Is Slowik going to be Robinson2?

[DarkHorse30]

I was irritated that Shanahan decided to fire Bates. There is no way anyone can completely revamp a defense in 1 year, especially when the ONE thing your defense needs is a big tackle....and you've got a new D-captain that doesn't even know the position. Brilliant move, Shanahan. The D gets to start over.....again.

[Northman]

Well, if Slowik is going to be Grob v2 than i hope if we lose games we lose blitzing the piss out of the opponent. Watching the SB against the Packers i was just amazed at the speed and blitz packages that the defense had on Favre. The Packers still was able to score on us but the blitzing certainly forced some turnovers that kept them on edge the whole game.

[Inkana7]

You missed the boat on the bashing of Shanny after Slowik was promoted. Sorry.

[Bronco Jamus]

Shanahan gave bates everything he could want and he couldn't get results.

[Gcver2ver3]

Well, if Slowik is going to be Grob v2 than i hope if we lose games we lose blitzing the piss out of the opponent. Watching the SB against the Packers i was just amazed at the speed and blitz packages that the defense had on Favre. The Packers still was able to score on us but the blitzing certainly forced some turnovers that kept them on edge the whole game.

i agree...

i was just watching that game...i love how they'd blitz a group of defenders and have atwater come on just a slight enough delay to find a gap darn near right up the middle of the o-line...

tough to play against even for favre....

i hope we blitz next year as well....

but not the easy to read ones from recent past...but tougher to read blitzes...blitz lynch...

let bly and champ get a chance to make some plays

[Northman]

i agree...

i was just watching that game...i love how they'd blitz a group of defenders and have atwater come on just a slight enough delay to find a gap darn near right up the middle of the o-line...

tough to play against even for favre....

i hope we blitz next year as well....

but not the easy to read ones from recent past...but tougher to read blitzes...blitz lynch...

let bly and champ get a chance to make some plays


And thats the key. When you were watching the tape from the SB you could see that we had guys ALL over the line but Brett could not figure out who would be coming or going because some guys would drop back and some would go in. The Blitz packages that we have used the last few years were 90% delayed blitz packages. But we dont have the kind of speed to have those right now. Whatever Slowik comes up with it better be creative and he better be able to make adjustments. Obviously, it also depends on the kind of talent we add this coming year on defense.

[Tombstone RJ]

The key to Robinson's defenses was that they were playing (most of the time) from ahead, so they could take chances. Hence, those defenses got turnovers, which in turn lead to more scoring opportunities for the offense. It's a beautiful thing when it works, but the offense has to score points early for it to be consistently effective.

[DenverBrit]

I was irritated that Shanahan decided to fire Bates. There is no way anyone can completely revamp a defense in 1 year, especially when the ONE thing your defense needs is a big tackle....and you've got a new D-captain that doesn't even know the position. Brilliant move, Shanahan. The D gets to start over.....again.

Bates quit rather than take a 'demotion.'
Who knows why Shanahan decided to offer a lesser position that he knew was unacceptable to Bates. A move to get rid of someone rather than fire them.
There had to be some conflict during the season which ended with the 'Bates scheme' being ditched and him ending up in the 'doghouse'. Looks like a Ray Rhodes rehash.
Shanahan didn't get the results he expected, even though it appears he gave Bates any players that were available. He even allowed him to get rid of Warren.......to the Faid no less.
When the D wasn't working, there must have been some friction between the two men. Shanahan is so results driven that it would seem that Bates excuses began to fall on deaf ears.
Whenever I read or hear that Shanahan is a micro-managing control freak, I think about the final Packers drive in the SB. A drive that would decide the outcome.
When Robinson asked Shanahan what he wanted him to do defensively, he told him to 'do what you'd normally do.'
Leaving the outcome of that SB in the hands of Robinson was hardly the actions of a control freak.
As for Slowik? Who knows.....but he must have made the right noises.

[rovolution]

Well, if Slowik is going to be Grob v2 than i hope if we lose games we lose blitzing the piss out of the opponent. Watching the SB against the Packers i was just amazed at the speed and blitz packages that the defense had on Favre. The Packers still was able to score on us but the blitzing certainly forced some turnovers that kept them on edge the whole game.

Mobley was an animal on the blitz.

We need a LB of his speed pre-his leg injury in 1999

Atwater was also a monster on the blitz considering how old he was.

