Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph met with the media on Tuesday and explained how the Packers and Falcons showed them how teams want to attack the Broncos’ defense this upcoming season. He said they have seen a lot of boots, misdirection, outside runs, max-protection passes, and quick game because teams do not want to lose a first down against the Broncos. He added that if they do, that is when our “pass rush comes alive.”
Joseph added that offenses are trying to get four yards because they don’t want to be in 2nd and long, because that is obviously a pass-rush down. He noted that most of their sacks last season came on second down. Teams have their pass rush protection packages for third downs, but second downs are “where we made our hay as the pass rush”.
“I think they’re trying to get four yards. They don’t want to be in second-and-7-plus or 8-plus, because that’s obviously a pass rush down. I thought last year we did a great job of basically playing third down twice. Most of our sacks came on second down. Third down is where they practiced their protection plans and slid to [OLB] Nik [Bonitto] or chipped ‘Coop’ (OLB Jonathon Cooper). Second down is where we made our hay as far as the pass rush. I think teams understand that. We watched it over the summer and the spring. Just getting ready for how teams are going to play us, that’s been my lesson for our guys the first two weeks. This is our new life. [Defensive backs], first-and-10, it’s going to be quick game. They catch a slant, now they’re second-and-4 and second-and-5. That favors the offense. That doesn’t favor us. They hand it off, they get two more, now they’re third-and-2. We can’t rush the passer now. So I think we have to understand how teams see us, and adjust how we play how we play third down to continue to win first down. That’s important for us.”
Joseph notes that the quick game and running game were used to neutralize the Broncos’ pass rush, and that is what we saw vs. the Packers. We saw a lot of quick passes, boots, and so on early, mainly to slow down the Broncos’ elite pass rush. This will put pressure on the Broncos’ secondary and run defense. You have to be prepared and likely play tighter coverage on early downs to stop slants, screens, and passes to the flat that gain 3 or 4 yards. The same goes for the run defense, which has had issues at times over the past few seasons. Stop the run and make opposing offenses one-dimensional.
At the very least, Joseph and the Broncos’ defense have noticed this now, not in the middle of the season after some struggles. They have time to prepare and adjust to this plan of attack and, hopefully, allow their pass rush to thrive again this upcoming season. They will likely be tested in Week 1 vs. the Chiefs. With quarterback Patrick Mahomes playing his first game since his ACL injury, they will likely throw a lot of quick passes to avoid him getting hit and lean on newly signed running back Kenneth Walker in the run game. The Broncos will need to be stout up front and ready for those quick passes. Get your defense into 2nd/3rd and long and let your pass rushers do what they do best.
