The Broncos took the field on Monday for the final week of passing camp. Monday’s practice — like Friday — was an “opportunity practice” for rookies and younger players to get some on-field work as the veterans worked out separately.
One new sighting was third-round pick Eric Decker, who was running back and forth catching passes from strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten away from the rest of practice.
Demaryius Thomas, Ryan Harris and J.J. Arrington — all of whom returned to practice last week — were involved in the team portions of practice for the first time.
DEFENSE DOMINANT
During the first set of offense vs. defense drills, there were several dropped passes and a few more balls on the ground after the play, as the defense continued to work hard to strip the ball away from the receivers.
After Jarvis Moss dove to break up a pass, knocking the ball out of Richard Quinn’s hands, Head Coach Josh McDaniels yelled out, “The next ball on the ground, white takes off” on a lap around the practice fields. Needless to say, the unit took much better care of the ball for the remainder of practice.
But that didn’t mean the defense wasn’t still there to play.
On the first pass of 11-on-11s, Alphonso Smith picked off Brady Quinn. After a long completion to Kenny McKinley — who also had quite a practice — Quinn’s third pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Wesley Woodyard. The linebacker trotted into the end zone, celebrating to help set the tone for the defense.
On the next pass, Quinn fired the ball to tight end Nathan Overbay, though it was nearly picked by Syd’Quan Thompson. As the defense reacted to the play, defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale shouted, “Almost doesn’t count in this game, now. Come on, hustle back.”
The defense didn’t stop there. By the end of practice, Woodyard had another pick and both David Bruton and Darcel McBath snared interceptions in the end zone before taking a knee.
“This has been one of the high points thus far in OTAs,” Baraka Atkins said. “But that’s what we expect to do every day — create turnovers and make problems for the offense.”
‘DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT’
McDaniels wasn’t all too pleased with the offense’s performance through the first part of practice, so before an offense-only drill, he gathered the players in a huddle, reminding them that the defense continues to win 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
“Will someone please stand up and do something about it?” he implored.
McKinley seemed to take that command to heart.
The second-year receiver caught long passes from both Quinn and Tim Tebow throughout practice. On one play in particular, he hauled in a pass in tight coverage before breaking free from the defender, staying on his feet and sprinting downfield for about 25 more yards.
His first touchdown of the day came from Quinn. With the defense playing tight coverage, the quarterback pointed back toward the middle of the end zone, so McKinley adjusted his route, sprinting inside to haul in a touchdown.
His second score came close to the end of practice on a pass from Tebow. He spiked the ball, seemingly telling the defense the offense wasn’t just going to roll over.
Thomas caught a pair of touchdowns on the day, as well, and Matthew Willis made a handful plays that drew praise from McDaniels.
The first came on a near interception by Cassius Vaughn, but Willis didn’t give up on the play, ripping the ball out of the cornerback’s hands for an incompletion. “That’s it!” yelled McDaniels.
The second came on the last play of practice, when a pass was tipped by Robert Ayers at the line, but Willis adjusted to haul it in for a touchdown, his second of the day.
College free agent Alric Arnett drew praise from the head coach as well when he adjusted to a ball thrown behind him, diving to the ground for the reception. That earned him a “Yes, nice job!”
After practice, McDaniels was asked why it seemed like the defense won the session.
“The defense is just louder,” the head coach laughed. “Usually every period when you ultimately watch it and break it down, it falls somewhere in a 50-50. You know the defense played well some plays and the offense did some good things, too, so hopefully everyone is getting better.”
QUICK HITS
Pictures from the session are below.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Alphonso Smith, Chris Kuper, Dicky Lyons, Elvis Dumervil, Eric Decker, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Kyle McCarthy, Passing Camp, Syd'Quan Thompson, Tony Carter, Wesley Woodyard
I think as far as Doom’s contract situation is concerned…..Yeah he had one great season, but can he do it again?????? IF he can then I think thats when we should give him a big contract. There are lots of players who have one great season and then never do it again. So to give him big money after just one season is not all that smart. And not to mention all of the rumors of a lock out next year!!!
Stopping the run should not be solely blamed on Dumervil. That onus, the past three years lies on the defensive line (or lack thereof).
My view, thats still a big ? without a doubt. Sure it was addressed through FA. But not the draft. Yet, not a one of us can be sure it will pay off. And it was paid. Didnt they all get 5 year deals???
But DOOM cant get his?
