September 30, 2008 10:18 PM

Broncos Inbox for Oct. 1

Welcome, the Broncos Inbox is open and leading off with a look at the defensive personnel is . . .

Brent Oman in Highlands Ranch, who spoke for at least 20 or so folks who asked this week . . .

Q: How long before the Broncos make a change at middle linebacker? Nate Webster has been almost invisible this season -- other than the fumble return (for a TD). For a position that should be involved in most plays, he's been conspicuous in his absence. The only time he's visible is when he's over-running plays, filling the wrong hole, or chasing a tight end or running back downfield after a pass reception. Could Spencer Larsen or Niko Koutouvides be any worse? Nate has been around long enough for coaches to know that what you see is what you're going to get.

A: Also in some of the Webster questions were add-ons about the team's ability to improve the pass rush as it goes along and any potential for some trades.

Right off the top it has to be noted the coaches' video review has Webster leading the team in tackles, being a couple ahead of D.J. Williams and, in their minds, he won the job in training camp.

Whether folks watching the game at home would agree with that or not, Webster is still the official leader. He has over-run some plays in his zeal to make something happen - that is the one thing opposing offensive coordinators do point to at times when looking at his game - but he has not been alone, especially in Kansas City when Larry Johnson gained a significant amount of yardage coming out of the back side of the play after the front side - or "play" side - was bottled up.

The Broncos had certainly signed Koutouvides with the intention of playing him at middle linebacker and would have if he would have done a little more in the preseason. Even Koutouvides admitted that he did fine when it came to assignment football, but that he felt like he didn't "make enough plays'' to tip things his way.

Webster won the job with his best offseason in quite some time with efforts the Broncos likely didn't expect when last season ended.

But Koutouvides would be put into the lineup if Webster graded out poorly enough at some point for the coaches to believe they needed to make a change. And if they are thinking anything close to that right now, they have not conveyed that to any of the players at the moment.

Also, certainly if Webster got hurt Koutouvides would be in the lineup.

But right now they have big picture problems on defense that require their attention rather than simply tinkering with the depth chart in one or two places - that's just smoothing a rough edge or two to replace a player here and there.

They are not consistently winning the line of scrimmage from the start of a game to the finish. When the run defense has been OK, they still haven't rushed the passer with any consistent effectiveness.

That has to change. Elvis Dumervil doesn't have a recorded sack - he caused the trouble on a team sack awarded earlier this season - and Jarvis Moss is still too prone to chop-stepping his feet in the pass rush instead of getting right up the field when he is given an opportunity to play.

The Broncos could blitz more, but the guys added in the pass rush then have to get there. It's not enough just to be added to the mix, they need plays to be made, passes to be knocked down or at least force quarterbacks to pull the ball down and have to move around some so they can get some sacks on the reset.

The most troubling thing about the loss in Kansas City for the Broncos defense was the fact the Chiefs offense had done so little before that game. They had scored four touchdowns on offense in 35 possessions before that game and they then scored three touchdowns on the Broncos.

And while one of those touchdowns came after a Broncos fumble - the drive covered all of two yards - Kansas City had an offense that had done so little in three previous games do so much against the Broncos.

The Broncos have said it was a bad day filled with bad field position, but there are far better offenses remaining on the Broncos schedule, starting this week with the Buccaneers.

Not sure it wouldn't be worth their while to at least try a little bigger front on early downs. That would mean taking Dumervil out and perhaps playing Ebenezer Ekuban at one end to go with John Engelberger or Kenny Peterson at the other end spot, but Dumervil may have greater impact overall with a little more split duty since he wouldn't be taking such a pounding on run plays.

He may not like that because he's such a competitor, but it may be worth a look if the Broncos can't hold opposing running attacks any better than they did Sunday.

As far as trades before the mid-October deadline, not much of significance usually happens during the season in the NFL. Because at that point most teams still believe they're in the hunt for something, or a coach is trying to keep his job if things haven't gone great, so getting an impact player outside of the offseason is rare.

