Broncos’ QB-nightmare blueprint for Jets, Giants to copy ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

— This is not a column about Von Miller or DeMarcus Ware.

This is about how every NFL team (put the Jets and Giants at the front of the line) is salivating to find at least one Miller or Ware, never mind winning the pass-rush lottery and unearthing two of them.This is about how those two Broncos outside linebackers defined the Denver defense and dominated the prolific Panthers (who had scored 80 points in their two previous playoff wins) in Sunday’s 24-10 Super Bowl 50 victory at Levi’s Stadium.

This is about how the copycat NFL will react, scrambling to duplicate the Broncos’ blueprint.

The Jets have not had an outside speed rusher since John Abraham, and even his career was constantly interrupted by injuries before they finally gave up on him.On more than one occasion this past season, coach Todd Bowles spoke about the Jets’ need to increase their team speed with an outside pass rusher.

The Giants, for all of their defensive line success that led to their Super Bowls wins in the 2007 and 2011 seasons, have not had disruptive outside linebacker in a long time (Lawrence Taylor where have you gone?).All that talk about how the NFL is a “quarterbacks league’’ and how the ever-evolving league rule changes continue to favor offense and detract from defense?

That might be true in the regular season, but not in the playoffs, where the trend is more about defense winning championships.

Look at the past three Super Bowls: All three were decided by defense.In 2013 at MetLife Stadium, it was the Seahawks’ defense dismantling Denver’s record-setting offense in a 43-8 win.Last season, the game was decided by a defensive play in the final seconds when New England cornerback Malcolm Butler picked off a Russell Wilson pass at the goal line to preserve the Patriots’ victory.And then, of course, there was Sunday night in Santa Clara, where the Broncos won the Super Bowl with a record-low 194 total yards on offense, had 11 first downs (three on their first possession) and a 7 percent success rate on third downs (1-of-14).

With all due respect to Peyton Manning, who will forever be known as one of the two or three greatest quarterbacks of all time, Super Bowl 50 was evidence that a team does not necessarily require an elite quarterbacking performance to win a Super Bowl.Manning completed just 13-of-23 passes for 141 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the victory. Pedestrian numbers that, not long ago, would lead to a team having no chance to win a Super Bowl.

No team ever has won a Super Bowl without scoring an offensive touchdown. The Broncos nearly did that. They did not score one until a C.J. Anderson 2-yard run with 3:08 remaining in the game and it came after Miller’s second strip-sack of Cam Newton gave the Denver offense the ball on the Carolina 4-yard line.So, Sunday night proved teams no longer need an elite quarterback to win a championship. That trend should be encouraging to teams like the Jets, who have a perfectly adequate quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick and a very good defense that is a Miller or Ware away from being a dominant — possible championship — defense.

The narrative to the Broncos’ Super Bowl victory was quite simple: Their No. 1 ranked defense, which led the NFL in sacks, was better than the Panthers’ No. 1 ranked offense, which led the NFL in scoring.Great pass rushers like Miller — who had 2 ½ sacks of Newton two weeks after he had 2 ½ on New England’s Tom Brady — beat top quarterbacks like the best pitchers beat the best hitters in the baseball postseason.“In my opinion, this is the best defense to ever do it,’’ Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “I know it’s a bold statement. But from top to bottom, we have the best talent. From pass rush to secondary, there’s nobody better than us.’’

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe said the Super Bowl win “proved we’re the No. 1 defense,” and added: “If you ask me or anybody on this defense, we’re the best to ever do it.”In their three postseason wins over Pittsburgh, New England and Carolina, the Broncos’ defense hit the quarterbacks 36 times, had 14 sacks, knocked down 25 passes and allowed just one touchdown pass.When you digest those numbers, it’s difficult to muster an argument against the assertions of Marshall and Wolfe and easy to see which philosophical direction NFL teams will move in an effort to experience what the Broncos experienced Sunday night: The euphoria of being champions.

>      http://nypost.com/2016/02/08/broncos-qb-nightmare-blueprint-for-jets-giants-to-copy/

[Joe W. Namath]

Yes, once every 20 years a dominant D wins a super Bowl.  The other 19 are won by a great offense and qb.

get a QB!!!!!