dragondawg
09-15-2007, 04:25 AM
Secondary looking for more work
Bailey, Bly want to force Raiders to air things out
ENGLEWOOD — The Maytag repairman is regularly harried more than the Broncos secondary was for much of its season opener.
The safeties split the field deep. The cornerbacks played off the ball and kept plays in front of them. And the result was, they were rarely tested.
Yawn.
"A lot of that is because those guys did a great job covering them, so there was nowhere to go as far as throwing down the field," said Broncos offensive coordinator Bob Slowik, who runs the secondary. "And the safeties did a nice job over the top with the big play."
Buffalo finished with only 72 net yards after sacks were deducted. Bills wide receivers combined for 10 receptions for 65 yards, including three catches for three yards by starters Lee Evans and Peerless Price.
When Broncos cornerback Dré Bly was matched one-on- one along the sideline with speedster Evans in the waning moments of the first half, it might as well have served as a bucket of water splashed upon him during a peaceful nap. Bly got his hand on the ball and deflected it away in the end zone.
"When you have a reputation for making plays, they're going to pick and choose their poison, and sometimes they take their time before they attack you," Bly said. "So you have to stay disciplined in your coverage and stay in the game.
"I've been pretty used to it in Detroit," added Bly, who was obtained from the Lions via trade March 2 and was playing in his first regular-season game with the Broncos. "Teams would pick and choose when they came after me and, when they did, they'd attack me with a double move or a deep route."
The Broncos were fortunate on one such play, with less than three minutes remaining in the game. But Bills quarterback J.P. Losman overshot Evans, who had a step on All-Pro Champ Bailey and safety Hamza Abdullah.
So Denver was good and lucky, too.
Only Jacksonville (68) allowed fewer passing yards in Week 1. But the Jaguars gave up 282 yards rushing, so there was little need for their opponent to pass.
Bailey called Denver's effort perhaps the most dominating overall performance by a defensive backfield with which he has been involved.
"What we did during the game they didn't see on film, so they didn't know how to adjust to it, I think," Bailey said. "We caught them off-guard a little bit."
The Oakland Raiders have a similar opportunity Sunday in the Broncos' home opener. New head coach Lane Kiffin has only one regular-season game to his credit, so his tendencies aren't really established.
The Broncos have gone back to Kiffin's days as an offensive coordinator at Southern California to aid preparation, while also studying Greg Knapp, head of Oakland's offense, at previous pro stops.
But it might be a case of adjusting on the fly (pattern).
Oakland threw the ball 40 times in its opener, though an early deficit might have been a factor in the wide-open attack. Still, the Raiders only had seven passing touchdowns all of last season; quarterback Josh McCown had three last weekend against Detroit.
"They're a group that I think last year, they were a little down," safety John Lynch said. "Their offense wasn't working and they weren't happy with what they were doing. But in Lane Kiffin and Greg Knapp, they have a method to what they're doing, and it shows on tape."
Raiders running back La- Mont Jordan caught nine passes out of the backfield Sunday. Receiver Ronald Curry caught a league-high 10 passes. Jerry Porter has been dangerous in the past but was unusually silent in the opener and is looking to get cranked up.
"I hope they throw it a lot, because that gives us an opportunity to make plays and do what we've been doing our entire career," Bly said. "We're going to try and eliminate the run and make them throw the football."
Bailey and Bly already are feeding off one another so completely in only seven months that in the locker room this week, when Bly was playing chess, Bailey was sitting beside him offering tips.
"It's about working together toward one common goal — to win," safety Nick Ferguson said, jokingly.
So far, at least, a move that hasn't been made is benefiting both cornerbacks on a different strategic battleground.
Jim Bates, who oversees Denver's defense, has been known to put his cornerbacks in press coverage to disrupt receivers' timing off the line of scrimmage. But against Buffalo, both were aligned off the ball and allowed to read plays as they unfold.
"I've had 18 picks doing that, so tell me, should I change?" said Bailey, referring to his interception numbers during the past two years. "That would be stupid for him to do that. And I really appreciate the way he's handled that. Because why take something away from someone when they're successful doing it?"
But Bailey also knows that at least some bump coverage could be on the horizon.
"We'll mix it up," he said. "I know he likes that, so we'll throw it in there every now and then."
Now, if only opponents would do the same.
Problem is, the Broncos secondary has set the bar to an unrealistic expectation level, even for a group that received so much preseason hype, given its Pro Bowl pedigree.
Slowik joked he'll "absolutely" be expecting results similar to the Buffalo game on a regular basis.
