The Broncos began their second week of training camp Friday morning. Here are some happenings from the a.m. session.
ATTENDANCE REPORT: The out of pads list remained the same as yesterday with Peyton Hillis, Chad Mustard and Tom Nalen not in uniform. Michael Pittman, who was also listed as out of pads, wore his jersey sans his helmet and shoulder pads while observing drills.
Boss Bailey was held out due to inflammation is his knee and Hamza Abdullah was held out the final portion of practice due a sore groin.
POSTURING FOR POSITION: The Broncos 2007 draft class showed its presence on the second unit defensive line. Jarvis Moss, Marcus Thomas and Tim Crowder took the reps along with Alvin McKinley.
For the second straight day Nate Webster took reps with the first unit defense. The competition at middle linebacker is still tight between Webster and Niko Koutouvides.
Casey Wiegmann continued to get reps at center with Tom Nalen out with a sore left knee. An MRI on Nalen’s knee came back negative.
FOCAL POINTS: The Broncos offense was clicking throughout practice but that’s not to say the defense didn’t make its fair share of plays.
The team concentrated on its ground attack for a portion of practice. Andre Hall, Selvin Young each made impressive runs through the tacklers and Anthony Alridge had a pair of solid gains one slicing through the middle and another a streak outside towards the sideline.
During offensive vs. defensive linemen one-on-ones, Ryan Clady twice battled Elvis Dumervil coming away the victor even pushing No. 92 to the ground during their second meeting. Ben Hamilton also had an impressive showing during the drill, stopping his man on each of his reps.
The Broncos also worked on its red-zone offense during 7-on-7 drills. The offense came away with several TD strikes through the air during the drill.
TAKE AWAYS: For the second day the team’s practice was officiated by a group of NFL referees. Penalties were hard to come by but the refs signaled a fair share of touchdowns during the red-zone drill.
Roderick Rogers seems to have a knack for coming away with a tipped football. A pass was tipped straight up in the Broncos secondary and Rogers was able to come away with the ball, his third interception of training camp.
Brandon Marshall, in addition to having several TD grabs in the red-zone, reeled in a long strike along the sideline against Champ Bailey.
The team practiced punt returns with Glenn Martinez, Eddie Royal and Samie Parker, a new additon to the return squad, lining up at returner. Brett Kern and Sam Paulescu rotated taking the snaps at punter but let the JUGS machine make the kicks.
Those are the juicy tid bits from this morning. Check back this afternoon for a recap of this afternoon’s special teams session.
Jake Grilley, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Ben Hamilton, Boss Bailey, Brandon Marshall, Brett Kern, Casey Wiegmann, Champ Bailey, Hamza Abdullah, Jake Grilley, Ryan Clady, Tom Nalen, Uncategorized
Sorry that you were not able to post comments. We have the issue fixed, so comment away!
Kyle
What’s up with Chris Kuper’s right hand?
Thanks guys for fixing the site…
Do you guys plan to do a gameday blog? Giving a little more “color” to the commentary we can get on NFL.com?
Living in the Kansas City Metro we often get “chiefed” (we can’t see the Broncos because the little ‘c’ chiefs are on) and can’t watch the games - so we rely on denverbroncos.com to bring us the best…
I hope you are doing it - thanks
TY Kyle,
And good job sincerely for stepping up and getting this vital info to us guys who can’t really get any other way.We are going to be depending on you throughout the season ,GO BRONCOS!!!
Kyle,
Just my opinion ,but I think it would be very cool if John Lynch could post a Blog just so that all of us who appreciate his charracter and class and kick -tail professionalism could have the opportunity to say thank you and good bye …
I was wondering if Roderick Rodgers has a chance to start this season i mean it sounds like this guy has a knack for the ball and Denver has never really had a ball hogging safety. I would like to thank Lynch too but he wouldn’t only be receiving thank yous he probably get some hate mail too. I think Denver is really going to miss the pro bowler because in my opinion next to Bailey he was Denver’s next top player its really to bad i really hoped he would retire as a Denver bronco and i know he might still but i think San Diego is going to sign him and that is going to be problematic for me to see lynch in that powder blue. I hope someone steps up to fill that spot left by lynch maybe Roderick Rodgers or Marlon Mcree can step up and be that pro bowler caliber player and leader for the defense i know they try to lead by example but sometimes you need that guy to speak up and rile up the defense on short yardage or in big time situations or just pregame.
Bye to JL. I love the guy, it’s too bad we never gave him a set he could thrive in. Props to coach for making the hard call (it better be the right call if SD signs him!!)
God give us an (serious) injury free season, so we can see how are NEW team really plays. I think there’s incredible potential here….
Go Broncos!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jake Grilley is penning the afternoon blog so I will answer your questions in the meantime.
Rev- Kuper injured his hand early in camp but he has hardly missed a rep because of it. The cast will remain on for a few more weeks. And yes, we will be doing a live game blog.
orygunbronco - I would love to have John do a blog, but I am not sure if we can get it arranged. But I will never say never.
Again, sorry about the delay in the comments the last couple of hours, but I think we have it fixed.
Kyle
Who were the 1st team D-lineman and FS/SS? Great blog thanks!
Do you have an idea on who is looking better in the punting competition?
kyle who has been the biggest surprise in camp so far. i was thinking eddie royal .
West Coast-
Special Teams Coordinator Scott O’Brien discussed the punting situation following the afternoon session, read more about it in the P.M. Blog
-Jake
Buckin- First unit d-line this morning was Dumervil, Peterson, Robertson and Engelberger. The safeties were Abdullah and McCree.
go cutler- Hmmm… good question and I am sure everyone who has been out at practice will have a different answer for you. I wouldn’t say Royal, because he was impressive in mini camp. My guy would have to be Matt Prater. He has been very accurate with his field goals from all distances and his kickoffs have been booming. Each one several yards deep in the endzone. I really like what I have seen thus far.
Are there any updates on Spencer Larsen? Im really interested in him and his story… He seems to possess many strong MLB qualities, looking back to the numbers he put up his last 2 seasons. I know he’s behind because of the death in his family, but is he catching on? Is he a possibility?
Hey thanks for the daily updates. I keep seeing clips and hearing about Marshall making plays for touchdowns against Bailey. Can you give a general impression on that battle. In the Marshall vs. Bailey showdown in camp from day to day, what do you see?
Real quick before I head out to practice…
HOGblog- Larsen is a little behind, but he is catching up and playing well. His versatility will be a great asset to the team playing at any LB spot and on special teams.
Cutlerizer- Heads and camera always turn to the Marshall - Bailey one-on-ones. They are fun to watch. Each has made a play on the other and best of all they are making each other better in the process.
We will be back after practice for the Day 9 blog