ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The Denver Broncos have turned defensive backs Cassius Vaughn and David Bruton into pass rushers.
Not permanently, just this week in order to simulate the pressure quarterback Kyle Orton will experience from Indy’s speedy defensive ends Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis on Sunday.
Bruton and Vaughn will be asked to spin and twirl to their heart’s content, just like Freeney and Mathis do. As an added advantage, they will even be allowed to line up a yard offsides.
That’s how quickly Mathis and Freeney converge on the quarterback.
“Anything we can do to simulate it, that’s what we are going to try and do,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. “It is difficult to simulate that. Really, nobody in football is the same as this team.”
Bruton is game to try, even if he’s never played the position. The safety might even invent some new pass-rush moves.
Or simply stick with what he sees on film.
“We’ll try to emulate it,” Bruton said. “They’re fast off the ball. They’re real good D-ends.”
Come Sunday, Vaughn will leave the pass rushing duties to others as he may just have to step in at cornerback with Champ Bailey (foot) and Andre Goodman (thigh) hobbled. Both Bailey and Goodman missed practice Wednesday.
Vaughn and fellow rookie Perrish Cox could be thrown into the fire against Peyton Manning.
Not exactly the most attractive proposition for a young cornerback. After all, former Broncos defensive back Roc Alexander was picked on all game long in a 2004 AFC wild-card playoff game as Manning threw for 458 yards and four TDs in a 49-24 win.
“I’ve heard (Manning) is going to pick on me,” said Cox, a fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma State. “I love the challenge. It’s going to be a big challenge. I’ll probably get more action this game because of what Manning does, so I’ve just got to be ready for everything.”
The challenge for Vaughn, a rookie out of Mississippi, is giving the offense an authentic portrayal of what Mathis and Freeney will bring. At 195 pounds, he’s 73 pounds lighter than Freeney and 50 pounds lighter than Mathis. Bruton isn’t much heavier.
But Vaughn and Bruton aren’t exactly playing their roles on the defensive line because of their size.
“They are our two fastest guys—that is about the best you can do in that regard,” McDaniels said.
Freeney and Mathis are difficult to defend, turning in nine 10-sack seasons between them. They’ve also forced a combined 75 fumbles since 2002.
Vaughn shook his head when asked how he planned to give the offense the look of Freeney.
“I really can’t simulate him because he’s just an amazing player,” Vaughn said. “Just trying to work the edges and doing what coach asks me to do, whatever it is, and just trying to do it to the best of my ability and just going with it.”
Since Vaughn and Bruton were replicating Mathis and Freeney in practice, maybe they should earn their hefty paychecks, too?
“I like that idea,” Bruton said, laughing.
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POSITIVE RECEPTION: With Brandon Marshall now in Miami, the Broncos don’t really have a true No. 1 receiver anymore.
That’s just fine with Orton.
“I look at it like we have a lot of really good receivers,” Orton said. “Guys that have a lot of talent, that if they were on other teams maybe they would be the main focus and the sole focus of the offense. But we’ve got a lot of go-to guys that we want to get the ball to.”
Against the Colts last season, Orton kept throwing to Marshall as he hauled in an NFL-record 21 catches for 200 yards in a 28-16 loss at Indianapolis.
Orton doesn’t have a leading target this season, looking long for Brandon Lloyd and over the middle to Jabar Gaffney and Eddie Royal. Rookie Demaryius Thomas got into the act last weekend, catching eight passes for 97 yards.
“All the receivers we’ve got are good. So you never know who is going to have a big game,” Thomas said.
That many targets also creates coverage problems.
“Most of the time, if you’ve got one good guy and you put your best defensive guy on him (you can be successful),” Thomas said. “But in our situation, everybody is good so it’s tough for them.”
It certainly makes Orton’s job easier. He doesn’t have to force passes, going through his progressions instead.
“They have done a great job of being selfless and going about it the right way,” Orton said.
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EXTRA POINTS: The Broncos may have the right side of their offensive line back this weekend against Indianapolis as tackle Ryan Harris (ankle) and guard Chris Kuper (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday. … LB Wesley Woodyard (hamstring) didn’t participate in practice. … The team signed LB Diyral Briggs to the practice squad.
