The Broncos’ Thursday afternoon practice brought out the rain and several additions to the list of participants.
Some familiar faces and some new acquisitions took part in their first practice of training camp thanks to the official start of the league year with a large crowd on hand despite the rain and cooler temperatures at Dove Valley.
NFL Referee Bill Leavy and his crew were on the field as well after giving a presentation to the club on rule changes earlier this afternoon.
ROLL CALL
Familiar faces safety Brian Dawkins, linebacker Wesley Woodyard, kicker Matt Prater and defensive linemen Marcus Thomas and Ryan McBean were finally able to fully participate in practice after days of watching from the sidelines.
Dawkins immediately replaced rookie Quinton Carter on the first-team defense and with D.J. Williams still out due to injury, Woodyard stepped into the first-team for rookie Mike Mohamed. Thomas rotated in for second-team snaps.
The long list of free agent signings — which includes running back Willis McGahee, wide receiver David Anderson, tight ends Daniel Fells and Dante Rosario, and defensive linemen Ty Warren and Derrick Harvey also got a chance to practice with their new team for the first time.
McGahee rotated with Knowshon Moreno for first team snaps, with Moreno still seeing the majority of the carries.
Fells saw extensive first-team action, while Rosario and Anderson worked their way into the second-team offense.
Warren and Harvey were placed on the second-team defensive line, with Elvis Dumervil, Kevin Vickerson, Brodrick Bunkley and Robert Ayers rounding out the first-team once again this afternoon.
LenDale White, Brandon Bing and Louis Leonard did not practice.
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS
For the first time all camp, the team was treated to some music during the team stretch.
“Atomic Dog” by George Clinton, “Hey Ya!” by Outkast and “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 were played in that order to the delight of those in attendance.
PLAYMAKERS
GOAL LINE GETS DEFENSIVE
Orton found Dan Gronkowski wide open in the corner of the end zone on a play-action toss during the first play of the goal-line session, but that was the only score the offense would record.
The defense stepped up and stopped the offense on five straight plays from inside the 5-yard line, keeping the ball out of the end zone. Woodyard and Nate Irving both had nice plays against the run — especially Irving, who broke free and stopped Mario Fannin for a loss.
A play-action attempt from Quinn on the offense’s fifth goal line play failed to fool the defense as Vickerson got to the quarterback for a sack.
QUICK HITS
The team will be back on the field tomorrow afternoon from 2:20 to 5 p.m. in a session free and open to the public.
-Max Henson
Tags: Training Camp
So now we are at let’s use Tebow in the red zone so he can score all the TD’s and that outta really sit well with Orton who will just move us between the twenties, and better yet bring in Tebow for all the tough 3rd and 4th downs so that will definitely finish the job making Orton look like a complete idiot, but we have more strokes of genius out here with let’s make Tebow a FB, I heard TE before, but FB, that is a new one, sacrificing all that potential to take a beating to open up the running game, brilliant. You guys outta be kidding me, the soonere you get off fantasy football and get back to the realityy of men playing real football, the better, at least for Tebow and Orton, like OC said, sheesh…
And that’s not all, we should trade Tebow for Marshall, I am just speechless, trading arguably the best possible sound mind on the team for arguably the worse possible unsound mind in the league, once again, brilliant, it’s like it was a ride in the twilight zone here last night I guess.
About Woody’s article in the DP, this is exactly what’s been wrong with how the organization has handled Tebow and this quarterback quagmire:
“My dream, since I was a young boy, of being a starting quarterback in the NFL seemed to be coming true,” Tebow told me as we stood outside the Broncos’ locker room.
“Then, I felt like it was grabbed back away. . . .” He paused and didn’t finish the thought. Instead, he finished his quart of milk.
It’s just a carbon copy of the Hillis handling, I realize the NFL is a business and a cut throat one at that, but I one point if you want to separate yoursel from the crowd in NFL management, you gotta do the right things by the players and so far this QQ has been a total failure on EFX, I don’t care what anyone says about it, both the handling of Orton and Tebow has been anything but classy, if we want to go back to the we are a classy organization good old days we need to immediately take a serious look in the mirror. This is just a bad situation made much worse everyday just by the handling of it. Sorry, nothing positive to say at all about EFX and the QQ right now.
