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Karl Mecklenburg: Broncos Defense 'Made A Third String Running Back Look Like Terrell Davis'

(CBS4) - Ring of Famer Karl Mecklenburg has been sharing his perspective on the Broncos up and down season on a weekly basis on social media, and his latest comments have reached "trending" status on Facebook. He posted a straight-to-the-point analysis of Denver's Thursday night loss to the Browns, and Facebook analysis tool Crowdtangle showed it had a high number of interactions.

Karl Mecklenburg
Karl Mecklenburg (credit: CBS)

In a 10/18 Facebook post, Mecklenburg said losing inside linebacker Alexander Johnson to injury in Week 6 would likely lead to a big problem for the Broncos defense. That's because Johnson was the one "calling the plays in the huddle and making adjustments for the front seven."

"Playing professional football is challenging enough when you're all on the same page, but trying to play defense without everyone understanding the call and adjustments is impossible," Mecklenburg wrote.

Then, after Thursday's devastating 17-14 loss in Cleveland Mecklenburg wrote "Unfortunately my fears about Denver Broncos inside linebacker play and on field defensive coordination were proven true."

Mecklenburg went on to say that the defense "made a third string running back look like Terrell Davis" in reference to D'Ernest Johnson's 146 rushing performance.

D'Ernest Johnson
Running back D'Ernest Johnson #30 of the Cleveland Browns runs with the ball after making a first quarter pass against the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 21, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

He recommends that the Broncos get a veteran run-stopping linebacker soon -- someone who will be able to do a better job adjusting the defensive formations when the opponents' offense makes shifts.

Read Mecklenburg's trending Facebook post on Friday below:

Unfortunately my fears about Denver Broncos inside linebacker play and on field defensive coordination were proven true...

Posted by Karl Mecklenburg on Friday, October 22, 2021
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