The Denver Broncos defense returns a lot of continuity this upcoming season, and despite being a top unit, Friday’s showing against the Green Bay Packers wasn’t good enough in the eyes of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
Denver Broncos’ Vance Joseph sends clear message to defense after Friday’s game
It was rare for opposing defenses to march down the field on their opening drive in the regular season and score on their opening possession against this starting unit. Against the Green Bay Packers, they did it in the preseason, and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wasn’t shy about sharing what he felt factored into the result.
“I think that first drive was kind of twofold,” Joseph said. “For me, I didn’t think our approach, in my opinion, was unengaged and a little bit lazy. It wasn’t the right approach, even in pregame. That was the first lesson.”
Joseph emphasized how important their production on first down will be this upcoming season, because of how effective their pass rush has been on second and third downs.
“I think they’re trying to get four yards. They don’t want to be in second-and-7-plus or 8-plus, because that’s obviously a pass rush down. I thought last year we did a great job of basically playing third down twice. Most of our sacks came on second down. Third down is where they practiced their protection plans and slid to [OLB] Nik [Bonitto] or chipped ‘Coop’ (OLB Jonathon Cooper). Second down is where we made our hay as far as the pass rush. I think teams understand that. We watched it over the summer and the spring. Just getting ready for how teams are going to play us, that’s been my lesson for our guys the first two weeks. This is our new life.”
Whether that’s trying to get things going off of playaction or the quick passing game, the Broncos and Joseph have a plan to adapt to how opposing offenses counter them, but it will be up to the players to carry over the right mindset. I don’t think that this Broncos team in particular is the type to read their own headlines or smell their own roses, but understanding how other teams will now try to attack them, and how Green Bay did in particular, should serve as a wake up call.
Broncos waive WR Hakeem Butler, sign UFL outside linebacker Ron Stone Jr.
After having some hype and excitement surrounding him in minicamp and early on in training camp, former UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler fizzled out, which led to the Broncos waiving him on Tuesday and signing former UFL outside linebacker Ron Stone Jr.
First on Butler, he made a handful of plays in training camp through the first handful of days, which did not feature pads. When the pads came on, he didn’t make as many plays and struggled in the blocking department. From my observation, it felt like he was either a downfield vertical option or a guy crossing the middle. It didn’t seem like he could run Denver’s expansive route tree the way they wanted him to, and other younger receivers were beating him out for key reps.
In a corresponding move, Denver signed Stone Jr, who tallied 5.5 sacks this past season in the UFL as a member of the Columbus Aviators and four sacks in the previous season. He was an undrafted rookie free agent who initially signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024, but he spent the last two seasons developing and playing in the UFL.
Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said that Stone Jr. actually stood out during a few reps in team on Tuesday and that he would be playing a lot on Friday Night when the team wraps up its preseason against the Minnesota Vikings.
With Drew Sanders dealing with an injury, Stone Jr. has a chance to impress in a limited sample size that could determine whether or not the Broncos want to bring him onto the practice squad next week.
Broncos bits
Side Field: Cornerback Riley Moss, outside linebacker Drew Sanders, tight end Caleb Lohner, offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo, center Alex Forsyth, and running back RJ Harvey.
Broncos safety JL Skinner has been impressing during training camp and the preseason and was somebody Vance Joseph highlighted during his press conference on Tuesday.
“He’s had a great camp,” Joseph said. “He made a total commitment this fall with his body, his prep; every single day he’s been ‘on’. He missed the entire spring with a shoulder injury and came back on fire. That was one of my camp goals on our first day of camp: to find some depth at the safety position. Losing PJ [Locke] was a big deal for us, and he’s had a great camp, so I’ve been proud of him.”
Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb shared his first thoughts on Bo Nix’s first action back from injury last Friday when he spoke to us on Tuesday following practice.
“Yes, I thought he did a really good job,” Webb said. “Like we kind of talked about, getting back to those feels. He handled that really well. He was really efficient, a good communicator in the huddle, in and out, was accurate with the football. I think there’s one play he would like to have back, but through two drives and almost being… What was that, eight, nine months since the last time he’s played, it’s pretty good.”
It’s unclear whether or not Nix or the starters will play on Friday, but that might be something we find out from Payton on Wednesday following practice.
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