The ‘Boys were back in town Wednesday afternoon, and their offseason media circus came with them. There were easily double the reporters and photographers on the sidelines, many of which were from the HBO training camp documentary: Hard Knocks. Recently-retired Rod Smith even showed up to take in the action from the sidelines. Still, with all that attention focusing on the fields, the players went out and put together a productive and exciting practice.
The teams started out with their regular routines, Cowboys on one field and Broncos on the other — stretching, warming up and working on individual drills. Then the Broncos offense went to one field and the defense to the other, and the fun really started.
ATTENDANCE REPORT: Hamza Abdullah was back in pads this morning…Boss and Champ Bailey were out of pads with a right ankle and right hamstring, respectively…Louis Green was out of pads with a concussion/neck injury…Tom Nalen remained out of pads with a left knee…Erik Pears was out of pads with a sore back…Ryan Torain watched from a chair on the far sideline recovering from surgery on his left elbow.
POSTURING FOR POSITION: Niko Koutouvides took his reps with the first unit linebackers during practice, with Jamie Winborn and D.J. Williams on either side…The second unit linebackers consisted of Jordan Beck, Nate Webster and Wesley Woodyard…Abdullah, in his first day back at practice since Aug. 1, ran with the second team safeties beside Roderick Rogers.
MATCHUPS: Each field had a different set of drills, so we, the bloggers, decided to combine “Focal Points” and “Key Plays” into one category. So here is the breakdown of how each competition went down.
Broncos Offense vs. Cowboys Defense: On the field closest to the Broncos facilities, the Denver offense took on the Dallas defense. On one half of the field, the teams did run-oriented 9-on-7 drills while the other half focused on one-on-one battles between wide receivers and DBs.
- The Dallas D-linemen are some big guys. But that didn’t stop the Denver running backs from having success. Selvin Young took one outside run for a solid eight yards before being pushed out of bounds.
- Anthony Alridge had one big run to the outside where linebacker Bradie James pushed him out of bounds, and they both went tumbling to the ground. The problem? They went tumbling into a young ball boy holding the yardage markers. No worries, however, as the boy jumped up quickly with a smile on his face.
- Andre Hall in particular performed well against the Cowboys in the 9-on-7 drills. He took a number of handoffs around the right end, moving well down field before being pushed out of bounds or tackled. He also rushed up the middle a couple of times for what would have been decent gains. It seems every time he touched the ball, he would always get at least five or six yards before ever being touched.
- The Denver receivers got the best of the Dallas DBs for the most part during the one-on-ones. Jay Cutler twice hit Brandon Marshall, with cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones in coverage. One was on a comeback route where Marshall cut back and inside too quickly for Jones to adjust. The next was a high-sailing deep ball into the corner of the endzone where Marshall beat Jones and made the grab.
- Cutler also launched a bullet to Samie Parker on a quick inside route in front of rookie cornerback Orlando Scandrick. Parker made a nice adjustment and reached back to haul in the pass.
After a brief special teams period, the focus shifted to pass-oriented 7-on-7 drills, with Cutler and company coming out on top.
- Cutler-to-Marshall continued to be a deadly combination as they connected a number of times in front, over top of or past Dallas defenders. The only miscue in this matchup came when Marshall beat the double coverage of Anthony Henry and Ken Hamlin only to have Cutler overthrow him. The duo got back into rhythm on the next play though, with Marshall again beating Jones on an out route.
- Peyton Hillis continued to get into the action, snaring a couple passes out of the backfield from both Cutler and Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey connected with him on one pass to the flats, and Hillis stopped and juked both Jones and Bobby Carpenter, cutting back inside for a solid gain.
- Ramsey connected on a deep ball to Clifford Russell who made a diving catch past a couple Dallas defenders, drawing a loud “Ooooh!” from the rest of the Denver offense.
- Ramsey also hooked up with Keary Colbert in between two DBs, with Colbert acrobatically reaching up and back behind him to haul in the pass. Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison shouted, “Nice, Keary!” a few times after the play.
Finally the 11-on-11 period came, and the entire Denver starting offense took on the Dallas starting defense.
- Earlier in the practice, the Denver offensive linemen went up against the Dallas D-line. I didn’t get a chance to get much of a look at that. So I made sure to pay attention to how the lineup of Clady, Kuper, Wiegmann, Hamilton and Harris did against the 3-4 of Dallas. Only one play resulted in a would-be sack of Cutler, and that came on a double linebacker blitz. Clady in particular did a good job of holding up against defensive end Chris Canty. He also picked up a blitz by James. Overall, the line protected Cutler well.
