After getting through two practices on the opening day of training camp, the team had just a single session on Saturday.
Here are some quick hits from the day.
ROLL CALL: Absent from yesterday evening’s practice, Champ Bailey, Renaldo Hill, Brandon Marshall and Marcus Thomas all participated in Saturday’s session.
Later in practice, play was stopped during an 11-on-11 drill and Nic Clemons was carted off the field.
Vernon Fox missed the session today, which Head Coach Josh McDaniels explained afterwards.
“Vernon Fox has a slight deal where he is a little sore, and he will be out until he can come back. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.”
POSITIONING: A few new faces cracked the first-unit defense when the group lined up in what appeared to be a nickel package. Only Ryan McBean and Kenny Peterson were on the line, while Darrell Reid, Wesley Woodyard, D.J. Williams and Elvis Dumervil were at linebacker. Cornerbacks Andre’ Goodman, Jack Williams and Alphonso Smith joined safeties Brian Dawkins and Darcel McBath in the secondary.
Correll Buckhalter, Peyton Hillis, LaMont Jordan and Ryan Torain continued to split carries with the first unit offense. The starters at the receiver and tight end positions rotated depending on the formation. Jabar Gaffney and Eddie Royal were in on most every play, while Marshall and Brandon Stokley played with the unit at different times. The same goes for Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler, who each saw their share of reps with the first unit.
DRILLS: Dawkins let out a giant shout and gave Bailey a powerful high-five before the first drill of the day began. Then the defensive backs proceeded to essentially stand still, working on getting the right play call and calling audibles. It was just a little taste of the intensity Dawkins brings to the field even during drills.
Brett Kern and Britton Colquitt practiced holding by taking a knee and catching the snap from a JUGS machine before placing it down for Matt Prater.
During one drill, tight ends worked on blocking one-on-one with linebackers. Two battles stood out — when Tony Scheffler took on Darrell Reid, the blocking was so vigorous that Reid’s helmet came off. Then when Richard Quinn took on Mario Haggan, he locked up the linebacker and blocked him all the way out of bounds, drawing loud praise from tight ends coach Clancy Barone.
In a full-speed, full-contact, one-on-one drill, several collisions drew “ooohs” from the crowd, including Hillis against Tim Crowder and Graham against Andra Davis. Josh Barrett’s battles with Marshall might have been the most physical, resulting in what looked like a ripped shirt or two.
“We were both going out there, trying to get the best of one another,” Barrett said, noting that he couldn’t judge who won the matchups. “I’ll give it to him if he thinks he won. I know he didn’t score.”
PLAYMAKERS: Dawkins had a near interception during 7-on-7s, bobbling the ball before it fell to the turf. He then dropped to the ground and immediately did 10 pushups, drawing cheers from the crowd.
During 11-on-11 drills, Kyle Orton launched a pass downfield to a streaking Marshall, who looked like he had a leaping grab. Bailey had other plans, however, bolting in seemingly out of nowhere to break up the reception.
“I saw him looking and looking and waiting for everybody to clear,” Bailey said of Orton. “I don’t think he saw me … so I just made him throw that ball, and he did.”
Prater showed off some of his power while Lonie Paxton and the punters worked on the snap and hold before field goals. Prater only had to kick it through an extra set of uprights brought onto the field a short distance away, but the far uprights were 53 yards downfield. He cleared the far field goal posts by at least 10 yards on one attempt, booting it over the back wall into the staff parking lot. On another attempt he hit the very top of the right upright.
In one-on-ones between defensive backs and wide receivers, Orton threw a strike to Eddie Royal, who jumped up and grabbed a nice catch over the back of Andre’ Goodman. Later in practice, however, during a two-minute drill, Goodman snared an interception from Orton to put an end to a drive by the first-unit offense.
Rulon Davis batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage.
QUICK HITS: It was a good day to be a fan at Dove Valley today. The only shade on the field during the 90-plus degree practice was on the hill where the fans sat.
