The Broncos may have the best secondary in the league. It’s the guys playing in front of the secondary who are inspiring all the question marks.
Playing quality defense in the NFL starts at the point of attack, when the linemen start clutching and grabbing one another. The performance of the front four directly impacts the performance of the linebackers, and the performance of the front seven directly impacts the performance of the secondary.
If the front seven doesn’t stuff the run and put pressure on the quarterback, a team’s defensive backs can be hung out to dry. Which brings us to the Broncos. They have five new faces among their starting front seven, including all four D linemen. Not only that, strong-side linebacker D.J. Williams is making the transition to middle linebacker.
There’s no positive spin to be made here. The Broncos’ front seven has looked shaky in the preseason. If that doesn’t change, and fast, this team is going to find itself in trouble.
Champ Bailey or no Champ Bailey.
Jim Armstrong issues twice-daily reports from Broncos preseason throughout the week along with behind-the-scenes video takes. Visit Dateline Dove Valley With Jim Armstrong.