For all the years Ive invested watching this organization, supporting this team, being a citizen of BRONCOS COUNTRY; Im worried…
GO BRONCOS 2K10!!!!!!!!!!
PAY DOOM
bronco-blaze, There may be an opening in our league. If youre interested, I need an email address or such, to discuss specifics!
the thing is that yes those players were signed for five years, but they didnt break the bank either. I agree with MarshMello, can Elvis do it again, and get better at stopping the run, i think he can, but how can you expect to be the highest paid LB with only 1 great season under your belt. I do believe he deserves a big payday, but not top 5 LB salary, maybe top 10. Believe it or not, although he had 17sacks, he wasnt the best LB in the NFL, last I heard there is more to football than just sacks.
Tackles Interceptions Misc.
Defense G Solo Ast Total Sack YdsL Int Yds IntTD PD Sfty
Patrick Willis 16 114 38 152 4.0 22 3 33 1 8 0
Elvis Dumervil 16 42 7 49 17.0 89 0 0 0 3 0
which would you rather have? just to show contrast in 2 LB players, Doom was involved on 49 tackels and 17 sacks Wiilis was involved on 152 tackles 4 sacks 3ints. I really am interested to see what people would prefer in their LB. Dont get me wrong, im not a hater, I actually loove Doom, have his jersey and all, i just dont feel he should be wanting Bowlens rigth arm and leg in the deal, but he does deserve a raise. A good raise, not the hishest paid LB in the league, i say average top 10 LB salary, then that equals Dooms contract.
Unless somebody else steps up and starts sacking the QB,we need to keep Doom happy,although he does need to get better stopping the run and pass Defense,he has had more than one good year,check out the past 3 years at how many sacks he’s had,we don’t have anyone else that can get to the QB consistently.Pay the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BFE
Alfred Williams answering a fan about how close we are to the playoffs again:
I really don’t think the defensive line is that far away at all. And I think that the team showed some promise last year. I think if the quarterbacking had been different, the Broncos might have been a playoff team last year.
Talking just like a D lineman, blaming the O, in this instance Orton… The man speaks his mind, I’ll say that. And the QQ goes on…
Hey KFS, when comparing Willis to Doom, you’re comparing apples to oranges, Willis is a middle linebacker, Doom an outside linebacker, their purpose and responsabilities are like night and day, just saying, instead compare Willis to DJ, it would be a fair comparaison and you’ll see that their stats are probably kind of similar. However I agree that Doom needs to improve against the run, but the OLB main emphasis in a 3-4 is rushing the passer as far as I know, can’t blame the guy for his stats, you guys are some tough fans, the new D line will hopefully stop the run once in a while before it gets to Doom this year…. Plus the main reason Doom needs to get a large contract is to reward him for all the intangibles he brings to the team, he learns every new position that’s thrown his way without ever complaining, he never says one bad thing about a teammate or anything, he is always out there doing the best he knows, he has the unbelievably long arms of an Orang-outang and he has never ever complained about his contract at all, even Bailey thinks he is great. I mean he has done everything that McD has asked of him and more and if he doesn’t get rightly compensated, like around a 50 million dollars contract, it will send the wrong signal to the rest of the team that why should I bust my arse if there is nothing at the end of the line for me. And he hasn’t had just one good year, he has played well at every position he’s been at ever since he’s been here. Just my opinion.
And to the ones who say Doom had just one great season, I’ll just say that: In his first year in 2006 in just 13 games he had 8.5 sacks and in 2007 he had 12.5, those are career #’s for some OLB’s, and of course he now has the Bronco all time sack record in a season with last year’s 17 sacks, you guys are just totally off on your assessment, what does a man have to do here to get some love, and some money, give me a break, just my opinion.
Doom should be paid as the top LB in the NFL. His play and his attitude says it all. He comes in to work and doe`s what he is asked to do because he`s a team player. And further more he loves the game. DOOM deserves to be paid top dollar. TOP$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
To conclude voicing my frustration in the Doom situation, for the last 4 years the man has played for 500 thousand a year, just less than 200 thousand over the league minimum, and has amassed a total of 43 sacks, and doing right by him would be too much for you guys? Tough fans I tell you…
Strandoftds, finally a fan supporting Doom’s need to be paid big, I don’t necessarily think he is worthy of top LB money, but 50 mil would be about right in my opinion, and I could live with anywhere between 50 and 60.
I hope Bowlen can too, LOL.
