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
Bay…haha, by the way I do not have a subscription. I just went out and bought the magazine but yes, I would definitely cancel the subscription if I had it and I will never buy another one of their books again.
Never have I seen a more hated team in ANY sports franchise in all the world!
The most surprising thing, other than us being in the cellar, is how high they have rated the Chiefs, real close to the Chargers and well ahead of the Raiders not to mention us. Considering how poorly the Chiefs did last year (except for their last game against us, LOL) that tells me they put a premium on how the draft went and think the Chiefs drafted real well, which I do also, and that we didn’t, which I hope they’re wrong. Problem with that way of looking at a team strength is rookies usually don’t contribute much in their first year so I would think their way of evaluating teams is flawed. But they’re not all completely stupid since they have the same exact four teams I posted here yesterday winning each division, Jets, Ravens, Colts and Chargers (unless I’m stupid, LOL).
Another blunder to me is to have the Steelers ahead of the Bengals, the Bengals are a team on the way up with probably the best D in the AFC and now have Boldin and the Steelers are on the way down since they have abandoned the run and have a moron for a QB who won’t be there until late October. Finally Titans way ahead of the Texans doesn’t make much sense either at this point. I didn’t even take a look at the NFC, since the NFC standings don’t mean crap to me until the superbowl. Just my opinion.
In my opinion some sports analysts are in the business just to prove themselves right. They don’t care for the fact that it is a great sport of the great players, the fact that they’re watching future HOF playing the game. They’re just worried about “oh, oh, I said it, I said that this team would do that, or this team would do this, this player is bad I told you..etc.” I watched some of these sports analysts and they’re just crap. Its totally fine to have an opinion but when your opinion is based on sole predjudice towards a team, player, coach, or if you just don’t like the moves the team are making, it makes no sense. If we didn’t have a QB on the roster, sure then the QB spot would be of some concern, or if we didn’t go out and revamp our DL, then it may be a concern. You’ll always have the Devil’s advocate but sometimes they’re just plain stupid.
Ok, exit soap box left. LOL!
Did you guys see Bannan’s cannons in the photo gallery of the Day of Champions. Dude has got some huge arms, they may even be bigger than Sharpe’s.
!!!!!
What’s happening??? I can’t post a thing! It doesn’t even show me the “posting too fast” message.
Oh, there… now it does it, when I lost almost 30 mins writting 3 times.
>(
Correction on my post above, the Ravens got Anquan Boldin, the Bengals got Antonio Bryant.
I think everyone here would love the Broncos to go all the way. I would just like us to get back into form when we were legit competitors even within our division. I’d love to see us get back to winning 10-12 games a season, establishing our franchise again. I think we need to work on some stuff to get there but, winning 10-11 games isn’t that far of a stretch. If we can do that I think that means we’re heading in the right direction to where we want to go.
To me winning 10 would be a tremendous accomplishment and I would be elated, however I don’t see how we could get that many. I think we can win 8 or 9 max with Orton at the helm, 7 or 8 max with Quinn or Tebow, the couple games difference being the experience factor in our system with our players for Orton. So as I have said many times, since it is unlikely we make a run at the playoffs this year (see my chart last page, 8 teams competing for two wild cards with at least 5 of them looking to have legitimately a better shot than we do), why don’t we just go with the future now (Tebow?) and be a step ahead of the ball game next year rather than stick with Orton just for a shot at above mediocrity without playoffs again and start with the future at ground zero next year? That my friends is the million dollar question, I can’t wait to see what McD does about it. Just my opinion.
Both the raiders and the chiefs are gonna each win 3 to 5 games at the most. They are both bottomfeeders.
Agreed, I got them at the bottom 4 of the AFC with Cleveland and Buffalo, playoff irrelevant for certain.
You know it’s a slow day Bronco news wise when all the DP has to report today is that Ron Dayne recoverd 6 rings that had been stolen from him!?!?!?! Whatever… very happy for Dayne, LOL. One was his national championship ring so I guess that one meant something.
We’re all looming around waiting for those awesome words, “The Denver Broncos sign Dumervil to a long-term contract.”
Sorry, not national championship ring, he never got one of these, Rose Bowl rings, he got two of those. BTW, he was kind of the power back that we don’t have now.
Or, even more dramatic, so and so will be the starting QB September 12th at Jacksonville.
We know Doom will be signed, we don’t know who will be our starting QB, at least that’s the way I feel.
Gosh, I can’t believe that these “experts” have the raiders and Chiefs ahead of us. I guess they haven’t seen our D. almost every report that i read about the Broncos said we need to fix our D. What’s to fix??? I think we will have a top ten if not top five Defense this year. Our D line is huge, we have great LB’s and an incredible secondary.
