CHUBB, MILLER THRIVE ON BRONCOS DEFENSE
Most NFL trends in August, big-picture, aren’t worth their weight in tin. Then again, maybe the sound and fury from the Broncos’ early Monday night buffeting proffers more meat on the bone than your typical preseason turkey leg.
Because this bite just might be the juiciest: The Fighting Fangios haven’t been scored upon in the first quarter of their first three preseason contests — and the last time a Denver squad after three exhibitions kept a clean sheet during the first period, when the upper third of the roster is still doing most of the heavy lifting, you’d have to go back to August 2014, back to a young Von Miller and an aging DeMarcus Ware.
Then: After three preseason games, the Broncos were winning the first quarter by a combined margin of 13-0.
Now: After three preseason games, the Broncos are winning the first quarter by a combined margin of 13-0.
Then: The Broncos posted a 12-4 regular season mark and snatched an AFC West division title.
Now: Well …
“As a grown man, you’ve just got to know that you’ve got to stay humble
and you’ve got to stay level-headed,” offered outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, Miller’s latest partner in pocket-puncturing. Chubb’s first-half heroics Monday included a sack, three tackles and a forced fumble against San Francisco in the Broncos’ preseason home opener.
“Because if you start thinking that you’re hot (expletive), that’s when bad stuff starts to happen to you. So as a defense, I’ve always felt we have that same mindset.”
Fair enough, although when the bad stuff happens, it’s almost never been on the starters’ collective defensive tab. On Monday, coach Vic Fangio’s No. 1 D held the Niners to 32 yards on 15 plays.
Over four possessions, San Francisco managed only two first downs, punting three times and getting picked off on its opening drive via secondyear cornerback Isaac Yiadom, a gift from a panicked Jimmy Garoppolo, who’d tossed a wounded duck as a hungry Chubb closed in hot pursuit.
“The other team sees you having fun and you’re making plays and having caused a turnover, those are demoralizing feelings, going back to the sidelines,” safety Justin Simmons observed. “And that’s stuff that we can build on. Not everything was perfect in the first half, especially when (the defense was) in there, but we’ll build off that.”
Start stringing together enough goose eggs and before long, you’re building a beautiful orange wall. During the first quarter this month, Broncos opponents have been averaging 26.3 net yards and 1.7 first downs while converting on just one of nine thirddown attempts.
“We don’t have to be perfect yet,” Simmons said. “Just by Week 1 in Oakland.”
Although if this is what imperfection tastes like, mark us down for seconds.
“I feel like we have the tools to be a great defense, but that takes a lot of work,” said nose tackle Shelby Harris, who deflected two passes in the first half, leaping high to swat one Garoppolo throw to the turf with his right hand, Mutombo-style. “And we want to put in a whole bunch of work in the next (few preseason games) and the whole season just to reach our ceiling.
“You can get excited about it, but you know, with expectations and all that potential, you’ve got to work for it.”
Monday looked way more like fun than work early on, especially when Harris chased a 49ers screen all the way to the right boundary, squirting past the San Francisco blockers and wrestling tailback Matt Breida to the ground for no gain, forcing the visitors into a 3rd-and16 from the Niners’ 6-yard line.
“The more fun you have,” Harris said, “the better you play.” Laurels now.
Rest later. “Coach Fangio,” Chubb laughed, “won’t let us have that we’re-better-than-anybody mindset.”