Training camp continues on day five at Dove Valley, and on the verge of a record-setting heat wave, the offense got back into gear Tuesday. It seemed as if the defense had the offense all dialed in yesterday, but today the men in blue redeemed themselves and appeared to be firing on all cylinders.
ATTENDANCE REPORT: Montrae Holland worked out on a side field with Strength and Conditioning Coach Rich Tuten for the morning session…Peyton Hillis watched from the sidelines for a second day with a left hamstring injury, but he was a practice-time decision, signaling he could return soon…Chad Mustard remains sidelined with his right hamstring injury…Tom Nalen sat out the morning session in an effort to give his surgically repaired knee some rest.
POSTURING FOR POSITION: With Nalen out, Casey Wiegmann worked at center with the first team.
At defensive end, Tim Crowder rotated in with the ones. Alvin McKinley also saw action on the interior of the line with the first unit.
Nate Jackson had a strong showing at tight end, working with the first unit opposite Tony Scheffler.
Michael Pittman worked almost exclusively at fullback.
FOCAL POINTS: After a standout performance by the defense yesterday, the offense rebounded with a focus on 11-on-11s, 7-on-7s and the normal position drills. The team brought out the clock for the first time in training camp to work on the four-minute offense. On three different series, the offense drove down the field, working against the defense and the clock, and got into the endzone.
TAKE AWAYS: Practice began with a laugh as D.J. Williams dismissed Brett Kern for his poor leadership of team stretching. Williams brought up P.J. Alexander to finish the job.
- Jackson made the most of his time working with the ones at tight end. Cutler looked his way on several plays, including two in a row, both of which Jackson turned into big gains. He also impressed coaches, teammates and fans with an impressive contested grab in traffic from Patrick Ramsey.
- About half-way through practice, the team worked on punt formations and returns. Eddie Royal, Glenn Martinez and Marquay McDaniel took turns fielding the punts, with Royal getting the first crack at them. Coaches praised him for his work, particularly when he adjusted well and cleanly fielded a short, wobbly punt. Both Sam Paulescu and Kern kicked, and both booted them well as they compete for a roster spot.
- Rookie Jack Williams got into the rotation with the second unit, working opposite Domonique Foxworth. On back-to-back plays, Williams sniffed out the play and took out Selvin Young and Cecil Sapp, drawing shouts of “Way to go Jack” from his teammates. On one play, Williams blanketed Brandon Marshall as he ran a deep route down the sideline. The 5-foot-9 Williams leaped and broke up the pass intended for the 6-foot-4 Marshall.
- In the ongoing battle at middle linebacker, Niko Koutouvides worked with the first team defense this morning after Nate Webster had done so for the past few days.
- Rookie Josh Barrett got cheers from his teammates and fans when he burst through the line on a blitz and took down Anthony Alridge in the backfield.
- Competition at running back continued to heat up, with Ryan Torain and Andre Hall both taking a lot of snaps behind Selvin Young. All three of them, along with Alridge, broke plays for big gains at various points in 11-on-11 drills.
- Pittman worked well at the fullback position this morning and did a combination of blocking, rushing and catching. He often would run a pattern into the flats where both Cutler and Ramsey connected with him several times.
- The offense won the day, and with the exception of a few fumbles and dropped balls, the only miscue appeared to be when an errant Ramsey throw landed in Marlon McCree’s waiting arms.
- Brandon Marshall continued to have a solid camp, with Cutler looking his way on the first pass of almost every drill. He made several difficult grabs in traffic, evading would-be tacklers.
QUOTABLE:
“Fullback, I am fine with it. If coach asks me to do it, I’ll do it and do the best I can.”
Michael Pittman, on his work at the fullback position.
– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Rookies, Training Camp, Uncategorized
Great stuff. You guys are getting much better at identifying what the fan base wants to hear. The position battles are key and continued analysis there is very helpful. I would like to know who struggled and had to stay after to the dog house work, but I don’t know if you guys are allowed to report that as you are the team’s official site. Anyway, great work.
Did Robertson participate in morning practices Adam?
With the MLB rotation, who seems to be seperating themself from the other player, Koutouvides or Webster?
