There may come a time Saturday when the primary responsibility for Broncos running backs Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell will be to get out of the way.
They might get a chance to gain a couple yards here and there. Establish the running game, whatever.
But unless there has been a memory fritz across Colorado, the fun should begin in the AFC second-round playoff game when the Broncos start attacking the New England Patriots’ secondary through the air.
The Pats may be the world champs, but the last time Denver saw them at Invesco Field at Mile High, their secondary was threatening to make also-rans out of them. On back-to-back drives to start the second quarter in the Oct. 16 game, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer torched the Pats for completions of 72 yards to Rod Smith, then 55 yards to Ashley Lelie.
The Broncos were on their way to a 28-3 lead and the Pats were headed for a 3-3 record. Plummer wound up posting a 134.4 passer rating, the third-best of his nine-year NFL career.
In fairness to the Patriots, their secondary was in disarray after losing stars Ty Law and Rodney Harrison.
“We’ve played better in recent weeks and hopefully we can continue on that track, but we haven’t played anybody like the Broncos in quite a while,” coach Bill Belichick said. “I don’t know if measuring our defense against anybody else is the same as measuring it against Denver.”
Not surprisingly, the Broncos don’t think it will be so easy to pass against the Pats this time. Veteran cornerback Artrell Hawkins was signed a month after the Denver game and moved to strong safety. Duane Starks, toasted on those bombs to Smith and Lelie, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and was replaced by rookie Ellis Hobbs.
“That kid brought an attitude that they needed back there,” said Ted Johnson, a former Patriots and University of Colorado star linebacker.
The Pats finished 31st in the 32-team NFL against the pass, but in a three-game stretch late in the season – against the Jets, Bills and Buccaneers – they allowed only 10 points and 85 yards rushing combined.
“It’s the front that makes the secondary,” Lelie said. “In pro football, it really is hard for a corner to cover a receiver, one-on- one, when the quarterback has a bunch of time. If your front seven puts pressure on the quarterback, then you have him throwing off the back foot, things like that.”
And the front seven is where the Pats have unquestionably improved since the Broncos last saw them. All-pro defensive lineman Richard Seymour and linebacker Tedy Bruschi returned after missing the Denver game because of injuries.
Seymour and Bruschi, though, aren’t defensive backs. Can this game be that much different?
“When they play man-to-man, we’ve got to make some plays, but they’re going to put pressure on me,” Plummer said. “It’s not like I’m going to be able to hold the ball for a long time, wait for a guy to make a couple moves to get open. Hopefully we can catch them in the right situations like we did last time and it will work out for us.”