Honestly my only concern is the QB position and how well all these good (but not great–yet) receivers will do. I feel we have a legit shot at winning 9-11 games this year and the playoffs. But for now I don’t mind being the underdog. hehehe…
GO BRONCOS!!!!!
In the Colorado Springs Gazzette this morning is an article on Spencer Larson. Headline says LARSON EMRACES SWITCH TO FULLBACK. He say`s ‘ ” right now I`m an offensive player”. He also say`s “football is football, and making a big hit on a block is the same as making one on a tackle”. He says he is happy to concentrate on one position. It was said that it was an odd site to see Larson catch a pass. In two seasons playing offence he hasn`t touched the ball in a game.
I actually feel that the QB competition is up for grabs. It is a “real” competition this season. C’mon who really thought Simms had a chance? I honestly think that Quinn and Tebow both have a legitimate chance at being the starting QB when the season starts.
Woody Paige and I for one, LOL. Of course after we all saw how inept Simms was we all gave up on him, but last off season I was one of the guys who thought he should of been given a fair chance and I didn’t like that Orton was named the regular season starter at mini camp, which funny enough starts this Friday, but I don’t think we will have a regular season QB starter announcement at mini camp this time around…
I see a lot of games in this schedule that we can win. 1. DET 2. PIT 3. JAC 4. SEA 5.OAK 6. SAN 7. KAN 8. STL 9. KAN 10. ARI 11.OAK 12. HOU. i KNOW WE NORMALLY SPLIT WITH KAN BUT WE ALSO SPLIT WITH SAN SO THAT EVENS OUT. LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE CLOSELY. ALL I’M SAYING IS THE SCHEDULE IS NOT THAT HARD, AND WE ALWAYS SURPRISE SOME OF THOSE TEAMS WE ARE NOT SUPPOSE TO BEAT.
Bay
Im surprised you are so eager to get Tebow on the field so quick. I still think with Orton we could do really good. Year two in the system will really benefit him. Also he has the experience to be a solid starter. I am a Tebow fan but I think we should let him develope and allow Orton another season. Heres a question if Orton starts and we make a run at the playoffs, and he is solid all year what then? let me know what you think bro.
johnhenryson1, you are including pre season games in your schedule, THESE GAMES DON’T COUNT, come on I know you can work on your regular season information a little better.
Broncosfolife88, I am not sold either way, the point I’m trying to make is that McD has a huge decision ahead of him for the reasons I quoted. If I were to play it close to the vest for better results up front, I go with Orton, if I want to step out of the box to get to the top long term in quicker fashion I don’t go Orton, do I go Tebow? probably not, do I go Quinn? maybe if he does know the system as well as it is claimed he does and the belief that he was bad in Cleveland was because he had no supporting cast is true. At least if we go Quinn and he is as inconsitent as he was in Cleveland, we would have one less guy in the equasion. Hence the QQ (quarteback quagmire), we have three QB’s but we don’t have one who sticks out to be the man, which is mainly why nobody outside of the Broncos really believes in us and I can’t blame them, we are like the wagon loaded train with no locomotive to take us anywhere. It may sound like a good situation to be in, but I don’t buy it, the longer it goes on, the less of a chance we have to get an idendity, we are like the no name QB team and that’s not good. McD has his hands full and I hope whatever he does is the right choice, from where I stand, with how little I know, Orton is not the solution long term nor is it an exciting thought to have to watch his kind of football once again, Tebow is not the solution short term, and I sure would like to know if Quinn could be the solution now and maybe give us more flexibility with his physical abilities than Orton gives us when plays break down. With that said, maybe McD will start Quinn this year… Only McD knows.
And to answer your question, regardless how good Orton is this year, he is still going to play behind Tebow at one point, that is if McD is still here, no way McD invested so much in Tebow to let him sit behind anybody else for long. In McD ‘s mind Tebow is the only one who has all the intangibles to go all the way, listen to McD talk of him and you’ll get it, Tebow is his man, all the others are temporary fixes is all.
Understood. I just think Orton is underrated. Think of Big Ben (no not comparing the two, specially sicne Ben has corrupted the number seven he wears in honor of Elway) in that first Super Bowl he won he was told not to lose the game. That was Orton last year, McD told him go out there and dont lose the game for us, this year McD can tell him go out there and win the game for us. In a sense this season Orton can be unleashed. Not to mention McD is a QB proffessor of Science. Orton had his best statistical year, and that was playing to not lose the game, what happens when he is told to win the game. I think he has what it takes. I think he could lead us to the playoffs. I know the future is Tebow but I believe we have a better shot with Orton this year. Cant say about Quinn though havent seen him on the field in our Orange and Blue.
Also what are your thoughts on the defense?
