After being kicked like a cheap aluminum can from one end of the NFL to the other in 2007, it won’t be easy to pound out the dents in the Denver defense. The Orange got crushed, as a proud franchise surrendered its most points per game in 40 years.
So please tell us, John Lynch, why should Broncomaniacs believe this defense will definitely be better in the upcoming season?
“They probably shouldn’t,” Lynch said Thursday.
It’s not that Lynch has lost any faith in teammates or coaches.
But he knows a battered and bruised defense must win back respect from fans and foes the hard way, one tough tackle at a time.
While recent headlines from Dove Valley have been dominated by how quarterback Jay Cutler deals with diabetes or why coach Mike Shanahan wants to build a castle fit for Cinderella, neither of those sexy stories is the real issue with this team, fella.
It’s the defense.
A year ago, the Broncos felt lost and defenseless. Discomfort with the scheme installed by Jim Bates was an obvious source of tension in the locker room, even before the first defeat in a frustrating 7-9 season.
While not directly blaming Bates, who had his power unceremoniously stripped, then resigned when the finger-pointing began, Lynch and fellow secondary star Champ Bailey both made it clear the Broncos were too often caught in no position to make plays.
There was confusion in the eyes of defenders, who tentatively approached assignments with the uncertainty of “I think I’ve got this but I’m not really sure,” according to Lynch, who has spent 15 years in the NFL as a safety.
Added Bailey: “It’s just fundamentals. Lining up right. Doing everybody’s assignment correctly. That’s the main thing in making the defense work right. The plays will come if we’re in the right places.”
Although it’s encouraging that Broncos running back Selvin Young aspires to gain 2,000 yards on the ground, what will be more crucial to Denver’s success is how effectively a defense revamped by assistant coach Bob Slowik can stop the run.
“You’ve got to be great up front. And I think that’s a question mark still. We’ve got a bunch of guys that you’re real hopeful that they’ll come on. But they have to,” Lynch said.
“You can have the best secondary in the world, but it doesn’t matter at a certain point. Not only do you have to get after the passer — that’s important, and the Giants illustrated it once more in the Super Bowl — but you also have to be able to win the battle up front.”
In all his previous 13 years of calling all the shots for the Broncos, here’s guessing Shanahan has never needed a decision to work out more than he needs to be right on the acquisition of defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson.
After showing general manager Ted Sundquist the door and hearing his personnel acumen questioned by loyal fans like never before, Shanahan had better be right on Robertson, whom the Broncos hope can be a 310-pound cornerstone of their defensive reclamation project.
The 26-year-old Robertson possesses talent that reminds folks of NFL star Warren Sapp at his peak and has a gimpy knee that evokes memories of Fred Sanford in the old TV sitcom. Before landing Robertson in a trade with the New York Jets, Shanahan asked, “How big a risk are you going to take?”
Maybe a better question would be: How could Robertson possibly be a bigger bust than Daryl Gardener or Sam Adams? They were defensive tackles who did not tackle anybody.
“Bad knee, no knee, I was excited to get Dewayne Robertson,” Lynch said. “I’ve seen him play football. He’s legit.”
The Broncos need all the help they can get. Denver ranked 28th among 32 league teams in scoring defense last year. And the only four NFL teams that gave up more points per game than Denver averaged 12 losses apiece.
“We’ve obviously got to really improve in the run-stopping and the pass-rushing,” Bailey said. “We have potential. But we’re not close to where we want to be.”
The first step to restoration of a proud Denver tradition is a belief by players in the Broncos’ defensive identity.
“There’s a lot less gray area,” said Lynch, who won Super Bowl XXXVII as a key member of a dominating Tampa Bay Bucs defense.
“It feels more like we had in Tampa, where you’re a top 10 defense every year, because not only do you have good players, but everyone knows what they’re doing.”
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
