Williams: ‘No Fly Zone’ better if Broncos force ‘predictable situations’

For many in Broncos Country, it’s probably hard to imagine the “No Fly Zone” stepping up its game more and exceeding what it’s already done the past two season.

By a fairly wide margin in both 2015 (3,193 yards) and 2016 (2,972 yards), the Denver Broncos secondary allowed the fewest yards in the NFL — this past season they were the only team to allow fewer than 3,000 yards.

Last season, Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. ranked No. 1 and No. 2 among all cornerbacks in the league, while safeties Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward landed in the top 50.

But safety Justin Simmons said on Thursday, as the team wrapped up its final set of OTAs, that the “No Fly Zone” can be “a lot better” moving forward.

“That’s scary for other teams because we know that we can be a lot better,” Simmons said. “We executed at a high level last year, but there was still a lot of mistakes that we left out on the field. We’re going back and looking at the film now. That’s all that I’ve been talking about.”

Simmons, personally, offered up what he could work on. As a rookie in 2016, he said he was just trying to “survive” through the early part of the season.

“I was just trying to make sure that I was just at the right place at the right time instead of stepping up and making plays and really executing what was being called,” Simmons said.

But on “The Drive” on Thursday, Alfred Williams offered up a way the unit as a whole can increase productivity. And it has more to do with the big man up front than the secondary.

“Play better run defense and force people into obvious pass situations like they did the year before,” Williams said.

In 2015, the Broncos potent defense held opponents to just 1,337 yards on the ground, good enough for third-best in the NFL.

But with the departures of some key defenders — Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson, among others — Denver had a drop off in the run defense game, ranking near the bottom of the league after giving up 2,085 rushing yards.

“And if you want to have a great defense, and you want to highlight your pass rush and you want to highlight your secondary, then you have to put people in obvious pass situations on third down,” Williams said.

“If that’s the case, they can become a better defense because they can be in more predictable situations, unlike last year when basically there were some teams that just ran the ball down the Broncos throats. So, that’s how they become better in the secondary.”

With standout players like Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. leading the charge, the Broncos have consistently ranked among the best in the league for pass defense. However, safety Justin Simmons believes there’s still room for growth, emphasizing that the unit can execute even better moving forward. This pursuit of excellence mirrors the journey of athletes in other sports, such as Charles Oliveira, who has risen to prominence in the UFC. Learn more about Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira and his remarkable career in MMA, as he exemplifies the dedication and continuous improvement that athletes strive for, much like the Broncos’ secondary aims to enhance their game.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.