I wonder who the frontrunner is at the FB position – Pittman, Sapp, or Hillis?
The blogs are great! Best information out there. Anyway, I was wondering what your thoughts on Jay Cutler were. He looks massive now and I just wanted an insider’s thoughts on his progress. Is his increased zip on the ball noticeable? How is his rapport with the new guys Colbert, Jackson, Royal etc? Does he look like a bona fide NFL starting quarterback that can finally take us to the next level? Is he the undisputed leader of this team? I’m a firm believer that great QB’s can make average to good teams great. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks for all the work that you guys are doing, I’m really enjoying reading the blog twice a day. So do what are your thoughts so far on Cutler? Do you think he looks more comfortable now or is he still getting use to his “New body”.
Kaylore, thanks for the compliments and comments. We will continue to keep putting up what y’all want to hear. As far as players working late after practice, that does not necessarily mean they are in the dog house. Working out after practice allows players to have some more individual time with their coaches. For example, Jarvis Moss works out late after every practice, but by no means is he in the dog house.
getlynched47: Robertson did participate this morning and was in the normal rotation at DT. As for MLB, it’s too early to tell. Koutouvides ran with the first unit for the first couple of days, then Webster got into the action. Now it is back to Niko again.
drew5040 and Toast1386: Thanks again for the compliments. I know I speak for the rest of my fellow bloggers when I say that we really appreciate it all! As for Cutler, he does seem to be building good rapport with his receivers. He has a lot of zip on his passes — he’s really throwing some lasers out here.
I went to Vanderbilt when he was there, and I can tell you he is bigger and stronger than I’ve ever seen him.
How’s Boss Bailey fairing so far?
Fantastic job on the updates. I’m pretty sure from what I’ve heard here and other sources that Pittman and Hillis will be the roster fullbacks. It sounds like both of them will be devastating blockers while also being receiving threats… sounds like we are stacked with RB’s too… With Nalen and Clady we are gonna see mile wide gaps for the running game. It will be Shanny football for sure… Brutal running game forcing Defenses to stack the box and opening up the field for Cutler bombs! TOUCHDOWN!
mstarnes9999: The younger Bailey brother has been running with the first unit since he joined the team. He has been looking good!
Great job on the reports. It seems every position has a story line so good job in trying to cover them all. In the receiver battle, is Lorne Sam showing any potential. So far, it sounds like the usual subjects have the receiving duties secured (which if fine by me) but I’ve just wondered how Sam looked. Also, does it look like Holland is getting close to his target weight? It would be good to see him in the rotation.
Thanks again for all the work.
Who do you think will emerge as the Broncos starting RB?? We were all impressed with Young last year, but I’ve been hearing some terrific stuff about Torain. Is he the beast everyone’s saying?
With all the different people trying their hands at FB, do you think Sapp may be on his way out the door?
bronco1263: With 11 wideouts on the roster, it’s hard to track progress. There is a lot of great competition across the board. Sam did get a few looks from both Cutler and Ramsey today however during the QB-WR drills.
As for Holland, he is working on a separate field away from the action. He heads over to the sideline to watch once he finishes his workout, but it is really tough to tell. He spoke to the media yesterday and said he is working hard towards getting back on the field.
TheRealMoose: It truly is too early to tell. Alridge, Hall, Pittman, Sapp, Torain and Young have all gotten their share of carries, and all of them have come through with big plays thus far. Each guy brings something different, his own skill set, to the table.
What do y’all think?
Great stuff gentlemen! I really enjoy the blog, quality reporting. I think I speak for us all when I say “Thank You!” I like the competition for RB, I think Selvin can carry a majority of the load, not to be overworked however. He has shown great two down effectiveness, but throw in a Torain, Alridge, and Hall. I am excited to see what they can do and learn together as a corp. What about the D-line? Are Crowder and Thomas developing? I thought there were glimpses of possible solid qualities in the two players last year. How does Robertson look?
