WARHORSE
08-02-2010, 04:10 AM
Sunday was a new day for Broncos linebacker Robert Ayers.
And at the Broncos' first day of training camp, there was Ayers lined up at the strongside spot with the starting defense, a rather tidy jump from his brief sentence down the depth chart in the team's last public minicamp in June.
For something he still simply calls "a mistake I made, that's all," Ayers had been removed from the starting defense for the Broncos' final minicamp and, in fact, was given very few repetitions at any point in the defense during those workouts.
"But that didn't bruise my confidence, not at all," Ayers said Sunday. "I'm feeling very confident right now, more confident than I've ever been. And, hopefully, I can put it to use out here."
Ayers still contends he was "never in the doghouse" with Broncos coach Josh McDaniels with the very public minicamp demotion and that the two did eventually sit down and discuss the matter, which wasn't any legal issue, to iron things out.
It's all part of what he wants to leave behind, the pile of things Ayers now calls "things I don't want to talk about right now; the past is past."
The second-year linebacker was the 18th pick of the draft in 2009 — one of two first-round picks by the Broncos — but struggled at times as he made the transition from college defensive end to strongside NFL linebacker in the Broncos' 3-4 scheme.
Ayers started one game, at Philadelphia last December, but he finished with just 19 tackles in his spot duty and no sacks.
"When I looked at those games again, I didn't see myself out there. That's not me," Ayers said. "I know that, but that being said, the past is the past. I'm ready to move on. The coaches know it, I know it."
"I've always said the good thing about Robert is his expectations for himself are so high," Broncos linebacker Elvis Dumervil said.
"He understands the only thing you can do if you want to do better is to try to get better. He put in the work. No doubt about it."
While McDaniels has called Ayers' approach "professional" overall in the offseason, he consistently has lauded Jarvis Moss' work as well. And with Dumervil being the league's reigning sack king as well as coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance, any snaps Moss eventually earns could come at Ayers' expense if Ayers can't hold his ground in this training camp.
The Broncos also used Baraka Atkins, a free-agent signee who has played in 21 games in his career, plenty with the defense in the offseason drills.
"I want to improve on everything," Ayers said. "I want to be dominant, I want to be quick, I want to play fast, I want to execute, I want to do everything. But my big emphasis out here is to dominate.
"I want to dominate every player that lines up in front of me. That's what I've been focusing on, getting myself ready in the offseason to do that. That's what I expect of myself, to come out and dominate. I know I have to do that to keep the job."
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15655873
And at the Broncos' first day of training camp, there was Ayers lined up at the strongside spot with the starting defense, a rather tidy jump from his brief sentence down the depth chart in the team's last public minicamp in June.
For something he still simply calls "a mistake I made, that's all," Ayers had been removed from the starting defense for the Broncos' final minicamp and, in fact, was given very few repetitions at any point in the defense during those workouts.
"But that didn't bruise my confidence, not at all," Ayers said Sunday. "I'm feeling very confident right now, more confident than I've ever been. And, hopefully, I can put it to use out here."
Ayers still contends he was "never in the doghouse" with Broncos coach Josh McDaniels with the very public minicamp demotion and that the two did eventually sit down and discuss the matter, which wasn't any legal issue, to iron things out.
It's all part of what he wants to leave behind, the pile of things Ayers now calls "things I don't want to talk about right now; the past is past."
The second-year linebacker was the 18th pick of the draft in 2009 — one of two first-round picks by the Broncos — but struggled at times as he made the transition from college defensive end to strongside NFL linebacker in the Broncos' 3-4 scheme.
Ayers started one game, at Philadelphia last December, but he finished with just 19 tackles in his spot duty and no sacks.
"When I looked at those games again, I didn't see myself out there. That's not me," Ayers said. "I know that, but that being said, the past is the past. I'm ready to move on. The coaches know it, I know it."
"I've always said the good thing about Robert is his expectations for himself are so high," Broncos linebacker Elvis Dumervil said.
"He understands the only thing you can do if you want to do better is to try to get better. He put in the work. No doubt about it."
While McDaniels has called Ayers' approach "professional" overall in the offseason, he consistently has lauded Jarvis Moss' work as well. And with Dumervil being the league's reigning sack king as well as coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance, any snaps Moss eventually earns could come at Ayers' expense if Ayers can't hold his ground in this training camp.
The Broncos also used Baraka Atkins, a free-agent signee who has played in 21 games in his career, plenty with the defense in the offseason drills.
"I want to improve on everything," Ayers said. "I want to be dominant, I want to be quick, I want to play fast, I want to execute, I want to do everything. But my big emphasis out here is to dominate.
"I want to dominate every player that lines up in front of me. That's what I've been focusing on, getting myself ready in the offseason to do that. That's what I expect of myself, to come out and dominate. I know I have to do that to keep the job."
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15655873