Broncos coach search

[WalkerBoh]

Yep. Pretty sure it was during the McDaniels era (a.k.a., the Dark Age) that we switched to a 3-4 base D.

Which may also at least partially explain the disaster.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Which may also at least partially explain the disaster.

LOL No doubt!

There is a lot of evidence that both the 4-3 and 3-4 can be either very effective or very porous. I am not at all attached to one scheme over the other, though I certainly favor effective over porous!

 

[WalkerBoh]

LOL No doubt!

There is a lot of evidence that both the 4-3 and 3-4 can be either very effective or very porous. I am not at all attached to one scheme over the other, though I certainly favor effective over porous!

I like the idea of the 3-4 because you have more opportunities to disguise your pass rush. You can push the O-Line with 4 players, but the O-Line has to guess where that 4th player (a linebacker) will come from. But you need to have a NT that can handle the situation.

 

[Duffman]

We switched to the 3-4 when Mike Nolan was our DC, of course he only lasted 1 year so that's what hurt us the most. If we bring in Wade and he switches us as long as we don't can him in 1 year I think it wont be as bad as last time.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I like the idea of the 3-4 because you have more opportunities to disguise your pass rush. You can push the O-Line with 4 players, but the O-Line has to guess where that 4th player (a linebacker) will come from. But you need to have a NT that can handle the situation.

That does seem to be crucial.

I do appreciate the value of a good 3-4 to bring pressure from a variety of places. Still, with the right personnel (e.g., the '07 NYG) disguising where the pressure comes from seems like less of an issue.

I think that the key to a good defense, much more than which base defense a team uses, is having good players who the coaches play to their strengths.

 

[cdumler7]

I am actually a big fan of the 3-4 defense. And honestly the Broncos have played for the most part a 3-4 hybrid system anyway most of this past year. Listening to the players talk about the difference many of them have said that they actually would say the Broncos played closer to a 3-4 defense than that of a 4-3 with how they were trying to use Von Miller. So I wouldn't worry too much about the switch.

So at this point let us just look at our roster. 3-4 DE's play almost more of a hybrid position of both DT and DE type duties. At this point we have 2 guys who play that type of role anyway in Malik Jackson and Wolfe. I actually think they fit the 3-4 better than the 4-3 in many ways. The one guy I wonder how well he would make the switch to a true 3-4 defense for the DL is that of Sly Williams. He fits the bill of a more 3-tech in the 4-3 type guy.

Linebacker wise this is where it could get interesting. Injuries this past year limited us a bit at this position but I would say we would absolutely need Nate Irving back if we made the switch. Again when I say switch we played more of a hybrid 3-4 where we still only needed 3 linebackers on the field with TJ Ward almost playing that 4th linebacker spot kind of thing. Nate Irving though is the type that can handle the middle better than anybody else we have. Once he got injured our run defense really struggled. He is probably the one linebacker we have that I think does pretty well working through traffic to find the ball carrier. I would say then next to him you would put Brandon Marshall. I would say he has a bit more strength than that of Trevathan to be able to handle the middle of the field. The issue with this type of defense though is I don't know how you get both Trevathan and Marshall on the field at the same time except in our Nickel defense where Irving comes off the field. Hard to have one of those talented players on the sideline.

The one position that I really do question though of what we would do is that of NT. Knighton is a guy that could play the position pretty well but he plays less than 50% of our snaps on defense at this point. WE would have to find another guy to substitute with him and I'm still not sure he is coming back. Most reports say the Broncos are going to let Knighton and Julius Thomas test the market while they Tag DT.

 

[randymon]

I am actually a big fan of the 3-4 defense. And honestly the Broncos have played for the most part a 3-4 hybrid system anyway most of this past year. Listening to the players talk about the difference many of them have said that they actually would say the Broncos played closer to a 3-4 defense than that of a 4-3 with how they were trying to use Von Miller. So I wouldn't worry too much about the switch.

So at this point let us just look at our roster. 3-4 DE's play almost more of a hybrid position of both DT and DE type duties. At this point we have 2 guys who play that type of role anyway in Malik Jackson and Wolfe. I actually think they fit the 3-4 better than the 4-3 in many ways. The one guy I wonder how well he would make the switch to a true 3-4 defense for the DL is that of Sly Williams. He fits the bill of a more 3-tech in the 4-3 type guy.

