WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — It’s not every week a defense prepares to face a 40-year-old opposing quarterback.
Of course, when that guy is a sure-fire, future first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer like Aaron Rodgers, the task is a tall one.
Head coach Sean Payton this week had a number ready at the top of his head to illustrate the challenge.
“You feel like you’re seeing the quarterback we all remember,” Payton said. “He’s quick, the ball is out, he’s got great command of what they do. One hundred eighty penalties drawn with his hard count. Historically speaking, he’s one of the top quarterbacks we’ve ever seen, certainly in that area.
“He does a great job getting the plays they want to get to. You see the skill set that we all saw prior to the injury.”
Rodgers, of course, played only four snaps last year before tearing his Achilles tendon. He was not on the field when offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, quarterback Zach Wilson and the Jets put 407 total yards (234 rushing) on Denver in a win at Empower Field last fall.
Denver’s defense has been much better early this season compared to early last year, but now Rodgers is back and the Broncos will be playing for the first time without inside linebacker Alex Singleton, who wore the “green dot” helmet and received the play calls from coordinator Vance Joseph.
“Obviously when you’re playing a guy like this, you have to be in his head a little bit as far as knowing what he sees and knowing what you’re showing him and taking it away,” Joseph said Thursday. “He’s seen it all. It’s our job to obviously win our one-on-ones. That’s the challenge. He’s the quarterback — he don’t catch the ball.
“So we have to win our one-on-ones, rush the passer, stop the run and do NFL things this Sunday to win.”
Jumpstarting Javonte and Jaleel. The Broncos have got nice contributions the past two weeks from running back Tyler Badie. They’re going to need more from Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, however.
Each is averaging 2.2 yards per carry through three games this season. Against Tampa Bay, they combined for 10 carries and 19 yards, though they did also log five catches on five targets for 36.
“Just because the stats tell you that they’re not gaining a bunch of yards doesn’t mean that they’ve all of a sudden turned to crap,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday. “So you just keep handing them the ball and know that we’ll keep getting better, the plan will keep getting better and we’ll keep blocking better.
“Their big runs are coming.”
Super bowl? Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz is an avid bowler. He even brought his own ball and shoes to The Greenbrier in anticipation of the player off-day Tuesday.
What he found? Not great.
“They didn’t oil the lanes, so as soon as I threw the ball it went straight into the gutter and then when it came back from the return, had scratches on my ball and everything. So I stopped bowling and went to the arcade.”
Meinerz said his league average last year was 200 bowling, so he’s no slouch. It’s good to have multiple hobbies, though.
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Skinner still out. The Broncos have several key players on injured reserve but otherwise a short injury report this week. Second-year safety JL Skinner (ankle) remained out Thursday, while TE Nate Adkins (shoulder) was limited again. WR Josh Reynolds (Achilles) has been nursing an issue back to training camp and bumped up to a full workload on Thursday.
Skinner missed last week’s game and hasn’t practiced since before the team’s Week 2 loss to Pittsburgh.
Special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica said Thursday that reserve safety Keidron Smith has played well on special teams in Skinner’s place.
“It’s just another opportunity for those guys who have put in the work behind the scenes and watching it pay off on Sundays,” Kotwica said.
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