The Denver Broncos are continually attacking underneath defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, revealing that having two productive cornerbacks is best than one. While the dominant Patrick Surtain II is invariably placed on a pedestal, on the other facet, the second-year Riley Moss is gaining some significant recognition himself.
Grabbing the eye of Broncos head coach Sean Payton ought to be Moss' first aim.
“I think Riley has accelerated [his confidence],” Payton stated on Wednesday. “Certainly, Riley's aware of that, but I just finished telling [Owner & CEO] Greg [Penner] and [GM] George [Paton]. We were just sitting there talking and I said, ‘Man, if you're watching the film of this guy play right now, he's playing at a high level.'”
Confidence is a two-way deal in skilled sports activities, in order Moss develops his ranges of self-assurance, Payton has additionally put his religion firmly behind the previous Iowa standout.
“He's long, he's smart, and super competitive,” Payton stated of Moss. “One of the traits you have to have at that position is [at some point] you're going to fail, and you have to dare to fail and get right back. I'm really pleased with his progress.”
It's straightforward to distill the success of the Broncos' secondary all the way down to what Surtain permits them to do by way of scheme. In some ways, that could be true, however Surtain likes the collaboration that Denver's rising protection is doing proper now.
With the presence of Moss and nickel nook Ja'Quan McMillian, it is extra than simply Surtain locking down the opposition's No.1 receiver.
“I'm just going based off these past four weeks. We've been very dominant,” Surtain stated on Wednesday. “Ja'Quan], ‘J-Mac', he's been just lights out playing great football and making plays. [S] P.J. [Locke], Riley and [S] Brandon [Jones], everyone on the defensive side of the secondary. We've just been honing in on communication, being on the same page and understanding our keys. That's winning football at the end of the day. I could tell by these past few weeks that we've really honed in on the little things, and that's what has made us great.”
It might be a case of the wealthy getting richer, particularly as Moss and your complete unit tune into the finer particulars. Plus, cornerback Damarri Mathis is ready to return again off injured reserve, which is able to solely add to the depth of the unit transferring ahead.
While everyone seems to be vibing off the progress the Broncos protection is making, in case you had been to take Surtain out of the lineup, issues would probably stack up otherwise, significantly concerning the defensive scheme. That's a nuclear state of affairs that Payton does not need to contemplate for a fleeting second.
Payton a lot prefers to speak about all of the positives of getting a canopy nook like Surtain taking part in for the great guys.
“It's like the good news, bad news question all the time,” Payton stated. “‘The good news is you just did a great job against such and such.' ‘What's the bad news?' ‘Well, this week it's this [guy].' There's stress with that.”
That problem has been given Surtain in quite a lot of methods by Payton. Prior to the sport in Tampa, it was even finished in jest. But while you boil the bones down, Surtain appears utterly comfy with shadowing the sport's greatest receivers all around the area.
“I've been doing it for the past few years, and just having that experience traveling against the best,” Surtain stated. “Year after year, I feel like with my experience, I have been getting better with knowing my opponent. It's just a credit to my game, and also to the staff for trusting me to put me in that situation. The staff made that call for me to follow the best each and every week. I just have to live up to that for sure.”
In the ultimate evaluation, Moss is just not solely studying from a really generational participant in Surtain, the 24-year-old's speedy emergence is permitting the Broncos to get on the entrance foot and assault from the opening gun.
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