Mile High Report
Talanoa Hufanga is really good.
He’s really, really freaking good. The hope was that he would make an immediate impact on the Denver Broncos defense when he signed as a free agent in the offseason. Well, the safety is going to make a huge impact on this defense over the course of the season. Heck, he’s done that in one game.
Talk about setting the expectations high.
“I’m just blessed to be here,” Hufanga said to the local media after the win over the Tennessee Titans. “This was an incredible opportunity on a new team for me to be here, (be) part of a great organization. The fans really brought it today. I have to get used to it. It was a little loud. I was trying to get the calls out there. During the fumble, I was just doing whatever they asked me to do.
“The game is violent. I’m not trying to hurt anybody, I’m just trying to go down there, get the guy down and get the ball out. I really didn’t even try to see the ball. The ball just ended up coming out because I was trying to stick my nose in there.”
Simply put, Hufanga was all over the field last Sunday against the Titans. He finished with a game-high 11 tackles, seven solo, and a forced fumble. As I said to Adam Malnati on the Broncos Odds and Endzones Podcast, Hufanga looked and played like Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.
Hufanga brings an element to Denver’s defense that we haven’t seen at the safety position in a long time in these parts.
“My god, I was impressed, especially after watching the actual tape,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said to the media. “The range he played with, how he capped off plays for us. He’s making plays from 15 yards deep. He’s making them for four and five-yard stops.
“He was obviously a special player on tape, watching him with the 49ers, but he is the same player. He has such great range, and he is a bigger safety, so when he gets there, he makes some noise. He can cover; he can blitz. He has no weakness in his game. It was really fun watching him and (safety) Brandon Jones kind of keep some of those runs from popping. They were five and six yards that should have probably been 10 and 12 with normal safeties. Those two guys — they capped off the ball really well for us on Sunday.”
Added Jones: ‘Huff’was all over the place (last Sunday). Literally every time I turn around, I’m like, ‘Oh, there goes ‘Huff.’ He’s everywhere. He’s a huge addition, great teammate, great person, and super excited to be out there with him.”
Added Jones: ‘Huff’was all over the place (last Sunday). Literally every time I turn around, I’m like, ‘Oh, there goes ‘Huff.’ He’s everywhere. He’s a huge addition, great teammate, great person, and super excited...
