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Thread: Broncos Mailbag: Aug 11 2010

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    Default Broncos Mailbag: Aug 11 2010

    Broncos Mailbag: Denver insured on Doom, but he'll be back
    Don't fear for Elvis Dumervil. And could the Broncos see Ryan Clady back soon?

    By Mike Klis
    The Denver Post
    POSTED: 08/11/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
    UPDATED: 08/11/2010 01:17:30 AM MDT


    Denver Post NFL reporter Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag every Tuesday during the NFL season. He'll open up the weekly Mailbag starting this week, during Broncos training camp.

    Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag.

    The Broncos shell out the big bucks for Elvis Dumervil, and now he may be out for the season. Do NFL teams have anything like injury insurance to defray the big salaries for injured players? Or do they have to absorb the hit? And how do salaries for injured players affect the salary cap?
    --Jerry, Boston

    Let's begin this mailbag by stating that based on nearly everything I've been hearing, Elvis Dumervil is expected back this season.

    To answer your question, yes, clubs do get insurance on their star players. But the key to collecting is a career-ending injury. Dumervil probably won't even be out for the season, much less for his career. He suffered a torn pectoral, not an amputated femur.

    Barring a setback in his rehab, expect Dumervil to return and play in 2010.

    The Broncos' "strength and conditioning" and training staff should be sacked and replaced with a couple of Yoga, Pilates and Kettle-bell trainers. It's easy to say from the armchair, but it seems that year-in and out the Broncos have way too many muscle pulls/tears in the preseason. Thoughts?
    --Damon, Albuquerque


    Injuries have had an enormous impact on the Broncos' stumbles in recent years. They were destroyed by injuries in 2008, when they were 8-5 with a three-game lead and three games to go, yet couldn't hang on in part because they lost so many key players to torn hamstrings and groins, most notably Champ Bailey and Peyton Hillis.

    And now here we are again. I'm not ready to blame strength coach Rich Tuten, though. It no doubt hasn't escaped the Broncos' medical staff that Elvis Dumervil suffered his pectoral tear after he decided not to participate in the team's offseason conditioning program, or on-field minicamp practices.
    It's also not Tuten's fault so many Broncos' offensive and defensive linemen wind up rolling around on the ground during "thump" drills, which is the 11-on-11 contact portion of training camp. It's just football.

    That doesn't mean the Broncos shouldn't investigate their injury problem. I'm sure they are. I'm guessing coach Josh McDaniels has met with Tuten and head trainer Steve Antonopulos about the injury crisis.

    There's no doubt the slew of injuries has cast a pall over the Broncos' expectations this season. The excitement of Tim Tebow has been diminished by InjuryGate. (I know, some of you hate the term "gate" on the back of all crises or controversy. Sorry, but I think it's the coolest suffix since Cain offed "able.")



    Stretching or no, the Broncos have a big injury problem at Dove Valley. Here, Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow laughs while coach Josh McDaniels walks by Tuesday. More photos. (AP, Jack Dempsey)


    What's your Vegas odds on Tebow touchdowns this year? (Run or pass, both count.) What if I put it at five: Which way do you bet right now? Thanks.
    --Pete Mirabito, Lexington, Ky.


    Now this is a fun letter. I think your over/under number, Pete, is right on with five. That's where I would put Tebow's TD total this year.

    But if forced to wager a nickel? Logic says take the under. Five touchdowns is a big number for a backup quarterback. In Kordell Stewart's rookie "slash" year with Pittsburgh in 1995, he accounted for three touchdowns - one rushing, one passing, one receiving. In his second "slash" year, Stewart had eight touchdowns - five rushing, three receiving, zero passing.
    Tebow won't be catching the ball nearly as much as Stewart did in his first two years, but he should far exceed Stewart's rookie pass attempt total of seven.

    Mike, how much improvement do you see in some of our younger players, such as Robert Ayers and Knowshon Moreno? Who else? Also, is Demaryius Thomas as good as we thought?
    --Steven, New Mexico


    I was in Canton watching Floyd Little get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last Saturday, so I missed Ayers' big night at Invesco Field at Mile High. The accounts were Ayers would have had two sacks had he been allowed to hit the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.

    Will he stay or will he go? Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, still the best player on the roster, faces a defining season. More photos. (AP, Jack Dempsey)

    Ayers had no sacks as a rookie last year, so already there's improvement. I will say this on Ayers' behalf: He would have had two or three sacks last season had Dumervil not reached the quarterback first. There were a few times last year when Ayers had his blocker beat, was closing in on the QB, only to hold up as Dumervil was throwing the QB to the ground. When you're on the same team, finishing second to the NFL sack king means not finishing.
    Apparently, Demaryius Thomas also stepped up while I was gone. My partners Lindsay Jones and Jeff Legwold said Thomas looked terrific both at practice Friday and during the scrimmage Saturday until he suffered a setback to the fractured left foot that sidelined him through most of the offseason.

