To get in shape to play his new position, Elvis Dumervil had to sacrifice.
He had to give up oxtails.
After Dumervil leading nfl teams had played his first leading nfl teams for the Denver Broncos at defensive end, new head coach Josh McDaniels installed a 3-4 defense, and Dumervil moved to outside linebacker. In order to shed about 10 pounds for the leaner physique he’d need to occasionally cover receivers, Dumervil made changes to his workout regimen and his diet.
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Eliminating fried chicken and soda? Not so bad. But Dumervil, a native of Miami who is of Haitian descent, wasn’t too pleased when a certain high-calorie favorite he grew up with had to be cut out. “I was a little upset giving up oxtails,” he says. But a look at the stat sheet inevitably makes Dumervil feel a lot better. He leads the NFL with 15 sacks — one shy of his preseason goal — and has been a key to Denver’s resurgent defense.”I’ve been blessed,” says the easy-going Dumervil while flashing a smile. “It’s been great.”
Same goes for his teammates. No longer are they the Enver Broncos — as in no ‘D.’ Now they’re a smashmouth team with an 8-4 record, currently the owners of the AFC’s top wild-card slot but only one game back of the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West race.
The Broncos ranked 29th in total defense in 2008, surrendering 374.6 yards per game. Even worse, they gave up 28 points per game, third-worst in the league. “Their front seven last year was garbage,” says ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, who played guard on the Broncos Super Bowl championship teams in 1997 and 1998. “You had a bunch of street free agents playing for you.That bunch was burned for 112 points in Denver’s season-ending three-game losing streak, a slide that cost the Broncos the AFC West and a playoff berth and coach Mike Shanahan his job. Enter McDaniels, who brought in well-respected Mike Nolan, who had been fired as the San Francisco 49ers head coach, as his defense coordinator.

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Posted by lydia on Jan 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment