From the hills and hollows near the West Virginia-Kentucky border came the Hatfields, the McCoys and Larry Coyer.
The world knows the story about the feuding family antagonists. Coyer, who grew up two hours upriver in a place called Green Bottom, W.Va., may have some hick in his accent and tenacity in spirit, but he also is the brains behind one of the best defensive units in Broncos history.
Ignorant he is not. Mean and crude he is not. Coyer is polite – good luck tracking down a man who uses more yes sirs, no sirs and thank you sirs in conversation. A stereotype of Southern hospitality.
“No pun intended, but as a man, Larry has an old soul,” said Ebenezer Ekuban, a Broncos starting defensive end. “He’s real laid-back, gentle. Kind of quiet. Very secure in the way he is.”
And as a defensive coordinator?
“He knows everything – every play, where everybody is supposed to be,” said Ekuban, who has played for four defensive coordinators in his eight- year NFL career. “It’s amazing. A lot of coordinators have specialties with certain packages, or maybe they played D-line and they know where the D- linemen are supposed to go. But this guy knows the D-line, the linebackers, the safeties. If you ask him about special teams, he might know that, too. But he’s good, man. He’s good.”
Beginning today, the bye week officially is history for all Broncos except Coyer. He never took a bye. While the Broncos’ offices at Dove Valley were closed starting Thursday afternoon, Coyer let himself in for a full day of work Friday, then returned to headquarters with the rest of Mike Shana- han’s coaching staff Sunday.
“You like to take some time off, but at the same time, there’s a lot of work to do,” Coyer said.
Up next are the Baltimore Ravens, one of the NFL’s biggest early-season surprises with a 4-0 record. The game next Monday night at Invesco Field at Mile High will feature two of the top four defenses in the league. The Ravens rank second in the NFL by allowing just 8.3 points per game. The Broncos (2-1) are fourth at 10.3 points allowed per game.
If the Broncos want to prove they have the NFL’s best defense, they can start by out- defending the Ravens.
“Yes sir, I think we do have a chance to be considered the best,” Coyer said. “But the second part of the answer is, ask me again after Week 17. It’s such a fine line. I think we’re talented enough. I think we have enough skill all over to be as good as anybody. When you start talking the best, you’re talking five or six teams. And I think we’re in that category. Baltimore is very much in that category. They have great tradition, great pride. That’s what you strive to be – what they’ve been, to be quite honest.”
What the Ravens have on defense this year that the Broncos had the previous nine years is Trevor Pryce. Released to free agency after last season primarily because the Broncos didn’t think the defensive lineman was worth a $10 million salary, Pryce signed for essentially the same money in Baltimore.
At his introductory news conference with the Ravens last spring, Pryce blamed his relatively meager sack total of four last season on the Broncos’ blitz- happy defensive scheme.
He has backed up that complaint with 2 1/2 sacks through four games this season, putting him on pace for his first 10-sack season since 2000. It was Coyer who ordered the heavy blitz attack, but if he was offended by Pryce’s comments, he was not about to engage in a salvo exchange.
“No sir, all those things, I don’t listen to them to start with,” Coyer said. “And then you’re better off not paying attention to them. Some things happen for the best for everybody. I think that’s the case in this situation. They’re a great unit. Trevor’s one of my favorite people in the world.”
Last year, Coyer’s defense was able to rattle Kyle Boller, the Ravens’ young quarterback, into three turnovers for a 12-10 win. To beat Baltimore again, Denver will have to deal with a more proven quarterback in Steve McNair, who has led the Ravens to final-minute, game-winning scores the past two weeks.
“He brings a whole bunch to their football team,” Coyer said. “He was able to make huge plays late in the game. That’s the way he is. He’s a winner.”
Not everybody from West Virginia, it seems, gets ready for a fight by using fighting words.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
