’ Adam Jones is still getting used to the altitude in Denver Bradley Chubb Broncos Jersey , but it didn’t take him any time to acclimate to the winning culture.“Hard to breathe around here,” he laughed. “So, I’m getting used to the altitude. All in all, I feel good. I love the locker room - I love the guys in the locker room. I’m happy to be here.”The 34-year-old cornerback knows he is in the twilight of his NFL career - and he really has only one major goal.To win at least one playoff game. Spending eight of the last 11 years with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jones has been to five playoff games, only to be denied in each of them.“I’m about to turn 35 and the best thing I can do right now is at least win a playoff game,” he laughed. “I haven’t won a playoff game, and I’ve been in the league 12 years!”And the 5-foot-10 corner knows Denver is a good place to end that streak. Asked why he picked the Mile High city, Jones hilariously asked back, “why not?”“If you want to win, this is the place to be. Great coaching staff, great owner, great locker room, good team,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why not.And aside from the mutual need by the Broncos to have depth at the position, Jones has some history - good history - with coach Vance Joseph, who was the defensive backs coach in Cincy during some of Jones’ best years.“V.J. has been more of a big brother and a coach to me. He’s called and checked in on me over the years. Since he left, we’ve kept in touch,” Jones said. “I have a lot of respect for V.J.”Joseph has a lot of respect for his former player too, saying it took Jones a while to agree to changing his style of play in order to improve, but he eventually he did.“He wouldn’t change the way he played the first year. But, the second year, he really conformed and changed how he played, let me coach him and he made a Pro Bowl, and he received a long-term contract with Cincy,” Joseph said. “I enjoyed coaching him because he is competitive. Every game we played, he was ready to go. Every day for work, he was ready to go.”Jones is probably known more for fighting on the field and getting in trouble off of it than by his Pro Bowl numbers in 2014 and 2015. But the past is the past, and Jones isn’t dwelling on it.“I’m one of the ones who don’t mind telling kids and people about my stories, the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t have a shield; my life is a glass life,” Jones said. “I’m not here to try to take any shine, I promise you guys that. I’m here to help and lead in the best way I can.”Broncos’ nose tackle Domata Peko played with Jones in Cincinnati, and he loves the signing.“I’m really excited about the signing. We’re kind dinged up a little bit in the cornerback position,” Peko said, noting that with the loss of Aqib Talib, Jones’ attitude on the field will be a great addition. “He brings a lot of energy, he brings a lot of attitude and toughness, and that’s what I really like about him. He’s someone that on Sunday you want him on your team. He’s definitely going to ride with the defense and bring a little attitude to that spot.”The head coach believes that whole-heartedly, distinguishing between Jones’ “football character” and his “personal character” - adding that the former has always been high and the latter has improved greatly, even if the hard way.“I’ve coached him for two seasons, and his football character is A-plus. He was a team captain for us, he made a Pro Bowl for me, he’s great in meetings, he’s great in the locker room, he’s a great leader. He’s played a long time in this league,” Joseph said. “Now, personal character, we all know the background. He would even acknowledge as a young guy he made some mistakes, but he’s paid for every mistake he’s made. This guy has been through a lot in his life—and obviously it was his own doings—but he’s paid for those mistakes. He’s matured...he’s here to help us win football games.”Jones believes he’s matured too - and is playing smarter on the field as well.“I’m playing a lot smarter now. When I was young, I played with all athletic ability. Now, I pretty much know everything about the game. I can tell you from splits what routes we’re going to get. I can tell you if it’s I-formation or if it’s max protection. If you release outside, you’re only going to get two routes: a comeback and a go,” Jones said, proving his football IQ. “Those things come with time and learning the game. But I would say that my mental part of the game has improved, and that’s what’s keeping me playing right now.”The one-year deal Jones signed on Sunday will see the cornerback third on the cornerback depth chart but a likely possibility for the punt return team too - at least occasionally.And the veteran is A-OK with that.