Broncos Country won’t have any patience if VJ defense starts off slow
Feb 23, 2023, 11:35 AM
Vic Fangio. Brian Flores. Rex Ryan. Matt Patricia. Sean Desai. Kris Richard. And Vance Joseph.
That’s the list of names attached to the Broncos defensive coordinator position. In the end, VJ got the nod, taking over that phase of the game on Sean Payton’s coaching staff.
It’s a move that certainly won’t be without controversy in Broncos Country. After all, it was just four years ago that Joseph was fired as the team’s head coach after a dismal 11-21 stint across two forgettable seasons.
Payton wasn’t here for that era, however. Neither was general manager George Paton. And Greg Penner and company weren’t the owners.
So they don’t understand the baggage that comes with this hire. They don’t know how quickly the fan base will revolt if the defense starts losing games for the Broncos.
If VJ is able to build upon what Ejiro Evero did in 2022, all will be fine. So here’s the bar:
Yards Allowed = 7th
Points Allowed = 14th
Takeaways = 14th
That’s the expectation. And it’ll be with a defense that could be significantly less talented in 2023.
Dre’Mont Jones is an unrestricted free agent. Whether or not Denver is able to retain arguably their third-best defensive player this offseason remains a huge question mark.
Kareem Jackson is probably going to be gone. That means it’ll be time for a transition from the veteran to Caden Sterns at safety.
Bradley Chubb is already out the door. It’ll be up to the oft-injured Randy Gregory and promising young players like Baron Browning, Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper to pick up the slack as an edge rusher.
In other words, this isn’t the same defense that Eviro managed to get a lot out of for most of last season. It’s Pat Surtain, Justin Simmons, D.J. Jones and a bunch of guys.
So Joseph has his work cut out for him. And there’s little evidence to suggest he’s up to the task.
During his five years as an NFL defensive coordinator, here’s how his groups have ranked:
Yards Allowed
2016 (MIA) – 29th
2019 (ARZ) – 22nd
2020 (ARZ) – 18th
2021 (ARZ) – 11th
2022 (ARZ) – 21st
Points Allowed
2016 (MIA) – 18th
2019 (ARZ) – 28th
2020 (ARZ) – 12th
2021 (ARZ) – 11th
2022 (ARZ) – 31st
Takeaways
2016 (MIA) – 11th
2019 (ARZ) – 25th
2020 (ARZ) – 18th
2021 (ARZ) – 7th
2022 (ARZ) – 20th
If he’s able to re-create what he did in 2021 with the Cardinals, then all will be fine. But based on the numbers, that season appears to be the aberration.
He made the Dolphins defense worse during his only season in Miami. They fell from 24th in 2015 to 29th in ’16.
The same thing happened when he arrived in Arizona. The Cardinals were 20th in defense in 2018; they fell to 22nd under VJ.
In other words, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that a step backwards is in the offing for the Broncos defense. And that will go over like a lead balloon in Broncos Country.
The Broncos could’ve hired any number of defensive coordinators who wouldn’t have arrived in Denver with baggage. Instead, they went with the one choice that will immediately make the fan base roll their eyes.
In the process, they eliminated all benefit of the doubt. They removed all runway for getting things figured out.
VJ better be the right choice, right out of the gate. If not, Broncos Country isn’t going to have any patience with a decision that many didn’t like from the get go.
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