Former linebacker and current ESPN broadcaster Tom Jackson played his entire 14-year NFL career with the Broncos and was a central figure on their legendary “Orange Crush” defense that, in 1977, allowed only 18 touchdowns and an average of 10.6 points in 14 regular-season games.
Jackson, the recent recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2015 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, recently spoke to The Post about the Broncos’ current defense and recalled memories of the ’77 team.
Q. What do you think of the Broncos’ defense so far this season?
A. “I’m really excited about them and for them. They have a couple of natural ingredients — great speed, athleticism — and they have great want-to. It’s a mindset, where you believe that you need to win the game. If you have it as a constant mindset, which I believe that they do, the attitude on the field takes care of itself. And anyone watching them can see the effort and swarming the football.
“I think also Wade (Phillips) has gotten them very fundamentally sound. The DBs are a great group, and the addition of (Darian) Stewart and (David) Bruton has only added to the depth, with T.J. (Ward) and Aqib (Talib) and (Chris) Harris. They have great edge rushers. Not good. Great edge rushers. Sylvester (Williams) is playing his tail off inside. Scheme-wise they’re outstanding, but I just love watching them play. They’ve been blessed with smarts, great athleticism and speed — some of it’s god-given — but the effort is off the charts.”
Q. Are you surprised at how Ware was playing at this point in his career, prior to Sunday’s injury?
A. “Well, I’m not because I’ve seen him. When you see him up close and personal, it’s pretty impressive. They all look the part. I say it about only a few teams I’ve seen over the years; Seattle, that defense that won a couple of championships, when you would see them they looked the part. The Denver Broncos look the part.
“I’m more impressed with them than I was with that Orange Crush of the past because defense has been made so difficult now. We had the ability to jam all over the field and it really didn’t matter how you hit somebody — you didn’t have to be careful about it, you didn’t have to think about contact. But the rules being what they are now, it’s so much harder to be really good defensively. So it makes what they’re accomplishing, to me, even more impressive.”
Q. Do they bear resemblance to the Orange Crush though?
A. “Yeah, they certainly swarm the football. Obviously they really enjoy playing with each other, and they obviously enjoy playing for Wade. We enjoyed playing for (defensive coordinator) Joe Collier, and he got the best out of us anytime we were on the field. But, again, and I don’t think it can be overstated, the mindset in going out and believing that it is your responsibility to win the game is the way they’re playing. I have had not had that discussion with them. I would be shocked if any of them did not have that in mind when they hit the field. Yes, it’s a team effort.
“For years I’ve watched and the defense has kind of been the supporting cast for an offense that put up, with Peyton (Manning) there, 30-plus points a game. And so you begin to think that you’re going to get that all the time and you’re just not thinking in terms of winning the game. You’re the supporting cast.
“I think that this defense now thinks it’s in the starring role and that it’s their responsibility. And they have already closed out games a couple of games where, in the past, they might not have been thinking that way. It’s just fun to watch.
“It’s fun from a defensive perspective. I can’t tell them how much I’m enjoying watching them play.”
Q. What’s interesting is the defense is comprised, mostly, of the same players, but they’re playing like a completely new team. Is it the scheme? Is it Phillips?
A. “As a group, defensively, you’re usually a reflection of your coordinator. So whatever it is that Wade brings, it’s a passion, and he gets his guys to play with it. And for guys who haven’t been in that locker room, that is a natural evolution that goes on with a great coordinator, and I believe Wade really is a great coordinator.
“When you watch them play, you don’t know whether it’s scheme or something emotional that the coaches are doing or whether it’s a mindset they’ve changed, because basically it’s the same group. Well, the answer is it’s all of those things. They’re all wrapped up in Wade coming. He gives them a plan that they can see will work. They’ve all been around long enough to know what a plan that is successful is going to look like. They see it adjusted. They see the way it works when they give maximum effort.
“In those ways, it’s similar to us. We played for a great coordinator, and he was an older gentleman and in my 14 years of playing for him — and I don’t know that Wade is like this, but it would be interesting to know from (the players) — I never heard (Collier) raise his voice. In 14 years. I have not been in a meeting room with Wade to see him with his troops, but I would venture to say that he does not have to raise his voice to get their best effort.”
Q. It definitely seems like there’s a mutual trust and respect between Phillips and the defense.
A. “Yes, you trust him to give you the right plan, to put you in the right spots to be successful, and he trusts them to give them every single ounce of what they have when they’re on the field. It is a thing of beauty to watch, and it is difficult with the rules being what they are right now about contact. What would be deemed holding (by offensive linemen) when I was playing is done all the time now. What they’re doing is more difficult than what we did, just given the rules.”
Q. What makes Ware and Von Miller so hard to stop?
A. “Some of it is god-given. They both have really good technique — the getting the hands on, the disengaging. Tremendously powerful, both of them. Von shocks me sometimes with just his strength and his set of skills, but also with his ability to get really low to the ground; guys in front of him have a hard time bending to get him. He’s got a great explosion off the edge, and so does DeMarcus. I’ve seen both of them spin — I mean, they have multiple things that they do to you on their way to the quarterback.
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“Those two guys, they’re both the kind of physical specimens that you seldom see, even in the pros. They’re very smart; their football IQs are high, especially DeMarcus. It’s creepy how much he knows about the game. And I love that Von understood he had someone he could use as a mentor even as he plays as great as he does. I deferred to Billy Thompson when I played, and we’re still great friends. We still talk almost daily.”
