Lonestar
08-09-2009, 05:04 AM
Wind sprints and full pads are part of practices geared to get the team playing tougher ball.
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
.
They skip and they stretch. They pop pads and they stretch. They jog and they run. They run and they run some more.
"We're running a ton more this year," said Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler. "The good thing is it's getting easier each day."
Watch the Broncos warm up early in their practices at training camp, and huff through their sprints at the end, and it becomes obvious a new strength and conditioning coordinator is among the team's many changes this season.
The new conditioning coach is Rich Tuten.
All right, so Tuten is technically in his 15th season with the Broncos. He may as well be starting over, though.
"We're doing things I've always wanted to do," Tuten said. "It's called dynamic active stretching. It's stretching while moving. This year I was asked what we should do, and we're doing what I wanted to do. This is the most physical we've been in 15 years. I think it's really going to help us. I love it. This is football."
A case can be made that it wasn't a sieve defense, red-zone interceptions or poor special teams that doomed the Broncos to the worst collapse in NFL history last year.
It was the groin tear.
The Broncos lost Scheffler, starting tailback Selvin Young, star cornerback Champ Bailey and fullback-linebacker Spencer Larsen for extended periods last season because of ripped groins.
Scheffler's replacement, Nate Jackson, suffered a season-ending hamstring tear, as did Peyton Hillis, an emerging star tailback.
"I noticed during the OTAs (organized team activities) and camp, we haven't had the pulls that we've had in the past," Bailey said.
Tuten said for all the added running and stretching he is barking the players through this summer, nothing will condition them more than new coach Josh McDaniels' preference to practice in pads.
In the 14 previous seasons under Mike Shanahan, McDaniels' predecessor, the Broncos almost always practiced in shorts, helmets and the inner lining of shoulder pads. Shanahan believed in high-tempo, precision workouts without battering bodies.
His teams developed a pattern of starting fast, but wilting late.
McDaniels' professional coaching background is rooted in the NFL's more physical eastern region, where the general philosophies usually originate with this notion:
Football is a contact sport.
"The groin and hamstring issues will take care of itself because camp is a lot more physical," Tuten said. "We're in full pads, so they're used to contact more. So when you get into the game, it's not something they haven't done that week.
"It's like if you only run or worked out once a week, you're going to be sore and beat up after that workout. But if you work out all week, one day is not going to affect you as much."
Not everything about the Broncos' new conditioning routine is painful to witness. When 300-pound-somethings high step for 20 yards, there are occasional snickers and no reminders of the Carnegie-Philharmonic Ballet.
The most striking differences, though, are padded pants during practice and wind sprints following, even when there's two workouts a day.
"Some of those older guys, I think, were used to a certain routine and regiment during camp and they're adjusting to getting back to how it was in high school and college and how they grew up playing football," Tuten said.
"It becomes a mental thing too," said Broncos offensive tackle Ryan Harris. "Run a few laps, run a few sprints and you tell yourself: 'You can always do more.' "
A pertinent mind-set considering recent history.
It seems the Broncos not only developed a penchant for weakening in December, they were pummeled in the fourth quarter — from 2006-08, they were outscored by a combined 104 points (355-251).
As the only franchise in a 32-team league that trains at altitude, performing poorly late in the race defies logic, while also partially explaining the Broncos' 13-12 home record since playing in the 2005 AFC championship game.
"It's all about the fourth quarter and the advantage of playing at altitude," offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus said of the Broncos' new conditioning routine. "It's different. Coaches are telling us, 'Put it in the bank.' Because it's amazing how many games are won in the fourth quarter."
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Consistent collapses
Under Mike Shanahan, the Broncos were known for their fast starts and late-season fades. Broncos reporter Mike Klis points to statistical evidence of how the Broncos were poorly equipped for the stretch run:
• One turnover recorded by Denver's defense the last four games last season, tied with the Giants for the NFL low
• Two fourth-quarter takeaways in the 2008 season, worst in the NFL
• 32.3 points per game allowed by the Broncos in the last four games of 2008, worst in the NFL
• Offense led the NFL last season with 1,598 fourth-quarter yards, but was tied for 11th with 108 fourth-quarter points
• Tied for 25th in the NFL with a .357 winning percentage (5-9) in the final month of the past three seasons
• In two of the past three seasons, Broncos only had to win their final home game against teams with losing records — San Francisco in 2006 and Buffalo in 2008 — to reach the playoffs. The Broncos blew 13-0 leads in both games and lost both
• First team in NFL history to blow a three-game division lead with three games to play (2008)
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13023755?source=rss
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
.
