Ramsey: Overlook Dumervil at your own risk

DENVER • Numbers might not lie, but they can lead you astray.

The brainiacs who judge college talent examined Elvis Dumervil, discovered he stood 5-foot-10 (at best) and weighed 250 pounds. They judged him unworthy of the first round.

The brainiacs let Elvis wait until the fourth round of the NFL’s 2006 draft. Dumervil remembers his long — too long — wait on draft day.

“Well, you know, a lot of people doubted me,” he said. “That’s why I went in the fourth round. But that’s OK.”

On Sunday, Dumervil battled against the behemoths who inhabit the Cleveland Browns offensive, and he won. Over and over, Elvis won. Even Joe Thomas – yes, 6-foot-6, 312-pound Joe Thomas – had no chance to stop Dumervil.

Dumervil collected four sacks, tying a team record, and helped push the Denver Broncos to a 27-6 victory over the Browns. Granted, the Browns are not exactly NFL royalty, but the victory gives the Broncos a 2-0 record as they prepare to invade Oakland Coliseum, the epicenter of NFL weirdness.

These are good times in Broncoland. Last season’s 30th-ranked defense now ranks No. 1 in scoring defense, and the Broncos lead the AFC West.

As the season approached, a few hundred thousand Broncos fans and observers sensed an impending catastrophe. The offense had been shredded, and the defense had been defenseless the past three seasons.

Give Elvis and his defensive friends their moment. The moment may not last with the Cowboys, Patriots and Steelers looming in the near distance, but the season no longer looks dark and depressing.

One of the prime reasons for optimism is Dumervil, who continues to do what he’s done his entire football life. The experts keep wondering if he’s too short, and he keeps dropping quarterbacks.

Prior to this season, Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan moved Dumervil to outside linebacker. It seemed a bizarre decision. Dumervil boasted 12.5 sacks in 2007 and eight two-sack games in his brief career as a defensive end.

It now seems a brilliant change. From his linebacker position, Dumervil is blessed with a running start before he invades the backfield. It almost seems unfair.

“Guess I’m a linebacker now,” Dumervil said, a lifelong defensive lineman, “but I still get to do what I love: Rush the passer.”

Safety Champ Bailey laughed as he considered the fate of offensive linemen assigned to stop Dumervil.

“The kid is relentless,” Bailey said. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve played with some great ones.”
Bailey can see what everybody else can see: Dumervil is not a physically dazzling presence.

“Not by any means,” Bailey said. “But he’s got those long arms and a low center of gravity and he’s stronger than people think. He’s one of those pass rushers people dream about.”

All this should be no surprise. Dumervil delivered a performance for the ages as a senior at Louisville in 2005 with 20 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. He collected 78 sacks during his high school career in Miami, including 30 as a senior.

But scouts ignored his staggering sack numbers and emphasized his lack of height and weight. He should have been a first-round pick. He wasn’t, and the snub cost him a mountain of money.

He doesn’t seem to mind.

He just takes out his frustrations on offensive linemen and quarterbacks.