Wade Phillips Can Guide Denver Broncos Talented Defense to Next Level

The Denver Broncos had a very good defense in 2014, but it was missing many elements of a dominant one. When they signed cornerback Aqib Talib, pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware and safety T.J. Ward last offseason, the Broncos hoped to have a defense that rivaled the best in the league, and it never really came together that way.

The lack of fire the Broncos displayed in the playoffs prompted general manager John Elway to make a coaching change. Now, he and new head coach Gary Kubiak have finally settled on Wade Phillips as their defensive coordinator after an unsuccessful attempt to get Vance Joseph from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Whereas Joseph is mostly an unknown, Phillips is a proven defensive coordinator who will almost assuredly help the Broncos get to the next level on defense. Phillips has been improving defenses for the past 30 years, and he’s a good fit having worked for Kubiak in Houston and the Broncos before.

In five of his seven stints as a defensive coordinator, his defenses have improved in yards allowed, points allowed and takeaways in his first year with the team. If Phillips fails to improve Denver’s defense, it will arguably be the first time in his entire career a defense hasn’t improved under his leadership in year one.

As defensive coordinator of the Broncos in 1989, Phillips guided a unit that was third in yards allowed, first in points allowed and second in takeaways in his first year. The Broncos made it all the way to the Super Bowl. This was after the Broncos were 22nd in yards allowed, 20th in points allowed and 24th in takeaways the year before.

A big turnaround isn’t atypical for a Phillips-coached defense. On average, his defenses have improved 11 places in yards allowed, 13 places in points allowed and 13 places in takeaways. Only three times did one of his units perform worse in any of these categories compared to the prior year. His 1995 Buffalo Bills squad forced the exact same number of turnovers as the year before and dropped two spots in the rankings but still improved overall.

His 1986 Philadelphia Eagles dropped two spots in points allowed because they allowed two more total points on the year but improved in takeaways at the expense of yards. It was the only time in his career where his defense arguably didn’t improve in his first year with the team, but even that is debatable.

Team	Year	NFL Teams	Pre Yards	Pre Points	Pre Takeaways	Post Yards	Post Points	Post Takeaways
Saints	1980-1981	28	28	28	28	11	24	21
Eagles	1985-1986	28	10	10	25	17	12	14
Broncos	1988-1989	28	22	20	24	3	1	2
Bills	1994-1995	28	17	22	19	13	12	21
Falcons	2001-2002	31	30	24	14	19	8	2
Chargers	2003-2004	32	27	31	31	18	11	8
Texans	2010-2011	32	29	31	31	2	4	12
Broncos	2014-2015	32	3	16	14	?	?	?

Phillips has accomplished a lot in his career, but the Broncos defense might be one of the most talented he’s ever coached. Statistically, only the Eagles team he took over in 1986 was close to that of the 2014 Broncos.

Phillips coached Reggie White’s prime and his three best statistical sack seasons from 1986-1988. Phillips was also the head coach in Dallas during DeMarcus Ware’s prime from 2007-2010. White and Ware were 25 when Phillips arrived and had their best statistical sack seasons at age 26.

In 1987, White recorded 21 sacks at age 26. In 2008, Ware had 20 sacks at age 26. Von Miller will be 26 in March and only got to the quarterback on the ground 14 times last year. Expect Miller’s numbers to go up in 2015 under Phillips.

Phillips also helped turned J.J. Watt loose on the league in 2012. Watt had 20.5 sacks at age 23 and now is the consensus best defensive player in the league. Watt deserves a lot of credit, but Phillips devised a scheme that was perfect for him.

The Phillips 3-4 Defense

No one runs a pure 3-4 two-gap scheme exclusively anymore. That’s the traditional 3-4 many people think about that uses three down linemen to play two gaps each and four linebackers to read, react and make all the plays.

Phillips pioneered the one-gap 3-4 defense, which means it’s not a whole lot different from Jack Del Rio’s 4-3 defense. In the Phillips 3-4, players attack one gap instead of two.

The alignment just helps Phillips create confusion about where the pressure is coming from and how many players he’s going to send at the quarterback. This alignment allows Phillips to send five and six defenders at the quarterback without sacrificing his secondary.

Player	Best	Year	Age	Sacks/Year Under Phillips
Reggie White	21.0	1987	26	19.0
DeMarcus Ware	20.0	2008	26	15.1
J.J. Watt	20.5	2012	23	12.2
Rickey Jackson	12.0	1983/84	25/26	9.9
Von Miller	?	2015	26	?
Simon Fletcher	16.0	1992	30	12.2
DeMarcus Ware	?	2015	33	15.1

Del Rio had a lot of success when he blitzed, but he chose to play it safe. By nature of Phillips’ 3-4 defense, he’ll send more blitzes and likely will get quick pressure with so much focus on Miller and Ware.

Phillips will be able to be very aggressive with Talib, Chris Harris Jr. and Bradley Roby at cornerback. He’ll also be able to sit back when the situation calls for it and have success because the offense will have to keep extra blockers in.

The Broncos already have the personnel to run the Phillips 3-4. Derek Wolfe, Malik Jackson and Sylvester Williams will all likely be defensive ends in his scheme, which leaves a bit of a hole at nose tackle if the team doesn’t bring back Terrance Knighton. Ware and Miller are the outside linebackers while Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall fill roles as inside linebackers.

Since Miller, Trevathan and Marshall are strong in coverage, they give Phillips more options. Not only can Phillips send five and six defenders with good cover linebackers, but he also can show a blitz and then drop everyone into coverage.

These type of games on defense can be especially useful in the red zone, which is an area where the Broncos struggled in 2014. A linebacker faking a blitz and dropping under the short slant or reading a quick pass to the flat to stop the running back before he can get to the edge are just a couple examples.

The bottom line is that Phillips won’t ask players to do things they aren’t good at doing. The birth of the 3-4 one-gap scheme was born out of the fact that Phillips had defensive ends that were good rushing the passer. Phillips will fit his scheme to the players, even if it always loosely resembles a 3-4.

Although the Broncos wanted Joseph as defensive coordinator, Phillips is about a good of a Plan B as there is. The Broncos can always bring Joseph over once his contract is up with the Cincinnati Bengals and make him the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator in waiting, much as a he was in Houston before quarterback Matt Schaub turned into a pumpkin and cost Kubiak, Phillips and Joseph their jobs.