Careful bay,some people say it is up to management to make those decisions,and I shouldn’t be telling them how to run it.It is their call to who plays and who starts,none of the fans business!
I won’t mention any names!
Anyway for the ones who still have hope that Tebow will be the starter in September, don’t read this:
“Kyle is the leader right now, yeah,” Elway said. “He has good experience and he’s played well the last four, five years. And what we’ve seen in camp is he continues to get better.
“But Tim’s been getting better out there. Brady’s been getting better. We’re going to let them compete.”
I am neither an Orton lover or hater but i hear guys on hear saying with a good D and a good running game he will be better but he had both of those things in Chicago and they still did not want him.
Who would have thunk it,EFX still has the QQ going that McD started..sad!
As you well know I have received my share of criticism lately but as you can tell it hasn’t had much effect on my opinions….
Elway says Orton has played well the past 4 or 5 years,he must have his head turned when we get inside the 20s….and 3rd downs!
I think what we have to do in Denver is try to find a way to play the game without a QB, that to me would be the answer to stop the source that feeds this unending soap opera of ours, haha.
Orton just haves nerves of rubber when he is under pressure he crumbles and that includes being in the red zone
Yeah Bay wildcat only LOL
Yeah let’s just line up Moreno,MaGahee,and White in the backfield with no QB,and run our Offense like Army does,they average around 300 yards rushing per game,lol.
I think we should practice in full pads,no let up on the QBs,every QB goes up against the starting Defense,same as real gametime situations,and watch Orton and Quinn crumble,while Tebow improvises and wins the starting job,instead of waiting until regular season starts to watch it happen!
Funny you say that BFE, I thought it pretty telling when I read this from Klis this morning (regarding Elway’s reaction to the opinions of Hoge regarding Tebow):
“To be honest, I know there was some kind of storm stirring out there, but to what extent I don’t know, because I haven’t been paying attention,” John Elway, the Broncos’ new front-office boss, said Thursday. “We’ve been bunkered down trying to make our team better (by acquiring new players). I guess that’s what training camp’s all about, to deal with a storm every now and then.”
My point is, in any business, I don’t care which one, it is not a smart move to not pay attention to anything outside of your walls specially when it is realted to your players and being bunkered down is a dangerous way to get tunnel vision and miss out on a lot of important stuff that’s all around you if you care to look, And I’m not talking out of my rear end, I’m talking out of my business experiences. Seems as if Elway has let the fun slip away from this experience in a hurry, come out from your bunker and smell the roses John, you migh find out that the way you guys are handling the QB situation just hasn’t been fair to anybody, Orton, Tebow, players and fans.
related
Well, all I know is that we are 0 and 0 right now, just like every other team in the league. We’re all starting out fresh and all I want to see is the Broncos succeed and do well.
That being said, we have to trust that the coaches will start the players they feel will give us the best chance to win. We all might not agree with their decisions, but it is what it is.
I will be cheering our team on and at least giving them the benefit of the doubt to prove themselves. We haven’t even seen what this team is capable of yet and some are already labelling them losers. Sure I have questions about Orton, Moreno and our D, but I’m willing to give them a chance to see what they can do.
Once I can evaluate their play in real games that count, then of course my opinions might change. But until then, it is what it is and I give the Broncos my unwaivering support.
GO BRONCOS!!!
the DP:
It’s only when the chips are down that Orton is exposed, his detractors say. As proof, they point to last year, when his overall passer rating was 87.5, but his “clutch” passer rating – during the fourth quarter of close games – was 58.4.
You know how I always wanted a defensive minded HC, loved to hear Elway always saying to get back to the top we have to have a great D, always loving hearing Fox saying he will concentrate on D and let McCoy run the O, all music to my ears, turn the worse D in the league around, couldn’t be happier.
BUT,
in the process somehow they have gone overboard and are kind of overlooking this whole QB thing wich is a gigantic error of calculation since it is the leadership position that makes or kills a team. Time to take a little time off the D to resolve this QQ, just my opinion.
bay your 7:20 post is exactly what is happening,and they need to understand that it is not fair to anyone,players or fans!
I agree the D needed to be addressed first,they’ve done that pretty much,but there is an Offensive side of the ball as well,and it has to be dealt with,until this mess is cleared,there is a huge cloud over Denver right now!