Linebacker wise this is where it could get interesting. Injuries this past year limited us a bit at this position but I would say we would absolutely need Nate Irving back if we made the switch. Again when I say switch we played more of a hybrid 3-4 where we still only needed 3 linebackers on the field with TJ Ward almost playing that 4th linebacker spot kind of thing. Nate Irving though is the type that can handle the middle better than anybody else we have. Once he got injured our run defense really struggled. He is probably the one linebacker we have that I think does pretty well working through traffic to find the ball carrier. I would say then next to him you would put Brandon Marshall. I would say he has a bit more strength than that of Trevathan to be able to handle the middle of the field. The issue with this type of defense though is I don't know how you get both Trevathan and Marshall on the field at the same time except in our Nickel defense where Irving comes off the field. Hard to have one of those talented players on the sideline.

The one position that I really do question though of what we would do is that of NT. Knighton is a guy that could play the position pretty well but he plays less than 50% of our snaps on defense at this point. WE would have to find another guy to substitute with him and I'm still not sure he is coming back. Most reports say the Broncos are going to let Knighton and Julius Thomas test the market while they Tag DT.

I actually think with a healthy Trev,Irving and Marshall and a DC that knows what he`s doing. those 3 could be a very formidable LB core.

 

[cdumler7]

So Broncos actually hired Dennison officially now and have Wade Phillips in for an interview this morning to be DC. Looks like for the Broncos we are now down to two choices for DC. The Broncos are still holding out hope at the chance for the guy from Cincinnati but they can't continue to wait forever. Thankfully a good chunk of the Defensive coaching staff has already been hired (which is a bit backward as usually you like your DC to have some say in the matter but all of the guys we have hired so far have worked with both Phillips and Joseph so it wouldn't be that big of a transition for them).

At this point on the Defensive side of the ball we have Herring for the Linebackers coach. He was the Linebackers coach in Dallas during DeMarcus Ware's best seasons in the NFL. He has a lot of experience at the position. They have also hired Bill Kollar to coach the Defensive Line. This is another seasoned veteran known for his no nonsense approach to coaching. He is also know for the fact that he actually wrestled a bear for money when he was a player. So at this point the two main positions on the defensive side is Secondary coach (players want Rod Woodson) and obviously Defensive Coordinator.

On the offensive side of the ball looks like we pretty much have the entire staff good to go.

 

[TDs3nOut]

LOL Always nice to have bear wrestling on the resume! I read a piece about Kollar and he seems like a very good hire.

Also read that about Chris Harris lobbying for Woodson as DB Coach. That seems appealing to me.

It is kind of backward to have to get defensive assistants before getting a DC. Hope that doesn't present problems. Can't say I'm too enthused by the prospect of Phillips getting that job, but he does have a lot of experience and he has made a living in the league for a long time, so I guess he must be at least somewhat capable.

 

[cdumler7]

LOL Always nice to have bear wrestling on the resume! I read a piece about Kollar and he seems like a very good hire.

Also read that about Chris Harris lobbying for Woodson as DB Coach. That seems appealing to me.

It is kind of backward to have to get defensive assistants before getting a DC. Hope that doesn't present problems. Can't say I'm too enthused by the prospect of Phillips getting that job, but he does have a lot of experience and he has made a living in the league for a long time, so I guess he must be at least somewhat capable.

I am a little torn on the Phillips as DC. I will say though he would be walking into the most talented group he has ever coached and he has taken a lot worse talent to top-5 defenses on a pretty regular basis. I just though like my DC to have a bit more fire than he does but maybe Kubiak has enough for the both of them.

Woodson I think would be a great choice. The players seem to really respect him quite a bit and the guy played both the safety and corner position so experience wise he would be pretty set in how to coach those young guys up. Plus I do think young players really get excited at the opportunity to learn under a guy they grew up watching.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Someone just posted that Washington hired Perry Fewell as its DC. I think that might mean the end of the Broncos' hopes to get Vance Joseph, since I read that the only way the Bengals would let him go is if they could land Fewell. Guess it's Wade.

 

[DownSetHutch]

I would be okay with Wade Philips as DC, but I agree with you CD about wanting to have a DC who can rally the troops every game. But as long as he is aggressive and creative scheme-wise I'll be OK with it. Like you said, Kubiak may have enough fire to spread to the whole team. We definitely need that coming from someone in the coaching staff.

As for Rod Woodson, I would be ecstatic if we got him as our DBs coach. That would be a slam dunk.

 

[cdumler7]

It definitely is looking more and more like Wade Phillips will be the guy. I guess in the last couple of days he added a bunch of Bronco players on Twitter. Don't want to read too much into that but we shall see.

