Carolina duo poses challenge to run "D"
By Mike Klis
Denver Post
Posted: 12/10/2008 12:30:00 AM MST
Updated: 12/10/2008 01:12:51 AM MST
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11180680
Jonathan Stewart crashes through the Tampa Bay defense Monday night en route to 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Stewart and teammate DeAngelo Williams totaled 301 yards and four TDs vs. the Bucs. (Rick Havner, The AP)Locals may have watched the latest installment of "Monday Night Football" from a bar stool or the living room couch.
Whatever the vantage point, watching the Carolina Panthers physically dominate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have elicited but one reaction from the Denver area: Gulp!
The Panthers' smash-n-dash running back duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart gashed the Bucs, who before Monday were the NFL's fourth-ranked defense, for a combined 301 rushing yards. The Bucs' defense had allowed one rushing touchdown in 12 previous games only to surrender four to Williams and Stewart.
What, pray tell, will Williams, Stewart and the Panthers' physical offensive line do this Sunday afternoon against the defensively challenged Broncos?
Scary as the decided mismatch sounds, it could be worse. Williams and Stewart could be getting ready to play against a Broncos defense aligned in a three linemen-four linebacker set.
"Don't even mention the 3-4," Mike Shanahan said.
The Broncos' coach drew a laugh, in part because everyone knew there was nothing funny about the way his team performed in the 3-4 defense. It had its moments, but because the Broncos were trying to learn it as the regular season went along, the 3-4 also created confusion.
The Broncos were in their 3-4 in late September when Larry Johnson burst through for a 65-yard gain on the second play of the Chiefs' upset victory at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos played the 3-4 when they were humiliated by New England, 41-7.
They lined up in their traditional 4-3 set in the Sunday rematch against the Chiefs at Invesco Field at Mile High and held Johnson to 3.3 yards a carry, with no run longer than 11.
"You take away those big runs, we've been stoning them pretty good," said Nate Webster, the Broncos middle linebacker. "So in this fourth quarter (of the season), we really want to eliminate the big runs. We want to take away the 60-yarder, that crazy 30-yarder."
In the six games they've played since the nightmare in New England, the Broncos are allowing a respectable 122.0 rushing yards a game. While such a figure would rank 23rd among the league's rushing defenses, it's a significant 32.6 yards-a-game improvement.
More encouraging is Denver has started playing better defense almost from the time its two best defensive players, cornerback Champ Bailey and outside linebacker D.J. Williams, were injured.
"We're not playing better because we lost our stars," defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban said. "We're playing better because we put full pads on for practice."
That, too. Full pads means more hitting, and the Broncos believe the increased physicality of practice has carried over to better tackling on game day.
Still, with the Broncos on the brink of clinching the AFC West Division, it may be time for the defense to raise expectations against the run. It's one thing to stop the run adequately enough to reach the playoffs. But can the Broncos stop a Carolina-type running game once they get to the playoffs? In the AFC, the playoffs will have other elite running tandems in Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Baltimore.
Perhaps, the Broncos can draw inspiration from the 2006 Colts. During the regular season, Indianapolis finished 32nd in rushing defense. But strong safety Bob Sanders returned for the playoffs and the Colts won a 15-6 defensive-tilted, second-round playoff game from the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
Can the return of Bailey and D.J. Williams do for the 2008 Broncos what Sanders did for the 2006 Colts?
"Depth-wise, it helps when you have guys, who weren't starting earlier in the season, get that experience while the stars are out," said Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley, who was part of the 2006 Super Bowl winning Colts. "They've played in those situations, so if we need them again, we know we can count on them."
Running up the numbers
The statistics show the Broncos' improved rush defense will get a serious test Sunday against the Carolina Panthers' power/speed running duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart:
727, 11 Number of rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by Carolina tailback Williams in the past six games.
301 Combined rushing yards for Carolina running backs Williams (186) and Stewart (115) in their Monday game against the Tampa Bay Bucs, who had allowed an average of 95.4 rushing yards through their first 12 games.
1 Rushing touchdown Tampa Bay had allowed through its first 12 games. Williams and Stewart combined for four TD runs Monday.
154.6 Rushing yards, on 5.4 yards per carry, the Broncos' defense had allowed through its first seven games.
122.0 Rushing yards, on 4.3 yards per carry, the Broncos have allowed in the six games since they dropped their experiment with the 3-4 alignment.
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