Denver Native (Carol)
05-25-2010, 05:33 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=10144
By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In his first two seasons, Eddie Royal has burst onto the NFL scene.
He tied for the third-fastest player in league history to reach 100 career receptions -- it took just 20 games -- and finished last year with the most catches by a player -- 128 -- in his first two pro seasons with the Broncos.
In Week 2 last season, he topped 1,000 career receiving yards, becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to reach that mark in his first two pro campaigns.
The only issue? His year one numbers far surpassed year two. His sophomore stats were 54 catches, 635 yards and five receiving touchdowns lower than the franchise record-setting rookie campaign that earned him all-rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly/PFWA and The Sporting News.
"I really can't put a finger on it," Brandon Stokley said of Royal's 2009 statistics. "He worked hard in the offseason, he was kind of the same guy that he was the year before, just sometimes it doesn't work out for you. Sometimes that year your numbers are down, and you really can't put a finger on it."
Royal wasn't exactly pleased with his lower numbers, but that has never been his biggest concern.
"You just want to come out and win football games," Royal said. "That was the main thing. None of us go out and play for stats. You just do whatever you can to help the team out."
Last season, that meant taking even more pride in his role as the team's primary return specialist. He led the club with 335 punt return yards and 621 kick return yards, earning the honor of AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in October.
The award came on the heels of a Monday Night Football game in San Diego in which he returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns against the Chargers. He was just the second player in team history to accomplish that feat.
That effort in other phases of the game impressed Head Coach Josh McDaniels, but he wants to get the receiver even more involved in the offense in 2010, similar to the contribution he had as a rookie. In 2008, Royal posted five plays of at least 50 yards and became the first player since the 1970 NFL merger to record his team’s longest run, reception, kickoff return and punt return in the same year.
"I think he's a smart player, a versatile player (and) a guy that we need to do better with," McDaniels said. "We didn't do a good enough job of getting Eddie involved in the offense in certain games and we have to do a better job of that. He is certainly capable. We are looking forward to him having a better year than he did last year and we need to do our part."
Part of the solution could be moving Royal around the line of scrimmage and focusing his work on the slot receiver position. McDaniels said that process began late last season, and during OTAs the receiver has been spending much of his time in the slot.
Now in his second year of McDaniels' offense, Royal expects more out of himself. He's getting accustomed to every receiver position so that he can step into any role if needed, and he has already found himself thinking less and reacting more on the field.
"You hear a play in the huddle and you don't have to say, 'Wait a minute,'" Royal said. "You understand it, you can go line up right away. You feel a little bit more comfortable, and that relationship with the quarterback grows even more in that second year. So we'll see."
It helps that the quarterback has made a goal to help Royal find more success next season.
"We've already talked about it, Eddie and myself," Kyle Orton said. "For whatever reason, we couldn't get on the same page some games, whether I missed him or he did something I didn't think was going to happen. Eddie should be a major part of this offense, and we'll get him going. We're working hard. He's going to have a great year this year."
Royal has heard all the reasons given for his decreased numbers last season, but he's hard at work to put them all to bed with his performance on gamedays in 2010.
"Come Sunday, it's no excuses," he said.
By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In his first two seasons, Eddie Royal has burst onto the NFL scene.
He tied for the third-fastest player in league history to reach 100 career receptions -- it took just 20 games -- and finished last year with the most catches by a player -- 128 -- in his first two pro seasons with the Broncos.
In Week 2 last season, he topped 1,000 career receiving yards, becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to reach that mark in his first two pro campaigns.
The only issue? His year one numbers far surpassed year two. His sophomore stats were 54 catches, 635 yards and five receiving touchdowns lower than the franchise record-setting rookie campaign that earned him all-rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly/PFWA and The Sporting News.
"I really can't put a finger on it," Brandon Stokley said of Royal's 2009 statistics. "He worked hard in the offseason, he was kind of the same guy that he was the year before, just sometimes it doesn't work out for you. Sometimes that year your numbers are down, and you really can't put a finger on it."
Royal wasn't exactly pleased with his lower numbers, but that has never been his biggest concern.
"You just want to come out and win football games," Royal said. "That was the main thing. None of us go out and play for stats. You just do whatever you can to help the team out."
Last season, that meant taking even more pride in his role as the team's primary return specialist. He led the club with 335 punt return yards and 621 kick return yards, earning the honor of AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in October.
The award came on the heels of a Monday Night Football game in San Diego in which he returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns against the Chargers. He was just the second player in team history to accomplish that feat.
That effort in other phases of the game impressed Head Coach Josh McDaniels, but he wants to get the receiver even more involved in the offense in 2010, similar to the contribution he had as a rookie. In 2008, Royal posted five plays of at least 50 yards and became the first player since the 1970 NFL merger to record his team’s longest run, reception, kickoff return and punt return in the same year.
"I think he's a smart player, a versatile player (and) a guy that we need to do better with," McDaniels said. "We didn't do a good enough job of getting Eddie involved in the offense in certain games and we have to do a better job of that. He is certainly capable. We are looking forward to him having a better year than he did last year and we need to do our part."
Part of the solution could be moving Royal around the line of scrimmage and focusing his work on the slot receiver position. McDaniels said that process began late last season, and during OTAs the receiver has been spending much of his time in the slot.
Now in his second year of McDaniels' offense, Royal expects more out of himself. He's getting accustomed to every receiver position so that he can step into any role if needed, and he has already found himself thinking less and reacting more on the field.
"You hear a play in the huddle and you don't have to say, 'Wait a minute,'" Royal said. "You understand it, you can go line up right away. You feel a little bit more comfortable, and that relationship with the quarterback grows even more in that second year. So we'll see."
It helps that the quarterback has made a goal to help Royal find more success next season.
"We've already talked about it, Eddie and myself," Kyle Orton said. "For whatever reason, we couldn't get on the same page some games, whether I missed him or he did something I didn't think was going to happen. Eddie should be a major part of this offense, and we'll get him going. We're working hard. He's going to have a great year this year."
Royal has heard all the reasons given for his decreased numbers last season, but he's hard at work to put them all to bed with his performance on gamedays in 2010.
"Come Sunday, it's no excuses," he said.