Well from what I have been reading it looks like Young is the main guy now but I would really like to see Ryan Torain emerge as a solid RB maybe even the starter, I fell like he really has talent. But overall I fell the Broncos really have a good core of RB this year. What are your thoughts on Ryan Torain?
wow!!great job with all the postings..sure miss this a lot..Thanks Adam,,keep up the good job…
you’ve pretty much addressed all the position battles, howz the safety competiotion going??..hows Wesley Woodyard doing??could he tested out at safety too..Atari Bigby-like?
thanks again
im rele interested to see who will be our return guy
DENVERGOONSQUAD: The RB competition is really intriguing right now. Come on out to Dove Valley, and it only takes a few minutes watching practice to see that each of them really are quality players.
As for the D-line, Crowder worked with the first unit defense today. Thomas rotated in as well, and he really showed up yesterday, busting up three consecutive plays. Robertson has been working with the first unit as well, and he is looking pretty strong. He clearly has improved from minicamps.
Toast: I agree with you that the RB corps look solid. Selvin has bulked up and looks stronger. Torain has been impressive, especially today when defenders had trouble tackling him.
broncos20: Thanks, and keep on coming back here for all the latest updates.
Safety competition has been pretty good, with Lynch and Hamza taking the majority of the snaps with the first unit, but McCree and Manuel have been in the rotation.
Woodyard had a very good practice yesterday — he had a nose for the ball. He is definitely making the most of his opportunity, and he has some good mentors in D.J. Williams and Boss Bailey. He has not worked any at safety.
Another post will be coming along here shortly from Gray Caldwell, giving a little info about the blog team here with the Broncos and also to answer more of your questions, but by all means keep ‘em coming!
Without a doubt, I would love to see Torain emerge as the starter over the next year or two. From what i’ve read he has the body, no? I love his potential.
Good question, I thought Woodyard looked good in Kentucky. Great frame, tough i thought. Short yard SS, I like that.
Adam, what’s the status on the Right Tackle battle so far? I’ve heard some less than stellar reviews about Ryan Harris on that side of the ball so far. I also was wondering if you could explain Crowder working with the first team. It wasn’t Dumervil that was being replaced was it? Again, thanks for all the hard work. You guys are really keeping those of us out of the area informed more than any other NFL site out there.
Thanks for the constant stream of info yall, checkin the blogs is one of the hilights of my daily routine…
a couple of ongoin questions:
what’s goin on at FS/SS?
how’s the redzone offense lookin thus far? (some issues last year)
what we need is DL pressure that allows LB’s and DB’s to focus on coverage/blitz schemes…I know this is common knowledge, jus wanna hear that we’re making strides on the DL.
Keep the coverage up, you guys are doin a great job and we appreciate it.
Great Photos. Thanks again for all your hard work. You guys are really getting great information out to all the fans. How is Mr. Lynch looking out there? With reports of his 3 a day workouts during this offseason does it look like he is keeping up with the younger guys?
hrdnokd: Harris has been working at RT most of the time. As a second-year player, he will be the first to say he has a lot to learn. But today, coaches were praising him in line drills.
With regards to Crowder, he was in a rotation with the first unit. He was not replacing Dumervil, merely jumping in there when he needed a rest.
We are about to head back outside to watch the afternoon practice session. Check back here in around two hours for notes from my boy Jake Grilley…
Juswhyteee: Safety has been one of the hottest spots for competition, and that is to be expected with so many proven vets out there. The DL looks pretty good, considering they are healthy and there is a lot of young talent with potential. Thomas, Crowder and Moss have each had a good camp so far. Red zone offense is more difficult to judge, since the team has not done many drills focused on that yet, but with a good stable of running backs and a healthy Tony Scheffler, the offense believes they will improve.
Thorpebroncofan: Lynch has been playing with the first units, so his workouts clearly have been paying off, but there is still a lot of competition there. He has rotated with McCree, and today Lynch was in the lead as much of the team ran laps around the field.
go broncos!!!!!
I think the broncos will go with two rb’s this year, with young getting about 15 to 20 carries a game, and the rest to torrain, as he learns the offense, and the speed of the nfl…im a big selvin young fan and glad he bulked up, and hope he can take the reigns, and be the man… good luck selvin..light em up out there this year…..