Good morning, Broncos Country!
Talanoa Hufanga is really good.
He’s really, really freaking good. The hope was that he would make an immediate impact on the Denver Broncos defense when he signed as a free agent in the offseason. Well, the safety is going to make a huge impact on this defense over the course of the season. Heck, he’s done that in one game.
Talk about setting the expectations high.
“I’m just blessed to be here,” Hufanga said to the local media after the win over the Tennessee Titans. “This was an incredible opportunity
on a new team for me to be here, (be) part of a great organization. The fans really brought it today. I have to get used to it. It was a little loud. I was trying to get the calls out there. During the fumble, I was just doing whatever they asked me to do.
“The game is violent. I’m not trying to hurt anybody, I’m just trying to go down there, get the guy down and get the ball out. I really didn’t even try to see the ball. The ball just ended up coming out because I was trying to stick my nose in there.”
Simply put, Hufanga was all over the field last Sunday against the Titans. He finished with a game-high 11 tackles, seven solo, and a forced fumble. As I said to Adam Malnati on the Broncos Odds and Endzones Podcast, Hufanga looked and played like Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.
Hufanga brings an element to Denver’s defense that we haven’t seen at the safety position in a long time in these parts.
“My god, I was impressed, especially after watching the actual tape,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said to the media. “The range he played with, how he capped off plays for us. He’s making plays from 15 yards deep. He’s making them for four and five-yard stops.
“He was obviously a special player on tape, watching him with the 49ers, but he is the same player. He has such great range, and he is a bigger safety, so when he gets there, he makes some noise. He can cover; he can blitz. He has no weakness in his game. It was really fun watching him and (safety) Brandon Jones kind of keep some of those runs from popping. They were five and six yards that should have probably been 10 and 12 with normal safeties. Those two guys — they capped off the ball really well for us on Sunday.”
Added Jones: ‘Huff’was all over the place (last Sunday). Literally every time I turn around, I’m like, ‘Oh, there goes ‘Huff.’ He’s everywhere. He’s a huge addition, great teammate, great person, and super excited to be out there with him.”
Added Jones: ‘Huff’was all over the place (last Sunday). Literally every time I turn around, I’m like, ‘Oh, there goes ‘Huff.’ He’s everywhere. He’s a huge addition, great teammate, great person, and super excited to be out there with him.”
As Broncos head coach Sean Payton said this week, Hufanga’s play, style of play, maturity level, and leadership level are contagious.
“His passion for, his drive to be real special and to win,” Payton said. “(Dre) Greenlaw possesses the same things, and you’re going to see him sooner than later. Something that’s very important, football instincts. Our league has had a ton of great safety play from players, maybe that tested a certain way, and yet had great instincts. They have to be willing tacklers, and he’s more than just that. He was good yesterday. I know that.”
Now the goal is to replicate that first-game showing for Hufanga and the Broncos defense.
As noted earlier, if the Titans game is any pure indication, he’s going to be a special player, and this Denver defense is crazy legit.
“I’ve only been part of one game that gave up zero points,” Hufanga said to the media. “But that is our goal. A lot of people want to hold opponents under 17, that’s the NFL number. If you can hold teams under 17, you have a good chance to win. Our defense wants to keep them at zero if we can. Those challenges of being put in uncomfortable situations, it gets you going.
“Those are things you strive to do and be a part of. These fans are waiting for you to make a play, your team is relying on you, and I’m relying on my teammates to be in the right spot at the right time. We are 1-0, but by no means was it perfect. We have to come back, do this debrief like Coach (Sean Payton) talks about, come back next week and try to do it again.”
