OVER THE COURSE of this week, we’ll be taking a closer look at both the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos and their strengths and weaknesses across offence, defence and special teams in the run up to Super Bowl 50.
Today, we deal with the Denver Broncos defence.
You can read the rest of the series here.
What they do well
Brilliant pass coverage
The Denver Broncos (199.6) were the only team in the NFL to give up less than 200 passing yards per game during the course of the regular season, a number nearly 11 yards per game better than next best defences in Seattle and Houston.
What makes Denver’s pass defence so special is a combination of excellent coaching — Wade Phillips is ten times better as a defensive co-ordinator than he is as a head coach — and the ability to win one-on-one battles all over the field.
Against the Patriots last time out, the Broncos hardly ever blitzed which allowed them to leave seven even eight players in coverage which made it very difficult for Tom Brady, when he did happen to escape the pass rush, to find an open receiver.
The interception above is a perfect example of how a reduced — but effective — pass rush allows a team to take away receivers and challenge for interceptions. DeMarcus Ware and Malik Jackson are part of a four-man rush that forces Brady into an early throw.
Because he hasn’t gone through his proper progression, he fails to spot that free safety Darian Stewart has keyed-in on James White’s vertical route. The result is a pick that could have gone all the way back for a touchdown.
What they could do better
Secondary substitutions
It’s a real struggle to find a weakness with this Denver defence but perhaps the one area that could be of concern is Phillips’ habit of rotating the players in the Broncos secondary.
In the AFC Divisional Round, the Steelers took full advantage of match-ups when they became available instead of making the mistake of targeting likes of TJ Ward and Chris Harris.
Bradley Roby has played 56.8% of defensive snaps for the Broncos this year despite being their first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Compare that to players like Aqib Talib (89.1%) or Chris Harris (97%). Indeed, Roby only ranks fifth among defensive backs when it comes to time on the field.
While he emerged from the Steelers game a hero because he was the player who forced the Fitzgerald Toussaint fumble that set up Denver’s go-ahead touchdown drive, the Broncos really should have given up a touchdown on the above play after Roby completely blew his coverage.
What they need to avoid
Giving up big runs to Cam Newton
We haven’t really mentioned how good Denver are against the run (ranked third in the NFL during the regular season, giving up just 83.6 yards per game) and that’s obviously something that’s going to play a massive part in any possible victory, particularly against Cam Newton.
The Broncos haven’t faced a legitimate dual-threat quarterback like Newton this season — and, let’s face it, those players are few and far between — but even against a quarterback who can run, say Alex Smith, they’ve performed relatively well.
Over the course of two games against the Chiefs, Smith averaged 5.5 yards per attempt, just slightly more than the Broncos’ season average of 4.7 yards given up per quarterback rush attempt.
They are also one of two teams (the other being the Dolphins) not to give up a rushing TD to a quarterback this season. That record will almost certainly have to continue if Denver hope to win on Sunday night.