Especially pass rushers. If you are an impact pass rusher, you're on somebody's roster. And if you are a player who even hints he might someday be an impact pass rusher, you're also already on somebody's roster.

In short those are high-demand players, who are difficult to find. So there isn't any just roaming around without a roster spot right now.

So the Broncos are going to have to dig themselves out with what they have for the most part.

Steve Cho took it a step further and tossed in . . .

Q: Given the difficulties the broncos have with the defensive line and the middle linebacker position, what do you think of running a 5-2-4. Clog the lanes and give Dewayne Robertson, Marcus Thomas, and Elvis Dumervil better matchups. Put Kenny Peterson at nose tackle and let Robertson and Thomas go one-on-one with guards. I think they would both be wrecking balls in the interior. Let the speedy D.J. Williams and Boss Bailey roam freely behind a bulkier line. It's riskier, but it addresses the lack of individual size and pass-rushing ability in both the defensive line and linebacker positions, while freeing up the above-mentioned playmakers.

A: That would be a little of the old school there. That's the Eagle defense, a look usually credited to Hall of Fame coach Earle (Greasy) Neale, who used it in the 40s to slow the T-formation offenses that were giving people problems at the time.

It was also regarded as the first four-person secondary in the league's history. In the traditional Eagle defense, both the linebackers played along the line of scrimmage as well.

And for a time it worked fine, but in the 50s another Hall of Fame coach, Paul Brown, pushed his wide receivers wide and kept the passing game pointed toward the sidelines or simply pounded Marion Motley at the middle of it with another innovation of the time - the draw play.

Without a middle linebacker, it was tough to deal with a player like Motley once he cleared the line of scrimmage.

The Broncos already play a five-man front in short-yardage situations, but the general feeling around the league now is there is far too much speed on the field at tight end, wide receiver and running back to make it work in other down-and-distance situations.

Also if the offense opened up the formation with smaller receivers added to the mix, it would have faster people in open space.

I've always contended that some elements of a Winged T offense - especially some of the inside runs - would five some modern defenses some problems, but unless it makes a comeback overall the five-man line probably won't get more use.

A.P. Crisafi added . . .

Q: My question is about the pass coverage. I think we can all agree that the pass rush is just inadequate, but how about the secondary? In your opinion, is it the play calling or the personnel that is the problem? I wonder if they are giving the coverage away by how they line up. The receivers and backs have been finding open zones way too easily. What percentage are the Broncos playing zone vs. man-to-man? And a second question, have they given any thought to converting Jarvis Moss to a linebacker, kind of like Simon Fletcher? Is he the kind of player that can drop into a zone and cover or blitz?

A: The truth is about secondary play is, the way the rules are written now outside of the 5-yard chuck zone, no coverage plan has much of a chance if the quarterback can stand there and wait.

Because without the ability to put a hand on the receiver, a defensive back cannot maintain a lockdown position for that long.

It is why there are plenty of general managers who will argue loudly no team should spend a pile of money on cornerbacks in free agency. The Broncos have because Mike Shanahan does not adhere to that philosophy.

But as an offensive coach Shanahan will also always say that a quality quarterback with enough time to throw can't really be defended the way the game is now. Now, if they let the guys play bump and run all the way down the field as they did in years gone by, that changes things.

So it all goes back to the pass rush. Either sack the guy or at least make him repeatedly uncomfortable. Especially in a zone look. The so-called Tampa-2 zone isn't complicated to play, but more teams don't play it because it requires a consistently powerful pass rush out of a four-man line the majority of the time.

So a dominant tackle and a dominant end are needed to make it work the best.

Sometimes the Broncos will appear to be in zone because the corners are playing off, but Bob Slowik has called that a "vision technique'' because it allows a veteran corner like Champ Bailey to face the quarterback a little longer - to read his eyes and perhaps get an early jump on a pass headed elsewhere -- as the receiver takes a few strides to come off the line of scrimmage.

It's a man defense with just a different alignment.