They skip and they stretch. They pop pads and they stretch. They jog and they run. They run and they run some more.
"We're running a ton more this year," said Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler. "The good thing is it's getting easier each day."
Watch the Broncos warm up early in their practices at training camp, and huff through their sprints at the end, and it becomes obvious a new strength and conditioning coordinator is among the team's many changes this season.
The new conditioning coach is Rich Tuten.
All right, so Tuten is technically in his 15th season with the Broncos. He may as well be starting over, though.
"We're doing things I've always wanted to do," Tuten said. "It's called dynamic active stretching. It's stretching while moving. This year I was asked what we should do, and we're doing what I wanted to do. This is the most physical we've been in 15 years. I think it's really going to help us. I love it. This is football."
A case can be made that it wasn't a sieve defense, red-zone interceptions or poor special teams that doomed the Broncos to the worst collapse in NFL history last year.
It was the groin tear.
The Broncos lost Scheffler, starting tailback Selvin Young, star cornerback Champ Bailey and fullback-linebacker Spencer Larsen for extended periods last season because of ripped groins.
Scheffler's replacement, Nate Jackson, suffered a season-ending hamstring tear, as did Peyton Hillis, an emerging star tailback.
"I noticed during the OTAs (organized team activities) and camp, we haven't had the pulls that we've had in the past," Bailey said.
Tuten said for all the added running and stretching he is barking the players through this summer, nothing will condition them more than new coach Josh McDaniels' preference to practice in pads.
In the 14 previous seasons under Mike Shanahan, McDaniels' predecessor, the Broncos almost always practiced in shorts, helmets and the inner lining of shoulder pads. Shanahan believed in high-tempo, precision workouts without battering bodies.
His teams developed a pattern of starting fast, but wilting late.
McDaniels' professional coaching background is rooted in the NFL's more physical eastern region, where the general philosophies usually originate with this notion:
Football is a contact sport.
"The groin and hamstring issues will take care of itself because camp is a lot more physical," Tuten said. "We're in full pads, so they're used to contact more. So when you get into the game, it's not something they haven't done that week.
"It's like if you only run or worked out once a week, you're going to be sore and beat up after that workout. But if you work out all week, one day is not going to affect you as much."
Not everything about the Broncos' new conditioning routine is painful to witness. When 300-pound-somethings high step for 20 yards, there are occasional snickers and no reminders of the Carnegie-Philharmonic Ballet.
The most striking differences, though, are padded pants during practice and wind sprints following, even when there's two workouts a day.
"Some of those older guys, I think, were used to a certain routine and regiment during camp and they're adjusting to getting back to how it was in high school and college and how they grew up playing football," Tuten said.
"It becomes a mental thing too," said Broncos offensive tackle Ryan Harris. "Run a few laps, run a few sprints and you tell yourself: 'You can always do more.' "
A pertinent mind-set considering recent history.
It seems the Broncos not only developed a penchant for weakening in December, they were pummeled in the fourth quarter — from 2006-08, they were outscored by a combined 104 points (355-251).
As the only franchise in a 32-team league that trains at altitude, performing poorly late in the race defies logic, while also partially explaining the Broncos' 13-12 home record since playing in the 2005 AFC championship game.
"It's all about the fourth quarter and the advantage of playing at altitude," offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus said of the Broncos' new conditioning routine. "It's different. Coaches are telling us, 'Put it in the bank.' Because it's amazing how many games are won in the fourth quarter."
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Consistent collapses
Under Mike Shanahan, the Broncos were known for their fast starts and late-season fades. Broncos reporter Mike Klis points to statistical evidence of how the Broncos were poorly equipped for the stretch run:
• One turnover recorded by Denver's defense the last four games last season, tied with the Giants for the NFL low
• Two fourth-quarter takeaways in the 2008 season, worst in the NFL
• 32.3 points per game allowed by the Broncos in the last four games of 2008, worst in the NFL
• Offense led the NFL last season with 1,598 fourth-quarter yards, but was tied for 11th with 108 fourth-quarter points
• Tied for 25th in the NFL with a .357 winning percentage (5-9) in the final month of the past three seasons
• In two of the past three seasons, Broncos only had to win their final home game against teams with losing records — San Francisco in 2006 and Buffalo in 2008 — to reach the playoffs. The Broncos blew 13-0 leads in both games and lost both
• First team in NFL history to blow a three-game division lead with three games to play (2008)
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13023755?source=rss