DC Vance Joseph Challenges Broncos to Improve in Key Area vs. Niners

Vance Joseph needs to see better production in this department.

Outside of relinquishing that Arizona Cardinals touchdown-scoring drive in the closing minutes, and the subsequent two-point conversion, the Denver Broncos defense was far from the problem in preseason Game 1. That last drive and the two scores were allowed by Denver's third- and fourth-string defenders, many of whom won't be in the NFL two weeks from now. 

However, if there was one nit to be picked out of Vance Joseph's first game as the Broncos' defensive coordinator, it would be the tackling — or lack thereof. While it wasn't as pervasive when the first-teamers were on the field — which was only for roughly 20 snaps — Denver's tackling was quite sloppy from there on out. 

As the Broncos gear up to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday in preseason Game 2, Joseph is hoping to see an improvement in the tackling department, plus a few other areas. 

“I think our tackling wasn’t great in that game," Joseph said on Wednesday. "There was a lot of leaky yardage. Our third downs were too short—two [yards], three [yards], four [yards] and five [yards]. That’s not good enough."

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Indeed, having to face so many third-and-short situations was a challenge for the Broncos, and Joseph isn't wrong in laying the team's tackling lapses at the feet of it. It's a big reason the Broncos allowed the Cardinals to convert literally half of their attempts on the 'money down.' 

On Arizona's game-winning two-point conversion, which occurred with just two ticks left on the game clock, Denver had the ball-carrier stopped short, before a second effort saw the defensive line implode. Those second-effort yards were a problem for Joseph's unit all game. 

"On contact, they were pushing for two or three more yards, so improved tackling," Joseph said. "That will be a focus, obviously, and winning more third downs. We lost half of our third downs. That’s not good enough. Those two areas are areas you have to do well on defense to be good. That will be the focus on Saturday night.”

With the Broncos' starters set to play again in Game 2, it'll be interesting to see if they can lead by example in the tackling department and establish a standard that the second, third, and fourth-string defenders can strive to meet. Tackling was an issue for the Broncos during Joseph's two-year stint as head coach (2017-18), but it was cleaned up as a "non-negotiable" issue by his successor, Vic Fangio. 

That was one of Fangio's few successes as head coach for three years (2019-21). Stay tuned. 

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