET A MEAN STREAK!!!

  • September 28, 2008

    9:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    OrangeCrush_77 writes:

    You are asking the wrong questions, Incognito. The problem isn't character, or finger-pointing, or studying other teams. Somewhere in the pre-season I put up a post saying that I loved the Broncos, and hoped I was wrong, but that it seemed like we were headed into the season with essentially the same, talent deficient D-line that stunk against the run last year, and that has never been able to generate a pass rush. I was called a "hater" and a "moron" and told that it was all Jim Bates' fault.

    The problem is that we DO NOT HAVE THE TALENT on that side of the ball. No amount of character or scheming is going to change that. Our head coach, while brilliant in many ways, has squandered way too many drafts, and has NO eye for D-line talent. That much would be impossible to argue. Elvis Dummerville is a good player, but is a situational pass rusher at best . . . and after him . . . it's all journeymen and guys that would have a hard time starting anywhere else (and that goes for Marcus Thomas, Tim Crowder and Jarvis "glad we traded up" Moss).

    All you idiots who can't handle the least bit of criticism of Shanny or the Broncos do more damage than good. These aren't personal attacks on the coach or the team, they are just factual observations from a 35 year+ Bronco fan. There are plenty of other good posts from Bronco fans too, that get dismissed as "doom & gloom" and "hater talk." Ridiculous! There is nothing wrong with pointing out that the Broncos are now in their fourth straight season with mediocre D-line talent, and no ability to generate a pass rush. Want it to change? Hold Shanny accountable!

  • September 28, 2008

    10:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    pwsbronco writes:

    wow, shoulda coulda woulda but things just didn't work out...........hmmmmmmmmmmmmm same ol story, but when the offense struggles the d is nowhere around, not going to change this year, to bad, was really hoping for some good things this year. I know, don't be negative, its only 4 games, we have great players (which we do) but they don't work on d, not any better than last year. Was looking like we might only have to fix the pass defense but nope...... Back to the draft next year for the d line, offense is going to be great with one more year under their belt they will be unstoppable but the d line needs nothing short a miracle and leprachan...........sorry just an opinion from another 30year plus fan, so lets go Bronco's don't let Al's team win more than us this year..............

  • September 29, 2008

    12:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    denverone writes:

    Has anyone seen a LB, DB or Safety make a play this year?. Unbelievable! Gone are the days when Gradishar, Thompson, Wright, Mecklenburg, Jones, Smith all would make a big play when you needed it, and usually it was once a week, not once a year!

  • September 29, 2008

    2:15 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Milehigh_7 writes:

    It happened exactly as I warned it might... If we had to drop one, this was the week for it to happen. If they get their heads screwed on straight, we will be fine.

  • September 29, 2008

    6:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    danglybanging writes:

    you can't blame this one the D when you turn over the ball 4 times in you're own side of the field.

  • September 29, 2008

    6:32 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spider writes:

    The D needs to look at the Bailey Brothers. If everyone played like they do nobody would be dogging the D. Yes the 4 turnovers hurt and the O wasn't as crisp as they have been, but until the D quits giving up the big plays the pressure to win is on the O's shoulders.

  • September 29, 2008

    7:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BroncoRick69 writes:

    Its funny how everyone keeps saying we'll be fine. It's BS. Our "D" is not very good at all. Good teams find a way to overcome the offense having a bad day like we did against the Chiefs. If only our defense was just a little better, it would have been good enough. Maybe if someone could have tackled someone it would have been good enough.People look at a team like Chicago, and call them a sorry team, or whatever but the fact is, at least they have a defense. Denver's D is pathetic.

  • September 29, 2008

    10:42 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jubei writes:

    BroncoRick69:

    Couldn't have said it better...

    My take is that a great defense can bail out a mediocre offense (see Chicago last night), but a bad defense will absolutely ruin a great offense.

    I think we're seeing that with Denver's offense. I see Cutler starting to force throws more now than in the first couple of games. Rather than chalking that up to youth, I prefer to lay the blame on the fact that he probably feels he MUST score a TD on every possession in order to win a shootout. So he and the rest of the offense start playing tighter and tighter, and consequently, you see more picks, drops, false starts, and on and on and on...

    Now the rest of the league has the blueprint for beating the Bronco offense: Run the ball (no problem on Denver's D), limit the Broncos offensive possessions (again, no problem when you run the ball effectively), and sit back in Cover 2 and make Cutler hit the dinky-dunk routes.

    The Broncs need Bates to get aggressive again, and have him tell Cutler that there actually are other receivers besides Marshall. As far as the defense goes, I don't think there's a way to stop the bleeding. They REEK, and it's on the offense to score more points when the defense makes the other team look like the 07 Pats, no matter how crappy they are when they aren't playing Denver.

    It's going to be an interesting ride, and we'll see if the offense can keep up.

    Jason

  • September 29, 2008

    12:54 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    pakerfaninexile writes:

    sorry broncos fans, but bob slowik is the absolute worst of the worst..he took over a middling defensive squad in Green Bay and the floor absolutely dropped out..the stats in GB were equally dismal as they are now in denver--bottom percentile in every category---but the stats did not show how horrifyingly bad and inept he made that squad...the execution was an absolute nightmare to watch...yet bumbling bob brickhead is given yet another chance to fail spectacularly, given the benefit of the doubt, having excuses made for him by the press...I wish your team luck, because they are going to need it

  • September 29, 2008

    5:12 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Nick_Shadow writes:

    Jubei is reading my mind. As the offense feels the pressure to put up big numbers to out score the other team (fill in the name), the timing and the decisions get more strained. They are going to have games when they can't get 35+ and those are going to be long days.

    I think the defensive scheme is to try to "trick it up" to hide the D line shortcomings. Perhaps they should look around, there are a couple of teams going nowhere, perhaps some help could be gotten? I know, free agency is iffy and it has been tried. After George Allen had traded and swapped is draft choices away to get a team together, he was asked what he was doing about tomorrow, he replied (paraphrased) "In the NFL there is no tomorrow." Do they try to build it from the Draft next year, which means 3 years until it gels (barring mistakes), or get something going now? A lot can happen in a few years.

    I have been reading these posts for a quite a while, thought I would chime in.

    PS: I know YPC the our running backs is big, but if they really tried to put a running game together I don't it would work. Hope this kid Torraine (SP) is the real deal, because they are going to need someone else to get to the next level. Pittman however, has been a pleasant surprise.

  • September 29, 2008

    6:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Palin_Is_A_Genius writes:

    This might be the worst defense I have ever seen. There is really no hope for improvement, spare 09 draft. Team is really lacking talent. DJ Williams, Champ, Boss, and sometimes Bly are the only players that could start on other teams.