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Lonestar
08-19-2009, 11:09 PM
Secondary coach Ed Donatell said he expects the defense to create plenty of turnovers this season. PHOTO: GRAY CALDWELL / DENVERBRONCOS.COM


By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It's 3rd-and-13 for the offense at its own 48-yard line late in the fourth quarter last Friday in San Francisco.

The ball is snapped, and Kenny McKinley runs a crisp route, sprinting to the first-down marker before turning around and readying himself for the pass. It comes. And it bounces off his hands before a 49ers defensive back lays into him with a big hit. Fourth down, and a punt is on the way.

McKinley walks back to the sideline disappointed, but he isn't down and out.

"Things like that are going to happen -- you're going to have adversity, and you've got to bounce back," Eddie Royal said. "He told everybody he was going to make a play and he definitely went out and did that."

What the rookie did was execute perfectly a drill the team had been working on practice after practice. On the next drive after McKinley's drop, the offense got into another third down at the exact same spot on the field -- its own 48. Chris Simms was under center. As the ball was snapped, Kory Lichtensteiger and Simms didn't quite connect, and the ball hit the ground. Simms immediately picked it back up, however, and was rushed out of the pocket.

McKinley saw the quarterback in trouble and broke off his route, heading straight for the end zone.

"We call it the scramble drill -- so just according to where you are on the field, you know whether to come short or go long," Simms said of the play. "He did a great job."

Simms let the pass fly, and the rookie snatched the long spiral out of the air, scampering the last few yards into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown.

McKinley finished the day with three catches for 71 yards and a score, along with two punt returns for 16 yards and two kickoff returns for 46 yards. Not too shabby for his first time out. But still, McKinley wasn't satisfied.

"That one drop, it takes your play level down because you want to be so perfect," he said. "I made up for it with the touchdown. But if that was a big game, you don't want to have drops like that on third down in a big situation game."

That attitude -- that he can always improve -- has impressed Head Coach Josh McDaniels.

He said he has seen McKinley stay after practice every day to work with veterans and coaches. The rookie himself said he has been doing pushups every time he drops a ball during practice, just to get it into his head that it's not acceptable.

And that's the kind of devotion it takes to make it big at this level.

"To play receiver in the National Football League in your first year, you have to know a lot of different things," McDaniels said. "It's not like college, where they let you run and catch the ball and nobody is up there trying to press or disrupt your route and the timing of it."

And the all-around talent is certainly a change the rookie has noticed.

"You come out here and you go against the first team players and versus the third team players, and everybody is a stout player," he observed. "I guess everybody's the best player from wherever they came from."

McKinley himself could claim that title, as South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier called him the greatest receiver he has ever coached.

He has shown flashes of that skill and potential throughout camp and the San Francisco game. That same game also showed he has a ways to go. But for now, he's doing everything he can to make sure he performs at a high level with the regular season rolls around.

"I like Kenny," Royal said. "He's definitely a humble kid, very hard worker, willing to learn, and I like to see all those qualities."

McDaniels agreed.

"I really like his work ethic," he said, "and hopefully he continues to get better."

'CONFUSION AND ACTIVITY'

A lot of talk this offseason went in to the idea of an "attacking" 3-4 scheme, being implemented by defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

Broncos fans got their first look at the early results last Friday against San Francisco, when the team came up with four sacks, seven tackles for loss and two passes defensed.

"I think that the 3-4 causes targeting problems," said secondary coach Ed Donatell. "It always has, and that's one of the advantages of it, because our guys can come from a lot of different places. That's an advantage when you're attacking offenses."

Donatell said the havoc created up front helps his unit make plays in the secondary, namely by forcing turnovers, which is a point of emphasis for the team this season.

Throughout training camp, the entire defense has run drills at each position focusing on stripping the ball, intercepting the ball and even attempting to punch the ball out if you're the second player to arrive to make the tackle.

Donatell acknowledged that the team has focused on causing turnovers, and will continue to do so throughout the season, but the scheme itself should help create a few on its own.

"I think if you look at Mike Nolan's defenses, they've always been attacking style, and that creates opportunities for takeaways," he explained. "So I think that will happen. Then all the position coaches will go out there and coach their individual guys on technique. But his defensive style will create a lot of confusion and activity."

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