My brother pointed that out before the draft. He was watching McD talk about Tim and called and said we were getting Tebow. He said McD had the look on his face he used to geet when he talked about Brady in New England. I see it too, McD lights up when talking about Tebow, cant wait and at the same time can wait to see him on the field, ah the Quarterback Quagmire.
I hear you comparing Orton to Big Ben, major difference is, when the going gets tough Big Ben gets going and when the going gets tough Orton folds, no way to compare both guys’ intangibles, Ben will make plays out of nothing, Orton will make nothing out of tough positions, just saying.
D excites me way more than the O, as you probably know I was elated when we rebuilt the D line since that’s what I wanted the most, I think we will be fine there and also in the secondary, the only area of concern for me on the D is the ILB’s, major contributors to stopping the run, we need a huge improvement there from last year and on paper I just don’t see it, hopefully whatever combo they use will be successful. I was for drafting McClain, but like TRB says at least we’ll get to watch him twice a year with the Raiders, LOL.
Ya I agree with the new line and the younger players who still have experience to help them out we should be good. The secondary looks good too. But like you said the linebackers are a concern. And I was ticked that Mclain went to Oakland both me and a chiefs friend wanted him. Oh well the Raiders wont know how to use him anyway.
Cant wait for the season.
DEFENSE WINS CAMPIONSHIPS GO BRONCOS A NEW ERA IN 2010
Good chatting with you.
bay…
I would like to respectfully disagree…we were behind by quite a number of points in both the Cowboys and Pats game and we came back and won!! We also were behind quite a bit in the Colts and Eagles game and about came back and won!!!
You have to look at it this way! Look at Orton’s numbers in Chicago and look at his FIRST game here. He had career breaking numbers here and better yet did WAY better than Cutler did in Chicago. You have to understand how little time he had to learn this very complex system of McDaniel’s. He’s been in it now a whole year! I think that it is at least 80% that Orton has at least 4000 yards this year. Of course only time will tell but look at what he did at Chicago and look at his record while he was there. He won for the Bears and he can definitely win for us. Granted some people, like me, don’t like his non-flashy style of play, but you have to listen to McD’s speeches hes already said this off season about how he’s going to open up the deep field!!!
Bottom line, I personally think that Orton is going to absolutely SURPRISE everyone this year. Through the first 6 games last year, he was rated a top 10 QB.
Our problems, the most, were red zone efficiency and our defense. They have already addressed both of those issues majorly already in OTA’S and will continue to address them throughout training camp. I also think that Thomas and Deck are going to have huge rookie seasons this year. One of them could even possibly have a 1000 yard 100 reception season. Hard to come by but not entirely impossible!!!
I LOVE ME SOME BRONCOS COUNTRY!!!
I’m excited about Demaryius and Knowshon.. I think they will have a productive season.. and defensively i think we got good lineman.. with these additions the run defense will get better.. and we had a good pass defense last year, i hope we continue to do so this year.. just like baylin says D excites me way more than the O =)
Congrats to Perish Cox on officially becoming a Bronco. Wish him the best with us. I see him and hopefully phonzy as the future DBs of denver. Cox will be amazing as long as he keeps his antics to a minimum. count on it. TRB out.
Yeah TRB I heard that bro,Cox will definitely make us better,can’t wait to see him on the field.Phonzy,Cox,Thompson,McBath,and Bruton…sounds like a damn good secondary for the future of the Broncos.WE are set at the DB position for a loooooong time my Bronco Brother.
BFE
“PAY DOOM”
Please one of you “ace” information finders please give the contract info on the cox signing please.
My thought is Cox will be the first off the bench and by years end starting across from Champ sooner than you think. I expect Cox to take it to the house on special teams also this year. Great signing.
go Broncos!!!
“The Denver Broncos have signed fifth-round rookie cornerback Perrish Cox to a four-year contract, the team announced.
It’s believed that Cox received a signing bonus of roughly $200,000 under the NFL slotting system.
That would give the former Oklahoma State standout a total base value of nearly $2 million with the standard base salaries of $320,000, $405,000, $490,000 and $575,000.
That doesn’t include the higher figure Cox could make if he triggers a fourth-year escalator clause.
Selected 137th overall, Cox was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back.
The 6-foot, 195-pounder earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors as a senior after leading the country in pass breakups with 19 and posteda career-high four interceptions for the Cowboys.
He also gained All-America notice for his ability on special teams, where he scored six return touchdowns on four kickoffs and two punts and finished with the third-most kickoff return yards (2,804) in NCAA history.
Cox’s draft stock plummeted after being suspended from a bowl game for a pair of curfew violations.”
