Chris Harris knew exactly what to do because A) it’s “called route recognition” and he’s “on that level of smart to be able to let my man go and be able to jump routes,” and, B) he had seen the same thing four days earlier in a Broncos scrimmage at Dove Valley.
“Same exact play,” he said.
So, on the Broncos’ first defensive possession of their preseason win at Chicago on Thursday, he did the same exact thing.
As Broncos outside linebacker Kasim Edebali whipped around the Bears’ left offensive tackle toward quarterback Mike Glennon, Harris eased back from the line of scrimmage and waited for wide receiver Cameron Meredith to floor it so he could jump his route. When Glennon dropped back, Meredith headed upfield as Harris hung back to intercept the pass and run it back 50 yards for a touchdown.
“My read took me to that play,” Harris said afterward. “I just happened to be in the right spot.”
The play gave the Broncos an early 7-0 cushion, gave the first-team defense an early exit in reward and gave Glennon a taste of what Broncos quarterbacks Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch have dealt with for the past four months.
But if Harris’ instincts serve him right throughout the regular season, that pick-six — he has three in his regular-season career — might be a hint of what is to come in 2017.
In 2015, the Broncos had one of the most lethal defenses in history just two years after boasting the most prolific offense in history with quarterback Peyton Manning. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and his version of the 3-4 starred edge rushers Von Miller and the now recently retired DeMarcus Ware and was bolstered by a secondary known colloquially as the No-Fly Zone. Only 199.6 yards passing per game made it past them during their Super Bowl 50 season, while 14 passes were intercepted and four were returned for touchdowns.
Last year, as the offense adjusted to life without Manning, the defense again led the way — and the league — with only 185.8 yards passing allowed per game, plus another 14 picks and three pick-sixes.
The Broncos made the work look easy, but it was anything but, as they operated in what Phillips called a “matchup zone.”
“It looks like man until you pass him off to somebody else,” Phillips explained last year. “We started it from basketball, way, way back. Everybody was playing 2-1-2 zone, and if the ball went to one side, they stayed in place. But then later on they started moving over. We thought: ‘Well, we can do that. We’ve got five receivers going out. That’s the same concept as basketball.’ ”
The shifts were designed to create pressure and then more pressure. And they worked.
But the elevation of former defensive backs coach Joe Woods to defensive coordinator this year brought a bit of a change. Phillips’ defensive foundation is still firmly in place, but the look of the defense has been tweaked with hope of spurring improvement in the run defense and making its pass defense even more threatening.
“We’re not playing so much man,” Harris said. “That’s why the picks haven’t been so high in the past, because we play so much man. We had to be by our guy. When quarterbacks see that, they don’t throw it. Now, we get to play more vision. We get to jump more routes. I expect a high interception level this year.”
The No-Fly Zone laid out a lofty goal in the offseason of leading the league a third consecutive season in pass defense. But its members are also eyeing other numbers.
Aqib Talib, whose nine career pick-sixes are tied with three Hall of Famers (Aeneas Williams, Deion Sanders and Ken Houston), has already given thought to a future in Canton and is three pick-sixes shy of tying Rod Woodson’s career record.
“You don’t think Hall of Fame until you get to like Year 9 or Year 10, and then you compare your numbers to the other guys and you see you’re on the right path,” Talib said. “All of those guys played 14-15 years plus. I feel like I’m on the right path, so now I have to just finish; I have to finish out my career strong and maybe I’ll have a chance.”
In training camp, Bradley Roby has already topped his total of two interceptions from last year.
And Harris sees his pair of picks from 2016 doubling this year.
Because A) he’s on that level and, B) he has seen the No-Fly Zone at work.
“I believe that. It’s been like that,” he said. “My production is high in training camp. I’m ready to roll.”
