LB Josey Jewell Explains How Broncos Can Force More Takeaways Down the Stretch
When a large percentage of pundits and fans deem a competitive loss as a measure of success, you start to realize just how much the Denver Broncos' winning veneer has faded.
Within the Broncos' ranks, they're framing their Week 13 defeat as disappointing, but nevertheless encouraging, because it closed the competitive gap with the Kansas City Chiefs. Linebacker Josey Jewell was among several Broncos stars who stressed the positives that emerged from Sunday Night Football when he spoke with the media this week.
“We know we can do it,” Jewell said on Tuesday. “It’s good to actually put that out there and give ourselves that confidence and give the coaches that confidence that we can do that, but it’s all about finishing.”
The general consensus and tone emanating from Broncos HQ this week is the belief that only a couple of plays separated them from beating the Chiefs. Not saving their best performance for the fourth quarter, and making plays in crunch time, have been recurring issues all season long. And of course, not taking the ball away.
The truth is, the classic case of ‘close but no cigar’ could very well sum up head coach Vic Fangio’s tenure so far in the Mile High City.
The injury-riddled defense has kept the Broncos in the mix throughout the Fangio era, although this year it has lacked the supplemental turbo boost required to overcome elite teams. The biggest missing component is takeaways, which, combined with the offense's penchant for giving the ball away, has led the Broncos to being ranked last in the league in turnover differential at -17.
Jewell explained that forcing them is easier said than done and while there is some lucky involved, there are technical methods to increasing the odds.
“There’s some luck in it sometimes,” Jewell conceded. “Whether it’s maybe somebody tackles just the right way and gets their hands on the ball and they weren’t trying to, or maybe they didn’t see a person covered, but I think mostly with us it comes down to attacking the ball.”
The Broncos have featured some opportunistic and predatory defenses over the years, from the Orange Crush forcing fumbles, up until more recent times when Aqib Talib perfected his knack for the pick-six. The quest to marry hard work in practice to the un-coachable, instinctive nose for the ball that Jewell and the defense are trying to master.
“I think during the week our coaches have stressed it quite a bit—punching the ball out when there’s an opportunity, “ Jewell revealed. “When somebody has them all wrapped up, for the second guy to come in there and punch the ball out.”
Fangio concurred that takeaways require the perfect meeting of luck and preparation.
“You need to create your turnovers," Fangio said on Wednesday. "We've got to go get them. We've got to jar a ball out. We've got to pressure the quarterback into some bad throws. We've got to have tight coverage to where we get some batted balls like the last one we got against New Orleans when they broke up a pass and Essang [Bassey] got the ball to tip. We need more of that."
Against the Chiefs, Denver’s defense still played strongly, despite not forcing any turnovers, holding Kansas City out of the end zone until the third quarter and forcing them to settle for a total of five field goals. That level of success is due to the familiarity and confidence the Broncos have built together defensively, especially by knowing each other’s assignments and where they are on the field.
“We’re all really confident and we really play off each other,” Jewell said. “Whether it be the linebackers talking to the safeties, whether we’re pushing through on quarters, or whether we're locking up on man (coverage). I think we know that defense very well and it’s pretty easy for us to be able to go out there and communicate that.”
If Von Miller and Jurrell Casey not been lost for the season, maybe the Broncos would be more adept at taking the ball away and losing further key defenders like Bryce Callahan and A.J. Bouye certainly won’t make things easier over the next four weeks. But Jewell and the front seven will be hoping practice makes perfect as the Broncos seek the missing ingredient of taking the ball away and giving their offense extra possessions.
"You're right, it's been a problem for us," Fangio said. "The turnovers and takeaways have been a problem for us. We haven't gotten enough on defense and we've given it up too much on offense.”
Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL and @MileHighHuddle.