- Cutler continued to look sharp, hitting both Marshall and Eddie Royal several times. Cutler connected with Royal on a high outside pass in front of Jones.
- The Dallas defense never scored an interception, but they did get their hands on a few balls. Ramsey tossed one out to Tony Scheffler in the flats, but Bobby Carpenter got there first to bat it down. A few plays prior, Carpenter and DE Jason Hatcher burst through the line to take down Young in the backfield. LBs Darrell Robertson and Tyson Smith also busted up a play, this one against the second-team offensive line, stopping Michael Pittman’s run in the backfield.
Broncos Defense vs. Cowboys Offense: The first group drill with the Broncos defense was a 9 on 7 — the D-line, linebackers and two safeties against the offensive line, a quarterback and running back. The first three plays were stopped at the line of scrimmage — Jamie Winborn broke into the backfield on the first two plays and wrapped up Dallas’ Marion Barber in the backfield along with Elvis Dumervil and Marcus Thomas on the respective plays. On the third play, John Engelberger powered past his blocker and made the stop on rookie Felix Jones.
- In defensive line vs. offensive line one-on-ones, Dewayne Robertson looked to be unstoppable. Whether it was one-on-ones or two-on-twos, the 6-foot-1, 308-pound defensive tackle consistently bullied his way to the quarterback.
- During 7-on-7s, designed to give the quarterback time — there’s no defensive rush — the Broncos D managed to get a couple plays in anyway. Jack Williams smacked a quick pass to the ground, reaching around his wide receiver, and on the very next play Domonique Foxworth sprinted up to a ball and tapped the reception harmlessly to the ground. Toward the end of the drill, Dre’ Bly got his hand on a pass, tipped it around and nearly came up with the interception on the way to the ground. He got up and clapped his hands in disappointment, but the rest of the DBs cheered his effort.
- During those 7-on-7s, Terrell Owens did have a few big catches — including one double move where he stopped then sprinted toward the endzone for a long completion — and Tony Romo made smart decisions. The Cowboys looked like a confident NFC contender, and made several quick completions in front of the defense.
- 11-on-11s were the most intriguing to watch. Some even quicker hits from the full team drill: Early on, Winborn — who had a good-looking practice — almost came up with an interception in stride running toward the line but it slipped through his hands…D.J. Williams came around the line on a blitz and tackled Barber in the backfield — I say “tackled” loosely, it was a quick wrap-up to show he would have made the play. No actual tackling was allowed…Paul Carrington burst through the line for what would have been a sack on Brad Johnson…Dallas rookie tight end Martellus Bennett made a catch from Romo and turned the corner just as Marlon McCree was sprinting up for what would have been a bone-crunching hit had it been during live action.
- In his first practice as a Bronco, cornerback Tyrone Poole almost came up with an interception during 11-on-11s, but bobbled it running out of bounds.
Special Teams: In the brief special teams period, Matt Prater kicked several field goals against the Dallas defense, knocking all but one through the uprights. Brett Kern and Sam Paulescu each kicked six punts, alternating after each three. Jones, Patrick Crayton and rookie Danny Amendola took turns returning.
- Tight end and long snapper Mike Leach ran down the field after a punt and collapsed in on the Cowboys returner as the play was blown dead. Jogging back to the huddle past some of the media, he proudly reported: “I just tackled Pacman Jones right there.”
QUOTABLE: “That’s fine — we go against Champ every day.”
-Jay Cutler, responding to Adam Jones’ statement that Brandon Marshall is “nowhere near” Terrell Owens.
The teams are back on the field at 4:10 this afternoon. Stick with this blog for more updates.
Click here for the photo gallery from this morning’s practice.
-Gray Caldwell and Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Adam Zinser, Andre Hall, Anthony Alridge, Brandon Marshall, D.J. Williams, Dewayne Robertson, Domonique Foxworth, Dre Bly, Eddie Royal, Gray Caldwell, Hamza Abdullah, Jack Williams, Jamie Winborn, Jay Cutler, John Engelberger, Keary Colbert, Mike Leach, Patrick Ramsey, Peyton Hillis, Rod Smith, Ryan Clady, Training Camp, Tyrone Poole
Wow, fantastic updates guys. How many tds did we score during 11 on 11s and how many did our D give up?
Also, why do you think they are signing so many corners wehn our linebacking corps is so thin right now?
