Like a lonely scarecrow in a rural cornfield, Domenik Hixon stood alone at one end of a practice field Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, awaiting a football that was set to soar skyward from a JUGS machine some 75 yards away.
His teammates had already retired to the adjacent headquarters building to socialize, shower and scrub up for post-practice meetings. Hixon, though, wouldn’t do that.
So he lingered in the west end zone of the south practice field, with only the gusting winds and the stentorian bark of special-teams coordinator Scott O’Brien’s voice shattering the mid-afternoon silence. Football after football flew towards Hixon, with most chasing him to the sidelines of the field, allowing him to work on darting his way out of tight corners.
“We’re going over every situation that’s going to help Sunday,” Hixon said.
For someone with only six punt and three kickoff returns to his name as an NFL player, even this work has its benefits.
“Every rep the guy gets is experience for him,” O’Brien said. “He works here on different situations so when they come up in the game, he doesn’t panic. He can control the ball.”
Ball control hasn’t been the issue for Hixon so far this season. Game-time opportunities have, as chances to return kickoffs have been scarce for the Broncos, whose total of three kickoff runbacks in the season’s first two weeks ranks 31st in the league. (Coincidentally, Sunday’s opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, are in 32nd.)
In fact, of the 28 teams that have been in existence since 1976, none have returned fewer kickoffs since then than the Broncos, in part due to the altitude at which the team plays its home games. (It would also be due to the team’s general success in that time; the fewer points you allow, the fewer kickoffs you yield.) The Broncos have run back 1,638 kickoffs since 1976, which is 72 fewer than the next team up the list, the Miami Dolphins. For comparison’s sake, the team with the most kickoff returns since 1976 is the New Orleans Saints, who have returned 435 more kickoffs than the Broncos — an average of 0.87 more returns per game.
“When you don’t get any opportunities,” O’Brien said, “you can’t take advantage.”
Punt returns have been somewhat more plentiful, but the yardage has not, as the Broncos’ 3.0-yard average on six returns places sixth from the bottom in the league table, at the 27th position.
Hixon had an opportunity to break a big return early against the Oakland Raiders after making a tackler miss, but ran squarely into another after spinning out of the first potential stop.
“The first return for the Raiders game, that was on me,” Hixon said. “I made the first guy miss, but I read it wrong. We’ve been working on it.”
Eluding the first tackler, though, is nothing extraordinary in O’Brien’s mind.
“That’s a pre-requisite,” he said. “You’ve got to make the first guy miss. That’s what the good ones do.”
Hixon can be a good returner, O’Brien says, but it’s too early to judge his potential success based on just two games of work.
“Physically he’s got all the ability to make big plays, the explosive plays, but there’s a lot of players in the National Football League that have that physical ability,” said O’Brien, whose past special-teams résumé includes four seasons with Carolina’s Pro Bowl returner and wide receiver, Steve Smith. “So time will tell on this one.”
For now, all Hixon can do is work diligently on the practice field, wait for his chances and show evidence of growth that O’Brien hopes — and expects — to see.
“Obviously it’s a learning experience,” Hixon said.
But it’s one in his learning must also yield ongoing results. If the Broncos’ run of taut games continues, the returns will have to provide a turbo boost; otherwise, the slim gap between defeat and victory could leave the Broncos skidding instead of sailing.
Tags: Domenik Hixon, Scott O'Brien, Special Teams
I do think Hixon will do great, but there is one person I think could do better and thats Brandon Marshall.
Didn’t Selvin Young return kicks at Texas? I know its too early to give up on Hixon but I don’t even recall any nice return during the pre-season. I thought Morgan did a better job returning although Hixon did well at receiver.
Hixson sucks! They need to find someone else.
Hixon is good but the person behind him shold be Andre Hall.
You guys are all “MISSING” the point…
- Hixon is clearly “Afraid” when he’s fielding the ball.
- He has No upfield vision
- He’s not been the same since the Everette collision
- He’s too tall
- We were crazy for not trying out Jeremy Bloom…
Im out…
What I notice when we did get the chance to make a return the wedge the four players up front basically seem too light footed not actually blocking hard enough for Hixon to make a cut and break up field. I’ve watch Hixon make returns from College and this guy can be an exciting player given the chance. I also think that Andre Hall could do quite well on kick-offs with his darting speed and one step moves up field. I hope to see our special teams to finally break loose against the Jaguars.
