Javon Walker may have talked and priced his way out of town.
Travis Henry? He was active for Sunday’s season finale, but didn’t touch the ball.
Ian Gold? Be surprised, if not shocked, if he’s back next season as a starting outside linebacker.
Yes, those are big stories involving big-name players, but they’re not the biggest story at Dove Valley. The real story is this: Mike Shanahan has to get the Broncos’ defense fixed, and fast. And it’s not going to happen, with or without Jim Bates around, unless the team’s young defensive linemen grow up in a hurry.
Relying on the draft and free agency to upgrade the defense always is a dubious proposition. What the Broncos really need is for their holdover young linemen to improve.
Other names on the roster will come and go, but those young defensive linemen are staying. You know the names. Marcus Thomas, Elvis Dumervil, Steven Harris, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder. Therein lies the nucleus around which Shanahan has to build this team.
Or else.
Dumervil already has turned into a big-time pass rusher. If the rest don’t turn into impact players, it would set the franchise back for years to come. For all we know, Shanahan’s future in Denver depends on it.
“Absolutely,” said Domonique Foxworth, when asked if the development of those young linemen was critical to the team’s future. “They were young and they had their ups and downs, but they showed they can be the linemen we’ve needed in Denver for a long time. I’m not worried about them. It’s important they convert into impact players, but I think they can.”
The key figure in the mix? It could be Thomas, who played sparingly in his final season at Florida because of off-field problems. He showed flashes in his rookie year, but can he become a quality player at a critical position?
“I’ve seen a lot of progress in him,” Foxworth said. “And Steven Harris got thrown into the fire late in the season, but did some things for us to build upon. It’s one of the key ingredients to what coach Bates is trying to do — cornerstone tackles.”
It’s called the point of impact. That’s where the Broncos have been losing games the past two years. Once they start winning the battle in the pits again, the battle on the scoreboard will follow.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily Broncos commentaries on The Jimmy Page at 7 a.m. and noon, and read his columns on Sundays and the day after Broncos games at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
