A quartet of Broncos will be playing against their hometown team when the Saints come marching into town on Sunday.
Quarterback Peyton Manning, wide receiver Brandon Stokley, tackle Chris Clark and cornerback Tracy Porter, who played four seasons with the Saints to open his career, grew up in the New Orleans area.
“It’s always fun to play the Saints,” Stokley said. “You know all your friends and family from where you grew up back home are watching the game, so it always is a bit extra special to play them.”
Even though he grew up rooting for the Saints, Manning has been in the league long enough that it doesn’t faze him to play against them.
“Certainly when you get to the NFL, when you get drafted by a team and that becomes your new favorite team,” Manning said. “Everybody has a favorite team growing up but I certainly think anybody that plays in the NFL, I would hope the team they play for is their favorite team at that time. Certainly I have great friends in New Orleans, family is still there, brother is still there, but I’ve been with two different NFL teams now so I’m a pretty loyal fan to the team that I play for, I like to think.”
Porter, who was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft by New Orleans, said he’s focused on the game, not catching up with old teammates.
“If I see those guys pregame, I’ll talk to them,” he said. “Other than that, I know they’re on a mission (and) I’m on a mission. Once we’re between the white lines, it’s all business, but they’re still my friends at the end of the day.”
Having played 43 career games with New Orleans, Porter has been a resource for Broncos players looking for tips on playing against the Saints’ defense.
“It’s always nice to have a guy that has spent a lot of time on an opponent’s team that you can self-scout and get some little feedback or tricks that you can look for in a game,” Decker said. “I think we’ll take advantage of that.”
Though Porter can help Decker and the rest of the Denver wideouts, the familiarity goes both ways.
Porter practiced against Drew Brees and the Saints’ receiving corps day in and day out in New Orleans, giving both sides plenty of reps against one another.
“It can be an advantage both ways,” Porter said. “That’s the good thing about it. That’s why you play the game, to see who’s going to have the better game. We can go with speculation, me knowing them, them knowing me, but at the end of the day, it’s just playing football. I have to cover those receivers and intercept the ball when I get the opportunity, and they have to catch the ball when they have opportunities.”
Head Coach John Fox has seen the Saints plenty as he faced New Orleans twice a year as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for nine seasons.
“Again, there’s familiarity, but that works both ways,” Fox said. “I know I have great respect for their organization and their team having competed against them a bunch. Like always, every week is a tough experience.”
Tags: New Orleans Saints, Week 8
This place is dead…just to get a discussion going, does anyone want to discuss what they think of last years draft class up to this point this season?
Wolfe B-
Hillman B
Brock in 3 years= B+
Bolden D
RFA Johnson C
Trevathen C+
* Wolfe B+
I meant the 2011 class but this is good.
Virgil Green, Tight End, Nevada, Round 7, Pick 204
1) Von Miller, Linebacker, Texas A&M, Round 1, Pick 2
2) Rahim Moore, Free Safety, UCLA, Round 2, Pick 45
3) Orlando Franklin, Tackle, Miami, Round 2, Pick 46
4) Nate Irving, Linebacker, N.C. State, Round 3, Pick 67
5) Quinton Carter, Safety, Oklahoma, Round 4, Pick 108
6) Julius Thomas, Tight End, Portland St., Round 4, Pick 129
7) Mike Mohamed, Linebacker, California, Round 6, Pick 189
9) Jeremy Beal, Def. End, Oklahoma, Round 7, Pick 247
10) Chris Harris, Cornerback, Kanasa, Undrafted
Von Miller was obviously an A+ pick and then some. He has been nothing short of spectacular and still hasn’t reached full potential. Rahim had a rough rookie campaign. He took bad angles to the ball, couldn’t cover or tackle. What a difference a year makes. Moore has not missed a tackle all season and has proven very effective in the run game. He could still work on his coverage skills and I’m hoping he does mature in that area before next year. Anyway, at this time Moore is a solid B+ with the potential to reach an A grade by next year. Franklin is a beast, not much else needs to be said. The man can run block with the best of them and with Manning at QB, Franklin has improved a lot in his pass protection. This is another player making improvements and stands now at a B and could easily get to an A by next year. 3 solid starters in a draft is pretty good work.
I wouldn’t give up on Iriving just yet. As an example just look at how long it tood Woodyard to become a starter (he is laying the wood this year for sure). Iriving has made plays and still has potential, if after year 3 we haven’t seen anything then I would let it go. Anyway, Irving is a C grade at this point and could become a D just as easily as befoming a B. I am upset that Carter got hurt this year, I was really hoping to see if he could improve on last year. Last year he leapfrogged Moore on the depth chart and was playing well. Improving on his rookie campaign would have easily put Carters grade in the A range as it is rare to find a solid starter in the fourth round. It is where good depth is and Carter is at least that at this point so B. J.T. was a gamble at the time and the combination of injury and last years non-existent offseason have not helped a player who only has one true year of football experience. Patience may be the key here. Let Thomas continue to grow, he is one hell of an athlete but who knows if football will ever come to him. As it stands he is a C- or D+ but if the game starts to click for him he could turn into a gem. If he isn’t lighting up next years preseason, he may not be back.
Mohamed is no longer with the team and that means he wasn’t up to snuff. Late in the draft it isn’t as big of a deal but you still want to see a guy who can at least contribute in some way. A D for Mohamed and Denver’s worst pick of the 2011 draft. Virgil Green doesn’t light up highlight reals but he is on the team and contributing, can’t ask for too much more out of the 7th round. Green gets a C+. Beal is on the practice squad so Denver still thinks something is there, maybe he grows into a solid depth player or maybe he doesn’t but he is still around. Beal is a C-.
Harris…Do I even have to say anything? Getting this guy undrafted is a A move all the way.
I know it doesn’t sound like much but 3 starters, 3 backups and a gem of a nickle corner is one hell of a draft. Thank you John Elway, you get an A.
I rather not pass judgement on the 2012 class just yet. As shown by Rahim Moore, things can change quickly and 6 games is too early to judge these guys yet imho.
haha it turned the 8 ) into a cool guy face.
I have heard some not so good stats about Wolfe’s pass rushing numbers. Wolfe takes on a hell of a lot more double teams and is often rushing the passer from a DT spot so I wouldn’t put a ton of stock in comparing him to other DE’s. Instead look at DE’s and DT’s and see where he fits in, I sure youll notice he has done very well. The film shows a very solid player. I’d give him a B+ too if not an A-. Again, I bet we see tremedous growth from him this offseason and next year might be talking about how he was an A+ in the draft.
And of course there is a new blog so this will all get burried and not discussed
I’m all in on Chris Harris he is the man and hopefully a Bronco 4 Life
CANT WAIT FOR SUNDAY NIGHT..LESSGO BRONCOS
Saints defense is the worst in the NFL, 26th against the pass, 31 against the run, and 30th in points per game. We will score 7 offensive touchdowns against this pathetic defense!
Broncos 52
Saints 24