The Valley Ranch practice fields were finely manicured as dawn broke over north Texas; the playing surface looked more like a putting green or a pool table than a place where 160 players were about to wallop each other for over an hour.
But it didn’t take long for the Broncos and Dallas Cowboys to dig in, get to work and begin chewing up the field during a 90-minute session in conditions that became more stifling with each passing second.
“I think I lost 10 pounds today, it’s that hot,” defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said, “but we’ll get used to it. By Saturday we’ll be ready.”
Defensive end Tim Crowder — who saw action throughout the practice after suffering a shoulder stinger Monday night — was equally prepared after growing up in the state and attending the University of Texas the past four years.
“I told (teammates) it was going to be bad,” he said. “I watched the news last night and they said it was going to be 103 degrees and I said, ‘Man, get ready for it.’ Luckily I’m used to it so it really didn’t bother me that bad.”
But as a whole, the Broncos seemed a little raw in their return to on-field work. Tuesday represented a respite from the practice field, but in the course of that day, the Broncos returned to Denver on a late-night flight, convened at Dove Valley for meetings and review of Monday night’s game footage and then flew to Dallas — although the team plane sat on the tarmac at Denver International Airport with mechanical issues.
The result? One tired team, whose morning effort Ekuban summarized in three words:
“Not too good.”
Tuesday’s trek explained some of the missteps of the morning session, although the offense did have a turnover-free morning in seven-on-seven and full-team work.
“Hopefully this afternoon will be better, but I don’t think we did too well,” Ekuban said. “It’s not what we’re accustomed to.”
But this is also the Broncos’ first day in Texas as a team since they attended Darrent Williams’ funeral on Jan. 6, and the return could be emotional for some.
“We’ve talked about it many of times,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. “I think they’re coping very well, as good as possible under these circumstances. We’ve talked about it quite often, and as you’ve mentioned it’s almost brought up every day over the last three of four days and obviously coming back here, his home, and his family is in this area. We’re going to embrace his memory as much as we can and at the same time go about business.”
ATTENDANCE REPORT: Matt Lepsis returned to practice, lining up at left tackle throughout the team session … Guard Ben Hamilton remained sidelined, as did backup tackle Jacob Rogers and third-round tackle Ryan Harris … Wide receivers Glenn Martinez and Marquay McDaniel practiced for the first time in two weeks, but Brandon Stokley remained out of uniform with a thigh injury, although he did casually catch some footballs at the end of the session … Crowder, Jarvis Moss and Kenny Peterson all practiced after being treated on the field Monday night for various injuries; Crowder returned from his shoulder stinger not long after suffering it in the second quarter of the game … Running back Andre Hall was in uniform for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury last Friday, but did not work in the team period against the Cowboys.
WHO’S WHERE: Wide receiver Brandon Marshall worked with the first team and expects to make his game debut Saturday night. “I’ll play this week,” he said. He added that while the physical portion of his recovery was complete, he still had some work to do in order to make it back to 100 percent, but that “it’s mental now. It’s all mental.” …
… Nate Webster lined up with the first team at strongside linebacker …
… Amon Gordon remained with the first team at defensive tackle alongside Sam Adams. Ebenezer Ekuban and John Engelberger rounded out the first-team defensive line …
… Moss saw time in the first-team long-yardage defense at end opposite Elvis Dumervil …
… Chris Myers filled in for Ben Hamilton at left guard with the first team.
WARREN UPDATE: Well, there is none, except for the fact that he was not with the team this morning. “When I know something about Gerard, I’ll let you guys know,” Shanahan said.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS: Following individual and group drills, the teams faced off in nine-on-seven, seven-on-seven and team work … On special teams, the Broncos worked on their punt and field-goal rush against Dallas’ punt and field-goal units … The teams also worked extensively in one-on-one work, with Javon Walker, Brandon Marshall and Quincy Morgan among those who made solid receptions.
STANDOUT PLAYS: Domenik Hixon and David Kircus each logged leaping grabs near the sidelines … Travis Henry picked up where he left off Monday night, burrowing through the Dallas front for extra yardage in team work … After allowing some big plays, the defense began to stiffen as practice progressed, with Jim Bates’ exhortations audible from 100 yards away as his defenders recorded a series of stops in third-down situations.
ALUMNI REUNION: Perhaps the two most famous alumni of Eastern Illinois University spent time conversing Wednesday morning — Shanahan and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. But an alma mater might not have been the only thing they would have shared if things had gone differently in April 2003.
“I tried to sign (Romo) very hard,” Shanahan said. “I liked him coming out of school. In fact we offered him $20,000 and (then-Dallas offensive coordinator) Sean (Payton) offered him $10,000, and to show you my recruiting ability, Sean beat me and I offered twice the amount of money, so that really disappointed me at that time.
“I asked Tony not too long ago, I said ‘Tell me, how could you go to Dallas?’ and at least he said the right thing. He said, ‘Coach, I thought I had a much better chance of making the team there than I did at your place,’ so he’s a politician as well.”
But Romo still admires Shanahan today, just like he did coming out of college.
“Mike Shanahan’s the man around there (at Eastern Illinois),” Romo said at the 2003 Scouting Combine. “If he ever wanted to come back and take the football team out of business, he probably could. He’s definitely someone you look up to up there and you just hope to get a chance to talk to him.”
