Denver Native (Carol)
08-24-2010, 05:12 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Taking-Off-the-Ice/8219431e-6c20-4bb4-a077-bba918300e2e
The team welcomed back several players to practice on Tuesday and planned on the return of two more for Wednesday's session.
When you're paid to play football, bathing an appendage in ice can be worse than a 100-degree day at practice. Rehabilitating injuries keeps a player isolated, irritating an already fervid autumn itch to lace up the cleats.
"Rehabbing's not easy," LenDale White said. "You're in there 13 hours a day and you can't wait to play football."
White will finally have an outlet for his pent up frustration as soon as Wednesday. On Tuesday, Head Coach Josh McDaniels announced a slew of veterans returning from injuries to practice that day and the day after.
An injury White suffered early in training camp sidelined him before he could get in a week of practice. A Denver native, White had been training at home and waiting for the phone to ring when the Broncos came calling.
His hopes of proving himself to his new teammates took a hit when the injury kept him out of practice.
"I wanted to be out here with the guys (and) learn everybody, just show them the emotion -- the heart that I bring -- show them that I am a part of the team and I want to be a Bronco," White said.
He didn't want his absence from the practice field to affect his perception in the locker room, so he illustrated his work ethic elsewhere.
"If you are the first guy showing up at 6:30 doing all your rehabbing, over in the weight room working out, (your teammates) can't say anything," White said. "All they get is an image of you working hard."
Correll Buckhalter can relate. The elder statesman in the backfield made his comeback from injury on Tuesday. His time away from the team irked him, but he acknowledged that sometimes that's just the way it goes in the league.
"Once you enter the NFL, the days of being 100 percent are over," Buckhalter said. "I haven't been in all of camp so I've got to ease into it and get my body back into football shape."
Along with Buckhalter, Chris Kuper, D.J. Williams, Champ Bailey and Demaryius Thomas suited up for Tuesday's practice after missing time.
The most conspicuous arrival to practice comes on Thursday. At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, Ryan Clady is nearly impossible to miss. McDaniels said the team won't expect Clady to take every practice rep, but aims to prepare him for the Sept. 12 regualar season opener at Jacksonville.
"This isn't one of those things where he's going to go out there in a hat and kind of go through a walkthrough," McDaniels said. "He'll be out there, and we're going to go ahead and bring him along just like you would any player that's coming off of an injury."
After confronting injuries throughout training camp, McDaniels is looking forward to seeing the majority of the roster back on the practice field.
"Now that you start to get them back out there, you start to really develop the chemistry on both sides of the ball that you really need going into the season," McDaniels said.
The team welcomed back several players to practice on Tuesday and planned on the return of two more for Wednesday's session.
When you're paid to play football, bathing an appendage in ice can be worse than a 100-degree day at practice. Rehabilitating injuries keeps a player isolated, irritating an already fervid autumn itch to lace up the cleats.
"Rehabbing's not easy," LenDale White said. "You're in there 13 hours a day and you can't wait to play football."
White will finally have an outlet for his pent up frustration as soon as Wednesday. On Tuesday, Head Coach Josh McDaniels announced a slew of veterans returning from injuries to practice that day and the day after.
An injury White suffered early in training camp sidelined him before he could get in a week of practice. A Denver native, White had been training at home and waiting for the phone to ring when the Broncos came calling.
His hopes of proving himself to his new teammates took a hit when the injury kept him out of practice.
"I wanted to be out here with the guys (and) learn everybody, just show them the emotion -- the heart that I bring -- show them that I am a part of the team and I want to be a Bronco," White said.
He didn't want his absence from the practice field to affect his perception in the locker room, so he illustrated his work ethic elsewhere.
"If you are the first guy showing up at 6:30 doing all your rehabbing, over in the weight room working out, (your teammates) can't say anything," White said. "All they get is an image of you working hard."
Correll Buckhalter can relate. The elder statesman in the backfield made his comeback from injury on Tuesday. His time away from the team irked him, but he acknowledged that sometimes that's just the way it goes in the league.
"Once you enter the NFL, the days of being 100 percent are over," Buckhalter said. "I haven't been in all of camp so I've got to ease into it and get my body back into football shape."
Along with Buckhalter, Chris Kuper, D.J. Williams, Champ Bailey and Demaryius Thomas suited up for Tuesday's practice after missing time.
The most conspicuous arrival to practice comes on Thursday. At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, Ryan Clady is nearly impossible to miss. McDaniels said the team won't expect Clady to take every practice rep, but aims to prepare him for the Sept. 12 regualar season opener at Jacksonville.
"This isn't one of those things where he's going to go out there in a hat and kind of go through a walkthrough," McDaniels said. "He'll be out there, and we're going to go ahead and bring him along just like you would any player that's coming off of an injury."
After confronting injuries throughout training camp, McDaniels is looking forward to seeing the majority of the roster back on the practice field.
"Now that you start to get them back out there, you start to really develop the chemistry on both sides of the ball that you really need going into the season," McDaniels said.