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dogfish
09-14-2008, 02:02 AM
Early bloomer

Undersized Royal makes instant impact in WR role

By Seth Gruen
Sept. 13, 2008


Starting in late July, rookie WR Eddie Royal faced Broncos CBs Champ Bailey and Dré Bly — two corners who could make any receiver look like they were back in high school, let alone a rookie.

Each play, each day and each week of training camp, the 22-year-old Royal repeatedly stood across from one of the more feared cornerback tandems in football.

Lucky for Royal, come his NFL debut on “Monday Night Football” against the Raiders, he stood on the same sideline with Bly and Bailey.
“It’s great going against Champ and Dré every day in practice just because that’s the best you’re going to see,” Royal said of his Denver teammates. “They’re two of the best in the league, so you know that you’re going to be well-prepared going into the game.”

So, in Week One when Royal faced Raiders CB DeAngelo Hall, also regarded as one of the league’s best cover men, he was prepared, making Hall look like the rookie — exploding for 146 yards on nine catches.

However, Royal is far from punching his ticket to Honolulu, having played in only one NFL game. Still, he leads the league in receiving yards and has already gotten more attention than most rookie receivers see in an entire season.

Royal’s performance marks only the third time in the last 13 years that a player has topped 100 yards receiving in his debut. Royal joined fellow rookie DeSean Jackson, who racked up 106 yards in his debut with the Eagles, and Anquan Boldin, who holds the NFL record with 217 receiving yards in his first NFL game.

Rookie wide receivers typically get the most attention on Draft Day, when potential is talked about but never realized until after their rookie season.

Yet, Royal isn’t even much to look at.

At all of 5 feet 10 inches, 182 pounds, Royal was largely considered by most teams as a career return specialist. Few thought that he would be able to impact an offense as a third or fourth receiver, and he wasn’t even discussed as a starter.

But the Broncos’ coaching staff saw something different in Royal.

“One of the things we saw is that we loved his personality,” Broncos WR coach Jedd Fisch said. “We loved his demeanor and we loved how he played on the field — how he produced, whether it be in the all-star games, whether it be on his college tape, or whether it be in practice every single day against Champ Bailey and Dré Bly.”

Royal became the first rookie to start at wide receiver for the Broncos since Vance Johnson started the 1985 opener.

Anyone can start a game and rack up big yardage off one catch, though. But Royal’s nine catches showed an involvement in the offense that was clearly part of Denver’s game plan.

“We felt that he gave us the best chance to win the game and produce on offense with what we were doing route-wise, and we were able to start feeding him the ball early,” Fisch said.

Leave it to the Broncos to challenge the norm offensively. Head coach Mike Shanahan is widely known as one of the greatest offensive minds in football, having turned aspiring third-string players into NFL stars.

Giving Shanahan Royal, a second-round pick who holds Virginia Tech’s record for all-purpose yards, was like giving Rambo a rocket launcher or Bill Gates a computer.

Easy for Shanahan, who immediately corrected some of Royal’s techniques in detail dating back to OTAs.

“He just noticed some little things about my routes that I could do better,” Royal said. “It was real detailed stuff, so I paid close attention to what he was saying that fixed those things. It really helped me out a lot. It meant a lot to me that he actually spent the time to pull me aside and talk to me and he was actually paying attention to my routes.”

Little may Royal have known that Shanahan and the coaching staff had big plans for the rookie receiver.

They had anticipated on Draft Day that Royal would be put in a situation to mature into a professional right away, learning from a group of seasoned receivers possessing experiences that Royal could draw upon.

“The guys here, they’ve brought me along so well and just really broke down the playbook with me, taught me little things about being a receiver that have helped me go from being a good receiver to a great receiver,” he said of the Broncos’ receiving corps.

While the Broncos’ veterans have taken a liking to Royal, he can be credited with his attentiveness.

He gets to meetings on time, stays late when asked and produces in practice. In the early stages of his career, he’s seemingly the consummate professional, realizing after last Monday night that he’s reaping the benefits.

“The best part about it is how receptive he is to coaching,” Fisch said. “Anything that anybody on the offensive staff has asked him to do, he’s done it. I can say for me, seven years being in the NFL, I know great players make great coaches, and he’s a great player.”

gobroncsnv
09-14-2008, 09:34 AM
You like hearing this kind of stuff about the kid as much as you like seeing him breaking the ankles of D Hall and Asoghmuah (sp??)... The kid is coachable, team-oriented, and could teach a lot of vets what it means to be a pro. Shanny definitely ordered his own Christmas present last April.

