Once he drops back and sets, Gus Frerotte may as well turn into a statue equipped with a stadium-sized slingshot.
Bad feet, great arm.
For the Broncos’ newly revamped defensive front four, Frerotte presents an inviting, season-opening target. His strong arm, however, also will deliver a get-him-or-else challenge Sunday when the Broncos open their season against Frerotte and the Dolphins in Miami.
“When you have a quarterback who stands back there and doesn’t run, it’s definitely advantageous for bringing heat,” said Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban. “Obviously more so him than say (Sage) Rosenfels, who has better feet and the ability to escape and make plays on the run.”
A better pass rush was at the core of the Broncos’ desire to force more turnovers this year after ranking down the NFL charts the past three years. The idea is more pressure on the quarterback creates less time for him to choose taking the sack or throwing the ball up for grabs.
Including veteran defensive end Trevor Pryce’s return from what essentially was a season-ending back surgery last year, the Broncos’ starting front four, plus three of their top reserves, are new this year.
There are some numbers that should add up to a promising first day on the job. In Frerotte’s 12-year career, he has been sacked once every 15.2 pass attempts, about twice a full game. Compare that with Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, who was sacked once every 34.7 pass attempts last year.
“You like a quarterback who will stand up in the pocket to throw the ball,” said Broncos defensive tackle Gerard Warren. “If it’s a team like the Denver Broncos, it’s hard to sack the quarterback because he’s always moving. But our main focus is the run.
“Every week, every practice, every meeting, the focus is stopping the run. We’re going to try to stop the run first and then after that, try to go after Frerotte.”
Paperwork may force fancy footwork
Eventually, the Broncos want former Chicago Bears wide receiver David Terrell to become one of their third-down and red-zone weapons. Until then, there’s some contract paperwork that needs to be reshuffled. After replacing the retired Jerry Rice on the Broncos’ 53-man roster Wednesday, Terrell may be cut today with the idea of bringing him back early next week.
The transactions, which the Broncos hope are nothing but a technicality, would lift the guaranteed portion of Terrell’s contract. Because Terrell is not expected to become familiar enough with the Broncos’ offensive system to play until the season’s third game against Kansas City, the moves should not cost him any playing time.
Footnotes
Defensive tackle Anton Palepoi, among the Broncos’ final cuts, will have tryouts with Oakland on Saturday and Indianapolis on Tuesday. … Another player cut by the Broncos, offensive tackle Anthony Clement, worked out Wednesday with San Francisco. … Running back Quentin Griffin, who didn’t stick with the Broncos this year, will work out today with Kansas City.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denvepost.com.