Nice one Bay. Doom broke Simon Fletcher`s sack record in one season for the Bronco`s. That`s pretty awesome.
Yeah, he is right up there with the best on our team now, which brought me to research what our top players got paid in 2009, here it is:
Bailey, 9 mil
DJ, 8.6 mil
Goodman, 7.8 mil
Dawkins, 7.2 mil
Moreno, 5.1 mil
Isn’t it clear that Doom’s value would be somewhere in the neighborhood
of the top guys, 8/9 mil a year, for a six year contract that would put him at 48/54 mil contract, hence I think my 50 mil figure is fair. I know they value players by position and it may be that an OLB might not be worth that high, but in my humble opinion I think Doom is worth every penny of 50 mil for what he represents to the Broncos.
Fletcher’s old record of 16 sacks in a season was back in 1992, Doom last year beat a record that stood for 18 years, no small feat.
Another note of interest, Fletcher holds the all time Bronco record of sacks in a career with 97.5 which took him 11 years. Dumervil has 43 after 4 years. If we sign him for 6 more years he has the potential of adding 64.5 sacks to his total at his current pace which would blow out the record with 107.5 sacks. I know this is all based on so many intangibles, but I thought it was interesting enough to point out.
glad to see people that love conversation, i love doom also, but at a reasonable price, and your righ baylin 12.5 sacks in 1 season is good, but not great. now you saying for others it would be a career year, yes, but to be paid like the highest LB. I rather he be in top 5 in sack for at least 3 years. just saying. 1 great year and 2 good years aint the best. I love Doom and what he means to the organiation and I hope we keep him. I just thinks its funny how easy everyone thinks it is to spend other persons (Bowlen) millions, lol. And your right willis in a MLB. I also think peppers got that contract because Bears were desperate, the question is are we? Personally i say 40 million at 5 years is fair, if he was better at stopping the run and playing in coverage then more. I also think Doom will get better at thisl, hes only been LB for 1 year. He has to be thankful McD made him an OLB if not he wouldnt be getting paid the way he is going to be.
your right on the Fletcher thing, but 97.5 sacks aint nothing to write home about. Many people with over 100 who arent even in the hall of fame. ex kevin greene. If your gonna get paid like the top anything in this league, you better be a HOF at the end of ur career. just saying. well im off to work, laters, and love you bronco nation, even those who disagree with this man’s thoughts.
You say 40 mil for 5 years, that’s 8 mil a year, which is exactly what I’m talking about, so we are in full agreement, believe it or not, LOL.
Oh Oh, the nation thing, somebody will get their feathers ruffled over that, but you’re safe with me, I could care less, LOL.
I also concur with you fellows.. Doom for 7-8 mil a year would put him right there in the top area of the payroll arc but not create a spike. We can only hope that Doom and his agent will be receptable to this figure? Something is holding up the process?? I can’t imagine that Pat wouldn’t want to offer what DJ, Goody and Dawk are getting. So does that mean that Doom is asking way more???
His agent probably is, those dudes are always the ones causing the troubles.
There like attorneys, they suck the life right out of you…
I think they are mostly Lawers in Jerry McGuire disguise.
hahaha..we had the same lawer thought at the same time..ha
Maybe we had the same lawyer, LOL.
dam… Mexico 1-1 South Africa
…
“PAY DOOM”
Its not doom asking for bank its the agent, And Doom’s agent’s agenda must read:
1.Doom set for life.
2. Dooms childrens great grandchildren set for life.
3 My family set for life.
4 My childrens children set for life.
If the agent thinks I got the Nfl sack leader, the best man for the Broncos on and off the field at OLB.
This agent has got to be thinking this is his one and only shot.
I just hope it gets done soon, I’m tired of the “PAY DOOM”
And I think on a good day you all are right but not in his agent’s eye.
Go Broncos!!!
I agree doom needs to be more welll rounded too but liek baylin said, his job is to be a pass rusher, and he does it well. He should be making Jared Allen type money if we wanna be fair. Thats the kind of person he should be compared to. with him, we dont even need any other LBs to rush the QB, just him….cuz he is that amazing lol…. Pay him, but not an arm and a leg, Doom seems reasonable… im sure there will be no issues. The issue is that the patriot way is too under pay or try to squeeze em as much as possible…
To pay Doom 7 or 8 mil. a year sounds good to me. I think Doom would be content with that. And like you all say those agents, their all blood sucking leaches, of course I`m paraphrasing though. I feel that just when camp starts in july is when he signs his new 5 year deal. As for this so called contract he has to sign by Monday, I`m not sure what will come about. I`m sure Doom isn`t to concerned over it.
