DENVER — The Denver D just went through a bit of a rough patch.
In the 132 minute, 36-second span of game clock -- from the final 1:47 of the first half against Washington through 4:11 remaining in the third quarter Sunday against the Bears -- the Broncos allowed 130 points.
The breakdown:
32 points in 31 minutes, 47 seconds vs. Washington
70 points in 60 minutes vs. Miami
28 points in 40 minutes, 49 seconds vs. Chicago
Those are the disappointing numbers. But there has since been some encouragement. The Denver D is currently working on a shutout streak that is now sitting at 19 minutes, 11 seconds of game time.
During the nearly point-per-minute run, it was Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph who absorbed much of the blame. But Joseph has a staunch defender in Zach Allen. During his entire five-year career – four with the Arizona Cardinals and now his first with the Broncos, Joseph has been the defensive tackle Allen’s coordinator.
“He’s been very successful in this league for a very long time,’’ Allen said in a conference call Monday with the Denver media. “He’s accomplished a lot. Everybody wants to point the finger at somebody but at the end of the day you watch the Dolphins tape and you watch the first half (against the Bears) it was either guys not tackling or guys just not doing the right assignments. It wasn’t a question of the scheme or anything like that.
“I think a lot of people probably don’t understand the big picture but for us it doesn’t really matter. We know what we’re doing, what we’re working on. Everybody can say whatever the hell they want to say but at the end of the day they’re not in the arena.
“I love him. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to do great things. It’s still early. We’re going to turn it around.”
Jaleel vows better pass protection
The NFL may not have a more exciting, productive player per snap than the Broncos’ Jaleel McLaughlin.
The rookie running back played just 16 offensive snaps Sunday against the Bears. He had 10 touches for 104 yards and a touchdown within those 16 plays – 7 rushes for 72 yards and 3 catches for another 32 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown off a screen pass.
There was another play where McLaughlin got beat by blitzing Bears’ linebacker Jack Sanborn. While quarterback Russell Wilson maneuvered out of Sanborn’s grasp, he consequently was sacked by Zacch Pickens and Dominique Robinson. Broncos head coach Sean Payton deflected some of the heat off McLaughlin by saying he put the 5-foot-7, 187-pound back in a bad matchup against the bigger Sanborn. But McLaughlin was not shirking his responsibility.
“Coach didn’t put me in a bad spot -- I’ve got to be better,’’ McLaughlin said in his media conference call. “All 11 on the field, we have a job to do and on that play I wasn’t able to do my job. So I think I have to be better. Coach Payton, he didn’t put me in a bad situation at all. I have to get better at pass protection. That’s totally on me. And I will be better.”
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