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Denver Native (Carol)
10-02-2009, 05:06 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9426

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It's fairly easy to get through an entire Broncos game and not hear Ryan Clady's name.

In fact, if the second-year offensive tackle wasn't tied for the longest streak of games without allowing a sack to start an NFL career, his name might rarely be mentioned at all.

"You just kind of forget about him a little bit because he's always doing his job over there," said Kyle Orton, whose blind side is protected by the 6-foot-6, 325-pound tackle.

Offensive linemen are often the unheralded brutes who take a beating week in and week out in the trenches to buy time and create space for the offense. In fact, Elvis Dumervil called Clady an "unsung hero." But in Denver, it's a little different.

The offensive line allowed a league-leading and franchise-record 12 sacks in 2008. If that's not attention-grabbing enough, a rookie started all 16 games at left tackle and didn't allow a full sack all season. That sheds more than just a a tiny spotlight on the unit.

Clady earned second-team All-Pro honors (Associated Press) last season. This year, he has displayed early dominance against big-time pass rushers. In other words, it's hard not to notice the impact the second-year tackle has on the team.

"Clady, he's just a tough guy to beat," Dumervil said. "Every game I like to go watch the other D-end go through it, because I'm going through it all day in practice and in camp. He's tough."

Most recently in Week 3, Clady essentially shut down Oakland's Richard Seymour. The former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion finished the game with a simple stat line -- three tackles. No tackles for loss, no sacks, no nothing.

Last season, he matched up against defensive ends ranging from John Abraham to Julius Peppers, holding any and all comers without a full sack.

Clady said that success doesn't come from simply ignoring who he will face in the coming week -- he does his research leading up to the contest.

"You've got to look at the tendencies and figure out what they do well, and try to be able to match up with that," he said.

And Head Coach Josh McDaniels has noticed the second-year player's innate ability to do just that.

"Ryan does a really nice job of changing up his sets so that the pass rusher who is rushing against him 35, 40 times a game isn't getting the same thing," McDaniels said. "When I say that, I mean one time he will be aggressive and try to get him early in the play. The next time, he will kind of wait and sit back and let him try to go around the corner and just kind of meet him at the junction point. He will ride him past the quarterback. He is a smart player. He understands kind of what the guy has seen from him already and then what he hasn't."

With Clady's ability to take on all different types of pass rushers alongside his fellow starters on the line -- Ben Hamilton, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper and Ryan Harris -- who have shown the same ability to keep the quarterback clean, the Broncos are tied for sixth in the league with just three sacks allowed.

But Clady, like the line itself, is not just one-dimensional. The Broncos are also ranked No. 4 in the league in rushing offense, part of the No. 9 overall offensive attack in the NFL.

Clady is quick to credit his teammates for his success, and Russ Hochstein said the fellow linemen appreciate Clady for his ability, work ethic and the fact that he "just tries to help the unit."

"I think that is also a credit to the players that he is playing with," McDaniels said of Clady's success. "I think any offensive lineman would tell you that he can't do his job alone, and I am sure that Ryan would say the same thing."

But even though the offensive line's success comes as a unit, Clady's play so early in his career has been impressive -- he finished third in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2008.

When talking about what makes Clady such a tough matchup, Dumervil couldn't help but laugh as he ran down the intimidating list.

"He has quick feet, he has long arms and then he's strong," he said. "He has strong hands -- once he gets his hands on you, there's not much you're going to do. Then you can't outrun him, you can't run around him, you can't really run him over -- so you've just got to deal with it."

Dumervil is grateful he has to "deal with it" every week, because he said it helps him become more creative with ways to beat tackles to get to the quarterback.

So not only does Clady help the offense on game days, he helps the defense prepare in the week leading up to them.

It's hard to tell who appreciates Clady the most. Is it Orton, whose blind side is consistently protected? Is it the offensive line, which thrives on teamwork and consistency -- two traits Clady brings to the table in spades? Is it the running backs, who praise the blocking and holes Clady and the line create week in and week out? Is it the defense, who can only get better going against such a "special guy," as Dumervil put it?

There's no telling. But suffice it to say, his teammates are glad he's on their side.

"I think Clady's one of the better left tackles in this game," Correll Buckhalter said. "The guy's young and he's only going to get better and better."

Bronco Warrior
10-02-2009, 05:31 PM
Funny..Clady wasn't even the top Tackle taken last year and he has been the beast I had told people he's from just up the road at Boise St. He is and will be the most dominant Left Tackle in the game for the next ten years!

gobroncsnv
10-02-2009, 06:11 PM
Amazing how good he is, how quiet he is, and how SO many WR's should take their cues from him... If you were to equate what Clady does into a "skill player's " stats, he'd have 30 rushing TD's on 2600 yards, 149 passes caught, 1900 yards, and another 16 TD's... throw in 14 KR's for TD, and 9 pick 6's.
Go RYAN. Both of ya. ('cause Mr Harris, you ain't no slouch!)

dogfish
10-02-2009, 07:34 PM
i <3 ryan clady. . . .