Thanks
Every time I read the words “Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison”, I get a little sick . I dont think he could offensive coordinator for a high school team.
For those people that think Niko can’t play the run have a lot to learn about football. He is great at putting people in position to make the plays and that is what you need at mlb. We don’t see that on the field.
I’d like to know if Adam Jones’ comment on Marshall was before or after the practice session? From what it sounded like, Marshall was having a field day with him.
Also, was one team more dominant than the other?
And finally, PICTURES PLEASE!!!
Man it’s pretty exciting seeing our guys get some reps w/ a decent team like the Cowboys. And it’s nice to hear how confident Cutler is when he delivers the ball and the way he seems to be running our offense. I want to know though… Gary, are the Broncos at all concerned that it sometimes looks like Cutler doesn’t look off where he is throwing the ball too. It seems he reads the primary route to often and doesn’t explore all his options all the time. Are their any concerns expressed by our coaching staff? Also How bad is Champs hammy anyway? Anything to worry about before the start of the reg. season.
And #@*$ Adam “Ms. Pacman” Jones and the B.S that comes out of his mouth I loved Cutlers comeback to his ignorant comment.
i love how from what i’ve read marshall had his was with pacman over and over again but he still finds the ego to say he’s no where near owens.. cutler had a perfect remark for that one.
On an even better note it seems like the whole team has been better coached and better prepared than the cowboys.. thumbs up to shanny for that
Thanks for the report! I have to say either the Broncos were looking awesome or you guys just like to get us Bronco fans all excited.
Quick question: I know Hillis was out for quite a while due to his hamstring. Has that hurt his chances of winning the starting job? You mentioned that he caught some passes from Cutler and Ramsey, which is good, but how is his blocking looking?
gray or adam,
i was reading the summary of this practice on the cowboys’ website and one of the biggest issues seemed to be the size differences between the two teams, seemingly at every position. did this seem to affect play outcomes significantly, from what you could tell? or were the cowboys’ reporters just reaching to come up with something the ‘boys did better than the broncos (har har)?
I just had a feeling that our Def will be different with Robertson in there. He will draw double teams almost every play.
The Cowboys website said that the Cowboys were pushing the Broncos Defensive and Offensive lines around because they are so much smaller.
I really dislike the Cowgirls, I hope we beat them on Sat even though itis a Preseason Game.
Go Broncos
Dallas definitely is big — especially on the offensive line, where 6′7″ Flozell Adams and 6′8″ Marc Colombo stand tall at the tackle positions. And Chris Canty stands 6′7″ on the defensive line.
And it’s not to say that the Cowboys didn’t have their fair share of successes throughout the practice. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens garnered some offensive highlights, and the Cowboys offensive line fared well against the Broncos during one-on-ones. But in those same one-on-ones, Dewayne Robertson dominated. And when the 11-on-11s started, the Broncos came up with a couple would-be sacks, while their offensive line withstood the Dallas attack early and often.
It wasn’t exactly some big behemoths pushing the Broncos around all morning.
i like cutler’s response. maybe pacman meant that marshall is “nowhere near” as much of a distraction as TO, because they seem to be very similar in actual games.
Marshall = 102 rec 1325 yds 0 ruined teams
Owens = 81 rec 1355 yds 2 ruined teams
Just so y’all know, for this morning’s session, I covered the Denver offense against the Dallas defense. Gray covered the Denver D against the Dallas O. Feel free to direct your questions to us accordingly. We will swap up the rotation this afternoon.
kndh19: The 11-on-11 drills did not move down the field. Every play started at the same yard line, with most of them at the 20-yard line or so moving towards midfield. So it is hard to gauge touchdowns. On a few plays they went the otherway, and Marshall had several TDs.
///yardo: Both teams made solid plays, I can tell you that much for sure. In the one-on-ones and team drills, Marshall did get by Jones on just about every play, as well as other DBs who covered him.
Javalon: As Gray said, both teams looked pretty good and had their successes. As for Hillis, he looks pretty well recovered. He doesn’t have a hitch in his step or anything, and the fact that the QBs looked to him on passes is pretty good. I didn’t get a great look at blocking yet.
Bones1965: I did not get to look at the one-on-ones much, but I did hear that Dallas may have won many of those. As far as in 11-on-11, there was only one would-be sack of Cutler. Twice I saw Clady hold up nicely and push back the rush from the starting Dallas D.
Thanks from Vanderbilt! I am glad both our Vanderbilt players did well.
