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Faced with a pressure situation, one in which he felt he needed to make a play, Don Martindale chose to blitz.

Because Mike Nolan and Broncos coach Josh McDaniels had parted ways, the team needed a defensive coordinator, and Martindale believed he knew just the man for the job.

"I went in to Josh and I said, 'I want this job,' " Martindale said Thursday. "I felt I was ready and I wanted this job. I'm excited about the possibilities."

And two weeks since the Broncos formally announced his promotion from linebackers coach, Martindale still is sifting through all that the Broncos did, and did not do, this past season as their 6-0 start turned into an 8-8 playoff miss — all part of the first steps in his first run as an NFL defensive coordinator.

"My plan of attack right now is the same as every defensive coordinator around the league," Martindale said. "Evaluate what you do, evaluate what you did, the scheme, what you keep, what worked, what didn't, what you throw out. All of those things.

"It's still ongoing, we're still looking at it, but we want to be that tough, smart group."

Since entering the NFL as an Oakland Raiders assistant coach in 2004, Martindale always has coached linebackers, but he had been a defensive coordinator in his final two stops in college football — Western Kentucky and Western Illinois.

As far as what that means and what folks can expect from the Broncos' defense in 2010 and moving forward, Martindale said he hopes to call on his coaching roots in a scheme he and McDaniels put together. Martindale worked with Jets coach Rex Ryan at the University of Cincinnati and with Rob Ryan with the Raiders. The Ryan brothers are considered two of the most aggressive coaches in the league.

"I'm an aggressive guy by nature," Martindale said. "I believe in physical, smart football, and I have an aggressive attitude about things. The players already know that by being with me."

What that will mean specifically on the field for the Broncos won't be known until the games start to count next September, but the Broncos know where the trouble spots are.

They finished seventh in yards allowed last season under Nolan, a vast improvement over their 29th-place finish in 2008. But things unraveled in the team's 2-8 collapse down the stretch, particularly in run defense, when five of their last nine opponents rushed for at least 173 yards and three topped the 200-yard mark.

The Broncos surrendered at least 27 points in seven of their eight losses and allowed an average of 25.8 points per game over the last 10 games.

"I feel like I'm ready for this job, I want this job and I'm going to work hard at this job," Martindale said. "We're excited about it, and I hope everybody else is. You're going to continue to see a tough, smart, disciplined group that's very aggressive, and I know we're going to be better."

Footnotes.

Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis strongly refuted an Internet report that Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is shopping the team. "The team is not for sale. The rumor is false," Ellis said. . . . The Broncos hired Craig Aukerman as a defensive assistant. He enters his first season in NFL coaching. Aukerman, 33, was on the same staff at Western Kentucky as Martindale in 2003. Aukerman also has coached at Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and the University of Findlay (Ohio).

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