TXBRONC
08-17-2009, 04:50 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtKzrh_cajXnu5TCie2_esqE2bYF?slug=teamre ports-2009-nfl-den&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report
Broncos Team Report
Yahoo! Sports
13 hours, 54 minutes ago
INSIDE SLANT
There will be plenty of shuffling on defense before the regular-season opener, as the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff figures out what they have.
The most dramatic move was with linebacker Mario Haggan(notes). A 4-3 middle linebacker last year with Denver, and mostly a special-teams contributor for his NFL career, Haggan was moved from third team to a starter at left outside linebacker before Denver’s preseason opener. He passed Darrell Reid(notes) and Tim Crowder(notes) on the depth chart. “We’re all fighting for an opportunity to play,” Haggan said.
The move showed how fluid the battles are at outside linebacker. Reid was ahead of Crowder, but Crowder had been cutting into his first-team reps. At right outside linebacker, Elvis Dumervil(notes) has been holding off first-round pick Robert Ayers(notes). Dumervil has taken nicely to the switch from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker.
The Broncos made other moves. They went from Darcel McBath(notes) to fellow rookie David Bruton(notes) back to McBath at safety as Brian Dawkins(notes) recuperates from a hand injury.
On the line, Marcus Thomas was moved from second-team nose tackle to end, partially because of the emergence of bigger nose tackle Chris Baker(notes), an undrafted rookie.
The moves worked pretty well for the Broncos in the first preseason game. They allowed a field goal on their first drive, then forced two punts. The lone touchdown the starters gave up was on a three-yard drive after Kyle Orton’s(notes) third interception.
Denver had four sacks, looked decent against the run and appeared headed in a decent direction.
The team is learning new coordinator Mike Nolan’s 3-4 scheme, which everyone has said is a work in progress. One badly busted coverage led to a long touchdown catch by 49ers fullback Brit Miller. Overall, Denver looked pretty comfortable with the scheme. The Broncos swarmed to the ball well but need to be a bit tighter in coverage after allowing San Francisco quarterbacks to complete 14 of 18 passes, but many of those were short gains.
Camp Calendar: The Broncos’ camp ends on Aug. 20, three weeks after the team’s first full-squad workout.
NOTES, QUOTES
• Rookie Knowshon Moreno(notes) gave the Broncos a scare when he limped to the locker room after less than a quarter of work in his preseason debut, but he only sprained an MCL. He should be back before the regular-season opener.
• Head coach Josh McDaniels doesn’t run a light training camp and didn’t take his first preseason game lightly. Almost all of Denver’s starters played the entire first half against the 49ers, which is a big departure from Mike Shanahan’s plan of playing the starters for one series in the preseason opener.
McDaniels also wants to get his rookies up to speed, so they’ll see plenty of action this month.
“All our rookies and all our young kids need to play a lot,” McDaniels said.
• The Broncos are having light hazing of the rookies during camp. The latest prank was funny haircuts. The veterans chose what look the rookies would get, which included some random bald spots or stripes from front to back. Quarterback Tom Brandstater(notes) got just the top of his head shaved clean. That was better than the threat of having his eyebrows taken off if he didn’t consent to the haircut.
“I’ll save my eyebrows,” Brandstater said.
—Cornerback Champ Bailey(notes) has looked good in camp, making a few athletic interceptions. He is coming off an injury-filled season but at age 31, looks as good as ever. “I feel pretty good,” Bailey said. “Feel real fresh.”
Quote To Note: “I’m sure you guys will write a lot of articles and talk about it on talk radio and everything else, but it’s not going to change me one bit.”—Broncos backup quarterback Chris Simms(notes) on a possible quarterback controversy.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
The Broncos waived/injured RB Ryan Torain(notes), who suffered a minor knee injury in camp. Torain has had no luck with injuries the past two years. He looked promising last year but an elbow injury in camp cost him a few months and then he tore his ACL shortly after returning.
The Broncos replaced him with RB Marcus Thomas, a fifth-round pick of the Chargers last year who spent time with three other teams.
• DE J’Vonne Parker(notes) went on injured reserve with a knee injury. That cuts into Denver’s depth on the line.
• WR Chad Jackson(notes) started the preseason opener as the fourth receiver in a four-receiver set on the first play of the game.
• RB Peyton Hillis(notes) rushed for 49 yards on 10 carries against San Francisco. He was the tailback for most of the second half.
• LB Spencer Larsen(notes), a second teamer at inside linebacker, led the Broncos with six tackles against the 49ers, including one for loss. He also played fullback.
• C Casey Wiegmann(notes) was the only Broncos starter on offense pulled before halftime against San Francisco. Ben Hamilton(notes) moved to center.
