The Broncos Defense (or lack thereof)

     This season, for the most part, has shown us that the Enver Broncos defensive unit has gone M.I.A.  Even though I've loved the majority of Josh McDaniels draft picks, I've been scared that we've been ignoring the front seven, namely the D-Line, and making a monumental mistake in the process.  I'm fully aware that every team in the league needs defensive, veteran presense, team leading players, but when does it get to the point of excess.  The Band-Aids that McD has put on this Bronco defense are starting to wear off with age.  We are an overall slow, weak, worn down defense, and a major overhaul is desperately needed.  This is my opinion on the state of the Enver Broncos missing D.

Here are the defensive players that I feel are set in stone, to have a home with the Broncos going forward:
DE: Kevin Vickerson, Marcus Thomas, Justin Bannan
NT: Nobody
OLB/DE: Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, Jason Hunter, Mario Haggan
ILB: Joe Mays, Mario Haggan
CB: Perrish Cox, Syd’Quan Thompson, Cassius Vaughn 

S: David Bruton (possibly Hill in a reserve role, or Champ)

Wow, that is a scary list to behold. 

I’m torn on DJ Williams. He plays well at times, but he cannot, for the life of him, fight off blocks. That is not a good trait for a 3-4 ILB to have, therefore, I can’t say he’s a perfect fit.  IMO, DJ is better suited as a sideline to sideline, weakside backer, in the 4-3.  I could be wrong, but I saw him struggle mightily when engaged with blockers last night, and he was pushed around like a blocking sled.  The fact that he's below average to downright crappy in coverage, adds to my case, and that is truly surprising to me, given DJ's physical attributes

Wesley Woodyard is way too small/weak to be a 3-4 ILB. On the other hand, he’s great in the community and the locker room. I’m torn on him as well.  He would be a perfect Nickle LB, given his size/speed, but like DJ, he's more of a sideline to sideline tackler.  My friend is a Kentucky fan, and he agrees that Wood is best suited for a 4-3.  The guy is a monster Special Teamer though, and that's where I become torn.

Dawk, Goodman, Hill, and Champ, are all 32 or older. That alone is self explanatory. We can’t count on them as a sure thing, going forward. Besides that, Champ seems nonchalant at times, and it doesn’t seem to me like he wants to be here.  He doesn't seem too upset at losing.  When his contract fell off the table, his dominating will went with it.  I love Champ, Goodie, and B Dawk, and I greatly appreciate their contributions to this team.  Now, it's arrived at the point (which we all knew it would), in which some of these vet DB's are on their last, gimpy leg.  Reinforcements are desperately needed, and I'd be thrilled with Peterson, Amukamara, Barron, or Harris. 

I wouldn't be mad if all those vets stuck with our team and played reserve roles, but roster spots are needed, and I'd bet that most of those guy's play will deteriorate (besides Champ) significantly by next year anyway.  It's not like they're doing a whole lot now.  Last but not least (Ok, least), Nate Jones has no value at all to this team, unless you count rushing the passer.  After seeing all of his other negatives, I don't count that as a redeming factor.  On a side note, if Champ gets his mojo back, and will move to S, I say we keep him for eternity, but it's a huge IF that he'll even be retained by the front office. 

Ryan "the Face Grabber" McBean & Ronald "I fell off the freaking map / wasn't really on the map to begin with" Fields, just flat out stink, nuff said. Jamal Williams could hang around for another year and help coach up a rookie, but it would be no surprise to me at all if he didn’t, or regressed into nothing even if he did. Once again, it's a case of a player that can’t be counted on.

Darcel Mc"Ice"Bath gets hurt every single time he plays, it seems, and I fear he's one of those hopelessly fragile players. He absolutely cannot be counted on, as his body hasn't been able to withstand NFL punishment.  People who are counting on this guy (and I agree that the kid has some serious skill) are holding onto a hope that his injury problems are behind him.  Seeing how he got hurt, AGAIN last night, only confirms my logic even more.  McBath is a great young Special Teamer, I'll give him that, but at this point, we can't call him much else.  I'm still pissed at the Patriots for snagging Josh Barrett from our grasp.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us with too many holes to fix in one offseason, and I blame most of this on McX, as they have largely ignored the front seven in the draft, and missed on some key secondary additions (Alphonso Smith, possibly Darcel McBath). Don’t get me wrong, the offense is a mess too, namely the O-Line, but it’s filled with young, potential talent. If we don’t come out of this draft/FA period, with a solid NT, DE, S, CB, and ILB, we are sure to see similar results, record wise, to this year.  Go Broncos, and I hope this clears up the myth that I see no fault in the Defense.  It is the #1 priority, over Kyle Orton and Tim tebow.  That doesn't mean that I have to be sold on Kyle, and I believe that he can, and will, be upgraded in the near future.