Denver Post : New CB Andre Goodman is the real deal

[Bronco Rob]

What Broncos fans saw Thursday night from cornerback Andre Goodman at Invesco Field was not a fluke, coach Josh McDaniels said Friday.

Goodman made two interceptions off quarterback Kyle Orton and returned one of them for a touchdown.

"He's physical, he's got good ball skills and that showed up last night," McDaniels said. "He's very instinctive."

Goodman signed with the Broncos as a free agent in early March after three seasons with the Dolphins to replace Dre Bly at the right cornerback spot opposite Champ Bailey on the left. Goodman had five interceptions and 59 pass breakups last season.

Goodman said he knew when he signed with the Broncos he would be challenged by opposing offenses that shy from throwing anywhere near Bailey.

"Champ is what Champ is, and I think everyone in the league knows that, if you take a survey," he said. "There's going to be a lot of balls that come my way, maybe 95 percent of them."

That includes in practice against the Broncos' offense, especially with the right-handed Orton throwing frequently to his left, Goodman said.

Goodman said he got positive feedback from his coaches and teammates after his play in the scrimmage, but he won't let himself get too excited about anything that happens during camp.

"You can hang on that for 20 minutes after practice and then let it go," Goodman said.

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13019531

[rmsanger]

Awesome news... will love to hear how he supports the run!

[defenseman]

Two int's vs. Orton? Wonderful, now let's see how you do against a "quality" NFL quaterback. Sorry, not impressed, Orton is mediorcre at best, the best measuring stick for a defensive back is against a "quality" qb not a mediocre cast off......dman

[GreatBronco16]

Man how much longer till the first PS game? It can not get here fast enough.

[Gcver2ver3]

Originally Posted by defenseman

Two int's vs. Orton? Wonderful, now let's see how you do against a "quality" NFL quaterback. Sorry, not impressed, Orton is mediorcre at best, the best measuring stick for a defensive back is against a "quality" qb not a mediocre cast off......dman

you sound stupid...

[defenseman]

Originally Posted by gcver2ver3

you sound stupid...

OK, you look stupid, now we both feel better, Yes?....dman

*Shut up moron. If you do not care for the way the sentence is constructed, provide a proposed remedy. Other than that, move along...

[Ironlung]

hey dbag...i think he was talking about the substance, not your grammar. Would you be more impressed if he picked off ****ler twice? Even though he seemed to always throw two picks a game, and was second in the league in INT's?

[colonelbeef]

Orton was throwing terribly, I wouldn't put too much stock into the performance of the defense, he looked like Helen Keller out there, and I don't want to give Helen Keller a bad name

[defenseman]

Originally Posted by AtH2O-27

hey dbag...i think he was talking about the substance, not your grammar. Would you be more impressed if he picked off ****ler twice? Even though he seemed to always throw two picks a game, and was second in the league in INT's?

I could care less what he was talking about, and his discussion was cryptic at best, it's not my job to read his freaking mind if you know what I mean. That said, if he did pick off a qb twice who was at least above-average, I'd say yes, I'd be more impressed. Orton, no matter how you cut it, is "MEDIOCRE" at BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! He's not going to light anything on fire anytime soon without TONS of help and schemeing, and even with the schemeing that may not be enough, the db has yet to prove himself against the best out there, that's where you make a name for yourself.......dman

[Drek]

His consistently solid play is nothing surprising to me. Goodman sure did a good job denying the Cutler to Marshall connection in our home game against the Dolphins last year. In fact, you could make a good argument that him doing so was the primary reason we lost that game.

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by defenseman

...if he did pick off a qb twice who was at least above-average, I'd say yes, I'd be more impressed. Orton, no matter how you cut it, is "MEDIOCRE" at BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may be right, but I just want to point out that Orton threw 12 Int's last season in 15 starts. That's less than 1 per game for the mathematically challenged. Perhaps he played against a lot of mediocre CB's?

[Baba Booey]

I'm excited to see what Goodman and Hill can do. McDaniels obviously liked what he saw when NE played them last year.

[defenseman]

Originally Posted by TonyR

You may be right, but I just want to point out that Orton threw 12 Int's last season in 15 starts. That's less than 1 per game for the mathematically challenged. Perhaps he played against a lot of mediocre CB's?

Chicago schemes did not include alot of long downfield throws, less opportunities = less int's...dman

[HILife]

Goodman had five interceptions and 59 pass breakups last season.

59 pass breakups?!?!? That's a whole lot of pass breakups. That can't be right.

[montrose]

He was inspired by Buff saying JMFW was going to take his spot.

