When DeMarcus Ware declared his intentions on the eve of Broncos training camp, his lofty goals were met with a mix of skepticism and disregard.
“It’s all about that Orange Crush,” he said. “We always talk about that and we’re trying to hold that regime.”
Ware, who made 53 sacks in 57 games when Wade Phillips was his head coach in Dallas, had a track record that would warrant serious discussion about his goals. But Phillips’ 3-4 defense was unproven with the current roster.
The Broncos, playing in the 4-3 for Ware’s first season in Denver, were good. But they could have been better. And they were far from being a defense that ranked No. 1 in multiple categories, like the 1977 Orange Crush.
However four games into the 2015 season, Ware’s ambitious claim is, so far, coming to fruition. The Broncos’ defense has carried the Peyton Manning-led team to a 4-0 start, wreaking havoc on opposing offenses and recording an NFL-high 18 sacks.
But the Broncos’ efficiency on defense extends further. Here’s a numerical breakdown of their work:
• Ware and fellow outside linebacker Von Miller have 25 and 24 quarterback pressures (sacks, hits and hurries combined), respectively. They lead the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
• Denver opponents were 0-of-19 on third-and-8 plays or longer until Teddy Bridgewater’s 11-yard scramble (on third-and-10) for a first down late in the first half of .
• Eleven players have at least one sack, the most in team history. The Broncos’ previous high of nine was in 1984.
• Ware has a league-high 4½ sacks. He is the only player this season to record at least one in every game.
• Inside linebacker Brandon Marshall, who is playing with two screws in his foot (one of which is broken), leads the Broncos with 33 total tackles (27 solo), including six tackles for a loss.
• Against the Vikings, became the second defensive back in Broncos history to have two sacks and a forced fumble in a game. Safety John Lynch was the first, in 2005, against San Diego.
• The Broncos’ 11 total takeaways are tied for second-most in the NFL and have led to 31 points. Their three red-zone takeaways are tied for the most in the league.
• The Broncos have allowed 4.37 yards per play, fewest in the NFL. The league average is 5.49.
• Their 25 percent opponent conversion rate on third-down plays is the lowest in the NFL. League average: 39.3 percent.
• Denver has forced its opponents into 38 plays for negative yards (second-most in the NFL, behind St. Louis’ 40) for a league-most 154 yards lost.
CHEW ON THIS
• Watch .
• See where Peyton Manning landed on this week’s .
• , the Broncos’ opponent on Sunday.
• Nolan Arenado was named the .
• Five years ago today, Roy Halladay of Arvada West High during Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds.
• The Colorado Avalanche, formerly the Quebec Nordiques, played its first game in Denver’s McNichols Sports Arena 20 years ago and defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2.
• On this day in 1993, Michael Jordan retired from the NBA for the first time. Four months later, he signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago White Sox.
WATCH THIS
I stumbled upon recently and decided it was worth reposting, for no good reason.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy 60th birthday to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy. Dungy won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as his quarterback, but to draft the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @NickiJhabvala
