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Denver Native (Carol)
08-12-2009, 09:50 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9224

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- NFL preseason games are often tabbed as meaningless contests, designed to help teams whittle down their rosters.

With a new coaching staff and 36 new faces on the roster, that meaningless design doesn't apply to the Broncos.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels sent one key message to his players before their Thursday departure to San Francisco -- be ready to play, and often. That message was especially pertinent for his rookies, including Knowshon Moreno.

Moreno was listed as fourth among running backs on the team's first depth chart of the season. But McDaniels is using the next four contests to find out more about his players than where they stand on a piece of paper.

"There's really no way to simulate the speed of the game in these kind of practices and they're going to find out an awful lot about competition and what this is all about," McDaniels said. "So he needs to play, just like all the rookies do, and we have no plans on taking those guys out too early."

One of those rookies itching to make his NFL debut is Chris Baker, who rose on that same opening depth chart to No. 2 at the nose tackle position.

Baker sees eye-to-eye with McDaniels' message because a higher frequency of snaps means more time to demonstrate his abilities. In his estimation, it's "another job interview."

"You've got to go out there and show the coaches what you're capable of doing," Baker said. "Every play is very important. You've just got to go out there and work hard so you have a position on this team."

Baker has progressed in reaching that goal, thanks to his work ethic and the opportunity to observe veterans in front of him like Ronald Fields.

After spending his first four seasons with the 49ers, Fields is taking the preseason opener against his former team seriously. But his motivation has little to do with returning to San Francisco, and much to do with the audition of Denver's new 3-4 defense.

"Everybody's getting a feel for each other -- the linebackers are getting a feel for the D-linemen, knowing how to work off us and stuff like that," Fields said. "The secondary, they're coming together pretty good. So we're jelling pretty good, and this Friday we'll see how we're really going to play together."

While McDaniels has high expectations for Friday night, he added that no preseason game ever goes exactly as it's planned. In turn, his eyes will take a sharp look at how his players perform, without the advantage of coaches by their side.

"We're not out there yelling and screaming at them behind the huddle," McDaniels said. "We can't talk to them too much in between plays. You really find out who knows kind of what's going on and if they can handle their role and their responsibility without us being in there ear every play."

SPECIAL EXPECTATIONS FOR SPECIAL TEAMS

One unit where the rookies can expect to see a great deal of action is on special teams. The Broncos spent 35 minutes of Wednesday's practice working on key areas, from kickoff and punt coverage to field goals.

New threads for Friday's game could include Kenny McKinley and Alphonso Smith, who joining Eddie Royal on punt returns throughout Wednedsay's session. Britton Colquitt also saw some reps on kickoffs, along with Matt Prater.

That added special teams focus during training camp comes from the big picture McDaniels envisions for the regular season.

"If we can improve in all four core phases and in our specialists' performance, then it's going to help our team dramatically," he said. "So we put a big emphasis on it and we really want to see how this thing goes. We're going to put the best that we've got out there Friday night early in the game and see where we can take it.

TORAIN WAIVED, THOMAS SIGNED

The Broncos announced the signing of running back Marcus Thomas. Running back Ryan Torain was also waived/injured.

Thomas is a second-year player who was selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft (166th overall) by San Diego. He was waived by the Chargers at the end of training camp, before being claimed by the Lions.

Thomas appeared in each of Detroit's first three regular-season games in 2008, highlighted by four kickoff returns for 93 yards in the regular-season opener at Atlanta. He was waived by the Lions on Oct. 9, before being signed by the Cowboys to their practice squad on Dec. 17.

Thomas spent the last two weeks of the regular season on the Cowboys' practice squad, before latching onto a future contract with the Browns on Jan. 7, 2009. Cleveland waived him on July 15.

McDaniels said Torain's departure had nothing to do with him not fitting into the team's offensive plans for the upcoming season.

"It wasn't about plans," he said. "It was a roster decision we made and we're moving on."



For a photo gallery of today's action, Training Camp: Day 13.

Shazam!
08-13-2009, 12:09 AM
I always have great interest in Denver's preseason games. I don't blow a gasket though and expect them to go 2-14 if they lose or 14-2 if they win. It's cool to see an idea of how the team will look for the year, especially with the massive changes going on now it's exciting for better or worse. Even in years past we all wanted to see how Plummer would look when he first arrived, Cutler, etc.

sneakers
08-13-2009, 12:15 AM
I always have great interest in Denver's preseason games. I don't blow a gasket though and expect them to go 2-14 if they lose or 14-2 if they win. It's cool to see an idea of how the team will look for the year, especially with the massive changes going on now it's exciting for better or worse. Even in years past we all wanted to see how Plummer would look when he first arrived, Cutler, etc.

The detroit lions were 4-0 last year in the preseason!

NameUsedBefore
08-13-2009, 12:32 AM
I stand by this when it comes to the preseason:

If you go 4-0, big whoop.

If you go 0-4 you're probably in trouble.

Fan in Exile
08-13-2009, 07:58 AM
I stand by this when it comes to the preseason:

If you go 4-0, big whoop.

If you go 0-4 you're probably in trouble.

I completely agree that 4-0 in the pre-season is no big deal. But is 0-4 a sign of trouble.

0-4 for the 2008 pre-season:
New England
Cleveland

0-4 for the 2007 pre-season:
KC
Arizona

0-4 for the 2006 pre-season:
Pittsburgh (8-8)
Washington (5-11)

0-4 for the 2005 pre-season:
Indianapolis lost all five of their preseason games
Kansas City

0-4 for the 2004 pre-season:
San Fransico

0-4 for the 2003 pre-season:
Houston
Atlanta

I would say for the most part that you're right. 0-4 seems to be a pretty bad sign unless you're a team that has been on a dominate streak like Indy or NE 0-4 is time to worry.