"We're all starters": Defensive depth on display as Denver downs San Diego

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DENVER – As the Denver Broncos notched their sixth win of the season on Sunday, a win that put their defensive depth to the ultimate test, a strong comment made by Shane Ray back in September came to mind.

“Our first eleven is clearly elite and our second eleven is elite,” he told BSN Denver at the time. “We have two starting defenses on one team. We might even be deeper than that.”

With Aqib Talib, Brandon Marshall or Kayvon Webster all sidelined due to injury, Ray’s comments were tested, and as players like Lorenzo Doss, Corey Nelson and Bradley Roby all stepped up, he was vindicated.

“Was I lyin’?” He asked with a laugh after the 27-19 win.

He wasn’t.

“That’s what it comes down to. Everybody on our team can play,” Ray added. “Top to bottom. You see Corey go out there, he handled his business. Doss gets put in a big situation with [Talib] going down. Roby making huge plays, Doss making huge plays, we have faith in everybody across the board. Just because somebody got hurt doesn’t change anything, we’re still going to win and we have the players to do it.”

On Sunday, the Broncos were forced to go beyond the two-deep in their secondary, as Lorenzo Doss came from the very bottom of the cornerback depth chart and into the game to make two of the biggest plays for the Orange & Blue: A pass breakup that ended up in the hands of Darian Stewart and a fourth-down breakup as the Chargers were looking for a late game-tying score.

“I just wanted to play my role,” he said afterward while being heckled by a fired up Ray in the background, elated to see the young corner surrounded by reporters.”That’s what we stress every week, ‘If you’re the next man up, just do your job,’ that’s what I wanted to do.”

That’s part of what makes this Broncos defense so special, their trust in one another. Each player is able to have more success in their role by knowing that they don’t have to worry about anything other than just that, their role. That doesn’t change when somebody new puts their cleats on the grass.

“The reason that we trust each other is because we know what we can all do,” Ray explained. “It’d be different if I looked at Dekoda when he came in and I was like, ‘Oh, I  don’t believe in Dekoda,’ I know that when Dekoda goes in, he’s going to make the play, he’s a high-caliber player. We all look at each other like that. We all feel like we’re high-caliber and when we get in the game, we produce.”

Before production comes preparation, afterall—as Kubiak explained after the game—Doss didn’t even find out he would get a jersey until his morning meetings on Sunday.

“I prepared well throughout the week, I’m around the No Fly Zone, the best of the best,” said the second-year corner. “I prepare each week like I’m going to play and if I’m out there I just have to make the plays… The Broncos have me here for a reason, to cover.”

It’s preparation, it’s execution and it’s expectation.

“We expect that. We expect them to make the same plays that Talib makes,” T.J. Ward told BSN Denver. “When we’re in practice and you’re with the ones, you better know everything Talib, Chris, Roby and K-Webb know. Everybody better know the same amount, that’s just the standard we hold in our room. There is no first, second, third string, we’re all starters. If it’s your day to start, then you’re starting today and you better play like a starter.”

So did Sunday’s second-stringers live up to that standard? Ward took a second to think, “They played a helluva game, actually.”

That they did and, in turn, the Broncos sit at 6-2 halfway through the season, staring right into a rivalry week that holds the keys to sole possession of  first place in the AFC West.