The Broncos have had a weakness at run defense for a while now and with Bunkley leaving it will be hard to imagine it will get much better. They hope that Peyton Manning will get them far enough ahead that the pass rush will take over. The pass rush is one of the best in the league lead by Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller (when he is playing DE on passing downs). Ayers had 6 sacks last season if you count the playoffs which is rather impressive for him.
Dumervil and Ayers are the starters at defensive end. Dumervil is one of the best pass rushers in the league, he had 9.5 sacks last season even though he was hurt in the beginning of the year. He will be on fire next season and I predict 14 sacks for him. Ayers is a run stopper although he showed some pass rush ability late in the season. He is a solid starter and I doubt anyone will take over his spot this season. Jason Hunter was the primary backup last season and that should continue, he is solid against the run and has some pass rush abilities. Malik Jackson was drafted for his untapped potential. He can rush the passer, but I don't expect him to make a splash this year or get much playing time.
At defensive tackle the Broncos could be in dismay. When your starters could be Derek Wolfe and Ben Garland there is something wrong. Elway missed out on premiere DT's last season and settled for Wolfe. Wolfe is decent, but I don't expect him to amount for much. Garland was in the AIr Force for the last couple of years and this will be his first in the NFL. Ty Warren hasn't played in 2 full years and I think he will be cut early in training camp because of the amount of rust he has acquired. The Bronco signed Justin Bannan who was cut last season. He is old, but should do well in the 4-3. The underdog to make the team is 300 pound Sylvester Silga.
No comments:
Post a Comment