A lot of things have happened to the Broncos over the past nine months or so. There has been a top-flight drama here, a potential miniseries there, but in all the warm air expended about what needed fixing in the Dove Valley complex, special teams wasn’t always sexy enough to make it into the conversation.
But special teams were nothing short of brutal for the Broncos in ’08. Bad special teams are like termites — they can bring the whole house down, no matter how pretty it looks from the street.
In the rubble that got Mike Shana-han fired after 8-5 turned into 8-8, a faulty defense was given much of the blame. But the Broncos weren’t ranked higher than 13th in any major special-teams category last season, and they were ranked higher than 23rd in only one — punt-return average.
Beyond that, the Broncos were 23rd in kickoff returns (21.83 yards per return), 28th in kickoff coverage and 28th in punt coverage, 30th in their average drive start after kickoffs, 30th in getting punts down inside the 20, 30th in field-goal percentage, tied for last in blocked kicks (zero) and tied for last in special teams takeaways (zero).
“We knew we had to be better,” Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid said. “Those are important yards. You have to have it.”
The Broncos’ new look got its first real exam in a 27-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Cleveland returner Joshua Cribbs is “the best in the league, in my opinion,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said coming into the game.
Denver effectively muted the Browns’ best scoring threat. Cribbs’ longest punt return Sunday was 17 yards, and that came on a punt that Cribbs fielded at his 13-yard line. His longest kickoff return was 21 yards. No touchdowns, little damage done.
“He’s a great, great returner,” Reid said. “That’s a tough day if you let him get going. That’s a day where you’re going to lose, really, if he gets going.”
Cribbs chose to bring a kick out from about 3 yards deep in his end zone in the second quarter but was tackled at the Browns’ 18-yard line by Peyton Hillis. Overall, the Browns had 11 of their 12 possessions in the game start inside their own 33-yard line and seven start inside their 25.
“We call it complementary football,” Reid said. “Whether it’s us making them take the long field or giving our offense the short field, one side helping the other, you know. Give the offense a chance to score more points, give our defense a chance to stop people. It’s all about complementary football.”
What went right: Pin them
Punter Brett Kern said the biggest thing for him Sunday would be to “consistently make great kicks.”
And after having a bobble during the season opener in Cincinnati — a 28-yarder from deep in his own territory — Kern avoided problems. In limited work, he aired it out and allowed his coverage unit to get in position.
He averaged 54.5 yards on his two punts, had a net average of 42.5 yards per punt and put one of the kicks down inside the 20.
Matt Prater also did his part on kickoffs. He had two touchbacks late when the Broncos were trying to slam the door, three total in the game, put another kick into the end zone that Cribbs chose to bring out and another to the goal line.
“Hang it high, hang it deep,” Reid said. “That’s what we needed, and that’s what those guys did.”
What went wrong: Bad start
OK, the Broncos handled Job 1 just fine, and Cribbs won’t show up on anybody’s Plays of the Week, but plenty of teams remaining on the schedule won’t let them escape with some of the other things they did Sunday.
Hillis fumbled the opening kickoff, and the Browns scored a field goal just 2:33 into the game.
Prater also missed two field goals; both pulled left on a blustery day, both from the 35- to 40-yard range.
Up next: The Raiders
The Broncos head to Oakland, and the Raiders bomb the ball in the kicking game with punter Shane Lechler and kicker Sebastian Janikowski.
Last season, Raiders wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins had kickoff returns of 58 and 33 yards against the Broncos in two games, as well as an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown. But Higgins did not play Sunday in Kansas City because of a shoulder injury, so running back Louis Rankin returned kickoffs while the Raiders tried a group of players, including former Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker, catching punts.
Janikowski is 4-of-4 this season, and Lechler has his typical gaudy numbers — averaging almost 54 yards a punt.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