[CBF1]

Shanahan gave bates everything he could want and he couldn't get results.

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

[Broncos_OTM]

The broncos Defense better improve or i might self destruct

[Broncojef]

Shanny as I recall hired Slowick to be the DC and then moved Bates in over him right? Kinda like Shanny is the GM and Sundquist is the GM right? Does anyone else think there is hierarchy major coaching leadership issue with this crowd? keeping a guy like Bates around because you want stability when you know he's wrong for the job is counterproductive, cut ties and be done with it.

[Hogan11]

Will he bring back the Beaver? or was it an otter?

What the hell was that that Robinson used to give out for the D player of the week anyways?

[Denver Crush]

I don't know, but if so, its gotta be better than the last 9 years of react rather than attack.

[Paladin]

Funny. When the team was winning SBs, GRob was calling a "great" D game. When they started to lose, it was all GRob's fault. Please make up your minds.

Coaches do not play the game. Schemes are nice, but the players have to make it happen. So, you gotta have players who can make plays, right? Isn't that more important than the scheme? Maybe Bates lost some other "discussion" with someone......

[broncocalijohn]

Best thing about Robinson's defense was blitzing and taking corner blitz to the game always had the QB looking every way (unless he was getting blind sided by Ray Crockett). Looking back at SB 32 first drive by GB. They scored but we were placing the defense into place for the rest of the game. Favre slipping away was his great move but the D had other motives after that drive. Funny how we couldnt drive GRobinson out fast enough but looking back, we havent had a more exciting defense since then.

[Atlas]

I was irritated that Shanahan decided to fire Bates. There is no way anyone can completely revamp a defense in 1 year, especially when the ONE thing your defense needs is a big tackle....and you've got a new D-captain that doesn't even know the position. Brilliant move, Shanahan. The D gets to start over.....again.

Robinson was the best D coordinator Shanny has had.

Seems to me Denver won 2 Superbowls with that defense.

[Atlas]

I don't know, but if so, its gotta be better than the last 9 years of react rather than attack.

Coyer's defense was all about attacking. Don't you remember Denver blitzing every play?

[chrisp]

We need to upgrade the DT position whatever scheme we're running. Coyer's scheme worked best when he had Pryce, Berry and Heyward on the field in third-down situations. We could get to the QB then, but the only problem was our secondary was appalling. Now the situation is reversed.

Ideally we get a decent vet DT to tide us over untill the likes of Thomas can develop further and maybe also pick up someone in the 3rd round or something like that. if we upgrade the rotation then maybe some of the scrubs we used last year will be more effective being asked to do less.

However I don't think the scheme will be an issue. I think we've been running Slowik's scheme (such as it is) since mid-season and there won't be drastic changes. The key issue for next year is personnel

[theAPAOps5]

Last week called. They said your thread is now considered a dead horse and asked you to stop beating it.

[BleedingOrange]

We went to the AFCC game blitzing with Coyer and won 2SBs with Robinson. I think Slowik will bring back that mentality. As for running his scheme, look at Champ in 2005/2006. How many games did he turn around? Two Pick 6s that changed the Chargers and Cowboys games and a 14 point swing against the Patriots in the playoffs. This doesn't count the numerous ints he had with teams in scoring position. I believe we see more of that next year from Champ and Bly.

[cmhargrove]

Mobley was an animal on the blitz.

We need a LB of his speed pre-his leg injury in 1999

Atwater was also a monster on the blitz considering how old he was.

Honestly, I could see Winborn being "that guy" on the blitz for us. i know it sounds funny, but I thought he played with tremendous speed (when he knew where he was going). I think if we let Gold walk, and maybe find another LB gem in the draft (or FA), we will look much better next year.

I do believe we could see a first day Safety pick, it wouldn't surprise or upset me one bit. A second round pick on Lynch's replacement would suit me just fine. But if we do it, I want a mean nasty. We need a presence in the middle against guys like Dallas Clark and Antonio Gates. Someone who can run, as well as de-cleat.

[oubronco]

just keep drafting D-line and O-line and the rest will fall into place

[Beantown Bronco]

There is no way anyone can completely revamp a defense in 1 year, especially when the ONE thing your defense needs is a big tackle

If you rewatch all the games from this past season and can still tell me with a straight face that the ONLY thing they needed was a big tackle, I'd say it's about time for a loved one to check you into the asylum.

