TXBRONC
09-05-2007, 09:02 AM
I was perusing the RMN and this article by Jeff Legwold caught my eye. After reading it, I was reminded of questions and criticism I have read about why Shanahan keeps a player like Nate Jackson. Well the comments from Alvin McKinley I think go a long way in answering that question. Bottom line is if coaches see what a player is doing as meeting expectations they'll stay, if they don't they're gone (i.e. Warren and Kennedy).
I also found Shanahan's comments about the fullback situation both true and funny. :lol: I've highlighted so you wont miss it.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5690103,00.html
Competition should come as no surprise to Broncos players
From No. 1 pick to free agent, earning spot is how it goes
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 4, 2007
Coming Thursday: NFL preview section that tackles the Broncos and the rest of the NFL.
In his eighth NFL season, defensive tackle Alvin McKinley has heard coaches talk about competition, about how you got into the room doesn't have anything to do with why you stay.
"And sometimes you don't know if that's true," McKinley said. "But here, here it's true. They don't care if you're a No. 1 pick, a free agent or whatever. They don't care what happened to you before.
"They go by what they see, by what you do. And here, if you don't understand that, that's on you."
So when the Broncos put a bow on their 53-man roster - at least for now - with the signing of defensive end Simeon Rice on Monday, they were left with a few surprises.
• Five rookies are on the roster, all four of their 2007 draft picks to go with running back Selvin Young, who ran past tacklers and up the depth chart to open the season as Travis Henry's backup.
• Andre Hall, a Broncos practice squad player in 2006 who missed time in camp with a hamstring injury and still made enough happen on special teams to make the 53-man roster and be one of - count 'em - six running backs on the roster.
Hall, like veteran fullback Paul Smith, is one of several players who made the roster because of what special teams coordinator Scott O'Brien was looking for in his units.
• Two running backs, Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell, spent much of training camp splitting carries as Henry's backup, but they were moved to fullback in the days leading to the preseason finale and will stay there for the foreseeable future.
The move led to the release of Kyle Johnson, who had been held out of the preseason finale as part of the starting offense.
• In a group that numbered 17 players when camp opened, three former No. 1 picks on the defensive line were sent on their way with the trade of Gerard Warren to Oakland to go with the release of Kenard Lang and Jimmy Kennedy.
"I didn't know what it all would look like," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "I know, like in the defensive line, when you throw 17 guys in the mix, you don't know what you're going to get out of it. It's competition, and when there's competition, the cream rises to the top and you've got to trust that the coaches are going to pick the guys who give us the best chance. I think they have and I like what we've got."
"They told us from Day 1 it was going to be competition all the way across the board," McKinley said. "And if you didn't take it to heart, it was your own fault. You knew coming in what the situation was. There were so many guys, if you don't take it upon yourself to understand what that means, again, that's on you."
Young's quickness and his adaptability to the Broncos offense pushed him past several more established backs to be Henry's backup. Bell was the team's second-leading rusher last season with 677 yards but now finds himself as a fullback.
"Mike's a good back," coach Mike Shanahan said. "But you try to get your best 45 players on the field, try to get the best 53-man squad together. . . . I don't think anybody's really excited when they're a fullback and they used to be a tailback. But then, they like to be employed - they start to get more enthused about the job after they still have got a check coming in.
"But it's tough on a guy that likes to carry the ball, but I think we're pretty honest with our players with what we think their roles are and what they can do."
But as an undrafted rookie, Young said he chose to sign with Denver because he believed the Broncos would give him an honest chance to do what he did.
"I didn't feel a good vibe from anybody else; it felt like I might just be filling up a spot," Young said. "I honestly felt like (Broncos running backs coach) Bobby Turner was going to give me a fair shot to play football."
ETC.: The Broncos released linebacker Wesley Mallard to make room for Rice. . . . Kennedy's stint cost the Broncos a sixth-round pick, which is what they shipped to the Rams in June for him. The pick wasn't conditional on Kennedy making the roster, so the Broncos won't get it back.
legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359
I also found Shanahan's comments about the fullback situation both true and funny. :lol: I've highlighted so you wont miss it.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5690103,00.html
Competition should come as no surprise to Broncos players
From No. 1 pick to free agent, earning spot is how it goes
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 4, 2007
Coming Thursday: NFL preview section that tackles the Broncos and the rest of the NFL.
In his eighth NFL season, defensive tackle Alvin McKinley has heard coaches talk about competition, about how you got into the room doesn't have anything to do with why you stay.
"And sometimes you don't know if that's true," McKinley said. "But here, here it's true. They don't care if you're a No. 1 pick, a free agent or whatever. They don't care what happened to you before.
"They go by what they see, by what you do. And here, if you don't understand that, that's on you."
So when the Broncos put a bow on their 53-man roster - at least for now - with the signing of defensive end Simeon Rice on Monday, they were left with a few surprises.
• Five rookies are on the roster, all four of their 2007 draft picks to go with running back Selvin Young, who ran past tacklers and up the depth chart to open the season as Travis Henry's backup.
• Andre Hall, a Broncos practice squad player in 2006 who missed time in camp with a hamstring injury and still made enough happen on special teams to make the 53-man roster and be one of - count 'em - six running backs on the roster.
Hall, like veteran fullback Paul Smith, is one of several players who made the roster because of what special teams coordinator Scott O'Brien was looking for in his units.
• Two running backs, Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell, spent much of training camp splitting carries as Henry's backup, but they were moved to fullback in the days leading to the preseason finale and will stay there for the foreseeable future.
The move led to the release of Kyle Johnson, who had been held out of the preseason finale as part of the starting offense.
• In a group that numbered 17 players when camp opened, three former No. 1 picks on the defensive line were sent on their way with the trade of Gerard Warren to Oakland to go with the release of Kenard Lang and Jimmy Kennedy.
"I didn't know what it all would look like," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "I know, like in the defensive line, when you throw 17 guys in the mix, you don't know what you're going to get out of it. It's competition, and when there's competition, the cream rises to the top and you've got to trust that the coaches are going to pick the guys who give us the best chance. I think they have and I like what we've got."
"They told us from Day 1 it was going to be competition all the way across the board," McKinley said. "And if you didn't take it to heart, it was your own fault. You knew coming in what the situation was. There were so many guys, if you don't take it upon yourself to understand what that means, again, that's on you."
Young's quickness and his adaptability to the Broncos offense pushed him past several more established backs to be Henry's backup. Bell was the team's second-leading rusher last season with 677 yards but now finds himself as a fullback.
"Mike's a good back," coach Mike Shanahan said. "But you try to get your best 45 players on the field, try to get the best 53-man squad together. . . . I don't think anybody's really excited when they're a fullback and they used to be a tailback. But then, they like to be employed - they start to get more enthused about the job after they still have got a check coming in.
"But it's tough on a guy that likes to carry the ball, but I think we're pretty honest with our players with what we think their roles are and what they can do."
But as an undrafted rookie, Young said he chose to sign with Denver because he believed the Broncos would give him an honest chance to do what he did.
"I didn't feel a good vibe from anybody else; it felt like I might just be filling up a spot," Young said. "I honestly felt like (Broncos running backs coach) Bobby Turner was going to give me a fair shot to play football."
ETC.: The Broncos released linebacker Wesley Mallard to make room for Rice. . . . Kennedy's stint cost the Broncos a sixth-round pick, which is what they shipped to the Rams in June for him. The pick wasn't conditional on Kennedy making the roster, so the Broncos won't get it back.
legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359