As feared, Elvis already has started to pack them in.
Word has spread. Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil might be vertically challenged. He might be but a rookie. But the football movies don’t lie. When it comes to rushing the quarterback, Elvis is no bad actor.
Against the Oakland Raiders three weeks ago, Dumervil was in for only 16 snaps, yet had two sacks. This earned him 19 plays the next week against Cleveland, and he had three more sacks.
Five sacks in the equivalent of half a game. But just as it appeared the Broncos were breaking in their best sack artist since Simon Fletcher, coach Mike Shanahan issued a warning. Multiple sacks usually bring double teams.
Dumervil got in for a career- high 31 snaps against the Indianapolis Colts. Nevertheless, by game’s end, among the many questions uttered after the 34-31 loss was: Where was Elvis?
He had no sacks. And there were no sacks from anybody else striped in orange swoosh.
“It was a learning experience,” Dumervil said.
There were times when the bull-strong Dumervil exploded past his first blocker, only to run into another pass protector who had rolled over from tight end, or up from the tailback. Word of Dumervil’s prowess had spread to Indy. It didn’t take long.
“They definitely made some adjustments,” Dumervil said. “They did a lot of max protections. Kept the tight end in a lot. Ran a lot of play-action, a couple draws, stuff to slow down our rush a little.
“Their play-action was good because the game was close. When it’s a close game, you have to honor the run.”
With Colts quarterback Peyton Manning left upright for seconds on end, the Broncos’ secondary was left scattered in various states of confusion. For NFL passing games, time means space, and space means open receivers.
The key is reducing the time. As opponents adjust, can the Broncos’ front four, and front four alone, apply necessary pressure on the quarterback?
“Why do you want to harp on that if this is the first game we’ve had a problem?” said Kenard Lang, who plays the end opposite Dumervil on the Broncos’ front four. “If it was a continuous problem, then, yeah, harp on it.”
Which brings the Broncos to their next game, Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The last time these teams met, all the Broncos did was blitz, blitz, blitz. And the Steelers scored 34 points to win last season’s AFC championship game.
Last week against the Colts, the Broncos barely blitzed at all until very late, when it was too late. And the Broncos again gave up 34 points.
Now what? In their rematch Sunday, the Broncos will be confronting a quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger who has struggled mightily to overcome one physical malady after another.
Yet, if Roethlisberger seeks comfort, he can harken to his previous game against the Broncos. Standing tall and throwing quickly in that AFC championship game at Invesco Field at Mile High in January, Roethlisberger converted eight of his first nine third-down passes, including a 5-for-5 stretch on third and at least 7 yards.
The blitz didn’t work against the Steelers last year. The base 4-3 defense didn’t work last week against the Colts. Decisions, decisions.
“It’s not the scheme,” said Ebenezer Ekuban, the Broncos’ defensive end who starts ahead of Dumervil. “Our previous two games against Oakland and Cleveland, we were getting pressure with just the front four guys. Give credit to Indy’s offensive linemen. They did a good job of containing us and our pass rush. We just had a bad day, man. We just had a bad day.”
The Broncos should be helped this week by the expected return of defensive tackle Gerard Warren. Without “Big Money” clogging the middle because of a sprained big toe, the Colts’ Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes not only ran the ball effectively in the first half, they set up those rush-hesitating, play-action passes throughout.
“Yeah, Gerard is always a big plus,” Lang said. “You can’t cry over spilled milk. He wasn’t playing against Indianapolis, and you have to step up and overcome that. But he would have helped.”
Perhaps Warren’s presence on the Broncos’ side of the scrimmage, combined with the loss of injured Steelers center Jeff Hartings, will be the difference for Denver’s front four. Or maybe if opponents continue to keep in an extra blocker to counter Dumervil, the Broncos will figure it would be only fair to add a fifth rusher.
Whatever their method, it is clear in those rare times when the Broncos’ otherwise splendid defense was exposed the past two seasons, the problem was lack of pressure on the quarterback, followed by lack of coverage in the secondary.
“We’ll bounce back,” Dumervil said. “Peyton Manning is a great quarterback, but looking at the film, there were a lot of plays to be made that we left on the field.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
