| | By John Clayton
ESPN.com
GREELEY, Colo. -- The Broncos are the antithesis of the Redskins. They don't believe in star power. In fact, shooting for the stars last year burned them.
In trying to find use for the cap savings from John Elway's retirement, coach Mike Shanahan invested almost $35 million on cornerback Dale Carter, one of the most talented cover guys in the game. The results were disastrous. Carter never completely fit in and the Broncos lost 10 games.
|  | | Denver's investment in Dale Carter didn't pay off. |
A yearlong drug suspension ended Carter's 2000 season before it started while Shanahan went back to basics. Instead of overspending for one player, he bought lower-priced overachievers such as cornerbacks Jimmy Spencer, Terrell Buckley and Darryl Pounds and defensive ends Kavika Pittman and Lester Archambeau.
"Give us guys who can think and can move and we can utilize them," defensive coordinator Greg Robinson said. "Our defense functions by a lot of people working together. We may not have a front four that can dominate or two cornerbacks who can lock up a receiver. This is a defense where we have 11 guys working together. We feel this group has the makings of that kind of group."
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Trevor Pryce boldly said the additions of Pittman and Archambeau should make this the best defensive front in recent years for the Broncos. In Dallas, though, they viewed Pittman as a second-round bust.
"Dallas wants more physical play out of their ends," Pryce said. "Kavika brings us athleticism we haven't had in a long time. Alfred Williams and Neil Smith had good games and played a certain way. Kavika plays an athletic slide, slippery squiggly game, and he's good at it."
Shanahan felt that Williams, who only played about 30 percent of the defensive downs over the past two seasons, and Smith, who was near the end of a great career, needed to be replaced by young, hustling players.
Pittman's game is more finesse and hustle, qualities that excel on the Broncos defensive line. Pryce, meanwhile, is willing to sacrifice a possible trip to the Pro Bowl for the betterment of the team. The Broncos are moving him to nose tackle despite the fact he's coming off a 13-sack season and doesn't have a typical squat nose-tackle's body.
"I'm not a nose guard but I'm learning slowly," Pryce said. "In our defense, it's not how tough you can be or how strong you can be, it's how fast your body can move toward the ball. I was a linebacker at one time. I can be slippery and also play a squiggly, slippery game."
|
“ |
The thing is that our defense has to be so disciplined that if one of our guys is out of place, it rips us apart. ” |
|
|
— Trevor Pryce, Broncos nose tackle |
Lots of pressure will fall on the cornerback play of Ray Crockett, Spencer and Buckley. The Broncos know they lost a great talent in Carter. They don't necessarily feel as though they miss him.
"Dale is a very good player, let's take nothing away from him," Crockett said. "You just have to make sure the defense is really catered to his talent. For Dale, he played a lot of man-to-man at the line of scrimmage. We play man-to-man from all different places. We don't want to show quarterbacks exactly where you are going to be. They are too good."
Carter also gambled to make plays and that left the Broncos defense vulnerable to be beaten. That's the philosophy in Denver. One mistake by one player on defense has drastic results.
"The thing is that our defense has to be so disciplined that if one of our guys is out of place, it rips us apart," Pryce said. "If one guy makes a mental mistake, that gaps opens like the Red Sea. We've got some great cats playing cornerback. Dale was an aggressive player. I don't know if our scheme fits him. He's such a great athlete, I don't think our defense played to his skill level."
Maybe it wasn't in the stars for Carter to work out in Denver. In his absence, the Broncos plan to make the best out of less.
John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
| |
ALSO SEE
Clayton's postcard from Broncos camp
Brian's song for Broncos?
Clayton Across America: 31 camps in 28 days
Broncos: Back in the saddle
Denver Broncos
|
