Harris vents on Broncos inability to notch sacks, takeaways: 'We have to rattle the QB'

A month ago, if someone would have boldly predicted that two games into the regular season, the Denver Broncos — under 'evil genius' defensive czar Vic Fangio — would have zero takeaways and zero sacks, even most knowledgeable fans would have scoffed at the notion.

Starting 0-2? That would have been a much more plausible — if ignominious — proposition than Fangio's defense, with the likes of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb getting after the quarterback, and three of Pro Football Focus' top-10 rated defensive backs in the secondary, being held without a sack or a takeaway two games in.

But that's where the Broncos find themselves. At 0-2 with nary a sack, nor a takeaway to console themselves.

So what gives? Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris, Jr. has some insight.

“We have to rattle the quarterback," Harris said on Tuesday. "We haven’t been able to rattle him."

Why have the Broncos struggled to 'rattle' the QB? Some of it has to do with the way teams are attacking Denver, while some of it also has to do with the unique game situations the Broncos have been in, which have dictated the flow in a way that has been most disadvantageous to the defense.

"Most teams are running the ball a lot more versus us," Harris said. "We have to try and get them in third-and-long, second-and-longs. We have to win first and second down better. That will help us get in more pass-rush situations and also try to figure out a way to get a lead. Once we get a lead, then we can sick the dogs out on them and really let all our D-line loose.”

Harris isn't wrong. Through two games, the Broncos' defense is allowing 125.5 rushing yards per game. Hopefully, those numbers will improve and the unit will become more stingy vs. the run when starting inside linebacker Todd Davis returns to the field. Davis is expected back this week vs. Green Bay.

Meanwhile, because the Broncos' defense has been so unsuccessful on first and second down, opposing teams are getting advantageous third-and-shorts. In those short situations, teams' will run the ball or with so few yards to move the sticks, throw it short, which negates the pass rush.

Subsequently, only two NFL teams have been worse defensively on third down. The Broncos' are ranked 30th, allowing opposing teams to convert on third down a whopping 52% of the time. That's a losing metric.

Defensively, there are improvements Fangio and company can make to put the Broncos in better position to get sacks and takeaways and it starts with stuffing the run and and rethinking their coverage on short-to-intermediate routes, especially in the middle of the field. But Harris' point about needing some help from the Broncos' offense to help take the pressure off the defense is a salient one, too.

The Broncos have gotten production out of their offense, but it's only been in spurts. Most of the yardage and points have come in the fourth quarter, with the Broncos battling back from a deficit.

When an opposing team has a commanding lead, it really clips the wings of the pass rush. That's what I mean by game-flow situations having a unique effect on the Broncos' inability to 'rattle' the QB and take the ball away.

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Unfortunately, with a new offensive coordinator in Rich Scangarello working out his kinks as a first-time NFL play-caller and a new veteran transplant at QB in Joe Flacco working to implement and execute the new scheme, it's going to take time for everything to come together on that side of the ball.

Meanwhile, Harris and his defensive comrades have to buckle down and carry their share of the water. The Broncos' defense has shouldered more than its fair share over the last two seasons, but they've been as much of the problem through two 2019 games as the offense has.

The key now is to execute better and not allow two consecutive losses to open the season to affect the team's resolve and unity. Getting Todd Davis back at linebacker and Bryce Callahan at cornerback should result in a palpable improvement defensively.

“I think the mindset in the locker room in the team is different," Harris said. "I think guys were definitely upset that we lost that [Bears] game [in Week 2], but I think that’s going to make us hungrier. It’s going to make us continue to want to get better and practice harder. That’s my job is to continue to show great effort at every day on the practice field, lead by example by the way I practice every day and prepare and hopefully the guys still follow.”

I believe the players will follow. This team will bounce back but it might take another week for the Broncos to find that chemistry and groove that has eluded them thus far.

Drawing Aaron Rodgers and the undefeated Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field is unfortunate but they're not unbeatable. The last time Denver faced Rodgers, which came at Mile High in 2015, the Wade Phillips-coordinated Broncos' defense terrorized the QB, limiting him to literally the worst single-game performance of his career.

“We were able to play man-to-man and bring the heat every time," Harris said, reminiscing about the Broncos' last win over the Packers. "We can’t do that. It’s hard to do that now.”

Indeed, expecting Denver to duplicate those results four years later and in Green Bay isn't reasonable. But getting two starters back could have a galvanizing effect on the Broncos' defense and from there, who knows what kind of fire a spark like that can light?

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

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