[Dudeskey]

Slowik was rather blitz-happy in green bay, but his D led the league in TD passes given up- and that was w/ McKinzie and Harris in the secondary- shoot I think they even had Sharper... Sorry, but promoting Slowik is going to prove to be a bad move- just like every other defense he touched, this one will go to ****.

[Beantown Bronco]

Sorry, but promoting Slowik is going to prove to be a bad move- just like every other defense he touched, this one will go to ****.

to say that it will "go to" **** would imply that it is somewhere else right now.

[Dudeskey]

to say that it will "go to" **** would imply that it is somewhere else right now.

semantics, schmemantics. Its not quite ****, but its close.

[DarkHorse30]

If you rewatch all the games from this past season and can still tell me with a straight face that the ONLY thing they needed was a big tackle, I'd say it's about time for a loved one to check you into the asylum.

Bates needed a big tackle more than anything, and there was NO ONE to fit the bill. As somebody mentioned, Robinson had an offense that gave him a 14 point lead to play from....any DC can call a game from that vantage point. I do NOT want to return to anything remotely resembling ANY Defense Denver has had in the last 15 years. Getting Bates was an opportunity to start fresh with a guy that has produced results given the right players (Big Tackle being the most important).....now Denver gets to start over AGAIN with another D coord. And if we get to the playoffs, he will get smoked just like Denver did against Indy the last 2 times we made the playoffs.

I didn't want to return to the "my offense can score enough - my defense doesn't matter" days. Shanahan's offense ISN'T THAT GOOD anymore. So he got rid of the OC and the DC and starts over.....this time it's on you, Mikey, there is no one else to blame.

[Dedhed]

The key to Robinson's defenses was that they were playing (most of the time) from ahead, so they could take chances. Hence, those defenses got turnovers, which in turn lead to more scoring opportunities for the offense. It's a beautiful thing when it works, but the offense has to score points early for it to be consistently effective.
The key to Robinson's defense was the DL. Kieth Traylor, Mike Lodish, Neil Smith, Alfred Williams. With those guys up front the LBs were free to run the field.

[s0phr0syne]

Foxworth's thoughts on Slowik:

Fox's Blog (http://blog.denverbroncos.com/dfoxworth/2008/01/22/guitar-hero-with-peyton-manning/)

I am excited about Coach Slowik running the defense. No offense to Coach Bates, but I was surprised that Coach Slowik didn’t become the coordinator last year. Not that Coach Bates didn’t deserve the job, but I think Coach Slowik is just as deserving. We all expected him to be named the coordinator last year and we were looking forward to playing for him, but I guess when you get the opportunity to have a coach like Coach Bates you don’t pass that up. I am happy that he is stepping in. We are all happy with it, we expected it last year but it took one year to get there but we are happy that it is here now. I am really looking forward to it.

When we played our best defense last year we were doing a lot of the things that we are going to start doing now. It is going to give our playmakers better chances to make plays and I think it is going to shift a lot of pressure on the secondary. He is a secondary coach so I think he feels comfortable with the pressure of us succeeding being on the secondary and hopefully that alleviates some of the pressure on the front seven. I can’t think of anything bad about the situation, I am happy about it.

I have a much better relationship with him than I did with Coach Bates or Coach Coyer, obviously since he has been my coach for as long as I have been in the league. It is very very sweet, but just a little bit bitter because he will no longer be able to focus on the secondary so he won’t be in the meeting room with us anymore. But it is part of the game and something that it took some getting used to. In college you go into the room as a freshman and that is pretty much going to be your core group for the next four years with a few additions and a few graduations. But in the NFL, it is subject to change.

I expect a lot of changes; including Coach Slo in the secondary, I expect a lot of new faces in the secondary to be honest with you. It is going to be a little sad, but hopefully it will make our team better and I definitely feel like it will.

[Atlas]

The key to Robinson's defense was the DL. Kieth Traylor, Mike Lodish, Neil Smith, Alfred Williams. With those guys up front the LBs were free to run the field.

Maybe...... I think the Key to the defense might have been the LBers. Mobley, Romanowski and Aldridge and later Cadrez.

[~Crash~]

I expect a lot of new faces in the secondary to be honest with you. It is going to be a little sad, but hopefully it will make our team better and I definitely feel like it will.

what new faces our secondary is fine ?

[s0phr0syne]

safeties!!


