D.J. Jones Unveils 'Dark' New Nickname for Broncos' D-Line
The Denver Broncos are known for having two iconic, Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in John Elway and Peyton Manning. But Denver is more than a quarterback town as evidenced by two different defensive units earning a lasting moniker in the media that has stood the test of time: the Orange Crush (1977) and No Fly Zone (2015).
Perhaps the 2022 Broncos are hoping to foster the birth of another famous defensive nickname. If what defensive tackle D.J. Jones said on Tuesday is any indication, the Broncos' defensive line is poised to work its 'Darkside' Force magic on opponents this season.
“I feel like it will come out in our play," Jones said. "It’s something that [Defensive Line] Coach [Marcus] Dixon created for our defensive unit, mainly the D-line. It’s something we break down [with] and something we live by now. You have to go into a dark place when you step onto that field, so it’s Darkside forever.”
The Darkside... I'm suddenly reminded of the dialogue of many a Stars Wars film whilst I write this. If the Broncos' D-line embodies the Darkside, it'll need three Sith Lords to lead the way: D.J. Jones, Dre'Mont Jones, and DeShawn Williams — the team's prospective starting trio.
D.J. explained the Darkside mindset Coach Dixon is fostering in his D-line charges and what it takes to get in such a zone on gameday.
“Some people like to go onto the field happy go lucky and cool, but we’re in the trenches. It’s not pretty down there," Jones said. "You don’t know what you’re going to get. You might get 40 double teams in a game. You have to go somewhere where you know you’re going to defeat those double teams. Your mind has to be somewhere where you’ve never been all week and you have to prepare yourself for a battle. Every Sunday, Monday, Thursday or whenever they decide they want to put the ball down, you have to go to a dark place.”
It's actually quite inspiring. As a self-professed Star Wars nerd, I love it.
Not everyone in Broncos Country fancies themselves some Force action, but if this unit galvanizes around Coach Dixon's "Darkside" rallying call, who knows: maybe we'll look back on this team as yet another defense in Broncos canon whose nickname and notoriety is known outside the Mile High City.
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