ENGLEWOOD – If the Broncos are to convert their 2-0 record into a serious run at a playoff spot – and with “Fourth Quarter” Keenum as their quarterback, why wouldn’t they? – they’re going to have to address some issues.
Problem No. 1: The Broncos must do something about 29 of 32.
Victory alone cannot dismiss the concern Oakland Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr completed 29 of 32 passes Sunday against Denver’s Fly At Will Zone. And it would have been 30 of 32 completions had Raiders’ fullback Keith Smith not dropped a fourth-and-1 pass from the Broncos’ 33 in the fourth quarter, a flub that gave Denver a chance to rally from a 19-10 deficit.
Carr was 18 of 19 in the first half. It had the look of a training camp, 7-on-7 passing drill.
“That falls back on the corners’’ Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Monday in his day-after-game press conference at the team’s UCHealth Training Center headquarters. “We have to press the receivers because if he holds the ball, we know that we can get pressure. If it comes up quick and we were seven or eight yards off, it’s going to be a completed ball and he’s going to fall for five or six. Our corners have to play with great confidence all the time and obviously play press coverage.
“With our pass rush, as a corner, you should have confidence that if he’s throwing a nine-ball, a seven-ball or a deep in-cut, that our pressure will get there. We were really too soft, I guess I should say, at corner with our coverage.”
The trade deadline is October 30, or six weeks away. Broncos general manager John Elway may not make a deal, but he figures to at least look at the available cornerbacks.
Elway has tried to address the need. In each of the past two drafts, he selected a cornerback in the third round. But Brendan Langley and Isaac Yiadom have watched the Broncos’ first two games from the press box, neither deemed quite ready to help on the field on Sundays.
The cornerback position was enough of a concern in the days leading into the regular-season opener the Broncos signed Adam Jones, who turns 35 in two weeks, off the street to become their No. 3 cornerback. Jones replaced 30-year-old Tramaine Brock as the No. 3.
When Jones’ hamstring tightened up in the 92-degree heat Sunday against the Raiders, Brock got his No. 3 job back.
The Broncos are fine with their top two corners. Chris Harris Jr. remains one of the league’s top defensive backs and Bradley Roby had been one of the league’s best No. 3 corners who is making the gradual adjustment to No. 2.
But can 30-somethings Jones and Brock hold up as interchanging No. 3 corners through a 16-game season?
Sure, the Broncos came back to beat the Oakland Raiders, 20-19, on Sunday thanks to two, long, fourth quarter touchdown drives engineered by Keenum. In his fourth quarters this year, Keenum has compiled a combined 113.7 passer rating – easily his most efficient quarter as he has not topped an 80.0 rating in any of the other three quarters.
To help afford Keenum, a free agent who the Broncos’ signed to a two-year deal worth $18 million per, Elway made the business decision to trade away star cornerback Aqib Talib, who is 32 and making $11 million this year.
When it comes to building a competitive NFL roster, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. If 2-0 is going to lead to 10-6 and a playoff spot, either the young corners must get ready to contribute, or the veteran corners must stay healthy and play at a high level, or Elway will have to look at making a move for another corner.
Jewell in linebacker mix
As the Raiders were trying to protect their fourth quarter lead by chewing up the clock with their running game, Broncos’ rookie Josey Jewell replaced starter Brandon Marshall as the inside linebacker partner of Todd Davis.
Davis is considered a superior run-stopper who is a work in progress in pass coverage. Marshall is considered a fast, all-around linebacker who is best in pass coverage. Jewell can eventually become a three-down linebacker but for now more closely resembles Davis as a run-stopper.
“Josey played good football and it wasn’t about ‘B-Marsh’, it was more about Josey and he played good football,’’ Joseph said. “Now, we would like to have a three-man rotation between Todd, B-Marsh and Josey. That way they’re playing probably 40-45 snaps and not 60 snaps.”
