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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – It happens every week in the NFL; opposing coaches praise the team they are about to face and tell the world—whether it’s true or not—how tough the upcoming matchup is going to be. Quarterbacks tell you how stout the upcoming secondary is and defenders hail the prowess of the incoming offense.
Not often, though, do you hear a player on one side of the ball give an in-depth breakdown of the opposing team’s unit on that same side of the ball. After all, when players watch film, they don’t watch the entire game, they simply watch the cut-ups of the side they will have to face.
On Wednesday morning, on a conference call with Denver media, Gerald McCoy switched things up. While he was asked about his team’s early struggles on defense, he used the opportunity to begin an in-depth monologue about the Broncos defense.
“[Guys are] trying to go make a play instead of just playing the defense that’s called or just doing your job. You’re trying to compensate for the guy next to you,” he said of his own team before diving into the Broncos. “We have to trust each other. How Denver plays defense, you never watch their defense and see a guy who is doing more that he’s supposed to. They all work together; that’s why their defense is almost flawless. With the guys they have rushing the passer, how they play the run and probably the best secondary in football. It’s just, we have to do better at just doing our job and sticking to the defense.”
McCoy was then asked if the Denver ‘D’ had reached a point where defenders around the league are watching film on them, that’s when he really went into things.
“They’ve been that way, man. They hit elite status a while back. Just a lot of great players,” he explained. “Chris Harris, I’ve known him for years, he’s an Oklahoma guy, he went to Kansas, but he’s from Oklahoma. I’ve had a chance to know him and see how he’s grown and the player he’s grown into. I’m so happy for him because I remember when he wasn’t drafted and now look at him, one of the best DBs in football.”
He was far from done.
“Aqib Talib was here, so I know Aqib well, he’s always been a dominant corner, always been a shutdown guy. So, his success is nothing surprising to me. T.J. Ward, he’s just an animal out there, and I love to watch him play. It’s almost like they have nothing else to do in life but play football. That’s T.J. Ward, Von Miller—I’ve been a fan of his since he was at A&M. Derek Wolfe is a wolf out there. DeMarcus Ware, when he’s healthy he’s DeMarcus Ware, he’s a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Shane Ray, he’s coming along, that performance he put on last week was very good. They have a lot of pieces to that defense that makes them who they are, but the best thing about them is they are very disciplined.
“They play as one heartbeat, and that’s what we’re working to get to.”
That right there is not your usual “coach speak,” that’s a player who is truly admiring his peers. Thats a player who sounds like—while he surely loves his teammates—he wouldn’t mind getting shipped to Denver.
