Justin Bannan is back as a Bronco, and he couldn’t be happier.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s good to get back out there. It’s weird, it’s kind of like déjà vu to be back out there on the practice field running around. I couldn’t be more excited and driven to have a great year.”
A 16-game starter for the Broncos in 2010, Bannan made 35 tackles along with one sack, four pass breakups and a forced fumble in orange and blue.
That season, however, the Broncos went 4-12. The following season, Bannan joined the St. Louis Rams. He made 32 tackles for the Rams in 15 games played with 14 starts in 2011. But St. Louis went 2-14.
After being accustomed to winning with the Baltimore Ravens for four seasons, the defensive tackle said he’s excited to rejoin a team that has high aspirations.
“I’m tired of losing — it’s been two tough years,” he said. “That’s the nature of the beast. It’s very frustrating. There aren’t many things worse than being on an NFL team that is losing. Last year we won two games. What that does to you mentally is just tough. I’m definitely looking forward to winning this year. Everything looks great on paper, but we have to get out there and work and get it done. We have a lot of work to do. I think everybody has their mind set the right way to come out and have a great year.”
In his career, Bannan has totaled 303 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one interception, 10 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 144 career appearances.
Back in a 4-3 defensive scheme, where he said he feels most comfortable, Bannan is prepared for an “attacking-style” defense.
He said it’s hard to tell what the interior of the Broncos defensive line will look like judging solely from OTAs, but that will come soon enough.
“I think for every group it is fairly early. We’re putting in a new defensive system. From what I understood, it’s kind of similar to last year’s defense, but at the same time, every defensive coordinator has their tweaks and they have their little things they want you to do. Right now it’s a matter of adapting to that and I think right now it’s about keeping your head down and working hard and working on your technique. At the same time, you don’t have pads on. So, as a lineman it’s hard to develop your game without pads on. I always said, ‘The truth gets told in training camp.’ That’s when you put the pads on, that’s when you find out who is who. We’ll see in due time.”
As far as he’s concerned, Bannan has played at least 15 games in each of the past five seasons, and he plans to work to be a big contributor again in 2012.
“My mindset never changes year to year,” he said. “You have to fight for your job every day in this business and you have to be 100 percent every day. If you’re not, somebody will take it. It’s a rare job to have and I’m very fortunate to have it. I think what I tell young guys is, ‘You better come out and you better work every day and give it everything you’ve got because there are thousands of guys out there waiting to take it.’”
Bannan knows there are expectations surrounding the Broncos this season, and it’s up to the group to fulfill them.
“If you look around the league you are going to have 32 teams out there that have the same buzz, same excitement and everybody thinks they’re going to win the Super Bowl,” he said. “As far as the tone being set, it has been set. We just have to come out and make it happen.”
-Gray Caldwell
Tags: Justin Bannan
PM is definitely better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and LBs have a better inury case to the neck than QBs!!!!!!!!!
Damn I’m still home alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would love to see PM beat EM’s ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!lmfao@!!!!!!!!
BFE
BFE, you and I pretty much agree on everything here! LOL!
I gotta go to bed. Hope you’re not alone too much longer. Will you make sure DB sees my stats if I’m not around for a few days?
BFE, Eli and Peyton have played each other twice and Eli has lost both times.
Hey TIcat, If they are true friends, then you wouldn’t lose them over something you love. A real friend would understand your passion.
I guess that’s easy for me to say since I’m passionate about the Broncos as well.
I suppose anybody who takes time to post here can be considered passionate. That much is obvious.
Saw your stats Cat – I still have guest tonight though.
sndvl, thanks for the advice! This season was nuts and it’s just getting crazier for me so it’s been hard to deal with. I appreciate the support though!
Okay, good, DB! Just checkin!
Passion, that’s what I’m going to call it, instead of perseverating! LOL!
TLC…we are both passionate over PM….girl!!!!!!!!!
