This is a different blog entry, because I’m turning it over to someone else — defensive lineman Kenny Peterson. He rejoined the team this week for the first time since the four-game suspension for violation of the league’s policy on steroids and related substances that he served in September.
Upon returning to Dove Valley, Peterson read some of the comments in the blog entry that focused upon his signing and wanted to share his perspective. Here’s what he wanted to pass along:
Never once have I taken any type of steroid or anything of that nature. What I got suspended for was an illegal substance in a fat-burner. It wasn’t a performance enhancer or anything like that. It was something I got off the Internet, but it had one ingredient that was banned by the league. I didn’t know it was in there. I didn’t do it maliciously.
So for people to keep bringing it up bothers me a little bit. That just shows that they don’t know who I am, and they don’t understand me as a person. I would never take (a steroid).
I read most of the comments, and appreciate the ones that were supportive.
People are entitled to their opinion, and how they feel — which is fine. But if you do criticize somebody else, know your facts. Unless you walked a mile in a man’s shoes, you can’t talk about that person. That’s something I was raised with as a young kid — to not go around judging people or criticizing them, when you yourself aren’t perfect.
Nobody on this earth is perfect. So you can’t sit here and criticize or chastise anybody.
People are entitled to their opinion, but I just don’t want people to give me that stigma, that scarlet letter or anything like that. I just want people to know who I am, and to know that I’m not that type of person.
The reason the Broncos did bring me back is that obviously (Head) Coach (Mike) Shanahan and (General Manager) Ted Sundquist and the defensive coaches knew about my character and me as a person, and they liked the way I did some things out there on the field. If not, I wouldn’t be back here.
I just hate it when people criticize people. If everybody takes time to look at themselves instead of pointing the finger at everybody else, then maybe the world would be a little bit better.
Gentle — and not-so-gentle — readers, know this … some players do peruse these blogs, and from talking to Peterson, they do take some words personally. They might be shielded on game days by pads and helmets, but beneath all the accoutrements, they’re still human. While I I haven’t talked with Peterson as much as some other players in the locker room in the last two years, he’s been kind, cordial and respectful in all my dealings with him.
Shanahan and assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates also talked about Peterson.
SHANAHAN: “Kenny is a little bit more experienced with what we’re doing now defensively and we’re going to give him a shot. We’re trying to get the best players out there and give us a chance to do something on third downs and we thought he might help us.”
BATES: “We’re going to use Kenny. We know Kenny has a lot of ability. He can play both positions and give us some pass rush, so we like his versatility.”
Tags: Kenny Peterson
Mr. Peterson-
Thank you for being forthright with us. You appear to have a good character, I’m sure the Broncos would not have brought you back if there was any serious question about your actions.
I find it pretty ridiculous that there are people who were suspended for the same time as you even though they blatantly used steroids.
Now, help us win this week!
–Jason
Andrew -
Thanks for letting Kenny have a forum to respond to all of us rabble rousers. And thanks especially for the two quotes at the end, which really answered my initial question – of what the coaches saw in Peterson that Burton wasn’t bringing.
Having watched and rewatched some plays from last week, I could see where they were dissatisfied with Burton – he really wasn’t getting much push up the middle. Although I thought he played his butt off out there while watching the game, it is true that he didn’t have a lot of success on 3rd downs, or on the big defensive plays in the game.
Kenny -
I hope my comment wasn’t one that irked you. I was surprised with them bringing you back, especially as I liked what Burton was doing (kid’s got a motor). Unfortunately I haven’t gotten to see much of you in action – although you had a tackle here in SF in the preseason game I was at. But I sure do appreciate and respect you for taking the time to to acquit yourself so admirably in a straight forward and honest way.
It must feel great to be back in the mix, and with such a glowing endorsement from Coach Shanahan. I mean we all know he is a stickler for the defense getting off the field on 3rd downs (and the offense converting on 3rd down as well!) and to bring you in for that role is pretty awesome.
Don’t stress the criticism – you are doing something all of us out here could only dream of. Broncos fans are a fickle bunch, but we’ll be rooting for you on Monday night under the lights. Have a great game and lay some wood on VY for us!
Welcome back Mr. Peterson, glad to see you are a man that’s up front from the start and didn’t dodge the first issue at hand. Good luck in your new jersey number, the last guy that wore it did more bitching than playing.
