We’ve got the next two weeks — it will just seem like two months — to compare the Patriots to the Giants. So what do you say we take a minute today and compare the Super Bowl combatants to the Broncos?
For all the differences between those teams and the Broncos, there’s one that’s more glaring than all the others. No, it isn’t at quarterback or wide receiver or any other, quote, unquote, sexy position.
It’s in the pits. Specifically, on the defensive line.
A handful of Broncos players have talked recently about the team needing an identity. But that, of course, is a nice way of saying they need more talent. And nowhere do the Broncos need a talent upgrade more than on the defensive line.
They tried to get by last season with a handful of retreads whose best days were behind them, and a bunch of kids whose best days are ahead of them. What the Broncos need are defensive linemen who are ready to make an impact right here and now.
Look at the New England and New York defensive lines. Richard Seymour, one of the best D linemen in the league. Michael Strahan, future Hall of Famer. Vince Wilfork, monster run stuffer. Osi Umenyiora, your basic monster coming off the corner.
It’s no coincidence that the two Super Bowl teams have two of the three best defensive lines — along with Jacksonville — in the league. In today’s NFL, defense starts with pressure, and you can’t apply it without a quality D line.
You’ve got to like the looks of some of the Broncos’ young defensive linemen — Marcus Thomas, Tim Crowder and Elvis Dumervil, just to name three. Question is, how fast will they grow up at a position that has a way of quickly separating the men from the boys?
Not that the Broncos’ future lies only in their hands. You can’t have enough quality defensive linemen in the NFL of the 21st century. That’s why, assuming there will be one available and worth taking, the Broncos need to use the 12th pick in the first round on another D lineman.
If not, they should draft a linebacker No. 1. But if they do, the kid had better be something special. Because, in the immortal words of every defensive back whose job depends on a pass rush, it starts up front.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily sports commentaries on The Jimmy Page during the week at noon. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