Battle Of The Week: Ryan McBean(notes) vs. Marcus Thomas for starting left defensive end. Thomas has more experience than McBean and has a better chance to unseat him than he did Ronald Fields(notes) at nose tackle. The move up the depth chart for rookie nose tackle Chris Baker also should benefit Thomas, because Thomas seems like a better physical fit at end. However, McBean stood out to the coaches in the preseason opener, picking up a sack.
Other Battle Fronts: Mario Haggan moved past Darrell Reid and Tim Crowder to take the starting left outside linebacker spot. … Correll Buckhalter(notes) started the preseason opener at tailback after LaMont Jordan(notes) spent most of the week leading up to the game recovering from a leg injury. … Eddie Royal(notes) was removed from the depth chart at kick and punt returner, a nod to his importance on offense. Alphonso Smith(notes) is Denver’s primary kick returner. … Although Jack Williams(notes) has held off Smith as the nickel cornerback, Smith was the one who replaced Champ Bailey at left cornerback with the starting defense against the 49ers. Bailey was the lone starter on defense removed before halftime.
Player Of The Week: Nose tackle Chris Baker, an undrafted rookie, moved up from third team to second team in the week leading up to Denver’s preseason opener, then made a huge impression during the game. Baker had a sack and another tackle for loss. The Broncos are thin on the defensive line, so Baker’s development could be huge for the team. Baker, who is big and physical, went undrafted after being kicked out of Penn State for off-field issues. He finished his college career at Hampton.
Rookie Report
• Before injuring his knee against San Francisco, RB Knowshon Moreno showed off a strong initial burst, gaining 9 yards on his first NFL run.
• LB Robert Ayers isn’t with the starting defense in base packages but is coming in with the first team in all passing situations.
• S Darcel McBath started the preseason opener in place of injured Brian Dawkins.
• TE Richard Quinn(notes) has shown he can be a factor in the passing game, despite not being targeted often in college.
• S David Bruton spent a few days with the first-team defense in Brian Dawkins’ absence. He should be a primary contributor on all special teams.
• WR Kenny McKinley(notes) caught a 52-yard touchdown against San Francisco. He has also assumed a role as the second option on kickoff and punt returns.
• G Seth Olsen(notes) played with the starting offense after left guard Ben Hamilton moved to center to replace Casey Wiegmann.
Injury Report: S Brian Dawkins has been out of practice since early in camp with a broken hand. He wasn’t supposed to be out long—his progress will bear watching because he was signed to the veteran leader of the defense. … WR Brandon Marshall(notes) should return soon from a leg injury that knocked him out of camp since Aug. 2. … RB Knowshon Moreno will miss a couple of weeks with a sprained MCL, suffered against San Francisco.
Broncos Team Report
Yahoo! Sports
13 hours, 54 minutes ago
INSIDE SLANT
There will be plenty of shuffling on defense before the regular-season opener, as the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff figures out what they have.
The most dramatic move was with linebacker Mario Haggan(notes). A 4-3 middle linebacker last year with Denver, and mostly a special-teams contributor for his NFL career, Haggan was moved from third team to a starter at left outside linebacker before Denver’s preseason opener. He passed Darrell Reid(notes) and Tim Crowder(notes) on the depth chart. “We’re all fighting for an opportunity to play,” Haggan said.
The move showed how fluid the battles are at outside linebacker. Reid was ahead of Crowder, but Crowder had been cutting into his first-team reps. At right outside linebacker, Elvis Dumervil(notes) has been holding off first-round pick Robert Ayers(notes). Dumervil has taken nicely to the switch from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker.
The Broncos made other moves. They went from Darcel McBath(notes) to fellow rookie David Bruton(notes) back to McBath at safety as Brian Dawkins(notes) recuperates from a hand injury.
On the line, Marcus Thomas was moved from second-team nose tackle to end, partially because of the emergence of bigger nose tackle Chris Baker(notes), an undrafted rookie.
The moves worked pretty well for the Broncos in the first preseason game. They allowed a field goal on their first drive, then forced two punts. The lone touchdown the starters gave up was on a three-yard drive after Kyle Orton’s(notes) third interception.
Denver had four sacks, looked decent against the run and appeared headed in a decent direction.
The team is learning new coordinator Mike Nolan’s 3-4 scheme, which everyone has said is a work in progress. One badly busted coverage led to a long touchdown catch by 49ers fullback Brit Miller. Overall, Denver looked pretty comfortable with the scheme. The Broncos swarmed to the ball well but need to be a bit tighter in coverage after allowing San Francisco quarterbacks to complete 14 of 18 passes, but many of those were short gains.
Camp Calendar: The Broncos’ camp ends on Aug. 20, three weeks after the team’s first full-squad workout.
NOTES, QUOTES
• Rookie Knowshon Moreno(notes) gave the Broncos a scare when he limped to the locker room after less than a quarter of work in his preseason debut, but he only sprained an MCL. He should be back before the regular-season opener.
