Vance Joseph tried outfitting himself in a modest tone, even if his unit hasn’t exactly acted benevolently toward its training camp counterpart.
“Offensively, they’ve made some plays,” the Broncos defensive coordinator said on Tuesday, recapping the last two weeks. “So it hasn’t been one-sided at all.”
That would be a somewhat dramatic reframing of training camp so far. As the Broncos prepare for an extended Bay Area stay this week, the most tantalizing matter at hand is how their much-anticipated defense will hold up against fresh meat, now that it has sufficiently cut its teeth against Bo Nix and company at Dove Valley.
Eighteen months removed from Super Bowl heartbreak and one season after a first-to-worst tumble, the San Francisco 49ers are crossing their fingers for better injury luck and hoping to climb back into the class of contenders. They have the offensive might (and the lax strength of schedule) to pull it off. First, they’re hosting Denver for a joint practice on Thursday and a preseason opener for both teams on Saturday.
At last, a new competitive obstacle for a defense that is widely projected to rank top-three — if not higher — in the NFL this season.
“Obviously, on paper,” Joseph admitted, “it looks good.”
It certainly does from the vantage point of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
“The front, that first group can put pressure on the quarterbacks,” he said. “We’ve got at least four corners — the guys they stick out there in dime (coverage) can all cover. They can play man and not worry about it at all. And adding some wrinkles here and there that are disruptive to the offense, they’re a stout group.”
Their success last year could be described as a sneak attack on the league — the group matching the high expectations previously reserved for cornerback Pat Surtain II’s isolated talent.
The result was a playoff berth and a complete reset of expectations. Now those have only multiplied after the splashy offseason additions of linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, players who satisfied Denver’s need for “down-the-middle strength” in Joseph’s words.
“If teams are running lateral and throwing outside, you’re winning games,” he said. “So being strong in the middle, for every defense, is important. But both guys can really tackle. Both guys play big at their position.”
The newcomers represent a commitment to make the next leap after a Wild Card weekend dud in Buffalo. The season-ending loss illuminated improvements still available to a defense already on the verge of elite status. Joseph wants to cut down on “awkward big plays.” To achieve a heightened consistency. To be “dominant.”
Still, with star power and depth at all three levels of the defense, pointing out weaknesses is an act of nitpicking at this point.
“I love the pressure,” Joseph said. “… It’s better than being the opposite, of being, ‘They’re gonna be a bad defense.’”
That pressure begins to ramp up in earnest this weekend, with game action in San Francisco.
“In a controlled environment, you can’t tell — especially when you’re not full-tackling in the run game, it’s tough to tell if the guys (actually) tackled or not,” the coordinator said. “It’s been a bunch of (starters) that have popped, one-on-one. In a real game, it may be a missed tackle.”
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.