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Lonestar
03-14-2010, 03:18 AM
Klis: Broncos build up for fantastic finish
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
POSTED: 03/14/2010 01:00:00 AM MST


Jamal Williams, a former Chargers nose tackle, is bringing 348 pounds of prestige to the Broncos' defensive line. He's also coming off a triceps injury that kept him on the sideline in 2009 for all but the season opener. (Getty Images file photo )
Wherever Jamal Williams goes during the offseason conditioning program, Broncos players should follow.

If big Jamal walks into the weight room on Day One of the offseason program Monday with a 30-pound barbell in one hand and a slice of double-sausage pizza in the other, the Broncos should make sure the nearest Domino's outlet has access cards to the building.

If the 348-pound Williams should faint following his first series of 40-yard sprints in altitude this week, then the Broncos' equipment guys need to order up smelling salts by the pallet.

Williams was a longtime San Diego Charger. Nobody knows how to finish like the Chargers. They may labor at the start. But those Chargers know how to finish.

The Broncos, meanwhile, take off in a 100- yard dash every year, only to discover the race is a mile long.

Every year since the official turn of this century (2001) starts off like it's going to be the Broncos' year. Their starts:

2001: 3-1

2002: 3-0

2003: 4-0

2004: 5-1

2005: 5-1

2006: 5-1

2007: 2-0

2008: 3-0

2009: 6-0

That's a nine-year, 36-4 record worth of starts.

Forgive me for mixing in an apple one year with an orange the next. But a crucial point needs to be sledgehammered. Only three times in those nine years did the Broncos reach the playoffs. Only once did they win a postseason game. Not once did the Broncos reach the Super Bowl.

Here's how the Broncos finished in those years:

2001: 2-3

2002: 2-4

2003: 5-5

2004: 5-5

2005: 4-1 (Denver's lone playoff win)

2006: 2-5

2007: 2-4

2008: 0-3

2009: 0-4

Take away 2005 and that's a combined finish of 18-33 in eight of the past nine years. Sure, some numbers were twisted one way and stretched another. But these late-season fades are not coincidental. They are not an anomaly.

They have been cursing the Broncos for the better part of a decade.

Is there something in the altitude? Are there flaws in the team's conditioning structure? Did altitude — coupled with the Broncos' long-held philosophical belief in smaller, athletic players upfront — lead to superior conditioning in the beginning but late-season fatigue as the opposing big heavies played themselves into shape?

What the returning Broncos players will learn starting Monday is coach Josh McDaniels and strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten have revamped their offseason conditioning program.

There will be more power lifting. The running program has been adjusted.

Just as important, perhaps, the Broncos fortified their defensive front with the stout Williams, Justin Bannan and Jarvis Green.

That trio comes from the Chargers, Ravens and Patriots, respectively — teams that historically finish strong.

Look how the Chargers have finished the past four seasons:

2006: 10-0

2007: 6-0

2008: 4-0

2009: 11-0

That's a four-season combined finish of 31-0. The Chargers are the '72 Dolphins in December. Seasons may start out looking like it will be the Broncos' year. But in the end, the AFC West belongs to the Chargers.

Big, bad Jamal Williams was a Charger for 12 seasons until he signed a three-year contract with the Broncos last week.

Williams is not only the new man at Dove Valley, he's the answer. If he shows up late each day for offseason conditioning workouts, then . . . well, it probably won't be long before McDaniels reminds his players that the Chargers historically start slow.



Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_14672007#ixzz0i8YYq7YQ

broncophan
03-14-2010, 05:42 AM
Damn....he has already been around for 12 seasons......I hope his bronco teammates don't "follow" him to the nursing home.........

gobroncsnv
03-14-2010, 08:10 AM
Just don't want to emulate the Chargers' playoff "success"...

Lonestar
03-14-2010, 09:40 AM
Think their PO issuses are more of a "coaching" thing than conditioning.


Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel.

Ziggy
03-14-2010, 09:55 AM
Just don't want to emulate the Chargers' playoff "success"...

"Getting" to the playoffs would be a nice start.

Nomad
03-14-2010, 09:58 AM
"Getting" to the playoffs would be a nice start.

And regaining the 'homefield' edge!!

Ravage!!!
03-14-2010, 11:50 AM
the numbers in this article are just EVERYWHERE. Starting off with 2 or 3 or 6 games at the beginning of seasons, and ending anywhere from 3 to 11 games? Then he's eliminating wins to make a bigger point about losses?

gobroncsnv
03-14-2010, 05:56 PM
"Getting" to the playoffs would be a nice start.

Guess this would better have been posted in smack, since my post was more a dig at our Chargie friends... did not mean to lead you astray.
But I don't want to get to the playoffs just to say that we did... I really don't think you do either. One and done kinda sucks, I'd rather be just out altogether, than to choke the way SD has.
SO, that said, hoping Williams is more like recent Williams than Sam Adams (when we got him). Also, don't want to have J-Will give us flashbacks to Michael Dean Perry, costing us a change of possession cause he couldn't get his lard off the field. We'll need to keep Williams fresh, lotsa rotational, or even better, lotsa 3 and outs... (Think possession and scoring, offense!)