I think Dom. Fox. is a bit sad that Ferguson is probably gone, Lynch might retire, and the depth is probably going to get shuffled.

[The MVPlaya]

Bates chose to leave dumbasses.

[broncocalijohn]

Maybe...... I think the Key to the defense might have been the LBers. Mobley, Romanowski and Aldridge and later Cadrez.

Dont forget Shane Dronett in the middle. When i think of 99 i remember him and sad when he left to Atlanta.

[Inkana7]

Foxworth's thoughts on Slowik:

Fox's Blog (http://blog.denverbroncos.com/dfoxworth/2008/01/22/guitar-hero-with-peyton-manning/)

That's very interesting. I get the vibe that the defense really didn't want Bates.

[Gcver2ver3]

That's very interesting. I get the vibe that the defense really didn't want Bates.

Same here.....

His last comments about new faces intrigues me as well....

Fox sounds quite confident that he'll be with us playing a significant role....

i wonder if he'll play more safety.....

him and "Slo" must be close enough for Fox to have a feel for who coach Slowik likes and dislikes in the secondary.....

My guess is Fergy will be gone for sure...and possibly Lynch....but will there be more?...is Fox referring to Abdullah?...Paymah...or even Bly?

Who knows....

[Mountain Bronco]

If by being Robinson2 you mean winning supper bowls I am all for it.

[BroncoBuff]

I was irritated that Shanahan decided to fire Bates. There is no way anyone can completely revamp a defense in 1 year, especially when the ONE thing your defense needs is a big tackle....and you've got a new D-captain that doesn't even know the position. Brilliant move, Shanahan. The D gets to start over.....again.
No way. I said the exact same things at first - that horrible DTs, no more Al and a new Mike LB were not Bates fault and that firing Bates because of all that was unfair.

But over the next couple weeks, word about Slowik's incredible relationshiop with the players slowly came into better light. Champ called him the best coach he's ever had. That kind of endorsement has to carry some serious weight in Mike's World.

Foxworth's blog on the site details more of why it seems as if Slowik will be perfect for the team (courtesy s0phr0syne):

I am excited about Coach Slowik running the defense. No offense to Coach Bates, but I was surprised that Coach Slowik didn’t become the coordinator last year. Not that Coach Bates didn’t deserve the job, but I think Coach Slowik is just as deserving. We all expected him to be named the coordinator last year and we were looking forward to playing for him, but I guess when you get the opportunity to have a coach like Coach Bates you don’t pass that up. I am happy that he is stepping in. We are all happy with it, we expected it last year but it took one year to get there but we are happy that it is here now. I am really looking forward to it.

When we played our best defense last year we were doing a lot of the things that we are going to start doing now. It is going to give our playmakers better chances to make plays and I think it is going to shift a lot of pressure on the secondary. He is a secondary coach so I think he feels comfortable with the pressure of us succeeding being on the secondary and hopefully that alleviates some of the pressure on the front seven. I can’t think of anything bad about the situation, I am happy about it.

I have a much better relationship with him than I did with Coach Bates or Coach Coyer, obviously since he has been my coach for as long as I have been in the league. It is very very sweet, but just a little bit bitter because he will no longer be able to focus on the secondary so he won’t be in the meeting room with us anymore. But it is part of the game and something that it took some getting used to. In college you go into the room as a freshman and that is pretty much going to be your core group for the next four years with a few additions and a few graduations. But in the NFL, it is subject to change.

I expect a lot of changes; including Coach Slo in the secondary, I expect a lot of new faces in the secondary to be honest with you. It is going to be a little sad, but hopefully it will make our team better and I definitely feel like it will.
Man I hope we keep both 'Nique and Paymah.

[BroncoBuff]

I get the vibe that the defense really didn't want Bates.
Vibe? I felt an earthquake.

[DarkHorse30]

No way. I said the exact same things at first - that horrible DTs, no more Al and a new Mike LB were not Bates fault and that firing Bates because of all that was unfair.

But over the next couple weeks, word about Slowik's incredible relationshiop with the players slowly came into better light. Champ called him the best coach he's ever had. That kind of endorsement has to carry some serious weight in Mike's World.



I hope you're right. If Champ gave him props, then he's got a lot going for him. It just has seemed to me that Shanahan keeps "letting coaches go" right and left. How is a young player supposed to respond to that?