Here is a great article if you have some time to read up on what Phillips does with his defense... The Wade Phillips 3-4 defense - Mile High Report

If you don't want to read it essentially Phillips has no problem switching up how he runs his defense to better take advantage of the players that he has. Such as with the Cowboys obviously DeMarcus Ware was the best player on that defense so he designed the 3-4 defense around the ability to get Ware in the best possible match up to make a play. In Houston though JJ Watt was his best player so all of a sudden he designed a 3-4 defense in which his DE was moved all around to get the best match up.

This is probably the biggest issue I had with Del Rio is he has a defense in mind that he wants to run from day 1. He expects his players to adapt to his system instead of adapting the system to the players. So this means that at times some of the players are not playing to their greatest strengths. A great example is that of Talib this past year. He is a press corner all the way. Most of the year though he played off-man or off-zone. Heck in our playoff loss this year he was matched up with Hilton (which again is another showing of him not putting the best situation forward as Harris had a better skill set to match up with Hilton's ability as Talib can struggle with the quicker WR's in the NFL). He in that situation with Hilton many of times was 10 yards off the LOS giving Hilton the momentum of when he got to where Talib was all he had to do was cut one way or the other and he already had a step on him. So this is one area I think we will really appreciate Phillips leading this defense in I don't think we will see that as much. Throw in Phillips is known as a bit more aggressive in his desire to call blitzes. He is not one that very often does the 3-man rush that we have seen from the Broncos in those 3rd and very long situations.

 

[WalkerBoh]

So, do we try hard to keep Knighton? Dip into the FA pool and maybe lure in guy like a Dan Williams? Or do we try to draft someone like Goldman from FSU or Shelton from Washington?

 

[cdumler7]

So, do we try hard to keep Knighton? Dip into the FA pool and maybe lure in guy like a Dan Williams? Or do we try to draft someone like Goldman from FSU or Shelton from Washington?

That will be a major question heading into this off season. My guess is the team will not want to leave such an important position as the NT in a 3-4 defense to that of a rookie. It is just too important of a position to have a player that most likely will need some time to develop. So my guess is the Broncos either resign Knighton or get one of Dan Williams, BJ Raji, or maybe even try to get Damon Harrison from the Jets even though he is a restricted FA (depends on the tender they put on him). I would then think they go to the draft in the early to mid rounds and get another guy to develop behind whoever they sign. Throw in most NT's only play about 50% of the snaps throughout the season anyway so you need a decent back up.

Now if Shelton actually stood a chance of getting to us in the draft then I would think he has to be the choice as he offers great size but also great pass rush ability even from the middle. I don't think he makes it out of the top-15 though. Carl Davis is a name to keep an eye on for the Broncos. He is a 3rd round prospect that the Broncos actually watched very closely over the last couple of weeks. He is a bit undersized for the NT position in a 3-4 but at the same time Phillips has actually preferred having a little more of an undersized NT in his 3-4 for some reason. Terry Williams of East Carolina is a very under the radar guy. He is 350 lbs but actually has very good foot speed to make plays in the backfield. Jordan Phillips of Oklahoma would be a good candidate as he still has a ton of room to grow. The only thing with him is I don't think he would get a ton of playing time day 1 like the other two I mentioned.

 

[DownSetHutch]

I just read on ESPN that "sources" are confirming that Wade is our new DC. I'm starting to warm up to the idea of him as our DC. He's not HC material IMO, but not everybody is.

We just need Rod Woodson to get on board as the DBs coach now.

 

[Orange Crush77]

Good stuff

 

[WalkerBoh]

Funny. Looking on other message boards and such, the vast majority of posters are already writing off the Broncos. The majority feel Denver has a losing combination that will go 8-8 next season.

 

[Broncosr0k]

Funny. Looking on other message boards and such, the vast majority of posters are already writing off the Broncos. The majority feel Denver has a losing combination that will go 8-8 next season.

Immediately after Fox went his own way a seahawks fan said we will be competing with the raiders for a top 5 draft pick for the next few years. I guess John Fox, Del Rio, and Gase are the greatest coaches in NFL history.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Immediately after Fox went his own way a seahawks fan said we will be competing with the raiders for a top 5 draft pick for the next few years. I guess John Fox, Del Rio, and Gase are the greatest coaches in NFL history.

Two different ways to look at: One, yes they didn't have as much success in Houston as they probably should have. But then, on the other side of the coin there's the fact they did all that with Matt Schaub at QB.