T.J. Ward says Broncos 'can become the best defense of all time'
After keying the Broncos' Super Bowl run, the defense wants to take it a step further in 2016
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Shortly after the Broncos trampled Tom Brady and Cam Newton en route to a championship, I took a look at how Denver's defense stacked up to the 1985 Bears defense, arguably the greatest unit of all time. Despite all of the boasting the members of the Broncos defense did after that Super Bowl run, the '85 Bears still took home the mantle as the more dominant unit, at least by the numbers.
Even though they lost key contributors like Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson in free agency, the Broncos defense still appears to be set on topping that Bears defense and every other defense that's in the discussion as the greatest ever. This week, safety T.J. Ward expressed belief that the defense is ceiling-less and has a chance to be even better than last year's unit.
"There is no ceiling," Ward told the Denver Post. "We can be as good as we want to be. We can become the best defense of all time. That's what we're working toward."
Retaining star pass-rusher Von Miller, which John Elway did last week, and Derek Wolfe will certainly help the Broncos' chances of succeeding in that endeavor. But losing those key players won't. Trevathan led the team in total tackles and Jackson finished with 5.5 sacks and seven passes defended. That kind of production isn't easy to replace.
The Broncos still have enough pieces to remain at or near the top of the defensive rankings, but following up a dominant season with an even better one seems like too tough of a task, especially with DeMarcus Ware's ongoing back issues and the process of aging (he'll turn 34 later this month).
Last year, the Broncos ranked first in yards surrendered, fourth in points allowed, seventh in takeaways, and first in sacks.
