Broncos Joint Practice Observations: Defense brings the heat on Day 2

 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They say a quarterback has between two and three seconds to get rid of the ball in the NFL. After Saturday’s joint practice against the Denver Broncos, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo might disagree.

The Broncos got after Garoppolo on the day, bringing a lot of energy after what seemed to be a bit of a flat day on Friday.

Here’s what went down.

SACK CITY

After a red-zone period to start the 11-on-11 portion of the joint practice, the first full-field period started with the second-team defense, but they set the tone early.

In three plays, Zach Kerr had a sack, DeMarcus Walker had a sack, and Dekoda Watson blew up a sweep to the right side.

When the ones came out shortly after that, the defense kept the pressure on, with Derek Wolfe notching a sack and Josey Jewell blowing up a sweep in the series. A back-foot throw from Garoppolo to Marquise Goodwin turned out to be the only completion of the five-play, three-pass set.

When the second team rolled out, it was Shamarko Thomas and Dre’Mont Jones getting in on the sack action.

Oh, and did I mention Von Miller wasn’t even on the field for this practice, as he was taking a vet rest day? Oh, and Malik Reed wasn’t out there either, as he nurses an injury.

With the team thin at OLB, it was Watson who took his time to shine against his former team. In the next 11-on-11 period for the ones, Watson had back to back sacks of Garoppolo, having fun with chirping at his former teammates after each one.

By my count, Denver had seven sacks in the practice.

Now, one thing to keep in mind here, is that the players aren’t allowed to touch the quarterback, so these “sacks” don’t actually happen. Another thing to keep in mind is that the play goes on, they don’t even whistle it dead, so if you aren’t paying close attention what really was a sack could look like a big play for the offense.

For me, the play is over when the pass rusher runs right by the quarterback, but after practice, I asked Ed Donatell how he views it, and he provided some interesting insight.

“We always say, ‘What if they would’ve had time?'” The defensive coordinator explained. “We want to know how our guys will do. We know in a normal game, that isn’t always the truth. But if a guy can hold up even when there isn’t the pressure, then you know you can count on him more readily.”

“If you made a good rush, that’s good,” added Vic Fangio. “Will he finish? That’s why the games are so important. Can he finish? The players are instructed to stay away from the quarterback, so that’s why the preseason games are important. Can a guy finish?”

The only real “negative” of the day for the Broncos defense came at the end of practice. In an end-of-game situation, the 49ers offense was given the ball at the 50-yard line with 32 seconds on the clock and zero timeouts, down by one point.

On 1st-and-10, Garoppolo looked to the left side of the field where he tried to squeeze the ball between Justin Simmons and Chris Harris Jr. Bad decision. Simmons got a hand on the ball and Harris nearly intercepted it.

On 2nd-and-10, Bradley Chubb got big-time pressure off the right side and may have had a chance for sack in a live-game situation, but didn’t quite get there. Garoppolo stepped up and fired a rocket to Jordan Matthews, but Chris Harris Jr. got a hand in there to break it up.

On 3rd-and-10, Jimmy G was finally able to convert a first down, finding Matthews in front of Devante Bausby for 11.

After spiking the ball with six seconds left, kicker Robbie Gould lined up from 58 yards out and nailed the “game-winning” field goal.

In the end, it looks like a “loss” for the Broncos’ defense, but to be fair, when an offense has it at the 50 with 30 seconds left and all they need is a field goal, they should be able to convert that.

Even with that in mind, the Denver ‘D’ won the day.

SIMMONS, STILL

Keep buying that Justin Simmons stock whenever you have a few extra bucks laying around.

We’ve talked about the fourth-year safety a lot already, but he just keeps making plays.

In addition to the two pass breakups noted above, including the near-game-sealing interception, Simmons also had a big-time PBU in the opening red-zone drill of practice, knocking the ball out and preventing a would-be touchdown.

“We really intend for him to play well,” Donatell said after practice. “What he has shown us right now is he can play really well in the deep part of the field. He can diagnose run-pass really well, and he has excellent ball skills. So, he has those instincts that will take you to the ball, and we’re intending for him to take it away for us this year.”

This Fangio defense asks a lot of the safeties, as John Elway aptly pointed out after practice, and Simmons has looked nothing but fantastic in his new role.

OTHER NOTES

• A 49ers source told me after practice that Bradley Chubb is one of the best trash talkers in the league.
  • Chubb certainly got under the skin of Niners rookie Jalen Hurd at one point in practice, as Hurd had to be restrained by one of his coaches after Chubb said something to him.
    • During the verbal confrontation, Hurd yelled something along the lines of “Come get some!” It led Josey Jewell, who was in Hurd’s vicinity to sort of jab step at him, causing Hurd to flinch. Jewell thought it was hilarious. It was.
• Jewell was very stout against the run, making multiple plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.
• Zach Kerr had a great practice after really dominating the Niners interior during the 1-on-1 period of practice.
• Demarcus Walker continues to flash in practices, making one or two nice plays a day.