One of the reasons the Broncos were unable to defend their Super Bowl title last season was their run defense.
They had the league’s No. 4 overall defense and ranked first against the pass, but they were 28th in rushing yards allowed per game and tied for 18th with 4.3 yards allowed per carry. In the last 10 games, opponents averaged 141 rushing yards per game against the Broncos.
After falling to 9-7 and missing the playoffs, the Broncos are trying to shore up their run defense by getting bigger along the defensive line.
There’s a simple method for doing that.
“(I) just ate a lot more,” defensive end Jared Crick told ESPN.com. “Obviously, I ate the same things, ate healthy, but instead of trying to eat four times a day, turning it into six or seven times a day. Just smaller portions, but more times … There’s no real secret as far as training-wise. You just have to train hard and eat right, and eat a lot.”
The Broncos also added burly defensive linemen Zach Kerr (334 pounds) and Domata Peko (325 pounds) in free agency.
Kerr, who spent the first three years of his career in Indianapolis, likes the culture in Denver.
“The most intense defense that I’ve been around. I think it’s fun. I think this might be the first place — obviously, I’ve only been two places — but I’ve seen where the DBs are the nucleus of the defense. It’s exciting to see the skinny guys get after us sometimes.”
It’s good that the defensive backs are getting in the face of the unit that was the weak link of the Denver defense last season, as long as they don’t take the big guys’ food.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