Guys I stick with my original post of Doom getting 6 years/60 mil,and worth every cent just to get the sacks!!!!!!!!!!!Baylin is right about the fact of the Dline stopping the run,I know it falls on the LB’s to stop the run if the runner gets past the Dline,but c’mon man almost every runner ended up in the secondary,the new Dline should help against the run.Just one man’s opinion that don’t mean a Helluva lot.
Sorry some of my posts go thru and some don’t.
BFE
If anybody wants to read my posts from yesterday,some of them didn’t show up until today,so if you want to go back and read them you can,thanks,and a big thanks to Baylin,rfb1,and weareamr for welcoming me back,it’s good to be back,even if it’s just now and then,until they fix the blog.LOL
Doom has earned his right to be paid top dollar although I think part of the reason as to why his contract negotiations are taking so long is because he said once that he has never and doesn’t want to play for the big money. I think this is why its taking so long. Doom plays for the love of the game, not for the money like everyone else. In my eyes, that’s only one tiny reason why he should get the top money but here you probably have his agent fighting him on that cuz Doom probably doesn’t want a big contract in terms of money which means not much for the agent. Boo hoo. I dunno, who knows what’s really going on but I’m convinced this is part of the reason. Doom’s agent is probably putting up a fight to get a big contract for him so he can get some of it. Sneaky little thing.
If Doom does end up with a big contract in terms of money, it will be huge, especially coming from Bowlen. Respectfully, he pinches those pennies. lol There’s no doubt in my mind that they want Doom to be a Bronco for a very long time, the issue is and always will be the money. Money, money, money, money, money… that’s all everyone ever thinks about… thank heavens we have someone like Doom who sees the light and there’s more to playing pro football than just the money. He’s still here cuz he wants to be, he loves the game. From that alone, he’s got all my respect. But in all honesty, he has earned his right to a big contract. He’s got weaknesses like any other player (hate to break to any big fan of Brady or Peyton Manning but they aren’t perfect… they have weaknesses too!!!) but Doom does one thing like any consistent football player – he forces himself to get better cuz there’s always room for improvement. When he makes mistakes, he learns from them. He’s the top sack leader from last season and he will continue to do so this season – if they want a reason to give him a big contract, there ya go!!
And to continue my little novel here, if he was playing for less than $1 million dollars in the last for years & NEVER complained he wasn’t getting paid enough… that tells me he’s (for the most part) content with his pay. Maybe we all aren’t content with that cuz we think he deserves more now after 4 years but since he never voiced his frustration over not being paid top money cuz he’s the best just goes to show he’s not here for the money…. he’s simply here to play football.
Keep the faith Bronco Country…
GO BRONCOS in 2010!!!!
**lol at my little error of my last paragraph…. should read last 4 years
I thought when I posted that Moreno was the fifth highest paid player on the team last year with 5.1 mil that it would get some reaction, I guess not. As far as I’m concerned you know something is seriously amiss in the NFL payrolls when Moreno makes 10 times more money than Dumervil at 500 thousand a year, that’s utterly absurd, I absolutely loathe the way they pay the top players in the draft every year, a total joke, and the proof is right here in front of our eyes: In 2009, Moreno 5.1 mil, Doom 0.5 mil…
BFE, your posts are like when there is a TV interview from afar with a super long time delay on the sound, they are totally out of whack, LOL, the manual thing is not working so hot but they’re doing their best. Not to worry I keep going backward to find out what you’ve got to say, LMAO…
baylin, yes I am with you, I think rookie contracts are going to be the demise of the league. To much upfront money for unproven players are creating skyrocketing ticket prices and merchandise. We will see this when he top picks get signed this year. In a logical world doom should definitely make more than any rookie.
LMAO…Baylin you know just what to say and when to say it bro.I do agree with you on your 12:13 post.
I thought they were gonna implement a rookie salary cap???
My 4:17 post prob won’t show up until midnight.LOL
WOW!!!!!!!!!Only a 15 minute time delay on my last post.Git-R-Done boys,well it’s way past beer thirty in the East,so I’ll be back later on,or will I ????Blog on bros,I’m off to get my beer goggles on dudes.LOL
BFE
sndvl xxdartsxx@hotmail.com please