Though it wasn’t used on Saturday, a scoreboard has been installed on the side of the building at Dove Valley, facing the practice fields.
Rookies Blake Schlueter and Tom Brandstater botched a snap, which resulted in a fumble. The ball on the ground meant both players had to take a lap around the field. They weren’t alone, however, because a few minutes later coaches didn’t like the play of the defense and sent the entire unit on a lap around the field.
It’s worth noting that an interesting rule has been mandated during offense vs. defense drills. When the ball hits the ground, no matter the situation, both units have to treat it as a fumble. The rule came into play a few times on Saturday, including on a dropped interception that was picked back up by another defender and taken back the other way.
DAILY JUKEBOX: As the team was filtering outside and fans were lining the hill alongside the far field, “Apache” by the Sugar Hill Gang pumped through the speakers. It was a fun start to a hot day of practice that featured yet another eclectic mix of music. A few other choice grooves:
Jay-Z “Oh My God”
Bruce Springsteen “The Rising”
Snoop Dogg “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”
Rolling Stones “Start Me Up”
Outkast “Hey Ya”
Below are pictures from the session. The team will be back on the field for a morning practice at 8:45 MDT Sunday morning.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Training Camp
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1st, I guess…
great to see all the players that werent out there yesterday out there today. Expect alot out of the Dawkins-Champ collaboration. Bmarsh going agaisnt Champ would be great to watch. The new WR can learn from a great WR and learn from taking on arguably the best CB in the league. The start of the season is getting so close I can taste it. Cant wait
~Here’s Hoping We Shock The NFL
GO BRONCOS!!!
ps: Orton will also benefit from passing against proven DBs like Champ, Dawkins and Goodman, even from the new up and commers. Passing against a great secondary can only improve a QBs play reading skills. Great post as always Gary, very thorough. truly appreciated.
hahaha, that part about Dawkins doing push ups was funny. And this is why I L-O-V-E the month of August… can smell the football!!!! Smells sooooooooo good! lol I don’t think I can contain myself!
With faith…
GO BRONCOS in ’09!!!!
I love August, too, 07elway…kind of crazy that we’ll be done with the first preseason game by this time in two weeks. And thanks for the input, TheRoyalBeast. I appreciate it.
As always, keep the comments coming.
-Gray
Man i cant wait till pre-season starts…i love training camp and seeing the pics and videos of the players, and McD,,, alot of people say they dont like pre-season, but i just say its awesome just to see football and the broncos playing, and watching the rookies too…But hopefully the nfl can make it 3 pre-season games instead of 4…too much on players for the 16 game schedule…..GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
Hey Gray Caldwell,
Thanks for the info. about how camp is going and keeping us up to date on our favorite team. Keep up the great work! Do you happen to have a picture of Dawkins and Bailey’s high five when practice started? I would really love to have it on my desktop.
BrandonBailey19 –
I wish we had a picture of it, but unfortunately we don’t. But I did just post a bunch of the photos Kyle Sonneman took from today’s practice. Hope they will suffice!
Thanks,
Gray
Well thanks anyways Gray! Keep Up The Great Work! Look Foward To More Of Your Posts
Wow, those are some great photos. Kudos to the person that took them!
Aloha, So awesome to see Champ back. GO Broncos. Mahalo & GOD bless.
Oh yeah, I can not forget about you Kyle Sonneman!
My apologies. Great pictures! Keep up the great work as well!
Great pics guys, Dawkins is a true character and loving the training camp but what about Moss?
It is unbelievable we’ll be done with our first preseason game in a week but that just means we’re one game closer to the regular season!! Holy toledo, I’m so excited!!
And yes, those pics are awesome!! The first one of Hamilton & Lichtensteiger (say that 5 times fast, haha) is a great picture. Face off!!! lol Thank you so much for the thorough updates… keep it up!
