Broncos' Playoff Hopes Rest On Defense's Rebound
By Arnie Stapleton, AP Sports Writer
(AP) DENVER Denver's defense has morphed from the Broncos' best attribute to their biggest blemish.
The Broncos' season is teetering on the edge of failure at 7-6 thanks to their first four-game losing streak since 1999, when they started out 0-4 in the first month following John Elway's retirement.
From dominant to dismal, it's an astonishing turnaround for a group that not too long ago was drawing comparisons to the greatest defenses in NFL history.
After allowing a league-low 7.3 points a game through the season's first six weeks, they've yielded an NFL-high 27.4 points a game in their last seven.
What happened?
Plenty.
Safeties Nick Ferguson and Sam Brandon were lost for the season with knee injuries. Offenses adjusted to a scheme that rarely relied on the blitz, keeping Denver's pass-rushers at bay. Nagging injuries slowed the quickest linebacking corps in football. Second-year cornerback Darrent Williams has been regularly burned for big plays.
So, how do they fix it?
"I think it's different things for different players," cornerback-turned-safety Domonique Foxworth said. "So, I can't say
there's one thing total for the defense" to focus on.
Actually, he can.
"One thing we didn't do last week was tackle" well, Foxworth said.
And that's where salvaging the season starts, suggested defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.
"You make a bad move, they're gone. That's what they make a living doing," Coyer said. "What you've got to make a living doing is making sure they don't get gone."
Coyer said it's not like he had gotten away from emphasizing the fundamentals.
"If I know one thing about football on defense, you've got to tackle. There's no way defensively you can account for a missed tackle. If you miss a tackle, it's like you've got 10 guys," Coyer said, relaying a speech he's given thousands of times in his coaching career.
Two things that Williams suggested Monday drew the coaches' attention. He said the Broncos have become too predicable on third down and that he sensed some teammates were ready to play out the string.
Coyer said he'll listen to Williams' concerns about changing up the defense, but didn't want to hear about anybody giving less than their best effort. He feels the number of premiere players such as Champ Bailey and Al Wilson would prevent that from happening in Denver.
He also didn't want to entertain any excuses for the defense's demise, such as the losses of Brandon's speed and skills and Ferguson's savvy and sure-tackling style.
"It isn't like we've lost nine guys," Coyer said. "That's not an excuse. It's not like we didn't have talent to replace those guys. So, that's not the problem."
Defensive lineman Kenard Lang said only minor adjustments are needed to return to excellence: "Ain't nothing major we have to do, no overhauls. It's just us playing consistent and playing our technique."
Lang said he's confident the Broncos can finish out the season they way they started it.
"I guess the big thing is we've shown it. It would be different if we didn't show it at all, but we've shown in the first part of the year and it was against some good teams," Lang said. "Right now, we've just to got be more technically sound and do our job. That's it, nothing major at all."
Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinert, for one, seems to be counting on seeing the good Broncos' defense and not the bad one.
"They are trying to find reasons why they haven't been as dominant as they were in the first half of the season. But as I look at film, I still see a great defense. You have great players, you've got great names, you've got guys that go and are fast," Leinert said. "It's one of those things where they're just trying to find themselves again.
"I still look at film and I don't see a defense that's weak, I see a defense that's very strong."
The question is, do the Broncos look in the mirror and see the same thing?