Q. The inside linebackers — especially in the 3-4, where they have to do so much — still seem unheralded for all they do. You agree?
A. “I agree, because that’s the dirty work. That’s the holding up the run game between tackles, that’s the part where you make yourself available in zone coverages and man coverages. You’re doing a lot of different things, but because it’s a sack-heavy interest that most people have in football, it’s all about the passing game. But the role that Danny (Trevathan) and Brandon (Marshall) are playing is pretty amazing. And all I need to do is to look at the run stats.
“And I’ll say this, as well: As the offense begins to find itself more and more, if that happens as the season goes on, they will become better because they will have, on occasion, the 10-point lead, the 14-point lead, where the opposing team will be put in the position where they absolutely have to throw the football and they become predictable. They haven’t really benefited from that yet because the offense has been struggling a little bit, which, with a young offensive line, we knew would happen. But the defense will be better as the offense gets better. A lot of good things coming up for this group.”
Q. I think many are having trouble adjusting to the fact that the defense is the star of a Peyton Manning-led team.
A. “It’s fascinating because, of what you’ve seen the last few years, you fall into the mindset of ‘Peyton is going to be Peyton.’ It’s a lot of different things, but the defense has really grown into a starring role. They understand that it’s an offensive line that has changed drastically over the last couple of years, actually, but mainly this year, and that it’s going to take time. And that if they’re going to win a championship that it’s this defense that’s going to be playing the major role on Sundays.
“People can say what they want, but the team’s undefeated. And if they were scoring 36 points game, nobody would have a problem with it. You get the questions because Peyton is Peyton. He’s always going to be a focal point no matter what.”
Q. Can the defense carry them all the way?
A. “Yes. It can. Everybody is disappointed in a pick-six. Everybody is disappointed in a lower completion percentage. Sacks are up. I know the whole story. The fact is, all you want to do is win games and most of the time the teams that have won a Super Bowl, those teams have had outstanding defenses. That’s usually what wins the Super Bowl. The highest scoring teams in the National Football League, if you take a look, you’ll find most of them did not win the Super Bowl. So, yes, it can it happen. Do you need to be able to sustain a certain amount of offense to go with that? Yes. But a great defense can overcome an awful lot of things.
“I’m excited for their opportunity. I worry about health, but that’s something that’s out of their control. There are certain people where I don’t think the defense would be the same if they were off the field. They’re such a great group. They fit together perfectly. But if I were to take DeMarcus out of this lineup, or Aqib or Von, I think that would be a little different. But hopefully they stay healthy.”
Q. Going from being a player here to being a member of the media, do you watch the Broncos differently now?
A. “I’m biased, but I hope that doesn’t come across on the air. But I watch everybody else and it’s kind of clinical and technical and X’s-and-O’s and scheme-oriented. And with (the Broncos), I watch them with a more personal eye.
“Last year, I watched them in the playoffs and the early exit and I was disappointed in the effort. I was dismayed by that. As a team, I thought it lacked energy. And I wouldn’t say that about most teams because I wouldn’t even be watching for it. I’d be watching for ‘Are they winning? Losing? Scheme? Four-man rush. Did somebody make a mistake? It happens.’ But that was my feeling at the end of the day, and I was so disappointed because it was a year’s worth of effort and energy to get to where they got. And I knew that Peyton was hurting and there was a lot going on.
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“But anybody who has watched football for any length of time can look at this group and see that, even though it’s a lot of the same personnel, that changes in the way they’re playing is off the charts. And that’s without saying anything negative about anyone. Wade came in and now you look at them and say, ‘Oh my goodness.’ They have such great energy. They have such a desire to do what they’re doing. Maybe the most important acquisition was Wade.
“I don’t like the comparison to Orange Crush because this is their time. I love watching them. They deserve this moment for being what they are and hopefully they can go win a championship. I’m enjoying so much watching them play. And because they’re having success doing it, I know that they’re more inclined to do it constantly. It’s fun to force the fumble that wins the game, get the pick that scores the touchdown, beat the crap out of the other team until they finally concede. And the offense, I believe, as the season goes on, if they can stay healthy, will get a little better.”
Q. What was your favorite memory from playing on that 1977 team?
A. “Playing in my first playoff game, ever. There were guys on that team who had been there a long time who had not had a chance to do it, and we went into that game, and it was against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were pretty darn good. My dad was there to see that game, and I had a pretty highlight day.
“This is my dad: My dad, when I got ready to get dressed and showered and all that I asked a friend of mine to kind of keep an eye on my dad — entertain him, if you will — in the lot so I could get outside. And they did and I came out and went and got my dad and we walked over to the car. My dad looks at me and — I had two interceptions in that game and a fumble recovery, so I had my hand on the ball three times — gets in the car and goes, ‘You know, you’re pretty good.’ There’s nothing that could have meant more to me in my life. He was the most understated dude you ever heard in your life, and he gets in the car and goes, ‘You’re pretty good.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, thanks, dad.’ That’s my story.”
(Note: Jackson’s fumble recovery and two interceptions set up 17 points and led the Broncos to a 34-21 divisional playoff win over the Steelers in Denver on Dec. 24, 1977. The Broncos went on to defeat the Raiders, 20-17, in the AFC championship game before losing to the Cowboys, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII.)
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or
