I want to say the Broncos will be a better defense. When your at rock bottom, you can only go up. Right? Well, that might not be the case this year when the Broncos take their 32nd '08 ranked defense and plummet even more. Right now, I would rank them 33 out of the 32 NFL teams. The first depth chart of the season was released yesterday and it doesn't look very pretty. Here's my take on our current starting defense:
DE - McBean: Has ZERO tackles in his 2 NFL seasons. Enough said.
NT - Fields: Sucked in San Francisco and will probably suck here. Sure, he knows Nolan's system but he couldn’t land a starting spot with the 49ers - who have a mediocre NT. Nose tackle is the most important position in a 3-4 scheme and were deploying a guy that has averaged a mere 18 tackles per season in his 4 year career. Blah.
DE - Peterson: Couldn’t start on the leagues worse D line last year and he's supposed to anchor a DE spot in which he is not familiar with? I think he’s actually better suited to be a 3-4 DE than a 4-3 DT but Kenny now his skills are being swapped. Last year he was a decent pass rushing DT who wasn't very strong against the run and now he's going to be a run stuffing DE who's not going to be rushing much? This will be a fun one to watch.
OLB - Dumervil: Has never played OLB in his life and now it being asked to fall back into coverage during passing situations? Ouch. I'm already having nightmares of Antonio Gates absolutely abusing Dumervil on a slant route. But like Peterson, Dumervil might benefit moving to a 3-4 scheme. He won't be rushing out of a 3 point stance, nor having to bull rush or stuff the run with his 5'11 frame but the bottom line is Dumervil is nothing more than a situational pass rusher on a good team. Not really starting material.
ILB - Andra Davis: Hasn’t done much during the past 3 seasons on a bad Cleveland Browns defense. Don't understand how a 3-4 ILB can start 16 games but yet only manage 67 total tackles. Are you sleeping during the plays Davis?
ILB - DJ Williams: The only guy I really trust in this front 7. I expect DJ to be atop the league in tackles and play much like Patrick Willis but that will only come if the guys on the line in front of him do their job by plugging holes and taking on blockers (which they haven’t proven they can do).
OLB - Crowder: Another 4-3 DE who has never played OLB. He looks completely out of place when I watch him and hasn’t ever proven he can generate a consistent pass rush. Must I add he wasn’t even active for 8 straight games last year and no, that’s not because of injuries. Made a whopping ONE tackle last year.
LCB - Bailey: Still a top tier all around corner when healthy but let’s not forget he is 31 years old and missed 6 games last year.
SS - Dawkins: Signed more for his leadership and intangibles than his actual production. He can still play and play well but he’s not the Dawkins of old.** 36 years old... **
FS - Hill: Solid veteran to have around. Nothing flashy and not much a play-maker but solid veteran to start before the young guys prove themselves.
RCB - Goodman: Like Hill, a solid veteran to sign until either Jack Williams or Alphonso Smith take his job. A upgrade over Dre"fumble feet" Bly but with Bailey on the otherside and our lack of a pass rush, Goodman is going to be picked on.
This defense just doesn’t have the talent to be very productive. When you literally have EVERY spot on your defense up for grabs (besides 3 spots - Champ’s, DJ’s, Dawkins’) you know this defense is in shambles. How maybe spots are up for grabs in the Steelers camp? One? Two? Not very many. Good teams don't have position battles. Bad teams do. I like our crop of young players with Alphonso Smith, Jack Williams, Robert Ayers, Carlton Powell, Darcel McBath, Marcus Thomas, and Wesley Woodyard but this year is going to be a rebuilding process that will take some time. Hopefully some of our draft picks can finally step up and give us a glimpse of the future. But as it stands, I cannot defend this defense to be anything more than crappy.
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