Denver Broncos Burning Question No. 2: Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates

Over the coming weeks, attempts will be made to answer a handful of burning questions regarding what was perhaps the NFL's second-most disappointing team in 2007.  Those questions include:

• What's going on in the secondary?
• Will defensive coordinator Jim Bates be fired?
• Are there addressable problems in the offensive line?
• Can free agency help?
• And what is up with the red-zone offense?

Burning question No. 2 was in fact answered last month, when Bates handed in his resignation in what was surely one of those classic "You can't fire me: I quit!" scenes. (Hey, the list was drawn up about 17 seconds after the Broncos were eliminated around Week 13 or so.)

Never one to hesitate in issuance of a pink slip, Mike Shanahan showed zero tolerance in ditching a guy who came in and was named assistant coach/defensive coordinator after being told he'd straight-up replace Larry Coyer when hired in 2007.

Be that as it may, the Broncos ran (perhaps that should be in quotes) Bates' aggressive, supposedly run-stuffing defensive.  Still, it was to little avail, as Denver ranked a lowly 30th against the ground game while giving up an incredible 142.6 yards per game. 

To put this in perspective, only the running machines in Minnesota and Jacksonville managed more yards per game.  Statistically, facing the 2007 Broncos' rushing D turned the average team's runners into Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.

So now that the typical sport management decision has been made in response to adversity (i.e. firing a coach), one wonders if in fact this defense is salvageable.

For two years, new solo defensive coordinator Bob Slowik ran Denver's secondary, helping to create the ninth-stingiest group in terms of points scored in 2006.  That year the Broncos surrendered just two touchdowns in the first seven games.  Their mark of just one TD allowed in the first six tied was the best since 1934, when the "forward pass" was a maneuver mostly used in the courting of Betty Lou.

In fact, looking at Slowik's success—particularly in the area of adapting headline-name veterans such as Champ Bailey and John Lynch—in his first two years working with the Denver secondary, the hiring of Bates over Slowik becomes even more mysterious.  Maybe moody Shanahan was in a snit with Slowik one day.

Whether Slowik can rejuvenate this defense remains to be seen.  After all, his secondary was rife with problems and not nearly as sharp as that of the past two years. 

What we can expect is a lot more pass coverage and a de-emphasis on attempting to plug the middle.  In the draft, figure the Broncos to go for a linebacker, specifically quick guys at the OLB spots, as Nate Webster, Ian Gold, and Jamie Winborn are all in their 30s.

Though Slowik's game plan is a bit of a question mark for outsiders right now, at the very least Broncos backers can rest assured that the open position has been filled competently. 

Sure Slowik's head may unjustifiably roll in early 2009 should the decline of the secondary's skills continue and the team fail to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season.  But boy, will 2008 be interesting for lovers of Denver's D.

Never Slow(ik) on the uptake at RealFootball365.com.