Kenny,
Good response. I think people should be a little more focused on players like Travis Henry and Ricky Williams who have BLATANTLY broken policies and put themselves before their teammates. Be more careful next time to be absolutely sure of what you are putting in your body. Continue to work hard and I think you will be successful. Good luck on Monday!!!
Kenny,
We are happy to have you back. However, I disagree with your philosophy on criticism and judgment. While you are correct that no one is perfect and that we all make multiple mistakes, does not mean that we should not judge based on objective moral standards. I agree that we should withhold judgment on your situation because we do not know all the details, but for instance a guy like Michael Vick deserves the judgment and criticism he is receiving because he admitted to his crime and the government proved his guilt. However, there should always be forgiveness when a person shows contrition, yet they should endure the consequences as you have. With all that said I am very happy you are back, and I hope you wreck havoc for the rest of the season.
Yeah glad to see you back Petey Pete! Don’t sweat that small stuff bro! I know it bugs the heck out of you but it is still small and petty when you compare it to a lot of other issues in the world. I am glad that you were able to share with us exactly what happened with you but it really doesn’t matter because some knucklehead still won’t believe you. The NFL really sucks because they never specify what the substance was so the steriod user gets lumped in with the guy who took a fat burner that had an illegal substance in it. All that really matters is you know the truth. I feel like we know it too because Shanny definitely wouldn’t have bought you back if you were trouble. Being a professional athlete you are always going to get talked about (probably more than the average person) just let that stuff roll off your back and keep handling your business and produce for us. Sacks, sacks and more sacks sprinkled with lots of tackles in between. Do your thang number 97!
Thanks Mas for letting KP share his thoughts with us!
Has anyone else gained quite a bit of respect for Mr. Peterson? I don’t know the ins and outs of the suspension, but I respect the hell out of someone who decides to step up and address an issue like this. Especially in this day and age where people hide behind their agents, attorneys, pr people, it is refreshing for someone to show the rest of us what it means to take responsibility. He did not have to explain this to us, yet he chose to. That seems like someone who cares. I for one am proud that the team is willing to give Peterson a second chance, and after seeing what he is made of here, I hope he sticks with the team for many (trouble-free) years to come.
Mr. Peterson
Please Kick the Titans butt this weekend!! We need the Defense to play their A game. I appreciate all of your hard work and if you can tell the other members on defense we appreciate their hard work as well!!
Go get them Titans and play like the champions you are!
I should have said kick butt on Mondy Night – my bad!
Thanks for your hard work!
Hey Cutlerfan sounds like you have developed a big ole man crush on Cutler….You know what Phil Jackson would say about that.
Hey Kenny,
I thought that was very classy of you to work out for the Cards, even though you knew you had your job here back. That says a lot about your character. GET VINCE!!!
Welcome back Kenny! Get out there and sack us some QB! Preferably with a side of recovered fumble
Kenny really enjoyed that and putting us fans in our place. WE don’t always know the facts. Good luck this week!
Go Broncos
Mr. Peterson:
(And I refer to you that way out of respect.)
I agree with the comments so far. In a word, we’re all talking about integrity. You’ve shown us that you’re full of it. It shows me that you’re a real leader; something this team needs more of. As far as I’m concerned, when a person comes forward with the truth of his own volition, it shows they can be trusted. As I said in a comment the other day; It’s better to be trusted than to be loved. Good luck in all that you do…especially on the DL.
Nice post/reply Kenny!!
Like many others posting replies here, I just gained a bit more respect for you, as a player and a person. As you know the NFL makes “NO COMMENT” on positive drug tests, which I think is often a good idea, teams and players should handle the details. So, thank you for clearing up your were suspension details.
(Maybe if Mr Mason could do a weekly “post by X player” in his blog/column? It could even help his blog gain some ground back, on the almighty, all conquering “Fox-Blog. net”?)
One piece of advice I’d give to ANYONE (Players/Users) reading or replying to this blog -
Someone else here said “… in this day and age where people hide behind their agents, attorneys, pr people, …” which I TOTALLY agree with, it’s interesting to see the same thing is done by US people replying on the blog! We can all hide behind our “Username” and reply or ignore posts as we please, and the only thing that people will ever know about us is based on our “Username” and what we type.
