Help me out with this one. Does this imply at least a part-time switch to a 3-4 style of play with Adams as NT? Or is he not that kind of huge?

I remember the name well enough to know that he was at least very good once, but military/school time has kept me from keeping well up on all the players in the league, and he's one that's slipped through the cracks on me.

Also, is this designed to give the linebackers more freedom? It's the only thing that makes sense to me, given my limited understanding of it all.

I was going to say Adams has lost a step, but the thing is, he’s really slow and he’s always been really slow, so he hasn’t really lost a step. What’s the DT equivalent?

Speaking of losing a step, whenever I think of Sam Adams I think of that INT he returned for a score in... 2004, I think it was, when he was with Buffalo (one of the first few weeks of the season, possibly week 1). If you saw the way that Sam Adams was sprinting down the field, or the way he nimbly high-stepped (well, okay... medium-stepped) it into the end-zone, then you'd understand how a DT could lose a step.

Anyway, I'm not terribly worried about Adams, since he's a Ted Washington/Grady Jackson type- a guy whose only job is to stand in the middle and be fat. Washington is 39 and iirc he's still in the league (and he was a key to NE's SB title in 2003 at the ripe old age of 36). Jackson is 34 and still going strong. Adams is the youngest of the three, and has made the pro bowl the most recently of the three, and is playing on a line with a ton of depth (meaning he doesn't need to log many snaps), so I'm excited about the signing. I think he's got at least 2 more years of standing in the middle and being fat left in him, as long as he has some youngsters on hand to let him catch his breath on obvious passing plays.

Re #1: Help me out with this one. Does this imply at least a part-time switch to a 3-4 style of play with Adams as NT? Or is he not that kind of huge?

I remember the name well enough to know that he was at least very good once, but military/school time has kept me from keeping well up on all the players in the league, and he’s one that’s slipped through the cracks on me.

Also, is this designed to give the linebackers more freedom? It’s the only thing that makes sense to me, given my limited understanding of it all.

Denver's new D-Coordinator, Jim Bates, prefers to run a very distinct scheme. If given his druthers, Bates would field a team with two massive DTs whose only jobs is to hold up strong and clog the lanes at the point of attack (ideally, clogging 2 gaps each just because they're so fat and hard to move). He'd then split his DEs out extremely wide and give them one responsibility- get into the backfield. While Gerard Warren could definitely serve as a lane-clogger, Denver didn't really have any other DTs on its entire roster that fit the bill (most of their DTs were sleeker, penetrating DTs- including rookie Marcus Thomas- and even Warren would rather be penetrating if given the choice).

Sam Adams is definitely large enough to play NT if it was needed, but I think he's played his entire career in the 4-3. Think of him as a Ted Washington type- another guy who could play NT (and did for New England, a bit), but who predominantly plays in 4-3 defenses where his primary responsibility is to free up LBs to flow to the ball.

"What’s the DT equivalent?"
He gained a pound (or 5).
Got a year older.
Got another season of wear and tear in him (at a tough position).

Re: 2 and 3

Thanks. That makes sense to me. It sounds like a move to primarily close the middle down so the rest of the field can worry about LDT on the outsides. Since they assumedly have two effective man-coverage CBs, having two guys who can control most of the run game will really allow the rest of the field to get creative on defense.

With my rose-colored glasses on, this sounds like a really nice defensive package coming together. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the defense looks in the second half of games - especially since the depth should give the players enough rest to last beyond halftime for a change.

Kibbles: Since you seem to have the Broncos pretty well analyzed... do you think that the new defensive makeup has a decent shot at keeping up with the Colts offense this year? That, and the Chargers are my perennial fears for the team.

Re #5: Kibbles: Since you seem to have the Broncos pretty well analyzed… do you think that the new defensive makeup has a decent shot at keeping up with the Colts offense this year? That, and the Chargers are my perennial fears for the team.

I think Denver could have kept up with the Colts *LAST* year, if Warren had been playing. Remember, last year there were essentially two different game-winning drives to end the game. The only reason Peyton marched down the field on Denver with such ease is because Denver couldn't get any pressure whatsoever. That problem is likely a thing of the past, with the addition of Moss/Thomas, the emergence of Dumervil, and most importantly, the addition of Bates.

Remember, too, that Denver doesn't have to stop Indy's offense, they just have to make sure that Denver's offense vs. Indy's defense is a bigger mismatch than Indy's offense vs. Denver's defense. While I think Indy is a tough game no matter what, since they're such a quality team, I don't think it's a stretch to believe that Denver will score on Indy in bunches.

"he hasn’t really lost a step. What’s the DT equivalent?"

Gained a chin?

The DT equivalent to losing a step is that Adams has lost explosiveness off the snap. An ability I was able to quantify about this year's crop of offensive linemen using some simple kinematics and their combine results. And, over the next few weeks, will be able to quantify about this year's defensive tackles, too.

Adams can be the biggest, fattest piece of crap in the NFL, but if he can't fly off the line with any sort of authority, he won't be able to knock back blockers or get leverage to effectively clog the rushing lanes. When you're quantifying a player's force in the first .4 yards (the rough distance a defensive lineman moves before coming into contact with an offensive lineman) it's important to be heavy, but it's nearly equally as important to be quick. Without any hard measurements, it's impossible to know just how hard Adams is coming off the line, but given his age and fitness level I doubt too many guards are going to have that much trouble knocking him back and out of the play.

Speaking of losing a step, whenever I think of Sam Adams I think of that INT he returned for a score in… 2004, I think it was, when he was with Buffalo (one of the first few weeks of the season, possibly week 1). If you saw the way that Sam Adams was sprinting down the field, or the way he nimbly high-stepped (well, okay… medium-stepped) it into the end-zone, then you’d understand how a DT could lose a step.

That was the opening game against New England, where they were drubbed 31-0, right after cutting Lawyer Milloy. That was the game that spurred Jackson's infamous "They hate their coach" remark.

As a Bengals fan, I was very surprised Adams was cut. He played at around 370 last year and was in terrible shape but was disruptive and made several plays in the backfield.

He was not the advertised drawing double-teams and plug up the A gap tackle I expected, although maybe it's because the Bengals run a 1-gap scheme.

Anyways, Sam's biggest strength in the past was his first step--tremendously quick for his size. I watched the Bengal D-line closely last year, and Sam was the first one out of his stance and engaging, so I don't think he's lost too much. It's just that he got so heavy that guards were guiding him laterally and letting him take himself out of the gap. Bates might be able to use him better, given his history with guys like Tim Bowens.

High reward potential--little risk. I love this move for the Broncos.

I was looking for Houston to sign him. Another run stopper is always useful to have when you are expected to be behind a lot and have a very young line.

What would make me nervous for kibbles and other Denver fans is if Marvin Lewis is the one who cut Sam; Adams had his best years playing next to Siragusa on the 2000-2001 Ravens defensive line for Lewis. That would indicate that Sam had bigger problems than even his waistline.

The United Way ads in that time were pretty good -- Matt Birk ("he went to Harvard") explaining elecromagnetic theory to school kids; Duce Staley being sent to timeout for refusing to spell "chrysanthemum" in a spelling bee. Sam Adams did one where he was giving a CPR class poolside, using a dummy to explain how to restart a heart -- "the most important thing is, DON'T PANIC." Sam then crushes the dummy into powder, leaving a crater in the pool deck. The kids look like they're about to faint, and the voice-over guy simply says, "Panic."

Classic stuff -- I hope he does well in Denver, but he may have passed from Grady Jackson to Gilbert Brown, if Marvin was willing to let him go.