Jay and Jamie.
Thanks again
I knew Adam Jones was a punk! And Cutler has so much class that he just shrugs off a comment so cooley.I hope to see our guys hold their own all the way around with the Cowboys,we don’t have to like them,but they are a good team and this is an exceptional oportunity to see how we match up and build a lot of confidence in a farely young group of guys trying to make some noise.
I like how Pacman says Marshall is no where near terrel owens that proves Brandon has alot more talent and first off how does pacman get the courage to say something like that when he is no where NEAR PRIMETIME OR CHAMP!! i really like cutlers responce. What i would want to know is if the Broncos looked like contenders agaist the cowboys?
how did clady and harris look during run blocking? was there any other d lineman that looked good for us. also any news on boss and if you had to guess how long before he is starting agian.
This has got me pumped for the season.
Did I see you write that Dewayne Robertson was “unstoppable”…… I’m telling all these critics to back off our defense. It did a decent job vs. Houston, but that was without Champ, Boss, Hamza, Dre’, and Dewayne. I see big things with those guys on the field.
Pacman’s got nothing on Brandon Marshall. Poor Pacman, with Terrence Newman out, he’s gonna see a lot of Brandon Marshall this week…and he’s gonna loose 99% of the time!!
Hey Adam
How did Royal look today? Did he beat the defense frequently or did he not produce like he has been doing throughout camp?
getlynched47: Royal only got looked at a couple times, but he made two very difficult catches where he got leveled but held onto the ball.
And one thing to remember — these guys are not going 100%. They’re running hard and doing a little hitting, but this is not a full pads practice. They are wearing shoulder pads, helmets and shorts. So when we say “tackle,” we don’t mean it the same way as if it were a game.
Just knowing that those pukes are on our turf makes my skin crawl! GO BRONCOS!
I’m definitely feeling a lot better about our team
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the risk of sounding like a dork, this wasn’t Tyrone Poole’s first practice as a Bronco. Only his first in 5 or 6 years.
Tlynch — you got me there. I was thinking about that when I wrote it, but I figured I wanted people to know that he literally just put on his uniform today and came out to practice.
Im a loyal Broncos fan frm the great state of texas. And heres a couple of things swirlling in my mind.
In the cowboys first pre-season game Adam “Pacrat” Jones got looked like the worst corner on the cowboys roster. He was missing tackels getting beat and getting flaged for big penalties. And not just T.O. but miles austin the cowboys 4th or 5th WR beats Pacrat all the time. He is the most over rated player in the game right now.
Second No one should make a comparrison to pacman and champ. Pac man is known for his great return skills. Only good corner skills and that was a year ago. I dont think he can even be mentioned as one of the young up comming corners in the leauge. Champ on the other hand is HOF.
And marshall will be better than T.O. why because he jumps for footballs, he can win fades in the endzone T.O. dosnt go air borne for footballs and over Marshalls carrer it will show.
I guess Marshall showed Pacman, Adam, or whatever his name is now that he’s got some learning to do and should wait to be reinstated first.
Good to see the passing game is moving and hopefully the same thing happens on Saturday. I would have liked to see some defensive pass rush, however the CBs were able to make plays. I was really glad to see that Robertson was unstoppable. That is good to hear because we some pressure up front.
Let’s stomp those Cowgirls. GO BRONCOS!!
Alice Dallas. As long as no one gets injured I won’t get too excited until the pads are one and the first teams are out there.
“Robertson looked Unstoppable”…How long has it been since we heard a reference like that? Yeah, I know! Way too long.
Kyle:
How’ Josh Barrett looking? And Woodyard/Larsen? There you go, gave you 3 in 1 sentence, hopefully you can give a brief update on them?
Still don’t understand the Christian Morton for Tyronne Poole move? Any insights?
Thanks again
Hogblog-
I will be honest with you, with 160 players out there I can’t say that I focused too much on the players you mentioned. So it probably wouldn’t be fair for me to answer that. However, Woodyard had a huge hit on Alonzo Coleman that will be on the Broncos TV piece later this evening.
As far as Morton goes, Coach Shanahan said that he didn’t feel Morton or Lamont Reid could make the team so they went in a different direction and brought some guys in that could possibly make the team.
Thanks Kyle…I understand. We’re all very jealous that you and your crew are out there on the practice field, with watchful eyes that bring us the amount of GREAT insights/reports that you all are bringing to us. Kudos my friend! Keep it up….