Maybe I’ll be wrong about this, but having talked to him numerous times since he arrived and having gotten a feel for his work ethic and diligence — how he was on the field for virtually every training camp and in-season practice even when he was on PUP and I.R. last year, how he takes notes from Rod Smith on technique and study habits, and how he’s far more often than not one of the last two or three guys to leave the field after practice, and how he does have a good first move … I think he deserves a little more than two games in which he hasn’t had much room to run in order to prove himself.
Maybe I take too long to judge — I’m very fond of saying that you can’t evaluate a draft until four years have passed (although I suppose when most of the guys have been cut or traded before then, you can) — but I’m not throwing in the towel on Hixon after two games. I’m going to defer to O’Brien … he’s putting in the extra work with Hix, so he obviously believes in his potential. Given his career resume as a special teams coach, I think the phrase “benefit of the doubt” applies here.
Just my $0.02.
LOL Hog Bloom? Are you for real? By saying that you have rendured everthing else you said meaningless. I went to highschool at Loveland with Bloom and trust me he isnt the type of guy we want in the locker room, and he dosent have that much talent on the football field. Well he did in highschool. Maybe he should start walking down runway’s more lol… I agree with Andrew, we cant give up on Hix yet. Plus we need a reason to keep him on the roster because he is going to be a great reciver, but I would still love to see Marshall back there at least for one game…
Oh! upchurch, where are you Please come back, OH well I can still dream of what it was like in days past. The only other guy we had that could run the ball back was a guy name Gordon. God help our speacial teams. If I recall I think the last run back the Broncos had was by O’Neil, I think but not sure. It had been so long sense we had a run back I just do not know.
Hey Mas I saw a picture on here earlier this week with Marcus Thomas in the middle of a back-flip. Is there any video footage of that? I have been telling my buddies about and was going to show them that picture but it disappeared. I figure some actual video footage woudl be great. He is a pretty exceptional athlete.
Wish we had some, but he happened to do the backflip when almost everyone with a camera was rushing about 175 yards around the fields to get closer to where all the players had moved … so we don’t have it. The AP photog happened to hold his ground; that’s why he got the shot.
Also, as for all the talk on Bloom (the former CU returner who made a bigger name for himself as a skiier before opting to return to football) … it’s interesting that the Eagles haven’t called him back into the Christmas-tree green, given their ongoing runback woes … although he was battling a toe injury throughout the preseason, which seemed to affect his explosiveness (and as we saw with Gerard Warren last year, can linger and affect production for weeks, if not months).
By the way, tjames, this link should have a still photo of the backflip:
http://blog.denverbroncos.com/mason/2007/07/29/training-camp-day-1-morning-session/
The fans on the berm adjacent to one of the practice fields at training camp had a better view than all the professionals with video cameras, so I’m surprised someone hasn’t put the clip on YouTube yet.
I watched Hixon up close at the Bills game, and I agree that he is too tall. You need to be able to turn direction on a dime, and he cannot. Roscoe Parish on the other hand, is very small and shifty. So is Hestor, so is Dante Hall, so is Darren Sproles ect. Has Tim Dwight signed with anyone?
Now that is a sweet picuture. I think we were on the right track when were talking about the Broncos drafting Thomas that he will be something special. Maybe our coaches aren’t really novice Monday morning quarterbacks after all!!!! That was a bag on all you wavering non-Shanahan believers. THE GUY DOES NO WHAT HE IS DOING PEOPLE!!!!
Plus, I don’t think I’ve seen a Bronco do a back flip since Gerald Willhite.
I can’t remember the last time a Bronco has returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown. The last good returner we had was D. Gordon 10 years ago. So long as Hix can manage to hold on to the ball and not turn it over, I say keep him there. Some good special teams play would certainly make the offense’s job a little easier. On a side note: congrats to #30, the most electric running back to ever wear the orange and blue!!!
Hixon has had not room to run it back people
nearly everytime he catches it people are right on top of him. everybody is quick to blame the returner yet nobody looks and sees how poor the blocking for hixon is
SBboundBroncos..hmmm…I cant seem to remember where that name came from….ANYWAYS BRONCOS ALL THE WAY!!!
i have been here longer than you so you kinda stole my name, not the otehr way around
you know for everyone who is being mean about hixon…you guys arent very good fans! i met him and he is one of the nicest guys i have ever met and he is always trying to get better on what he does!!!! also for all the people who are saying that he sucks…..i would like to watch you TRY to do any better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!