It’s like beating a dead horse like we did last year,but it is to me the most important thing to deal with right now,it needs to be nipped in the bud,and quick,so we can get it outta the way,no distractions going into this season!
You know BFE if everything we said made no sense at all, no one would even bother to comment about any of our posts, but since they know we might be onto something in some of our criticisms, it’s not that easy for them to walk away from it, so they are mad, they counter, and it’s healthy for the overall health of the fan base and the team, discussions open up new horizons and will never allow you to become complacent which is the true negativity, not us arguing, that’s positive, fans thinking everything must be right just because EFX is in charge is counter productive and dangerous, look at what happened when most bloggers were telling us that if McD did it that way it’s because it was best for the Broncos, not comparing EFX to McD mind you, but just saying, folks should learn from history, that’s what it’s there for.
My biggest fear is that Orton will play good enough to win the starting job,and we end up with a mediocre QB for the next 5 years or so,and Tebow gets the shaft and goes off and kicks butt somewhere else ala Hillis!
That’s why I love this blog, in the morning it’s about reflecting on things, and that’s my thing, and at night it’s the twilight zone, haha.
I loved the idea that JE was coming aboard,Hell I was the 1st one to jump on the bandwagon,I admire the man greatly,but still have the right to question his moves,when it comes to my team,but some people get mad when you look at it that way,the fans have a right to criticize the moves that are being made.I don’t care who is running the show McD or EFX,if I don’t like the way things are being done,I will let my feelings be known!
Yeah,some creepy stuff on here last night!
One day to Shannon’s enshrinement, cool beans!
I don’t ask anyone on here to follow me or my opinions,everyone has their own mind,and their own opinions,that’s what I love about this blog,being able to discuss our differences of opinion,but sometimes you have people that come on here that just don’t understand where we are coming from,or what this blog is all about!
I think I pretty much said the same thing you did,lol.
Yeah I done got the DVR set to record it,in case I forget about it!
Tebow has proved nothing…is he undefeated….so we all want to see him RUN the football, because he has struggled to pass….IMPROVISE really….did you realize when Vick became a legit QB, is when he learned how to THROW the ball, which is teh job of the QB….I for one am not in the mood to watch this team suffer through another 4-12 year, just to SEE if Tebow can play or not. He is not a NFL QB. Fox knows it and Elway knows it. Allowing him to start would be like Notre Dame allowing Rudy to take over at MLB. Fans like Tebow, I understand that, but coaches and management want to win games. People talk about Orton’s performance on 3rd down and in the Red Zone, well did we look at the fact that on 3rd down, we threw bubble screens or hitches exclusively. We had no red zone threat at receiver to speak of. Knowshon couldn’t gain a yard if his life depended on it. No Orton is not flashy, but he doesn’t lose games. Tebow is NOWHERE near the OB Orton is. THE WHOLE LEAGUE KNOWS THIS. Example being…Kevin Kolb a less heralded player coming out of college…has about the same sample set of NFL play that Tebow has, and teams were lining up to get him when it became clear that he was going to be a backup. Have we been getting calls for TEBOW…NOOOO, because no one feels that he can start except some fans wearing orange tinted glasses. Let’s go into this year ATTEMPTING TO WIN…not REBUILD….the time is now, this is the NFL….not high school or college….win now….PERIOD
I dont like this whole staying bunkered up get out there and see whats going on i hope if Orton chokes in preseason that they are big enough to admit they are wrong and play Tebow
Yeah just because EFX is a Bronco lovers dream,after the McD era,dosen’t mean we have to sit back and let them run the show and not question anything they do,fans need to remember,this is Elways 1st dance as an executive in the NFL,not saying he won’t do a great job,but it’s not etched in stone that he will either,I trust him,but I am a little skeptic also!!!
This is getting rediculous. Orton has not played well in the past seasons, statistically decent maybe. I don’t want to hear that “well he didnt’ have a running game or a defense.” Any QB would be better if they had those. I’m sorry but Tebow’s showing in last season’s Houston game has shown more to me that Orton’s past 2 seasons. Tebow has shown way more intagibles in that game that Orton ever has. You know how Henne feels in Miami, well come week 1 Orton is going to hear those same chants only its going to be for Tebow.
carnage,we had no redzone WRs????,come on man,now you’re blaming the WRs for not catching those perfect throws Orton makes in the redzone?