NightTrainLayne
09-14-2008, 09:44 AM
I can't wait to see this guy again today. He's just electric.

I love the comments from the coaches on how coachable he is, and how hard he works.

claymore
09-14-2008, 10:11 AM
Id let Eddie Royal babysit my kids. I love the guy.

frauschieze
09-14-2008, 10:16 AM
And to think at the time we made that pick, I was just excited it wasn't Desean!

I had NO idea!

jlarsiii
09-14-2008, 10:26 AM
I like to look back at the past a little bit because hindsight is always 20/20. You have to wonder what V tech could have done if they had included him more in their gameplan week to week. I know it is way, way early to say that he is already a great pro receiver, but if he continues to develop and produce like he has so far then someone on the staff at V tech seriously dropped the ball. I am happy that they did though because it made it very easy for us to sit and wait to pick him up in the 2nd round. It has turned out to be a great selection for us so far.

horsepig
09-14-2008, 11:48 AM
Another sweet read from outside our own media, what ARE our "sportswriter/analysts" at the DP & RMN doing, their nails?

BroncoJoe
09-14-2008, 11:51 AM
I can't wait to see him AND Marshall on the field together.

Requiem / The Dagda
09-14-2008, 12:45 PM
Royal has been a pleasant surprise considering the average three year curve it takes for NFL wide receivers to succeed in the NFL. I still eagerly await his progression throughout the season. I don't know if a lot of people outside Shanahan and the Brain Trust thought he had the ability to line up at split end, but he did a marvelous job against Oakland. I think we have a player very similar to what the Packers have in Greg Jennings (speed, agility and burst off the line, not to mention good route running) -- but Eddie has the ability to be a returner as well.

Jennings did well his rookie year, but kicked it off in his second. So far, it looks like Eddie is kicking it off ASAP. I sincerely hope Fast Eddie can keep this up, because that's awesome for the Broncos.

After years of being luke-warm on our receivers, I think we're pretty solid right now. Marshall and Eddie could be a top two tandem for a long time to come, throw in Scheffler and a savvy veteran like D. Jackson; and it's a pretty formidable group of players. I'd like us to add more young blood in there as well (like Green Bay is doing for Rodgers) -- but I'll settle for what we got right now.

Go Eddie!

Tned
09-14-2008, 12:53 PM
Royal has been a pleasant surprise considering the average three year curve it takes for NFL wide receivers to succeed in the NFL. I still eagerly await his progression throughout the season. I don't know if a lot of people outside Shanahan and the Brain Trust thought he had the ability to line up at split end, but he did a marvelous job against Oakland. I think we have a player very similar to what the Packers have in Greg Jennings (speed, agility and burst off the line, not to mention good route running) -- but Eddie has the ability to be a returner as well.

Jennings did well his rookie year, but kicked it off in his second. So far, it looks like Eddie is kicking it off ASAP. I sincerely hope Fast Eddie can keep this up, because that's awesome for the Broncos.

After years of being luke-warm on our receivers, I think we're pretty solid right now. Marshall and Eddie could be a top two tandem for a long time to come, throw in Scheffler and a savvy veteran like D. Jackson; and it's a pretty formidable group of players. I'd like us to add more young blood in there as well (like Green Bay is doing for Rodgers) -- but I'll settle for what we got right now.

Go Eddie!

One game does not a career make, but Shanny took a lot of heat from the fans for that pick, since they considered it a return specialist only pick. However, in the post draft news conference, Shanahan said he picked him because of his receiving skills, thinking he was the best receiver on the board. His ability to get off of the line.

honz
09-14-2008, 06:58 PM
Can you say clutch? Both of those catches that Eddie made (for the TD and 2 pt. conversion) weren't easy catches. On the TD he had to reach back to grab it and on the 2 pt conversion he caught that baby in traffic and held on even after getting nailed. Eddie Royal is definitely for real...the moment is definitely not too big for him in the NFL and he is a great compliment to Marshall on the other side.

jrelway
09-14-2008, 06:59 PM
clutch is right. talk about poise under pressure.