Justin Simmons is Thrilled Broncos Re-Signed 'Unsung Hero' Kareem Jackson
Broncos Country could quite happily replay a constant loop of Russell Wilson’s new teammates expressing their enthusiasm towards his arrival through the duration of the offseason. Such has been the impact of Wilson’s amplifying arrival in town — the Denver Broncos' energy and level of optimism are off the charts.
When it comes to veteran safety Justin Simmons, one of the reasons he's likely so energized right now, beyond Wilson's arrival, is the Broncos' decision to re-sign his defensive backfield counterpart, Kareem Jackson.
"It means everything," Simmons said on Tuesday of Jackson's return. "Kareem is an unsung hero in the back end. I don't think he gets enough credit especially with the volume that he plays at—and obviously, going into year, I believe it's 13 or 14. One of the two, he's old—but the volume that he plays at and going into that many years of playing, you can't replace that. It's going to mean a lot for us for the verbiage [of] a new system coming in. A lot of things will overlap but a lot of things will be new. And it'll be great to have a guy like him—he's been around, he's seen it. He knows. It's going to be great for our younger guys to learn from him and to overlap, like, this is how we did it last year, but here's how it connects. Obviously, I can do those things too but not nearly at the level that Kareem can do it and so selfishly, he's like my brother. He's helped me so much, not just on the field but off the field. Parenting and things like that. I love him, man, so I'm definitely excited to have him back."
Don't underestimate Jackson's ability to get under the skin of opponents by talking a little smack.
"Some things you can't teach and definitely no one taught Kareem how to chirp back," Simmons said. "He's one of the most competitive guys I've been around. He gets you going... as soon as he starts chirping, he just fires you up. So it's exciting."
Simmons finally gets that ever-important franchise quarterback staple to complement the defense for once in his career. Hitching the wagon to a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback is, in truth, fairly easy, given Wilson’s resume and well-documented leadership qualities. However, many teams have had the services of similarly talented signal-callers, and have failed to covert it into championship hardware.
It might be too early to guard against such complacency right now, but Simmons explained that the defense he leads will still have to make a difference if the Broncos are to reach the Promised Land.
“Just how I’m wired, I just don’t like making excuses either way,” Simmons said from the podium on Tuesday. “We know that in a lot of cases and a lot of scenarios that it’s a quarterback-driven league, but from a defensive perspective, I don’t like having that. For me defensively and a lot of guys on our defense—most guys—every game we went into last year [and] years prior was, ‘We can win this game and defense wins championships.’”
On account of the fact that defensive mastermind Vic Fangio is no longer calling the shots in Denver, the chances of the Broncos falling off defensively is plausible. It's a legitimate danger as are the perils of transitioning to a new system under first-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, so the unit has to steel itself against letting its guard down.
Simmons has reacted by being typically proactive and diligent during his offseason preparation by reaching out to former Boston College teammate John Johnson III, who played under Evero for a total of four seasons, so he can get a constructive guide on how the new DC operates.
“I know John is a really good student of the game and I know he really liked working with him, so John’s a great soundboard for me,” Simmons said. “I go up to him and I’m asking him questions left and right – how to play this and how to play that; how it worked; how it operated; how it flowed; what was the first year like, transition-wise; this that and the other.”
Covering the bases might appear simplistic at this stage, but it’s funny how often such seemingly minor attention to detail counts in the win-loss column. Simmons is well aware of that, and he wants to win now, so he underlined just how much the entire Broncos' defense will have to buy in and commit to chasing the ultimate prize.
“I mean, that’s still the standard for us moving forward. We want to compete and hold up that Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year,” Simmons said. “It’s no doubt going to come down to how we play on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s going to be the attitude [and] mentality all year.”
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