The Pieces Fit!

By Steve O’Reilly

20 years ago, the 1988 Denver Broncos defense was a much-maligned unit. The ’88 team came off a bad season that saw them ranked 22nd out of only 28 NFL teams. Similarly, the 2008 Denver Broncos found themselves along the bottom of the league in defense and it was obvious some changes needed to be made. In 1988, Pat Bowlen fired then Defensive Coordinator Joe Collier and hired Wade Phillips to run the unit. During that transition, Mike Nolan was retained to work with Wade Phillips as the Broncos Linebackers and Special Teams coach. The same Mike Nolan who saw the transition of the old unit is now the Broncos new Defensive Coordinator. The first piece to the puzzle is now in place along with his 3-4 Defense that has turned the 2009 Denver D’ from leaky to airtight.

The second piece to puzzle is some added strength along the D-Line. Nolan brought with him from San Francisco, Nose Tackle Ronald Fields. The big man has added much needed girth at the point of attack which is vital to play the 3-4 Defense. Holdover Kenny Peterson mans the starting Defensive End position and has been one of the best players along the defensive line. Ryan McBean who came over from Pittsburgh mans the other 5 Technique/Defensive End position. These men have given the Broncos some much needed bite against the run and a consistent pass rush. One thing that these two newcomers do, in addition to solid play against the run is they’ve allowed Elvis Dumervil to move to Outside Linebacker where his pure pass rushing skills can be showcased. In his last three games, Elvis has garnered 8 sacks and is tied for the league lead in QB drops! He has made the transition from Defensive End in a 4-3 to a stand up backer in a 3-4.

The third piece is some position changes and new additions at Linebacker. Besides the aforementioned Dumervil, longtime Bronco D.J. Williams, who has played every Linebacker position in the last 3 seasons, now finds himself in the ‘Jack’ position. Williams is one of the Inside Linebackers that can move around disguising whether he will drop into coverage or blitz the QB. The other inside backer position is manned by longtime veteran Andra Davis who gives the Broncos leadership and pure tackling in the middle. Mario Haggan was retained and moved to Outside Linebacker on the strong side. 1st Round pick, Robert Ayers adds a pass rushing presence and the versatile Wesley Woodyard comes in off the bench to add speed. Woodyard can cover the Tight End and blitz the QB, also rotating in at LB is Darrell Reid, who came over from Indianapolis, where he was a Defensive End but now plays Linebacker. On 3rd Down, Reid puts his hand on the ground as a pass rushing DE. The Linebackers give the Broncos all the versatility that is needed to be successful in the 3-4 defense.

The final piece to the puzzle is a retooled secondary led by emotional leader, Brian Dawkins. BDawk, as he is commonly referred, is a natural team leader who brings a hard nosed style and inspirational play on every down from the Safety position. Pairing him with newcomers Andre Goodman and Ronaldo Hill, both Free Agents from Miami, along with standout Champ Bailey gives Denver a retooled, mature and talented secondary that rarely is out of position. They don’t miss many assignments and due to their solid play on the back end, the Denver D’ hasn’t been giving up many big plays so far in 2009.

The rebuilt 1989 team finished the season ranked 3rd in total defense (yards) and was the number 1 scoring unit in the NFL, so far in 2009 this Broncos team has allowed a league low 26 points and have surrendered only 2 touchdowns in 4 games. Head Coach Josh McDaniels came into Denver and immediately dealt with controversy by trading away Jay Cutler. He has proven early that he knows what he is doing and of all his moves none have been better than bringing in Mike Nolan. Nolan was with the Broncos for their Super Bowl year in 1987, he saw the downfall of the defense in 1988 and the successful rebuild of the unit in ’89. Nolan returns to the Denver Broncos and has his defense and the fans believing that the D’ is back in Denver!