[Bigdawg26]

I like what we have in our secondary with Champ (the shut down CB) and Goodman (the ball hawking CB) who pretty much is Dre Bly that can tackle as our coners with JMFW and Smith in a good battle for nickel back. I just hope they keep up the trend even if our front 7 is not as solid as we hope and against good QB's.

[Harvitz81]

Originally Posted by Drek

His consistently solid play is nothing surprising to me. Goodman sure did a good job denying the Cutler to Marshall connection in our home game against the Dolphins last year. In fact, you could make a good argument that him doing so was the primary reason we lost that game.

I didn't watch any other dolphins games other than ours last year, and if Goodman played that way all year than he was a great pickup. Hell 5 INTs and 59 pass breakups is one damn good season. Considering that our entire TEAM had 6 INTs last year (and Shanny still wanted to keep Bob "play the CBs 10-15 yds off the receiver" Slowik.....boggles my mind still), if he produces near those same levels it will be worth all we are paying him.

[Drek]

Originally Posted by Bigdawg26

I like what we have in our secondary with Champ (the shut down CB) and Goodman (the ball hawking CB) who pretty much is Dre Bly that can tackle as our coners with JMFW and Smith in a good battle for nickel back. I just hope they keep up the trend even if our front 7 is not as solid as we hope and against good QB's.

I think this little scrimmage is giving people the wrong impression of Goodman. I wouldn't call him a ball hawk at all, and he's nothing like Bly. He's a safe, above average, corner. He doesn't take big risks and in return he won't make big mistakes. He's consistent and reliable in coverage and solid in run support. He's a lunch pail CB who last year happened to get some chances to make some big plays.

That said, he really is the perfect guy to put opposite Champ. Too often Darrent Williams (RIP) and Dre Bly would give opposing QBs an out by gambling when looking for picks instead of taking the safe stop. We need someone opposite Champ who will consistently do his job and force QBs to go to that 3rd read, or better yet, back to their 1st and potentially forcing passes in Champ's direction.

I think Smith and Williams will serve as excellent compliments out of the nickel spot as well and I wouldn't be surprised if regardless how the depth chart reads they rotate in that role. Smith is a real ball hawk and compares very well to a young Dre Bly or Antonio Winfield. He's the kind of guy we want covering opposing #3's when QBs are feeling the pressure and see Champ and Goodman playing tight to their men. That is when Smith will get to take those gambles and make big plays.

Williams on the other hand was noted for his good run support and aggressive play in college. I think he'll be ideally suited to nickel packages where we bring him on corner blitzes or potential draws and screen plays. He's still got to work on his coverage fundamentals I'm sure, but he's got a nose for the ball and he likes to hit hard.

Overall I really like our CB depth. Josh Bell did a surprisingly solid job filling in for Champ last year on short notice and he is now on the bubble to even make the 53 man roster, that is a pretty telling statement as to just how much our CBs have improved.

You can see the same at safety as well, where Vernon Fox and Barrett where starting games down the stretch last year they are now both battling to even be second string and chances are one of the two (Fox) won't even make the roster.

[snowspot66]

Originally Posted by defenseman

Chicago schemes did not include alot of long downfield throws, less opportunities = less int's...dman

It also = less TD's and yards. Or do you expect him to magically pull those out of his ass? After throwing 616 times Cutler should have won the damned passing yardage title. But he didn't.

Orton is above average at worst. And yes it's a big deal to get picks off of average QBs because most of the league has an average QB. Only a couple teams have the luxury of a guy like Manning or Brady.

[521 1N5]

This will be his 7th head coach in 8 years.

[lex]

Its really easy to guess who the writer is based on the title.

[Popps]

Originally Posted by lex

Its really easy to guess who the writer is based on the title.

Poor Lex.

Can't stand any positive press for the team, can you.



Can someone please ban this ****-stain again? This place was so much better without him.

[OABB]

Originally Posted by Popps

Poor Lex.

Can't stand any positive press for the team, can you.



Can someone please ban this ****-stain again? This place was so much better without him.

I second this.

[Ironlung]

Originally Posted by orangeandblueblooded

I second this.

Who wouldn't? The guy is the biggest douche on this site, and thats sayin alot.

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by Harvitz81

I didn't watch any other dolphins games other than ours last year, and if Goodman played that way all year than he was a great pickup. Hell 5 INTs and 59 pass breakups is one damn good season. Considering that our entire TEAM had 6 INTs last year (and Shanny still wanted to keep Bob "play the CBs 10-15 yds off the receiver" Slowik.....boggles my mind still), if he produces near those same levels it will be worth all we are paying him.

You know whats funny? If Denver had 4 Bailey's in the secondary, you could play 5-10 yards off the WR and still shut down the pass. Kind of fell apart when the 1 Bailey missed games. I am excited about this secondary. Good combination of youth and experience.