MY ADVICE – I’m proud to say that I ignore 30-50% of what is posted here based on 3 things,
-1- Literacy (it’s the most basic sign of intelligence and I don’t need to waste my time reading any trash/abuse/negative posts from people who couldn’t pay attention in 4th grade)
-2- Bronco fanhood (If you are insecure enough about your level of support for Denver, and NEED to constantly state how many years you’ve been a fan, as the ESPN-360 TV ad says “Does your fanhood need questioning?”)
-3- Facts/ statistics (I love a person who backs up their thoughts with facts and stats! No matter how twisted, old, biased, minor or annoying, a FACT is still a FACT, and I take my hat off to people like LetPlummerPlay for his use AND abuse of stats. It’s impressive!)
That’s all, WELCOME BACK Kenny! Good luck Monday, TORTURE the TITANS!! and GO BRONCOS!!!!!
……….and here we go again. Brad has to say that “what was” with Plummer was “terrible”. That’s funny. Who was under center for our only playoff wins post-Elway? Who actually took a few single season Broncos passing records from Elway? And, Plummer was so “terrible”, the team won around 75% of the games he started. I love how, in order to support one player, we have to drag another player through the mud. Even better when the player we have to drag through the mud was someone who won games and who always seemed to put the team first. So he made some mistakes? Certainly no other players/people do that. So he flipped the home crowd off? Personally, I hope to see Cutler develop the same kind of attitude, because we all know Broncos fans are never going to be happy with ANY qb…….
Brad ~ good job on putting LPP in his place, for him to say anything about someone with a man crush is laughable.
Kenny ~ Dude don’t worry about getting the QB just stop the damn run! I like what you said and wish more players had your attitude.
Say,
Peterson, we need the helpand you are right ” Nobody on this earth is perfect. So you can’t sit here and criticize or chastise anybody.”
MR. PETERSON I here you 100%: So please take it out on the titans this week! go get them; OH good too see you back with the broncos. too help get us on a ROLL : Get one sack four me. LET’S GO BRONCOS LET’S GO!!!!
Hey “Broncos D-under”…
MY ADVICE – I’m proud to say that I ignore 30-50% of what is posted here based on 3 things,
I agree, so Im ignoring your post! If we need a preacher, we’ll call you!
To Kenny Peterson:
Don’t be so sensitive dude! If you’re comfortable in your own skin, then that’s all you should concern yourself about. You can’t necessarily talk your way out of your suspenion. You’re going to have to earn it! That’s the truth…it is what it is!
Now get out on the field and back up the kind words from Bates/Shanny. That where the real difference counts dude…it’s called ‘Scoreboard”. Just do it! We bloggers are very forgiving…ok?
I really don’t get how anyone can support Jake Plummer. I like Jake as a person unlike other quarterbacks we have had like Brian Greise. But he was never going to win a SuperBowl period. He was not a guy who loved to watch tape like Cutler. He never was not going to make mistakes like throwing int’s or fumbling like the Championship game. He never had a gun like Cutler. Why in the world would anyone support Plummer over Cutler. Cutler has lost his best reciever, his two best lineman and he continues to show toughness and moxy. This is I believe his 12th Start give him time and don’t look at stats yet. Give the man time. Finally we have a QB we can get excited about.
So Pertersen is unhappy with someone who criticize someone for taking illegal drugs but he is just fine with criticizing someone for criticizing. Hello! Peterson, are you there? Hypocrite.
Kenny,
Some fans just like to b*tch. I wouldn’t take it to heart. You should see some of the things I read regarding Travis Henry. I’m just glad we have additional tools on defense to help us win some football games.
Besides, most of us long time fans only care about results. I understand the difference between banned substances and steriods. Todd Sauerbrun(sp?) did the same thing last year with some weight loss product. The NFL is very much like the Federal Government…there are rules and regulations for so many things that JESUS CHRIST would not be able to keep up with them all.
So don’t worry about it, but most of us appreciate you coming out here and giving us the scoop on the truth. It’s good to be given a clear path through all the BS the media feeds us.
Bust some dudes in the mouth for us on Monday. THIS IS OUR HOUSE!