As it turned out, life gave Romo precisely that — and more.
Some morning snapshots:
Until next time, vaya con Dios.
Tags: Ebenezer Ekuban, Training Camp
Yeah, I heard on 103.3 ESPN radio that T.O. burned past Champ for a long TD. Oh well, chalk it up to jet-lag and not enough rest. Saturday’s game should be a good one, even for pre-season.
Coop
I’m glad Bates is getting them heading the right direction. We gave up too many 3rd downs against the 49ers.
Thanks, Andrew!
Jonathan Douglas
http://www.mydenverobsession.com
did pears return to 1st team right tackle?
denverobsession:
Bates was in great form this morning … I was standing about 100 yards away, watching the offense do its thing against the Dallas ‘D,’ and Bates could be heard over everyone. The man’s vocal cords must be made of steel.
77crush:
Yes.
As much as I’d like to say that I’m not, I really am uneasy about the way the defense is playing right now: Start out porous and stiffen up when Bates gets onto them. In a real game it translates into getting down early and then having to come back–something Shanahan said he didn’t want to have to do with a young Cutler. Is it lack of on-field leadership (a missing Al Wilson) or the new scheme (this will only hold up for so long) or just reality setting in (personnel problems)? Something just doesn’t feel right about it…
Any news on if the tropical storm thats about to hit Texas will affect the practices or game on Saturday?
Thanks for all your updates!
The 1st unit stunk the field up against the 49ers monday. With all that star power they sure didn’t shine to brightly . Now the upcoming warren trade , after our 1st unit d-line looked like swiss cheese . ( I’m with “doctorising” - something doesn’t feel or for that matter sound right )
doctorising, grif:
It is still only Aug. 15 … I wouldn’t get too concerned just yet. Even though the players wore pads, at times today it was basically one step above touch football. Monday night’s performance was frustrating — as Lynch himself expounded upon after the game — but better it happen now when there’s three more weeks of dress rehearsals in New Haven before hitting Broadway, so to speak. At this point, they’re still trying to figure out the rotation, and the defensive calls Monday were pretty vanilla. I also think Bates is building this defense for the long haul … trying to avoid the last-month fade that followed some dominant performances in the early part of the season. Also, while the defensive effort was the subject of hand-wringing, it also saw some big plays throughout, and while all but the Elvis Dumervil pressure of Alex Smith were not during the first-team’s work, it’s still a positive sign that a vanilla defensive game plan still put the Broncos in position to force turnovers, fourth-down stops and allow just 13 points.
[...] against the Cowboys, a team with its own high hopes behind a young up and coming quarterback. Andrew Mason has the full report of the morning workout, and the general consensus seems to be on the negative [...]
bronco T:
Here’s the latest tracking map on what is now known as Tropical Storm Erin … it’s too early to project whether it will impact the game or not, although it seems like North Texas should be in the clear through at least late Thursday.
AM,
What time on Saturday will the Broncos be on the field for warm-ups and such? I have tickets to the game and was hoping to get there early to see them warm-up but I don’t want to be out in the heat more than I have to with my wife and sons. Thanks!
i am getting kind of worried! it seems like champ bailey is missing alot of picks! do you think he will be as good this year?
our defense looked pretty mediocre, but the offense looked pretty good. obviously the colts are the team to beat (as usual) so we have to have an offense that can at least try to score with them. i expect our defense to be dominant, but nobody except the pats can seem to throw off manning. we just need to be able to throw up a ton of points against their crappy defense and hope our defense can make 1-2 BIG plays. i think if we can manage to stay healthy, we have at least a wildcard spot waiting for us. after that??????
I realize this was just game 1 of the preseason, and teams don’t pull out all the stops. However, the first-team defense seemed to be doing what they did last year. Bend-don’t-break defence - Giving up the soft underbelly. I ’bout pulled my hair out! As a retired Navy man stuck here in Jacksonville, Fl. The Jag’s defence seems to be one of the few defenses that drive Manning nuts. Their offence sux, so they don’pull out the wins. The Jag’s defence is very aggressive, and they don’t let their oponent’s offense breath.
Hopefully, this is what we’re gonna see in future games from our new coordinator and defensive guys - particulaly up front.
Hey Champrox,
I don’t see what you mean by he isn’t getting a lot of picks. He had one ball thrown his way and was on the guy like white on rice. I mean there is no way you can get better converge than that. Shoot did you see the pictures of it his hand was right in there, and give him a half foot over that ball would have been on the ground. As for today’s practice I wouldn’t worry about it I mean have you ever done three days in a row of traveling? It’s hard on a body.
As for everyone else,
I think our 1st and second D proved to do really well against San Francisco’s new high power O especially considering we have a new scheme. San Fran is going to have a good O I mean they had Ashley (our old number two receiver) running with the 3rd team. Don’t freak our bronco fans because our O had more to look up about than out D did to look down upon. Plus we got to give D.J. a chance to find his team remembers last year it was Al’s team.
BRONCOFAN IN TX:
The entire Broncos team should be on the field just under an hour before kickoff, however, scattered players begin taking the field 90 minutes or more before the scheduled kickoff time. The entire Broncos team will be on the field probably from about 6:10 or 6:15 p.m. through about 6:35.
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