September 16, 2008 11:07 PM

Broncos Inbox for Sept. 17

Welcome, the Broncos Inbox is open and leading off a busy week is a three-pack that spoke for at least three times that on the topic, but first three in get the nod to open things up . . .

Q: I haven't totaled it up, but it appeared to me that a fair number of the yards the Broncos gave up in the air came against nickel back Karl Paymah. I know it's unfair to single out him when pressure on the quarterback was nonexistent for most the game, but nevertheless, it seemed to me that rookie Jack Williams has a good instinct for the ball in preseason. How far away do you feel he is from the nickel position?

A: From a football perspective Paymah is in a difficult spot. Because usually an offense, when looking at a nickel package from a defense will look hard at going toward the slot corner, who is usually the fifth defensive back added to the mix.

And for most teams that's also the third corner on the depth chart. So a lot of teams move one of their top two receivers into the slot and look for that match-up.

However, the Broncos move Dre' Bly down inside when the go to the nickel, so given a choice of attacking Champ Bailey on the outside to the quarterback's right or Bly down in the slot or Paymah on the other sideline, most quarterbacks are going to go Paymah's way without much thought.

That means he's challenged more, especially when considered in terms of percentage of plays on the field, and it also means it's going to be more noticeable when he doesn't win his battles.

At 6-feet tall and about 200 pounds Paymah is still one of the biggest corners in the league and he also timed as one of the fastest when he came out in the 2005 draft. Some teams put him at 4.32, 4.34 in the 40 for his pre-draft workouts, which is elite speed for a 200-pound guy.

It also makes him for the coveted scouting triangle numbers - height, weight, speed - a good prospect for one of the outside spots. When he does have trouble it is because he also, despite that speed, does not have the flexibility in his hips that other players do.

As a result he can play a little slower than his workout numbers because he doesn't often come out of his backpedal as smoothly as some others players so at times he then has to use his hands more to try to maintain his position relative to the receiver.

That can bring the penalty flag from time to time, especially now when little or no contact is allowed after five yards.

Most personnel guys around the league also feel Paymah doesn't always track the ball efficiently in coverage either. That's a key component for a corner since anyone who has tried to run after a fly ball in baseball/softball/etc... knows it can just be more difficult for some people to run full speed, looking back over the nearest shoulder to the ball with their eyes up to the sky.

Some people do it without much trouble, for others it can be far more difficult. It's also something scouts look at when evaluating receivers as well because some simply track the ball, and get themselves in position to make a play in full stride, better than others.

That said, opinions have varied over the years among scouts I've talked to and just from being around a lot of elite cornerbacks in my time covering the league, as far as how much a player can improve the flexibility in his hips to repair some of that.

Some guys believe an intense stretching regimen, such as yoga or some other program, can help. Others believe there's only so much a guy can do and if that wasn't the case, everybody who could run a 4.3 or 4.4 would be an elite corner and that is certainly not the case.

As far as Williams, he will always be a consideration to play, that's how Mike Shanahan coaches. When a guy shows he's ready in practice, he plays in games.

For Williams, because of his size - 5-9, 186 pounds - and speed - he clocked a 4.43 on the electronic clock in the 40 at the combine last February, there are some who believe he would function better early in his career as the nickel corner.

The difficult thing for a younger player in there is things happen far more quickly inside, the routes are shorter, the receivers really quick in a short area so a player needs quality instincts and big-time flexibility in his hips to make the changes of direction required to make plays.

Darrent Williams was able to do it in his rookie season, but he was physical and had the instincts in traffic of a top-end punt returner as well as plenty of quickness to go with 4.3 speed. What Darrent also had, even as a young player, was unshakable confidence no matter what happened and that likely served him best at a position that requires it.

Jack Williams had a 41-inch vertical jump in his combine workout and that is always an indication of explosiveness, so he obviously has the potential to play down inside. If the Broncos wanted to continue to play Bly in the slot in the nickel and play Williams at the other outside spot, Williams would have to show he has what scouts call the long speed to stay with the faster receivers that line up outside.

Williams already has a spot in a look the Broncos showed in the preseason, but haven't played in the regular season yet - a base 4-3-4 look that includes three cornerbacks and one safety in the secondary.

So certainly he's an option in the nickel and he will appear when the Broncos believe he's ready, which could be sooner rather than later if Paymah doesn't rebound at least some.

The Broncos dealt Foxworth because they didn't feel he made enough plays, especially around the ball, compared to the number of snaps he played. They felt Bly was better inside than he was and that Paymah could hold up as well outside.

Foxworth was also going to be a free agent at season's end and he was not going to re-sign in Denver - or likely wasn't - so to get a draft pick for him now was something the team was looking to do.

Williams also played well enough in the preseason that the Broncos believed he would be ready to play when they put him on the field.

Robert Ferrau in Yorktown, Va., leads another three-pack on other parts of the defense . . .

Q: What about the use of defenders who hover around the line of scrimmage, neither blitzing nor dropping back in coverage? I felt in the San Diego game (Defensive coordinator Bob) Slowik was repeatedly wasting guys in no-man's land in anticipation of screens or draws.

A: Defensively, Mike Shanahan has put the greatest importance this season on stopping opposing rushing attacks. That was the reason Jim Bates was set to lose his play-calling duties after just one season.

The Broncos were simply bad against the run last season, especially over the first month, and never recovered. They struggled some in this year's opener in Oakland, but Darren McFadden showed this past weekend against the Chiefs he's going to be a problem for a lot of teams.

They were better against the Chargers Sunday, but San Diego was missing two starters in the offensive line and LaDainian Tomlinson came in with a foot injury and didn't play much of the game.

So, the jury's still out in many ways there, but it is still the Broncos' No. 1 priority in the defensive meeting room and you are going to see more players around the line of scrimmage because of it. Shanahan was just not happy with the seven-man fronts the team opened with last season or with how Bates' two-gap system worked up front.

He likes the more liberal use of the eight-man fronts by Slowik as well as the simplicity of a one-gap system for players. He feels it allows them to react to the ball more quickly and play with less hesitation as well as fewer assignment errors.

The chief issue right now is probably a pass rush. Sack totals vary from quality defenses each year, but those quality defenses all put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Broncos have not reached a level of consistency in that regard and at times have gone through stretches in the first two games where those quarterbacks have gotten very comfortable in the pocket.

The Broncos own offense could change the defensive dynamic, though. Much like the Broncos in 1997, their offense put so much pressure on opposing teams, they took more chances against the Denver defense so the Broncos were able to overcome some of their deficiencies by getting some turnovers and by usually playing with the lead.

This year's Broncos offense has already shown it's going to force the issue and if it can keep up something close to the current pace, the defense will be able to play with a little more cushion to work with, which will make a difference in how offenses approach down-and-distance situations.

Most teams may just chuck the run game because they get impatient, so the Broncos would have the advantage of rushing with little regard for a rushing attack. That's a big deal.

It's also what the Rams did in 2000 when their record-setting offense pulled the defense along in its wake.

Also it's much like when the Colts won the Super Bowl with the almost unheard of statistic of finishing the regular season last in the league in run defense. They were far better against the run in the postseason that year, but their offense set the tone and the defense was able, playing with the lead most of the time, to survive.

As far as Moss he's caught in the requirements of the current scheme right now. The Broncos play what they call a strong end and a weak end. The strong, or strong side, end plays across from the tight end and needs to be a power player against the run.

That's not Moss' game. He's too light right for that and doesn't play with enough leverage and power to make that happen.

The weak, or weak-side, end is primarily the rusher. And Elvis Dumervil makes the most plays of anyone in the Broncos defensive front, so they are not going to be inclined to take him off the field very often without a compelling reason to do so.

He gets a lot of the sacks the defense has, forces plenty of the fumbles and when a Broncos defender forces a quarterback to make a mistake it's usually Dumervil who did it.

So Moss isn't going to take plays from him either.

And on third down, when you would usually play a pass rusher for some situational work, the Broncos are playing a three-man line. That puts Dumervil at one of the end spots and usually Ebenezer Ekuban at the other end spot because the Broncos believe the strong-side end has to rush well enough against the pass to get there from time to time, but also be able to hold up against what will be a double team if the offense chooses to run the ball against that front.

That leaves Moss as the odd man out and he's going to be for a little bit, unless the Broncos add some wrinkles in their scheme that include standing him up as a rusher as they did early last season.

So he could be, without the benefit of playing well enough during the week to force the coaches to find a spot for him on Sunday, on the sideline for a little while.