First welcome back Mr. Peterson, however, I do believe your wrong to expect a free pass on this one. First, as a professional athelete you are responsible for what you put into your own body…period. The fact that you ordered a substance (fat burner) without validating it’s contents shows a lack of judgement on your part (and yes we’ve all made poor choices). With the resources that you have available I’m pretty sure you could have made certain that the fatburner contained only approved substances. Also, I’m pretty sure that a 4 game suspension is give after a second failure. If I’m wrong about that fine…If I’m right, then obviously there’s been another instance in which you haven’t verified what you’ve been taking… All of this aside, welcome back and try to learn from this, verify everything that you take…period…you are responsible for your own supplement and meds…You get alot of money to play a game (even at the league minimum) respect what you’ve been given, respect yourself, your teammates and the fans by being sure what you take is NFL approved. If you can do that then I’ll back you up…if not…your at best foolish and immature….
“knuther Says: …He never was not going to make mistakes like throwing int’s or fumbling like the Championship game. …”
Last I checked, to be able to throw INTs or fumble in a Championship game, you do have to MAKE IT to that Championship game. Plummer at least did that…oh wait, the TEAM did that DESPITE him, I forgot! But the loss? Oh, that was all JAKE’S fault…yeah, whatever. I hope you’re enjoying the Dumbo ride because that’s the best thing about Fantasyland.
Another thing…Cutler has 18 TDs and 14 INTs in his career to go with 14 fumbles. Now, I know you’ve been watching the games for the past year and a half at least, so let’s ask ourselves, when is a quarterback most likely to make a mistake? When he’s pressured. You think Jake just “butterfingered” the ball against Pittsburgh with no outside influence? My a$$. Joey Porter looked like Moses parting an Orange and Blue sea out there. If Denver’s O-Line could consistently stop a blitz…and I mean from 1999 up to last weekend…many of Jake’s and Jay’s picks and fumbles simply do not occur.
If the Broncos still manage to climb to the top of this crappy AFC West despite the erratic O-line, guess what? Cutler will be exposed–on international television–to the same conditions that caused all of Jake’s playoff misfortunes. The line still can’t block. It’s really the single biggest problem the team faces, because it reduces Cutler’s development to a crawl. Cutler getting pulverized against Detroit and Frisco? Plummer’s three sacks and 2 fumbles against Pittsburgh’s blitz? Cutler’s 4 sacks and 3 fumbles against SD last year? The fact that Cutler has only had ONE multi-touchdown game this year? It’s nice and convenient for critics on both sides of the fence to harp on either quarterback, but it comes down to the O-line. They only seem to show up strong once every three games, and even if Cutler or Plummer could scramble away from defenders, it reduced their accuracy because they had to throw on the run.
Jake eventually couldn’t overcome it. Cutler is in the middle of trying to fight the uphill battle. The “Shanahan Line” (make quick holes for runners, but give the QBs less than 1.5 seconds to target) has already claimed 2 Denver QBs, hopefully it won’t claim a third.
Seriously, when the line gives Jay more than 3 seconds to throw…you NOTICE it, don’t you? Because it’s so rare!
Tom Brady gets that on 95 PERCENT OF HIS DOWNS.
Hey Kenney: o h i o !!!!!!!!!!! Go Buckeyes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Kenny if you read this, give Vince Young a pat on the back from the ol’ White Hoss…while he’s face down with a mouthful of turf.
I don’t know what the truth is about you, or Henry, or any other player… I’m not here to throw stones…I watch the Broncos because it’s something I’ve done since I can remember with my family. I appreciate your straight forwardness…but just help Dumervil get more sacks and the Denver D win some games.
SHOW ME Vince Young on he turf!
Go Broncos!
HOGblog, Sorry if I came across as “preachy” – didn’t mean threaten your position around here as 1st string preacher!
Best wishes and humble apologies,
BDU
Any of you see Jay Cutler on South Park last week “My dad says you kinda suck, but you might be good someday”…LMAO. As for all of you guys harping on Plummer….you are probably the same idiots that said Elway sucked when he lost 3 superbowls. Unfortunately, Shanny never gave Jake a chance to redeem himself. Use your head. You idiots were probably hailing him as the messiah when he led us to a 13-3 season before we lost the AFC Championship. Have some love for Jake, he was a GREAT qb for us. Cutler still has a LONG way to go until he can even compare to #16, much less #7. Talk some smack IF Cutler ever holds a passing record #16 or #7 owns or actually PLAYS in a playoff game!!!!!
