“Next man up” has to be the worst cliché in football, right behind “one week at a time”, “leave it all on the field” or “give it 110 percent.”
Press conferences and postgame interviews are riddled with these pointless sayings. That’s because there are few guys in football with actual personalities and it’s just easier to spit out clichés and move on.
Saying anyone gave 110 percent is just stupid. And, let’s be honest, nothing ever gets left on the field. Sure these are metaphors, but that doesn’t make them any less nonsensical. The idea of next man up takes the cake for one reason: There simply aren’t enough good players in the NFL for it to be true.
Need proof? Ask the Packers or the Patriots how their next man up philosophy is working. The bottom half of NFL rosters are made up of guys one mistake away from hawking cellphones at the mall.
But one NFL team is proving that old myth wrong – the Denver Broncos, specifically on the defense. This season Wade Phillips and his assistants have been forced to fill holes up and down the starting lineup because of injury and they’ve done an incredible job.
Phillips and Company are managing to get the most out of every defensive player on the roster.
Dealing with injuries to starters DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward is tough enough; when their backups go down it really complicates things. That’s what Phillips has been forced to deal with this season.
Ware goes down with injury then one of his main backups, Shane Ray, does as well.
At safety, T.J. Ward is nicked up, as are backups Omar Bolden and David Burton. Sylvester Williams skipped the trip to San Diego and on and on. The defensive training room is starting to look like a MASH unit.
Despite all of the injuries, Denver’s defense has continued to be the best unit in football. The credit for that belongs to the work Phillips and his assistants have put in. It’s work that can be traced back to July.
At the beginning of training camp Denver’s defense looked good on paper. They were slotted to start two or three true superstars, a handful of really good players and several quality role players. That’s more than most teams could say.
John Elway had assembled a talented group for Phillips to work with. Given his history drafting defensive talent and the free agents he’s signed, everyone knew that.
What was unforeseen was Phillips taking a bunch of average backups, selected in the bottom half of the NFL Draft and turning them into above average backups. Take Bruton, a career special teams player, whom Phillips turned into a huge contributor, or Darian Stewart, a journeymen, who is now the anchor of the best defense in the league.
Bruton and Stewart are playing the best football of their careers. So are Williams, Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson. And, Shaquil Barrett, an undrafted free agent, looks like he is going to be a legitimate threat at outside linebacker for years to come.
Phillips’ coaching this season has been unmatched, on and off the field. He has been the MVP of Denver’s staff and it isn’t just because of his schemes or attacking style. He has pushed players to take strides many thought they couldn’t and turned draft picks once considered busts into coveted players.
The development made by seemingly average players under this defensive staff is incredible. It started in training camp with great coaching, hard work and dedication. Not hyperbole and metaphors.
Denver’s defense has overcome injury after injury after injury, a rare feat in the NFL. The “next man up” philosophy may be an annoying cliché in the NFL but it personifies Wade Phillips and the defense he has created.