• Head coach Josh McDaniels doesn’t run a light training camp and didn’t take his first preseason game lightly. Almost all of Denver’s starters played the entire first half against the 49ers, which is a big departure from Mike Shanahan’s plan of playing the starters for one series in the preseason opener.
McDaniels also wants to get his rookies up to speed, so they’ll see plenty of action this month.
“All our rookies and all our young kids need to play a lot,” McDaniels said.
• The Broncos are having light hazing of the rookies during camp. The latest prank was funny haircuts. The veterans chose what look the rookies would get, which included some random bald spots or stripes from front to back. Quarterback Tom Brandstater(notes) got just the top of his head shaved clean. That was better than the threat of having his eyebrows taken off if he didn’t consent to the haircut.
“I’ll save my eyebrows,” Brandstater said.
—Cornerback Champ Bailey(notes) has looked good in camp, making a few athletic interceptions. He is coming off an injury-filled season but at age 31, looks as good as ever. “I feel pretty good,” Bailey said. “Feel real fresh.”
Quote To Note: “I’m sure you guys will write a lot of articles and talk about it on talk radio and everything else, but it’s not going to change me one bit.”—Broncos backup quarterback Chris Simms(notes) on a possible quarterback controversy.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
The Broncos waived/injured RB Ryan Torain(notes), who suffered a minor knee injury in camp. Torain has had no luck with injuries the past two years. He looked promising last year but an elbow injury in camp cost him a few months and then he tore his ACL shortly after returning.
The Broncos replaced him with RB Marcus Thomas, a fifth-round pick of the Chargers last year who spent time with three other teams.
• DE J’Vonne Parker(notes) went on injured reserve with a knee injury. That cuts into Denver’s depth on the line.
• WR Chad Jackson(notes) started the preseason opener as the fourth receiver in a four-receiver set on the first play of the game.
• RB Peyton Hillis(notes) rushed for 49 yards on 10 carries against San Francisco. He was the tailback for most of the second half.
• LB Spencer Larsen(notes), a second teamer at inside linebacker, led the Broncos with six tackles against the 49ers, including one for loss. He also played fullback.
• C Casey Wiegmann(notes) was the only Broncos starter on offense pulled before halftime against San Francisco. Ben Hamilton(notes) moved to center.
Battle Of The Week: Ryan McBean(notes) vs. Marcus Thomas for starting left defensive end. Thomas has more experience than McBean and has a better chance to unseat him than he did Ronald Fields(notes) at nose tackle. The move up the depth chart for rookie nose tackle Chris Baker also should benefit Thomas, because Thomas seems like a better physical fit at end. However, McBean stood out to the coaches in the preseason opener, picking up a sack.
Other Battle Fronts: Mario Haggan moved past Darrell Reid and Tim Crowder to take the starting left outside linebacker spot. … Correll Buckhalter(notes) started the preseason opener at tailback after LaMont Jordan(notes) spent most of the week leading up to the game recovering from a leg injury. … Eddie Royal(notes) was removed from the depth chart at kick and punt returner, a nod to his importance on offense. Alphonso Smith(notes) is Denver’s primary kick returner. … Although Jack Williams(notes) has held off Smith as the nickel cornerback, Smith was the one who replaced Champ Bailey at left cornerback with the starting defense against the 49ers. Bailey was the lone starter on defense removed before halftime.
Player Of The Week: Nose tackle Chris Baker, an undrafted rookie, moved up from third team to second team in the week leading up to Denver’s preseason opener, then made a huge impression during the game. Baker had a sack and another tackle for loss. The Broncos are thin on the defensive line, so Baker’s development could be huge for the team. Baker, who is big and physical, went undrafted after being kicked out of Penn State for off-field issues. He finished his college career at Hampton.
Rookie Report
• Before injuring his knee against San Francisco, RB Knowshon Moreno showed off a strong initial burst, gaining 9 yards on his first NFL run.
• LB Robert Ayers isn’t with the starting defense in base packages but is coming in with the first team in all passing situations.
• S Darcel McBath started the preseason opener in place of injured Brian Dawkins.
• TE Richard Quinn(notes) has shown he can be a factor in the passing game, despite not being targeted often in college.
• S David Bruton spent a few days with the first-team defense in Brian Dawkins’ absence. He should be a primary contributor on all special teams.
• WR Kenny McKinley(notes) caught a 52-yard touchdown against San Francisco. He has also assumed a role as the second option on kickoff and punt returns.
• G Seth Olsen(notes) played with the starting offense after left guard Ben Hamilton moved to center to replace Casey Wiegmann.
Injury Report: S Brian Dawkins has been out of practice since early in camp with a broken hand. He wasn’t supposed to be out long—his progress will bear watching because he was signed to the veteran leader of the defense. … WR Brandon Marshall(notes) should return soon from a leg injury that knocked him out of camp since Aug. 2. … RB Knowshon Moreno will miss a couple of weeks with a sprained MCL, suffered against San Francisco.