"We've seen the blueprint of what we could actually be, plus better," Ferguson said. "And it's all based on us and what we want to do."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5698614,00.html
Bailey, Bly want to force Raiders to air things out
ENGLEWOOD — The Maytag repairman is regularly harried more than the Broncos secondary was for much of its season opener.
The safeties split the field deep. The cornerbacks played off the ball and kept plays in front of them. And the result was, they were rarely tested.
Yawn.
"A lot of that is because those guys did a great job covering them, so there was nowhere to go as far as throwing down the field," said Broncos offensive coordinator Bob Slowik, who runs the secondary. "And the safeties did a nice job over the top with the big play."
Buffalo finished with only 72 net yards after sacks were deducted. Bills wide receivers combined for 10 receptions for 65 yards, including three catches for three yards by starters Lee Evans and Peerless Price.
When Broncos cornerback Dré Bly was matched one-on- one along the sideline with speedster Evans in the waning moments of the first half, it might as well have served as a bucket of water splashed upon him during a peaceful nap. Bly got his hand on the ball and deflected it away in the end zone.
"When you have a reputation for making plays, they're going to pick and choose their poison, and sometimes they take their time before they attack you," Bly said. "So you have to stay disciplined in your coverage and stay in the game.
"I've been pretty used to it in Detroit," added Bly, who was obtained from the Lions via trade March 2 and was playing in his first regular-season game with the Broncos. "Teams would pick and choose when they came after me and, when they did, they'd attack me with a double move or a deep route."
The Broncos were fortunate on one such play, with less than three minutes remaining in the game. But Bills quarterback J.P. Losman overshot Evans, who had a step on All-Pro Champ Bailey and safety Hamza Abdullah.
So Denver was good and lucky, too.
Only Jacksonville (68) allowed fewer passing yards in Week 1. But the Jaguars gave up 282 yards rushing, so there was little need for their opponent to pass.
Bailey called Denver's effort perhaps the most dominating overall performance by a defensive backfield with which he has been involved.
"What we did during the game they didn't see on film, so they didn't know how to adjust to it, I think," Bailey said. "We caught them off-guard a little bit."
The Oakland Raiders have a similar opportunity Sunday in the Broncos' home opener. New head coach Lane Kiffin has only one regular-season game to his credit, so his tendencies aren't really established.
The Broncos have gone back to Kiffin's days as an offensive coordinator at Southern California to aid preparation, while also studying Greg Knapp, head of Oakland's offense, at previous pro stops.
But it might be a case of adjusting on the fly (pattern).
Oakland threw the ball 40 times in its opener, though an early deficit might have been a factor in the wide-open attack. Still, the Raiders only had seven passing touchdowns all of last season; quarterback Josh McCown had three last weekend against Detroit.
"They're a group that I think last year, they were a little down," safety John Lynch said. "Their offense wasn't working and they weren't happy with what they were doing. But in Lane Kiffin and Greg Knapp, they have a method to what they're doing, and it shows on tape."
Raiders running back La- Mont Jordan caught nine passes out of the backfield Sunday. Receiver Ronald Curry caught a league-high 10 passes. Jerry Porter has been dangerous in the past but was unusually silent in the opener and is looking to get cranked up.
"I hope they throw it a lot, because that gives us an opportunity to make plays and do what we've been doing our entire career," Bly said. "We're going to try and eliminate the run and make them throw the football."
Bailey and Bly already are feeding off one another so completely in only seven months that in the locker room this week, when Bly was playing chess, Bailey was sitting beside him offering tips.
"It's about working together toward one common goal — to win," safety Nick Ferguson said, jokingly.
So far, at least, a move that hasn't been made is benefiting both cornerbacks on a different strategic battleground.
Jim Bates, who oversees Denver's defense, has been known to put his cornerbacks in press coverage to disrupt receivers' timing off the line of scrimmage. But against Buffalo, both were aligned off the ball and allowed to read plays as they unfold.
"I've had 18 picks doing that, so tell me, should I change?" said Bailey, referring to his interception numbers during the past two years. "That would be stupid for him to do that. And I really appreciate the way he's handled that. Because why take something away from someone when they're successful doing it?"
But Bailey also knows that at least some bump coverage could be on the horizon.
"We'll mix it up," he said. "I know he likes that, so we'll throw it in there every now and then."
Now, if only opponents would do the same.
Problem is, the Broncos secondary has set the bar to an unrealistic expectation level, even for a group that received so much preseason hype, given its Pro Bowl pedigree.
Slowik joked he'll "absolutely" be expecting results similar to the Buffalo game on a regular basis.
"We've seen the blueprint of what we could actually be, plus better," Ferguson said. "And it's all based on us and what we want to do."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5698614,00.html