Alex Marvez
FOXSports.com,
IRVING, Texas - Standing alongside each other following a recent joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Dre’ Bly are asked to name something they’ve learned about the other since the latter was acquired in an off-season trade with Detroit.
Bly responds first, revealing that he thought Bailey was “just a quiet, All-Pro corner. I didn’t know how silly the dude was.”
Bailey lived up to that billing with his answer.
“I didn’t know Dre’ could sing,” Bailey deadpanned. “He’s a great singer. He’s the next Milli Vanilli.”
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# Bailey, Bly have mutual respect
When it comes to music, maybe Bly would be better off lip synching like that scandal-plagued 1980s pop duo. As for football, there’s no doubt that Bailey and Bly are the real deal.
And that may spell the difference in Denver returning to the Super Bowl for the first time in nine seasons.
No team enters the 2007 campaign with a better tandem of starting cornerbacks than the Broncos. Bailey ranked second behind Miami defensive end Jason Taylor in 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting despite teams’ best efforts to try and avoid throwing in his direction. Bailey still registered 10 interceptions and was credited with career highs in passes defensed (30) and tackles (98).
Now, there is an equally unappealing option on the opposite side. Bly has the fourth-highest number of interceptions (33) of any NFL player since 1999 and is known for big plays, as evidenced by his eight career returns for touchdowns and 13 forced fumbles the past four seasons.
“I know it means a lot because it will make our defense better for one,” said Bailey, whose team’s pass defense still ranked 21st in the NFL last season despite his efforts. “It will make my job a lot more interesting on the other side because nobody is going to pick on Dre’.”
Said Bly: “I’ve been saying my whole career that there are only a few corners whose game I admire. What Champ has been able to do his first eight years, he’s definitely one of those guys … I know what I bring to the table. Having a chance to pair up with him is going to be frightening for opposing offenses.”
So pick your poison — and risk getting picked off like Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo did Saturday night when Bly snared an errant throw early in the second quarter of Denver’s 31-20 preseason loss to Dallas.
“To me, the best pair of cornerbacks were (Oakland’s) Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes in the 1980s, and we’re talking that kind of level with these guys,” said former NFL defensive back Solomon Wilcots, who is an analyst for Sirius Satellite Radio.
Bailey’s 10 interceptions in 2006 nearly landed him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. (Tim Sharp / Associated Press)
“There’s a reason why Champ is going to be in the Hall of Fame, and on the other side is a ball hawk in Bly. Teams that say they’re going to stay away from Bailey and pick on Bly had better be careful because it’s a feast-or-famine type deal with the high number of interceptions he has.”
A taste of what Bly and Bailey can produce was evident in Thursday’s practices with the Cowboys. After both nine-year veterans struggled at times the previous day — especially when matched against Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens — Bly had an interception during the morning session and forced a fumble in afternoon drills. Bailey also generated a turnover by tipping a pass that was intercepted by free safety Nick Ferguson.
Ironically, a reminder of why Bly is now a member of the Broncos surfaced that same day when Rosalind Williams met with the team. She is the mother of late Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, the former starter who was killed in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Eve in Denver.
While stressing happiness with young cornerbacks Domonique Foxworth and Karl Paymah, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said his club was in the market to replace an emerging talent like Williams. When the Lions began shopping Bly because his skills weren’t well suited for Detroit’s cover-two defensive scheme, Shanahan said the Broncos “thought he was too good to pass up” even though Denver already has one of the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks in Bailey.
It cost the Broncos a 1,000-yard rusher (Tatum Bell) and a three-year starter at right tackle (George Foster) — combined with Bly’s new $33 million contract that included $16 million guaranteed — to get Bly into the fold.
“Champ and I are man-to-man cover guys. We’re not cover-two corners,” Bly said. “I really feel like a cover-two corner is a guy that can’t cover. That’s why they put him in that two-coverage because he’s a tackler, not a coverer. That’s our strength.”
Such skills are well-suited for the system being installed by new Broncos defensive coordinator Jim Bates, who had great success utilizing press corners Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain while running Miami’s unit from 2000 to 2004. Shanahan said that he believes Denver’s overall secondary is the best since he became head coach in 1995, but also warned that Bailey and Bly can’t single-handedly carry the defense.
“Your corners are only as good as your pass rush,” Shanahan said. “If you can’t put pressure on a quarterback, a corner can only cover a receiver for so long regardless of how good they are.”
Wilcots, though, said he believes Bailey and Bly should help improve Denver’s pass rush much like the free-agent signing of Charles Woodson did for Green Bay in 2006. Wilcots pointed out that pairing Woodson with fellow standout cornerback Al Harris was key in Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman raising his sack total from 6.5 in 2005 to 15.5 last season.
“With cornerbacks like that, you force quarterbacks to hold onto the football a little longer,” Wilcots said. “You can put eight guys in the box to stop the run and put more players around the line of scrimmage to pressure the quarterback. There’s so many different things you can do when you have lock-down corners who can play man-to-man.”
Bailey and Bly can’t wait for the Broncos to unveil those wrinkles during the regular season — and potentially beyond.
“Champ has made all the Pro Bowls, intercepted a lot of balls and gotten a lot of recognition but the one thing he hasn’t had a chance to compete in is the Super Bowl,” said Bly, who won a championship ring with St. Louis as a rookie in 1999. “That’s our goal. We’re looking forward to trying and competing for that.”
Bailey sang the same tune.
“All those individual (honors) will come,” he said. “I want that Super Bowl.”
