EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

In a city with Mile-High expectations, the pressure is squarely on the defense

By Jeffri Chadiha

Brian Griese, healthy again after off-season shoulder surgery, runs an offense that was No. 2 in scoring in 2000. John W. McDonough Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Broncos "They have great depth, but there are questions. I wonder if Leon Lett can play defnsive end. He struggled at tackle in Dallas last season.... Then there's Chester McGlockton . He won't give them what they want because he takes plays off. I think Mike [ Shanahan ] thought he had to get more girth in his line. Remember the playoff game against the Ravens when Jamal Lewis ran right through the defense for a touchdown? ... Tackling was a problem in their secondary too. I don't know if Deltha O'Neal is ready to play cornerback full time.... The best player on defense is Trevor Pryce . After Warren Sapp and La'Roi Glover , he's the hardest tackle in this league to block.... Brian Griese has really grown into a leader. He's smart and accurate, and last year he proved he was pretty tough.... They've shown that whoever carries the ball is going to get 1,000 yards, but I don't think people understand how much losing [offensive line coach] Alex Gibbs will hurt them. He was an excellent teacher, and now they have questions at tackle. They're going to try Cooper Carlisle or Trey Teague on the left side, and I like our chances against either of those guys.... I know Mike Anderson is coming off a big year, but Olandis Gary probably has the most upside. He's younger than Anderson, and he's not as beaten up as Terrell Davis seems to be.... They want Eddie Kennison to help them as a third receiver. They've been looking for someone to do that for a few years now." In the Year 2000 Record: 11-5 (second in AFC West) NFL rank (rush/pass/total) Offense: 3/3/2 Defense: 7/31/24 2001 Strength of Schedule NFL Rank: 30 (tie) Opponents' 2000 winning percentage: .461 Games against playoff teams: 6

While playing for the Titans last season, new Broncos cornerback Denard Walker studied the Ravens' defense each of the three times Baltimore and Tennessee played each other, taking note especially of the little things -- such as how free safety Rod Woodson directed his teammates -- that helped the Ravens' unit become one of the NFL's best ever. "Their defenders played as one," says Walker. "They didn't have a lot of stars, but they had people who believed in each other and what they were doing. That's what we need here."

What Denver needs even more is for Walker to be a shut-down corner; that's why the Broncos gave him a six-year, $26 million deal. Although they finished second in the league last season in interceptions, with 27, they were last in pass defense, giving up 246.6 yards per game. It was no surprise that cornerbacks Ray Crockett and Terrell Buckley weren't re\!signed.

Also gone is defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. He has been replaced by Ray Rhodes, whose first order of business is to determine who will start opposite Walker. Deltha O'Neal, Denver's first-round pick in 2000, is an explosive athlete whom coach Mike Shanahan says made more plays than any other Broncos defensive back down the stretch last season. But O'Neal is still learning the position; he didn't play corner full time until his junior year at Cal. Eric Davis is a 12-year veteran and a two-time Pro Bowler whom the Panthers dumped during the off-season for salary-cap reasons. Davis told Shanahan that while trying to win a starting job he would help O'Neal and rookie Willie Middlebrooks, a first-round selection out of Minnesota, learn the game. "I liked hearing that because if you get guys who are content to just come in and sit behind somebody else, you have the wrong guys on your team," Shanahan says. "We'll have a lot of competition at that spot."

Rhodes, the man responsible for deciding who gets to play, has a successful track record as a defensive coordinator. With the Redskins last season he inherited a unit that had ranked 30th in the league in 1999 and transformed it into one that finished fourth. In Denver, Rhodes is stressing an improvement in tackling. Maybe he saw a tape of the Bengals' Corey Dillon running through the Broncos' defense for a league-record 278 yards last October. "We've done a lot of drills to improve in that area," says linebacker John Mobley. "Our big thing is to have every hit pushing the play backward. Last year we had a lot of arm tackling, and backs were getting four or five yards after the initial contact."

Rhodes has also installed a scheme that is fundamentally sounder than Robinson's, which involved a lot of stunting and was more of a read-and-react attack. "The attitude is already different," says defensive tackle Trevor Pryce. "We're not sitting back on our heels and waiting to be hit in the mouth."

"Ray's terminology has changed, but his mind-set is still the same," says Davis, who spent three seasons playing under Rhodes with the 49ers. "He's going to get after people, but he also wants his players in position and relaxed. If there's one defense that is working for him, he'll call it all game so his guys will feel comfortable."

Shanahan didn't stop at cornerback while trying to upgrade his defense. The most prominent new arrivals up front include free agents Leon Lett and Chester McGlockton, who could create even more pass-rushing opportunities for Pryce (12 sacks in 2000) and defensive end Kavika Pittman. The jewel of the linebacking corps could be second-year man Ian Gold. Shanahan likes Gold's blitzing and coverage abilities and has vowed to increase his playing time. The question is at whose expense. The Broncos are set with Mobley and Bill Romanowski on the outside. For now, Gold will back up Romanowski.

The turnover on defense could disrupt Denver's chemistry, but the upside is huge for the Broncos, who are expecting another Super Bowl run. All the pieces, except left tackle, are in place on an offense that was second in the league in scoring in 2000. Plus, based on last season's records, Denver will play the second-softest schedule in the league, and the players could especially benefit from their bye, which falls in the penultimate week of the regular season.

As was the case last year, the defense is receiving all the scrutiny. Things look good on paper, but the players know that doesn't mean a thing. "If we don't perform, it won't matter if Norman Schwarzkopf is leading the defense," says Pryce. "We're going to wind up in the same position."

Issue date: September 3, 2001