    Unfortunately, the early word is Thomas tore up some scar tissue from the break. The scar tissue problem off the fractured foot happened to tight end Tony Scheffler a couple years back and he was placed in a boot for a few days.

    I'll repeat what I wrote earlier: Talented as Thomas appears to be, expectations for his rookie year should be tempered because of his foot injury.

    Knowshon Moreno's improvement took a major blow on the first practice of training camp when he yanked his hamstring. Expect him back for the final two weeks of the preseason, although he probably will only get a handful of carries heading into the season-opener at Jacksonville.

    I hate to say I told you so, but the Elvis Dumervil contract looks completely absurd now. I wish there were more educated fans out there who would realize his ability for what it's worth: an above-average pass rusher. Here's one man betting that he will be easier to replace than most people think. This will resonate with more fans at the end of the season when Champ Bailey departs the Mile High City because of Elvis's big deal.
    --Scott Schneider, Denver


    I've heard Dumervil's run-stopping ability come into question. But this is the first time I've heard him described as an "above average" pass rusher.

    I say he's a freak as a pass rusher. And again, he should be back this season, Scott. If Dumervil sacks Sam Bradford to thwart St. Louis' two-minute drill on Nov. 28, assuring a win that keeps the Broncos in the playoff hunt, no one will care what he's getting paid.

    But I do agree with your assertion, Scott, that Dumervil's injury didn't help Bailey's contract situation. Bailey is, as he always has been, the Broncos' best player. The Broncos would like to retain him long-term. But the team is more likely to watch Bailey and rookie corner back Perrish Cox play for a while before making such a financial commitment.

    G'day Mike. I'm not sure I'll recognize the 2010 Broncos. From Odoms to Kay, Sharpe to Scheffler, the tight end has always been a prominent position in the Broncos offense. But 2010? Daniel Graham: really a sixth lineman. Richard Quinn: 12 CAREER college receptions. Marquez Branson: Really? Does Josh McDaniels' offense completely ignore the tight end position from a pass-catching perspective, instead relying on three wide outs? And therefore, does it leave Knowshon Moreno without a fullback and left to find holes running to the side the tight end lines up? Thanks.
    --Anthony, Melbourne , Australia


    The questions from down under get deep. I do think the Broncos will use more three-wideout and less two-tight end packages this year. Moreno will have a fullback - either Branson, shifting from his H-back position, or Spencer Larsen, who's a terrific blocker.

    I would expect 25 to 30 catches for both Graham and Branson this season. I was expecting 50 catches from Moreno, but his statistical expectations need to be put on hold.

    Being deployed in Iraq I am very limited to what Broncos information I can get. I am worried about the status of Ryan Clady. Is there any information I may have missed or is he still on track to be ready at some point this season?
    --Adam Reilly, COB Speicher, Iraq


    Adam, sometimes no news is good news. Josh McDaniels seems confident, without really saying so, about Clady being ready to play by the season opener Sept. 12.

    I would expect Clady back on the practice field around Aug. 30. I don't expect him to play in the final preseason game Sept. 2 at Minnesota.

    I also don't expect him to perform at an All-Pro level at any point this season, but a physically hindered Clady can still be better than most left tackles.

    More importantly, Adam, safe returns.

    Mike, most "experts" in the NFL seem to think the Broncos' sole reason for defensive success last year was Mike Nolan and they imply that because of his departure, our defense is not going to be anywhere near where it was in '09. I recall during the season any time anyone asked Nolan how he improved our defense he always credited McDaniels for the improvement. Was last year's improvement McDaniels' baby or was Nolan being facetious?
    --Brad, Westminster


    The defense is McDaniels' 3-4 system. McDaniels heads the defensive game-planning for the given opponent. McDaniels gives his defensive coordinator orders - blitz a ton on third down this week, let's play it straight on second down this week, etc.

    The defensive coordinator then relays the instructions to his players during the week of practice, and from upstairs in the coach's box during games.

    Having said that, defensive players generally reserve their heart and soul for their defensive coordinators. That great Bears' defense of 1985 was in it for Buddy Ryan, not Mike Ditka. Even if Ditka had more to do with that defense than he was given credit for, the players' affection was for Ryan.

    Love is a big part of playing defense. If the Broncos are to become a good defense this year, they will execute McDaniels' plan, but it will be new defensive coordinator Don Martindale who motivates them to fight and scratch and roll and pursue.

    Mike Klis is entering his sixth season of covering the Broncos for The Denver Post. He previously covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball for 15 years. Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag.

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