DB…you ain’t right!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DB,you got guests,you should entertain them not us,lol.!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bad news Bronconites,I still have a case of Bud LIte….ain’t going away unless my dsl SCREWES up…you got to deal with The Beast From the East…all night LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BFE
FTR……where in the Hell r u at??????????????????
I done turned my Camaro loose today…BBBBBOOOOWAYYYYYYYYYYY…..It’s a biotch to control.not like a stupid Ford,it has the stroke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chevy’s kick ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BFE
TLC….Chevy’s rule,you already know that tho!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nickelback is kicking my ass now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Skillz……..bring that Torino on bro…..I’ll take it and burn it to the ground tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tlc…good talking too ya,look forward too chatting with ya in the future girl!!!!!!!!!!!
BFE
DB you runned tlc off………
Uncle Ted jamming me tonight again……….where u at strand??????????????
sndvl…….Amen bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FTR… where r u????????????
All alone by myself,just me myself and I………..Boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AC/DC rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
40 miles in the woods and by myself……………………..
10:26…………………….ok
Turtle you dickhead I’m getting my .300 Winchester MaG Remington tommorrow,bore sighted scope,ready 2 go bro…………..I’m kicking some serious ass with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BFE
Damn I got a case of beer left……
Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im still around BFE. Well, for a few more minutes at least.
Whats the rifle you & Turtle are talking about?
Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
no takers???????????????
BFE
Lol. Nevermind. I should have refreshed the page!
sndvl….it’s a .300 winchester Mag…….Remington bro….it’s an elephant gun bro!!!!!!!!!!
Shoot it will bring down a Elphanetrhino…….Helluvitiknowh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C’mon guys bring it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, I was checking some out online. That’s a nice looking rifle. Wish I had the disposable income for one. It carries a hefty price tag. Eeesh
sndvl…………..I’M glad I bought it bro………it’s A cool rifle!!!!!!!!!
I wish. That is a great looking rifle.
Hey y’all - long time! I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial day weekends! Now that the harsh reality of being back at work is setting in, I’ll leave you with a couple of things:
1) I don’t think John Elway has received nearly enough praise for drafting Von Miller with the #2 overall pick last year. I realize you expect to hit with that high of a selection, but very few people had us taking Von, and many actually questioned it at the time, and wondered what Elway’s thought process was.. I think we all can agree that Von Miller is a great player, but I don’t think any of us know just how special he really is yet, and I can’t imagine the feeling we would have if we had passed on him.. Seeing Fairley get arrested for the second time in two months, got me thinking about just how right JE was. I believe being that right on your first attempt, affords you the benefit of the doubt the next time around..
2) I see Tebowgate rages on around here, to no surprise, so I thought I’d throw my two cents in. I was surrounded by Patriots fans this weekend, and I must say, when the discussion turned to football, it was clearly evident the level of respect I received by being a Denver Broncos fan, now that Peyton Manning is under center. Mind you, this was coming from the very same people who had a condescending and slightly disrespectful tone towards the Broncos just last year..
3) Anyone else read about how Vickerson put on 50 lbs since last season, while decreasing his body fat percentage? Good to hear, as I remember questioning why he came in so light last year. All of a sudden, our DT position doesn’t seem like such a problem anymore, with or without Warren, I just hope Big Vick did it the right way, and we don’t get news that proves otherwise..
4) I know, I know, my Rangers lost.. Oh well.. They played hard, and they left it all on the ice, you can’t really ask for more than that I guess. Kudos for kod’s prediction – right on brother!
BFE, no one ran me off hon. I had to go to bed because I have to be good for the kids today.
OT, I am very glad to hear that you have gained respect for being a Broncos fan. You should and even though Brady owns the winning record against PM, PM owns one of the best comeback for a win in the history of the NFL against the Patriots. That’s one of the best rivals in all of the league. I agree about JE. I was just saying yesterday how awful it is that Fairley has turned into such a criminal and to think people wanted us to draft him. I say TGFV!