WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Being a fast learner is great. Being a fast corrector, Vance Joseph says, is even better.
That’s what the Broncos have in cornerback Riley Moss.
“That’s part of being a good pro,” the Broncos defensive coordinator said this week. “You have to correct quickly in this league, especially at corner, because every play can be a touchdown. He corrects quickly, and he digests it, and he has it for next week.
“So that’s a good sign for a young player.”
The second-year man is getting his first crack at real playing time as the starter opposite Pat Surtain II, and he’s catching on rapidly. Moss played fine in his first game at Seattle but allowed several tight, contested catches to veteran Tyler Lockett.
Since then, he’s only improved.
He had a terrific outing against Tampa Bay, though he disagreed this week with Pro Football Focus grading him as the best cornerback of the week.
“I gave up a touchdown and there’s some things I still need to work on,” Moss said. “I said it earlier, you’ve never really arrived. And that’s the scariest thing about football is when you do well, that stuff starts to happen and it’s easy for you to get worse and to let that stuff hype you up.”
Joseph will surely appreciate the tough self-grading, because perhaps scarier than Moss getting complacent is the prospect for opposing offenses if he continues on this trajectory.
“Obviously I’m proud of what he’s done,” Joseph said. “He’s still a young player. Every week we kind of figure out what he doesn’t know, but it’s happening on Wednesday and Thursday and he fixes it before Saturday. He’s still young. He’s playing good, solid football, but every week I’m reminded of how young he is. In practice, it’s like, ‘OK, what was that, Riley?’ But he’s a baby.
“He’s still figuring it out, and it’s organic and it’s honest every week for him. It’s been fun to watch his progress, and he’ll get better and better each week.”
Pat Surtain II is among the best corners in football and nickel Ja’Quan McMillian has continued his high-level play after bursting onto the scene last year. Having a trio of cover men to go with so-far reliable safety play unlocks a world of possibilities for Joseph and Broncos secondary coach Jim Leonhard.
“That’s huge for us,” Joseph said. “Obviously, Pat is one of the best in the league. You can game plan through Pat’s skill set, but to have two other guys who can hold their own — you can close the middle (of the field) and play man or play fire zone with no worries. That’s a big deal. Most good defenses have corners that can cover.
“You can close the middle without worrying about giving up a big play. That’s half the battle of being a good defense.”
Essentially, it gives the Broncos confidence in dictating to offenses more than reacting. Denver’s had Surtain travel with the opposing team’s top receiver in all three games so far this season. Some of that may be dependent on the matchup going forward, and Surtain’s shadowed top receivers before, but he acknowledged this week he’s doing so more frequently so far this season.
“I always look forward to the challenge of going against the best each and every week, and I feel like that brings the best out of you,” Surtain said.
You can’t do that, though, if you don’t trust your other players to hold up in coverage. Joseph clearly does, and so far this season Moss has only rewarded him for it.
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