They do play both zone and man with some regularity, but traditionally over the years Slowik has played man far more often if he has the corners to do it.

As far as moving Moss to a linebacker position. That would be difficult because he's already playing at a rush end position, which would be roughly what he would do as an outside linebacker if the team played him that way in their 3-4 look.

Not sure he has the flexibility in his hips to drop out and play in pass coverage. I think right now they are hopeful he can continue to concentrate on a pass-rush role and continue to work on the things he needs to do there to be successful, especially developing more of a counter when tackles take away the outside shoulder from him.

Clay also wondered . . .

Q: Isn't Dewayne (Robertson) playing an awful lot? I thought (the Broncos) were going to try to limit his snaps.

A: He may be limited more now that he sat out the Kansas City game after missing some practice time last week because of soreness in his knee.

The Broncos were expecting him to practice this week and were expecting him to play against the Buccaneers Sunday. But certainly with his history of knee troubles and the Broncos' policy that a player usually has to practice much of the time to play, they may end up limiting his game snaps more as the weeks go by.

However, if he practices each day without too much trouble, I would expect they play him as much as they can. In the end they want to get to the postseason and they'll worry about contract issues later.

And finally Andy Jackson in Cedar Falls, Iowa, asked . . .

Q: I suspect the Kansas City game brought people back down to Earth regarding Jay Cutler. The anointing of Cutler as MVP was way too premature. He has looked like a middle of the line quarterback the past couple of weeks. He just hasn't been the same since that bizarre ending of the San Diego game . . . Since then it seems he has been forcing throws and locking in on receivers. In the Kansas City game, Cutler's second interception was forced into (Brandon) Marshall when (Tony) Scheffler was wide, wide open for a touchdown down the seam . . . Why can't Denver receivers get behind coverage? It makes no sense that the passing game couldn't destroy two rookies in the Kansas City secondary.

A: After what Cutler did in the opening two games it was natural for some people, especially with Peyton Manning coming off knee surgery and Tom Brady already out for the year, start to look for other quarterbacks who might be MVP possibilities.

I had general managers and head coaches say over the first three weeks of the season, they expected Cutler to be in the mix for the award if the Broncos had some success.

So, some of that who's-going-to-win-awards stuff is just part of the swirl that goes along with the season. It's why people like to talk about the games every week.

Cutler, with three 300-yard games already, could be in the mix, but the Broncos have to win games, the defense has to play better, the run game has to be better. If they miss the playoffs and he throws the ball all over the place, it's likely voters would go for the best player on a team in the postseason and say winning trumps stats.

When you are a young quarterback, like Cutler is, and you have that kind of arm strength he has, you're always going to see a pass forced into coverage from time to time. That's because sometimes he can get the ball in there when others couldn't.

It also means sometimes he won't get the ball in there.

The Broncos like his aggressiveness and want to keep that edge about him. So they walk a fine line as far as getting him to play with some fire and push the offense down the field, yet to avoid the mistakes that can get them beat.

It's a tough deal, but part of the reason the Broncos replaced Jake Plummer with Cutler late in the 2006 season was that after spending so much time trying to get Plummer to cut down on his turnovers that Plummer became a little too conservative back there and didn't do enough in the team's dropback passing game.

Plummer would likely argue he was only doing what he was told so many times, but it does show the difficult balance for a player back there.

Cutler will have to adjust as more and more defenses do more and more things to try and take Marshall away. It's something they expect to happen, especially since coaches have been talking to Marshall about how to deal with that since training camp.

The best way to get defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage to give your passing game more room to work down the field is to run the ball better. The Broncos ran the ball just 22 times in Kansas City against a Chiefs defense that was 30th against the run coming in.

And that was in a game the Broncos didn't trail by more than six points until the fourth quarter. They're hopeful when rookie Ryan Torain comes back after the bye, their run game will have a little more pop and then Cutler will find a little more room to work with in the secondary as defenses commit the safety more of the time to the line of scrimmage.

That's it and thanks.

--Jeff Legwold

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