With faith…
GO BRONCOS in ’09!!!!
wow….i cant believe jarvis moss is considering retirement…i thought he was just getting started but i guess he gotta do whats best for him….
Whoops, meant 2 weeks. haha Getting a little too excited over here.
ohh…for those who havent heard or seen…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp09/news/story?id=4371854
Hey Gray, don’t know if you can answer this in time, but a friend of mine will be at practice tomorrow. He just bought a digital camera that also has video capabilities. I told him it’s unlikely he can bring it. Told him he may have to bring a 35MM camera and a couple rolls of film. Is that correct? I know I read somewhere that any camera with video capabilities is taboo. What about just a simple digital camera without the video?
Ha, ha, Kyle, we aren’t tooting our own horn, just “a little bit” are we? Great pics Kyle, good job. Oh, and if Gray doesn’t answer my previous question, could you? I need to contact my friend, Brian, about camp tomorrow.
Man, just imagine when the defense grasp ahold of the intensity of B-Dawk, and all the guys carry that kind of fire to the field! Fire it up boyz!
PUMP BLUE, BLEED ORANGE!
Gary,
This update is great and I’m loving the high intensity B.Dawk. is showing. Can’t wait till i can see the team on TV and see what they look like!!
I was watching NFL live today and Mark S. was doing a segment on the AFC West and he totally just put down the Broncos and there coaches. It was crazy to here him put down the Broncos the way he did after so many great years with the club! I hope the guys put what Mark S. said all over the locker room and prove him wrong this year!!
Go Broncos and the new system!!
milehighclub87, didn’t know if you transposed the letters in Gray’s name (you typed Gary)? Just a friendly FYI.
Missed the NFL Live. Will try to catch it on the Internet. Stinks that he would betray his team that way. Denver did a lot for him and he seldom defends them anymore. Show some loyaly Mark…..
Interesting to see Jarvis Moss is thinking about retiring, the guy is 24, I wouldn’t call it retiring more like quitting. Evidently he’s buried in the depth chart and can’t get the hang of the new 3-4 defense.
This was a good read and the Broncos seem to be gelling nicely. It’s nice that Champ, Goodman and even Marcus Thomas are out there. Moreno and Ayers need to join the fun. I greatly anticipate their initial training camp sessions. GO BRONCOS!!!
why would Jarvis Moss retire? he’s like 25 or so. he is getting a fresh start with the 3-4 and yesterday he said he was looking forward to it.
hillis looking good out there he’ll help us alot this year glad to see champ is back
No idea it was just what I read.
http://community.kdvr.com/_Sources-Broncos-Moss-Approaches-Team-Thinking-About-Retirement/BLOG/489177/96399.html?widgetId=216686
or
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp09/news/story?id=4371854
Jarvis is like 3rd or 4th on the depth chart at this point, he loved college ball but doesn’t really seem to like the pro game. He appears to be another Ryan Leaf. Is Dumervil doing alright at his new position? I know he wasn’t comfortable last year but he didn’t get a lot of reps either.
really glad to see champ is back. lets get those first round picks to training camp!
WOW!
I have to say I’m shocked at this and I hope He gets over what ever hump is in front of Him. Tough times don’t last tough people do.
Oh and thanks again Gray and Kyle!
Hey Dynamicdave, I think it’s spelled loyalty, Just a friendly FYI. He He He………
Hey Mr. Xanders, check this out:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9877700/Harvin-agrees-to-5-year-deal-with-Vikings
I hope your close to signing Ayers.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
goodman is #21 ans renaldo hill is #23, right?
I appreciate you including the kicking staff in your pics/comments!
Mom of future Bronco PK.
Thanks for the FYI. i did spell his name wrong. Sorry Gray!!
Much love for the Broncos in 09!!!
Whats up with Jarvis Moss?
Monodono, yeah, talk about calling the kettle black, eh? Ha, ha. I was not using my spell checker as I ought to. DOH!