“I’m very comfortable with it, and I love it. I have a knack for it Von Miller Jersey White ,” he said. “I’m one of those guys that don’t believe that the first guy can ever catch me. We’ll see when my number is called, and I promise you I’ll lead by example.”Tales from the Tape: Justin Simmons, the do-it-all defensive back, is looking good this preseason Regular season play is nearly here! The time we have been waiting patiently for is almost upon us! But what shall we do to entertain ourselves until then? There’s plenty to talk about from a roster construction standpoint as the fourth preseason game approaches and the bubble players vie for a few final spots on the 53-man roster, but I want to focus on the guys whose roster spots are not only safe, but are poised to make a big impact for the Denver Broncos in 2018. So, I’m slightly altering my usual “Tale of the Tape” series to bring you short, bite-sized breakdowns from the preseason, leading up to the NFL’s Week 1 kickoff.First up is one of my favorite Broncos: Justin Simmons. To me Simmons embodies exactly what you need in a modern NFL defender. He’s athletic, smart, and highly versatile - the last one perhaps being the most important.I have talked for awhile this off-season about how Simmons needs to be moved down to more of a roaming match-up safety, while Darian Stewart needs to go back up high as the traditional free safety. I was a bit disappointed when Simmons played the first two preseason games mostly up high as a free safety.However, in the “dress rehearsal” third preseason game, when the team is actually game-planning and implementing some of the schemes they’ll employ in the regular season, we began to see Denver’s plan for Simmons unfold. They played Simmons exactly where he should be played - everywhere.I dug into the snap count from Friday night’s game and Simmons had 33 total snaps. Here is where he lined up for those:In the Box - 12 snapsSingle high - 11 snapsSlot - 5Two high - 5Simmons had a nearly even split of snaps at the “free safety” and “strong safety” spots and spent some time covering the slot as well. This is a perfect use of his skillset, using him as a Swiss Army knife all over the field as the match-ups dictate.If you’re worried how Simmons held up in the box in run support, don’t be. Simmons is gap sound, a sure tackler, and not afraid to stick his nose in there in the running game. He took on Adrian Peterson, who ran very well Friday night, several times and helped make key stops.Above, he matches up in the hole against a wide receiver who attempts to lead block, and Simmons absolutely blows this play up, forcing Peterson outside into the waiting arms of Bradley Chubb. This one won’t show up on the stat sheet as anything, but this play is made because of Simmons.The next one is Simmons crashing down upon reading run, and making the tackle himself for a one yard gain. We are limited on preseason footage so it’s not the best angle, but you can clearly see Simmons’ decisiveness and tenacity playing around the line scrimmage. If you can’t tell, he’s the guy holding onto the running back after the pile clears.Not bad for a guy who can also kick out and man up in the slot. Speaking of which.This was a look Denver implemented occasionally, and I think we’ll see them go to it quite frequently depending on the match-up.Denver is in their base defense, but Simmons drops down into the slot to man up the receiver. This particular time, the offense is in 21 personnel (2 backs, 1 TE) so Chris Harris is actually free/covering the tight end on the far side, but they have used this against 11 personnel as well. This can be especially effective against teams that like to run out of 11 personnel as it allows Denver to keep their run stoppers on the field and have a full box, but also match-up well across the board against the wide receivers. Wade Phillips ran a version of this a few times with Roby, Talib, and Harris in a base package with only one safety. This is essentially that with Simmons functioning as the slot corner.This play he isn’t lined up in the slot, but he’ll end up covering a crossing receiver. He’s playing essentially as a linebacker here in the box. Simmons shows his play recognition and awareness as he communicates with the secondary, calling out assignments after the ball has been snapped, and then blankets the short crosser on 3rd down.Lastly, my favorite play of the preseason.This play just blew me away and almost deserves its own separate breakdown.Denver’s struggles against tight ends and running backs have been well documented by myself and others here. One of the biggest issues covering backs out of the backfield is that the defender is flat-footed since he is waiting for the back to come to him, and the back also has a two-way go, meaning they can break either direction.Quick outs and flat routes are easy money and easy YAC for offenses, so defenders have to be watching for those all the time. Both Will Parks and Brandon Marshall were burned for touchdowns on these routes last year.As a result, the Texas route, where backs start outside, then break inside is even harder for a linebacker or a safety to stop as they often over-commit to the outside route. We saw Todd Davis give up a touchdown on this very route last year.Which is why Simmons not only stopping this route, but jumping it for a pick is so impressive. Check this out above. He should be beat on this route, which is why the quarterback anticipates and throws it. He goes from running hard towards the numbers to cutoff the outside, to flipping his hips and changing direction in an instant after recognizing the route, and jumping it for an interception. That’s special.It’s actually very reminiscent of Su’a Cravens’ pick on the exact same route in 2016 that I was so impressed with. If Denver can get both of these guys on the field together and continue to unleash Simmons in a variety of ways, they should be much better off not only against running backs and tight ends, but in the passing game in general.I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Simmons can be a top 2 or 3 defender for Denver this coming season.Next up, we’ll take a look at Emmanuel Sanders and where he has been lining up. Stay tuned! Also, let me know in the comments if there’s a player or particular aspect you would like me to look at over the next week leading up to Week 1.