Dennis Smythe leads a double dip looking at special teams play . . .

Q: What are you hearing about the ongoing problem in covering kickoffs and punts? It looks like the same problems that has been haunting (the Broncos) for the last few years. It seems like (the Broncos) don't have a wedge buster and the art of tackling has never been taught to these players.

A: Talk to special teams coaches and you always hear two words: Gap control.

Stay in your lane, don't get caught drifting because little mistakes make big gaps in kick coverage because you have 10 players covering the width of the field and it doesn't take much to get a guy free with that much of a head start once they have the ball.

The Broncos have just made mistakes. O'Brien's scheme is proven over the years with several teams, but when mistakes come it's usually because in the salary cap era, most teams can no longer keep three or four players as simply special teams players.

Players, for the most part, have to be able to at least contribute as depth players at other positions as well as being good at special teams. So often teams no longer have that one or two guys who are special teams anchors.

It's more of a changing cast from year to year with special teams coaches trying to keep the best collection they can get for what they need while the other position coaches get what they need on the depth chart as well and the personnel people can keep the cap where they would like it.

Tough balance and why, I believe, we all see more explosive returns on a week-to-week basis around the league now.

For the Broncos right now it's that new cast has made a couple mistakes and the returners have been good enough - Darren Sproles is one of the most under-rated guys in the league - to take advantage of it.

Anthony Barnett from Lawrence, Kan., took a peak at the offense. . .

Q: Regarding the rushing attack, based on what you have seen or heard do you think that Ryan Torain can be the kind of impact rookie that Eddie Royal has turned out to be when Torain returns to to the active roster?

A: He showed the kind of instincts in traffic and the athleticism to make the move once he saw the opening, to make me believe he has the skills to be a No. 1 back.

The question now, as it was when he entered the draft, is health. Can he stay healthy at a high impact position to stay on the field?

Torain missed plenty of his senior season - he finished just five games -- at Arizona State after foot surgery. He did average at least five yards a carry in his two years with the Sun Devils after transferring from Butler Community College, including 1,229 yards rushing in '06 to go with 5.5 yards per carry.

But some guys just get injured more than others, it's always been that way and sometimes there is just no preventing it no matter what happens. His elbow injury, however, was just bad luck, he got flipped in traffic and put his arm out to break his fall.

But the fact the Broncos gave him a roster spot instead of putting him on injured reserve is all you need to know about what they think of him. He is a quality size-speed option and if he can stay healthy he will help an offense that is already moving the ball well.

Some teams didn't like his speed (he ran a 4.71 40 on the electronic clock at the combine, but was still recovering from his foot surgery) in pre-draft workouts. Other teams clocked in him in the 4.5s at his on-campus workout, and he vision in traffic and ability to cut when he's at or near his top-end speed, means he fits the Broncos mold.

At 225 pounds or so, the Broncos believe he could be the closest thing they have to an every-down back.

He'll certainly play in the second half of the season and they'll keep adding carries as he shows he's ready for them. Shanahan sees him as a starter.

And finally Brad Helton in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.,

Q: Obviously converting to a 3-4 defense would be a painful process for the Broncos, and ill advised given the maturity of their offense. However, do you think that if Shanahan had it to do over again he would have converted to a 3-4 scheme by now? Do you know which scheme he considers as the greater challenge? Do you know if they have ever seriously entertained converting to a 3-4 in recent years?

A: He has said he likes the 4-3 scheme Slowik is running now in philosophy and that's why they went back to it this season after one season under Bates.

They do play a three-man front at times - a 3-2-6 package - on passing downs and have played three-man fronts in some other situations under Larry Coyer as well.

A switch to a 3-4 has been discussed a little from time to time - the most in recent years when Coyer was running the defense -- but it would take at least two drafts, with a big commitment in each, to even get to a point where you could play one full time and not get pushed around.

The hardest guy to find is the nose tackle. Not many around and it's just difficult to find a guy who can play with that kind of power and still have the durability to hold up against the constant double-teaming on the inside.

There are a lot of undersized rushers coming out of college these days, so finding those outside players isn't as difficult. But it's a commitment that takes a lot of time to get the roster adjusted.

That's why a lot of the time the 3-4 teams remain 3-4 teams even after coaching changes. It becomes part of the job, even when the new guy takes over.

That's it and thanks.

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