Dirk
07-01-2009, 06:42 AM
Not Your Quinn-tessential Rookie
Richard Quinn has embraced the opportunity to learn from the Broncos' veteran tight ends.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The NFL's most heralded players are ones capable of making an impact with or without the ball.
Broncos rookie Richard Quinn is on course to join that club.
In college, the 6-foot-4 tight end established himself as a standout blocker. Head Coach Josh McDaniels saw something else when selecting him in the 2009 NFL Draft: soft hands.
"He didn't catch a lot of balls at (the University of) North Carolina, but that wasn't because he can't catch," McDaniels said. "They didn't use him that way very much in their system, in their scheme, but he showed very good hands during the course of the spring."
Along with those strong hands comes a strong head on his shoulders. The 22-year-old has made use of his first two months with the Broncos, soaking in as much knowledge as possible to prepare for his first pro season.
"I always try to pay attention to what the veteran guys are doing first so when it's time for me to go up, I know exactly what to do," Quinn said.
That shadowing process has been aided by the presence of established tight ends on the Broncos' roster. When searching for veteran advice, Quinn has three proven sources in Daniel Graham, Jeb Putzier and Tony Scheffler, who sport a combined 16 years of NFL experience.
To top it off, Graham has previous experience in McDaniels' system, which makes use of the multi-faceted skill set that the position requires.
"It's difficult for a tight end in this offense," Graham said. "We have to know so much, just like everybody else. But tight ends, we do so much -- in the blocking game, in the passing game -- so we have to know a lot. It's tough if you don't understand it."
Quinn has yet to experience that problem to date. Under the tutelage of Graham, he has pinpointed the intangibles that define strong pro tight ends -- knowing what to do at the line of scrimmage, being fast off the ball and measuring the right depth on passing routes.
Beyond fostering an early recognition of those skills, Graham has helped Quinn brew an equally important trait: confidence.
"It makes me feel very comfortable," Quinn said of Graham's help. "Going out on the field and when it comes for me to run a play, I'm feeling pretty confident. That's been a big help -- just having him give me those little words of advice and stuff like that to execute a play -- and things to work on."
While Quinn has confidence in his own skills, McDaniels has confidence in the rookie's role for the upcoming season. The coach believes he adds a new thread to an already diverse corps.
"He can catch the ball, he's got soft hands, we can move him, and he certainly can handle his own on the line as a blocker," McDaniels said. "But when you're going to use two and three tight end packages during the course of the season, you'd love to have three guys that you feel good about. To have three guys that can run block, pass block, catch passes in the passing game and make an impact at more than one thing, I think that's very valuable to us."
As for Quinn, he's nothing but ready for the start of camp -- the day when he can display the value of taking those extra steps.
"I feel like I'm getting there," he said. "I'm feeling pretty confident right now and I just want to keep that to help me transition into the phase of training camp."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9132
Richard Quinn has embraced the opportunity to learn from the Broncos' veteran tight ends.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The NFL's most heralded players are ones capable of making an impact with or without the ball.
Broncos rookie Richard Quinn is on course to join that club.
In college, the 6-foot-4 tight end established himself as a standout blocker. Head Coach Josh McDaniels saw something else when selecting him in the 2009 NFL Draft: soft hands.
"He didn't catch a lot of balls at (the University of) North Carolina, but that wasn't because he can't catch," McDaniels said. "They didn't use him that way very much in their system, in their scheme, but he showed very good hands during the course of the spring."
Along with those strong hands comes a strong head on his shoulders. The 22-year-old has made use of his first two months with the Broncos, soaking in as much knowledge as possible to prepare for his first pro season.
"I always try to pay attention to what the veteran guys are doing first so when it's time for me to go up, I know exactly what to do," Quinn said.
That shadowing process has been aided by the presence of established tight ends on the Broncos' roster. When searching for veteran advice, Quinn has three proven sources in Daniel Graham, Jeb Putzier and Tony Scheffler, who sport a combined 16 years of NFL experience.
To top it off, Graham has previous experience in McDaniels' system, which makes use of the multi-faceted skill set that the position requires.
"It's difficult for a tight end in this offense," Graham said. "We have to know so much, just like everybody else. But tight ends, we do so much -- in the blocking game, in the passing game -- so we have to know a lot. It's tough if you don't understand it."
Quinn has yet to experience that problem to date. Under the tutelage of Graham, he has pinpointed the intangibles that define strong pro tight ends -- knowing what to do at the line of scrimmage, being fast off the ball and measuring the right depth on passing routes.
Beyond fostering an early recognition of those skills, Graham has helped Quinn brew an equally important trait: confidence.
"It makes me feel very comfortable," Quinn said of Graham's help. "Going out on the field and when it comes for me to run a play, I'm feeling pretty confident. That's been a big help -- just having him give me those little words of advice and stuff like that to execute a play -- and things to work on."
While Quinn has confidence in his own skills, McDaniels has confidence in the rookie's role for the upcoming season. The coach believes he adds a new thread to an already diverse corps.
"He can catch the ball, he's got soft hands, we can move him, and he certainly can handle his own on the line as a blocker," McDaniels said. "But when you're going to use two and three tight end packages during the course of the season, you'd love to have three guys that you feel good about. To have three guys that can run block, pass block, catch passes in the passing game and make an impact at more than one thing, I think that's very valuable to us."
As for Quinn, he's nothing but ready for the start of camp -- the day when he can display the value of taking those extra steps.
"I feel like I'm getting there," he said. "I'm feeling pretty confident right now and I just want to keep that to help me transition into the phase of training camp."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9132