Can The Denver Defense Remain Elite With Joe Woods?

With the departure of Wade Phillips, Joe Woods enters the picture at DC which may have fans asking: Can the Denver Broncos’ defense remain dominant?

This offseason the Denver Broncos lost a treasure chest of experience when Wade Phillips took the defensive coordinator job for the Los Angeles Rams.

Joe Woods is taking over for Phillips this season and has a hard task of meeting the same (high) expectations. Many fans wonder if Woods’ lack of experience as a coordinator may hinder the Broncos elite defense.

It’s a fair question to ask.

Phillips has over 41 total years of coaching experience while Woods has 25. In football, 25 years is a lot, but the questions most analysts are asking revolve around quick, in-game adjustments. I recently spoke on GoMileHigh Radio and was asked, “Can Woods’ lack of coordinator experience hurt the Broncos in-game with making adjustments?”

I thought about it and answered that I believe Denver will struggle in that regard right now, theoretically. Let’s create a more descriptive example.

Tom Brady with two minutes left in the game gets the ball with Denver ahead on the scoreboard. This is a position Brady has thrived in countless times over his career. He is just used to it.

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The question is: When Brady and company are running the two minute drill, will Woods be able to adjust under pressure? I believe he may struggle due to the lack of coordinator experience.

The Broncos’ secondary I believe will be fine because Woods knows everything about adjusting his defensive backs during a game. But what about stunts and play from the linebackers and defensive line?

This is uncharted water for Woods that adds some warranted skepticism from fans and analysts alike. Can he make those game-changing adjustments that will keep the Broncos defense elite?

Maybe. Maybe not. Both acceptable answers, however if there is any indication from the players, they are confident in Woods’ ability to coach.

Player’s Coach

In a sitdown with Josina Anderson of ESPN prior to Woods being named the defensive coordinator, Chris Harris Jr. was hopeful Woods could be the guy.

The defensive backs are excited coach Woods is getting his shot with them despite being highly sought after for interviews from several organizations.

We won’t know right now how Woods will do against the Broncos’ tough schedule of opponents, however I’ve often learned that if the players are excited, we should be too!