Excuse me for my lovefest with Plummer, I liked him only because my favorite number was 16. I find it really hard to accept the fact that Jake Plummer is a bad QB. I will try my best to not bash anyone else because they offend me with Jake Plummer comments, for now on I will be known as ‘Don’tLetPlummerPlay’. Sound good? Thank you guys for accepting my behavior.
CUTLER>PLUMMER ANY DAY.
Brad: Was I demeaning Cutler? I was cticizing the O-LINE. Get it straight. Cutler’s a good young QB. Even if he’s not a pure pocket QB he still needs TIME in the pocket and that’s time he’s not getting. As a young QB he gets his confidence rattled with every big hit.
Man, I really need to cut down my posts, because half of you guys just skim through, assume you get the point, and slap up some sort of rebuttal that goes in a totally different direction.
If John friggin’ Elway had played Pittsburgh in 05 the Broncos still probably lose that game! The O-Line got SHREDDED. You know when Elway had his worst luck in the playoffs? In the 80′s, when he faced championship-level squads that could swarm him and laugh off most of his RBs and WRs…because Sammy Winder and the Three Amigos simply weren’t big-time weapons. In the 90′s great defenses couldn’t bully Elway anymore because McCaffrey and Sharpe kept blitzing D’s honest. Shannon and Eddie Mac were reliable quick-out specialists who weren’t afraid to catch a quick bullet in heavy traffic and get pummeled. Add to this the cushion of having Terrell Davis playing at a Hall of Fame level and suddenly standing behind Tom Nalen is a hell of a lot more comfortable.
Neither Plummer or Cutler had/have those luxuries, and this is a less consistent O-Line than the Dan Reeves years to boot.
LPP,
Don’t apologize for defending Jake. The guys who criticize you are jumping on the bandwagon of a guy who hasn’t EARNED the praise they are giving him yet. I love Jay. He will be great, probably sooner rather than later, but to say “Jake sucks…blah,blah,blah” is ignorant. Start praising Jay when he actually IS great, not when he is mediocre.
I agree with what WhiteHoss said, our O-Line is pathetic.
Naw, Jay is awesome. He deserves his praise. I must have had a brain fart.
To wormyblackburny,
Cutler is not mediocre, you obviously have your face stuck up your ass. He’s progressing in his 2nd year, yes it is his 2nd year incase you’re too stupid to know that. What’s wrong with praising Jay? He is our future and he needs our support, it’s dumb kids like you who want Jake Plummer back. If Jay had a good O-Line and a good Defense he would be much better.
Until he isn’t our QB anymore I will continue to praise Jay as much as I can. If you don’t like it then deal with it, because you’re no Broncos fan in my eyes.
If you like Jake so much why don’t you go to his house and play some handball with him.
Is it 4:20 yet?
wtf, how did you do that?
OOOH wow, I am a loser who likes to hack peoples passwords and post as them! Look at me, I am special….Whats the matter, you have no intelligent responses you can give under your OWN profile?
Nah, not yet brah! Almost though…
I believe Cutlerfan gave you an intelligent response that dominated your young mind.
ha ha ha
Ummm…. In case you didn’t read my first response
“I love Jay. He will be great, probably sooner rather than later, but to say “Jake sucks…blah,blah,blah” is ignorant.”
Jay is good, no doubt. But Plummer was also great. We had the pleasure of watching him WIN games for us for a while. Jay needs to step it up and BECOME the star that he can be. He has the tools.
so there
No you called Jay mediocre, which he is not. Jake was not great, the defense won the games for us even when Plummer made some bone headed mistakes. Jake had a good Defense, Jay does not. Have you forgotten who drove us down the field for those game winning FGs? He’s becoming a star, he’s better than any QB that was in his draft class, that’s for sure.
God, it seems like your love for Plummer is taking over your mind, just get over him, he won’t come back ever. If we had him this year as our QB we’d be about 0 and 9.
Hey Kenny!
Don’t sweat the haters! They can’t see you! Nothing like a 3 sack night on Monday to shut em up.
Good Luck
I did like the comment about playing handball though…. Jake is such a dumbass sometimes….lol. Did you see the picture of him at the “US Open of Handball” with his short shorts and tube sock tied around his head…..LMAO. Get a GRIP Jake.
I love Jake Plummer and that will never change.