ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Malik Reed is a friendly sort, the type who is first to say hello and ask how you’re doing.
At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, he is not a small guy, but he’s hardly the league’s largest pass rusher coming off the edge.
Yet after having 2.0 sacks through the first 19 games of his career, Reed has 4.0 in his last two games – two each against Cam Newton and Patrick Mahomes – entering the Broncos’ AFC West matchup Sunday against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High (kickoff is 2:05 p.m. MST).
How does Reed bely his amiable disposition and modest stature by football standards to bring such quarterback stalwarts down to size?
“I feel like rushing the passer is kind of like an art,’’ Reed said in a sit-down interview with 9News last week. “You’ve seen guys who haven’t been the tallest over the years: Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Elvis Dumervil. Whether it’s (James) Harrison from the Steelers, guys that haven’t been the tallest guys but still effective pass rushers.
“I feel like not being the tallest pass rusher gives you a little advantage sometimes with the (offensive) tackle not being able to bend as well and not be able to get to you before you get around the corner," he said. "So really taking advantage with what God has blessed me with and having leverage and being able to see and think the game.
“And what I’ve always heard about pass rushers is it's chess, not checkers. So you have to make sure you’re doing different things, so guys will have different looks and being multifaceted as a rusher.”
Von Miller has sometimes stated the “chess not checkers” reference as he was compiling 106.0 sacks through his first nine seasons as the best defensive player in Broncos history. His 10th season is not likely to produce any, though, as an ankle injury suffered in the Broncos’ first regular-season practice in early September resulted in surgery and a trip to injured reserve.
Miller is rehabilitating his way toward returning for the final three games of the season, but that may be the optimistic view of an elite athlete rather than medical reality.
Until Miller’s comeback becomes certain, Reed has replaced him on the left edge of the Denver defensive front. Miller has been helping his substitute through words of encouragement and advice in play.
“The message he’s been telling me, he’s like, ‘Embrace every opportunity. Nothing is too big. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t ever put a limit on what you can and can’t do. Go out there and attack. Go out there and be aggressive,' " Reed said.
“It’s spoken wonders, and I’m thankful to have a guy like that to pick his brain and get tips from," Reed said. "He’s watching the game each week, so he can actually see what’s going on, see what the tackles are doing and give me feedback after the game.”
Undrafted out of Nevada last year, Reed joins the likes of Phillip Lindsay, Chris Harris Jr., C.J. Anderson, Tyler Polumbus and Wesley Woodyard as Broncos’ longshots done good. Reed made the Broncos’ season-opening roster as a 2019 rookie thanks to a fabulous preseason, but it took a while before the impact sacks started coming when the games counted.
“The nuances of the game,’’ he said, in explaining what he knows now compared to then. “I feel like the game slowed down going throughout the season last year. Understanding offenses and how they are trying to attack us, different matchups that they’re trying to get, and having a better understanding of our defense and how to be aggressive in our defense as well. I feel like it’s really taken off for everybody in the defense this year.”
One of those little things is finishing off a quarterback. Which is a big thing. Once he gets there, Reed doesn’t fall off a quarterback, not even those as physically imposing as Newton and Mahomes.
“Unfortunately I had to learn it the hard way in college,’’ he said. “Beating the offensive lineman and winning your one-on-one matchups, that’s the first part of the rush game. Then you have to bring the quarterback down. Throughout my college career I had a few missed sacks.
“I feel like you learn from those things and learn how to attack and how to finish certain quarterbacks," he said. "Ones who get out of the pocket and scramble, you try to get a good feel for where they like to escape and make sure you come under control when you get to the quarterback because beating the offensive lineman is only half the battle.”
He’s got another physical specimen to chase down Sunday in the Chargers’ Herbert, who is 6-foot-6 and 236 pounds and runs the floor like Dennis Rodman. Herbert has been superb through the first five starts of his NFL career, averaging 308.4 passing yards, 2.4 touchdown passes and another 24.2 yards rushing per game.
“He’s off to a good start,’’ Reed said. “He’s had some good games, and he has a big arm. Big, fast and strong so we definitely got to come ready. They’ve done a great job of doing different things, so the defense has to game plan for a lot of different looks.
“You can tell he’s confident. He’s confident in his abilities. That’s half the battle for any player, quarterback or whatever your doing. I feel like you have to believe in yourself first and foremost, and go out there and play in it.’’
With Broncos quarterback Drew Lock playing shaky since he returned from a right shoulder strain two weeks ago, it’s imperative that the Denver defense make Herbert look like a typical rookie if the home team is going to finally win its first home game this year.
And for the defense to play well, it has to pull together following its fractured display of frustration last week. Bradley Chubb and Shelby Harris each exhibited anger for different reasons as the defense was charged with 43 points, even though the offense and special teams could take blame for all but 12 of those points.
Reed hasn’t been around long enough to step up as a defensive leader, but his easy-going demeanor off the field and tenacious playing style on it sets a proper example for even the veterans to notice.
“We’re all one team in the end,’’ Reed said. “When one phase or the other … when we’re struggling, the other side has to pick us up. Like I said, we’re a team, we’re all in this together. It’s the game of football. A lot of emotions get tied into the game, and when things don’t go so well, frustration is going to come.
“But the thing about the NFL, and the thing I learned quickly, is that next Sunday comes pretty quick," he said. "You have to turn the page and get ready for the next opponent. Those feeling just don’t go away. You’re still a little bitter to have gone through that, but we’re on to the Chargers right now, and we’re looking to build on the things we did well in the game and correct the things we didn’t do so well. That’s where we are now.”
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