We are rebuilding,see it for what you will,time to UNLEASH THE BEAST!!
Tebow time!!!!
I thought I would never hear someone with the intellect of carnage saying he doesn’t want to rebuild this year, if this year is not rebuilding, rebuilding simply does not exist. But to each his own and I respect that.
Orton dosen’t lose games,what about when it’s 3rd and 10 and he throws the ball into the ground because he is not mobile enough to set up a play,so now it’s 4th down,time to punt again!!!
The good thing is I heard Orton had a bad practice yesterday and Tebow is improving. Let’s just wait until some pressure is applied on Orton in preseason when he can’t wear the do not touch red jersey and the pressure will ratchet up on him, now it’s just too easy for such an accomplished practice player, not a fair competition. Preseason games can’t come soon enough.
Management is too caught up in this “win now” attitude. Sure our past several seasons have been sub par. As fans we always want to win, but for me it is more than that. I want the image of the team to be once what it was. We’re the prima donnas of the NFL it seems like. Every season we have some controversary that makes headline news. Sure I want to win but I want the image of the franchise to return to an elite status of pride and unity. That’s the character Tebow has. He could’ve went off and blasted the orginization but instead he just shut his mouth. You’re all saying Tebow hasn’t proved anything, but you’re willing to play Orton and then draft Luck. Luck hasn’t proved anything either except he plays well in college. If you want Orton fine, if you want Tebow fine, if you want Quinn fine, if you want Luck fine, but don’t feed me that BS about Tebow not proving anything and then tell me we’ll just go after Luck.
I’ll bet we have one of the youngest teams in the NFL,we are rebuilding,sorry Champ and Dawk,you probably won’t get a ring here,but you can keep laying the foundation for all the young talent to learn from you,while all the young LBs,Safeties,OL,and CBs are learning,how about letting the best college QB of all time get a shot too!!!!!!!!!
Rebuilding does not and I repeat DOES NOT mean you struggle for years on end….There are NUMEROUS examples of teams going from worse to first….FACT Tebow is 1-2 as a starter….FACT the one DECENT passing game he had was against Houston which was WIDELY regarded as the WORST pass defense in the NFL…FACT people are caught up in the hysteria of Tebow, not the actual play….His “will to win” didn’t win games last year…More impressive to me Orton placing the team in position to win over a very good Jet team, than the comeback over the Texans (not fact just opinion)…yes we are “rebuilding” but rebuild to win NOW. Not hope for the future….
I think cornagebronc bonked his head and forgot that his boy Orton was the one that led us to the 4-12 season…. He wants to see more of the same?
So basically with the “win now” mentality we want to mirco-manage the franchise..
“Rebuild to win NOW” is the exact sentence McD used ALL THE TIME!
No wonder I don’t see eye to eye with what you’re saying, LOL.
So BFE let me understand this….I am just asking for clarity, when a quarterback rather than forcing a throw or turning the ball over, places the onus on the defense to make a play after a 3rd and 10, he is harming the team. Peyton Manning does this, Tom Brady does this. Orton is not either of those guys, but I am trying to undertand what you are saying. With what you are stating to me, we never punted with Tebow in the game. Because of his elusiveness and ability to run.
There is a big difference between “win now” and “win consistently.”
Yeah we all thought that McD’s win now philosophy was great,until we went 4-12 last year,time to rebuild this team the right way,thru the draft,a few good FA signings,and some good coaching,last year we were 0 for 3!!!
This year we are 2 for 2 right now waiting on seeing how the coaching turns out!
I have to say I am upset with Elway and company for the comment they made about not paying attention to what’s out there i.e. The fans. Man Elway changed fast. A couple months ago the fans were his number one concern, now we are an after thought.
Orton had to know our defense was struggling, that’s when you need to try and make a play instead of going 3 and out and putting the D right back on the field.
carnage,Manning and Brady make those plays 90% of the time,Orton is a choke artist,at least Tebow tries to get what he can outta the play,seems like Orton gives up due to his lack of ability to be even a little mobile,jomho.
BTW,not saying Tebow is great,just like for him to get a fair shot with the A team!
And we will see him get his shot in preseason,and I can’t wait………Gimme some Tebone!!!!