There ya go weareamr
btw, weareamr
I actually dont see him off the bench even tho I would love that. Some could argue that goodman outshined even champ last year. I say he kept up with champ. And keeping up with champ is no easy fit. So not unless goodman slows down drastically this year, Cox won’t get the go ahead. But the kid is amazing in terms of pass break ups and play making capabilities on defense and special teams. I see him spending most of his time on KR duty with J.J arrington. Sydquan and Kirlew on special teams with bruton, mcbath and barrett. I do hope McBath gets more playing time tho, kid is awesome.
sidenote, if we don’t go far this year, which is champs last contract year… we can say bye bye to champ cuz he is to old for rebuilding which will mean, cox and phonzy maybe starting sooner than expected….
Great to see we signed another rookie. And not to take away from that good news… for the love of all that is pure & holy SIGN THE DOOMINATOR!!!! I know he’ll get signed but they’ve taken long enough. I’m turning into little Ms. Impatient over here. lol I’m seeing 3 rookies getting signed (again great news) but dude… this is Doom we’re talking about. Pay the man!! Sorry for the rant, had to get it out of my system.
As for THE QB situation of the year… Orton is our starter – for now. Come training camp he will have to earn the right to keep that #1 spot. He did a fine job last year considering all that was against him but he’s got serious competition this year. This will be more than a competition… this will be a QB battle. Tebow is only a rookie but he will be our future. Right now I see the starting position going to either Orton or Quinn based only on the fact that they have the NFL experience that Tebow doesn’t… yet. But expect Tebow to put up a fight. This is what I love about him (among other things, lol) – he takes the game serious yet at the same time he loves it. He plays football for the love of the game, it isn’t a job to him. He loves it and it shows. He’s a passionate player & he no doubt wears his heart on his sleeve when he does play. That’s my take on our QB battle this year. Oh the drama! lol
Despite the drama, we all can expect great things from Denver this year. We will shock the world. Now I’m all excited & the fun is 3 months away. ahhhh!!
Keep the faith Bronco Country…
GO BRONCOS in 2010!!!!
hey bronco nation!!
i really want to buy a defensive player jersey so i can support the broncos in my hometown when i go out on sundays to watch the boncos destroy the teams on are schedule (hopefully) lol.. so i wanted to know from no other then the true bronco fans what defensive player should i get?? besides dooms!! i love the guy and every thing but i want some one different..
@07elway…Yeah Orton is our starter-for now.Hopefully Tebow or Quinn beats him out before the regular season starts,don’t want no dink and dunk ’11,not bashing Orton,but for God sake,Tebow and Quinn’s gotta have more talent than Orton,that’s just one man’s opinion that don’t mean a Helluva lot.
BFE
broncoholic19:
If you are looking for someone besides Doom (which I think would be the best one, personally
) I would get DJ Williams, Champ Bailey, or, if you believe in him, which I do, Robert Ayers. Those are guys that would be good to be.
Broncoholic19, how about CHAMP. His game says it all. Sign Doom!!!
Thank you, DoomervilRocks92 and strandoftds!!
Some good ideas!!
No comment- Larsen FB
No comment- Orton starts
No comment- Fire McD
I will comment on SIGN DOOM.
Ok, thats all the comments I have for the evening
GO BRONCOS 2K10!!!!!!!!!!
broncoholic,
I would go with Bannan. At least he’s guaranteed to be in Blue and Orange for the next five years!
This guy has the Chargers at the top of his NFL rankings.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d818768f4&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true
And he’s considered an expert. I could do that job.
broncoholic19:
Below is a link where you can get STITCHED jerseys. Limited selection
but I can say that the quality is great!
Now with that said PLEASE for the love of all that is pure & holy (07elway way of saying that) PLEASE drop the broncos nation thing… tooo
raider-ish. This is and ALWAYS will be BRONCOS COUNTRY!!!
Now, just so you know there is no hard feelings and you find your self at some home games… AND are of legal drinking age and like to party a little Let me know, We have a 32′ RV that is just for tail-gatin
http://jerseysrus.net/denver-broncos.html
That offer is extended to ALL of BRONCOS COUNTRY including the out-of-towners.
Im on here about every day reading, dont post alot because I dont have anything to add that hasn’t already been said drop a line and I will get you my contact info.
On a side note if anyone is going to go to fan fair I’m thinking about having a tail gate party before hand, but want to know if anybody would be interested.
This is BRONCOS COUNTRY!!!
Back to the Orton thing, everyone knows Tebow is the future and everyone is happy with that, but NO ONE knows how he will fair in this league quite yet. If he fires 6-8 TD’s in his 4-6 quarters in preseason I’d trust him as a starter, but to all the people on here thinking he will just walk in and take 7-10 wins, its kinda out there! I’m not saying he couldn’t do that but to expect it is putting a little too much pressure on him. What if Tebow comes in his first year and can only put up 5 wins max? My question is, could that hurt his psyche and possibly his career? I wish the best for him and want him to take us to the superbowl someday, but could starting Tebow to early hurt his development? I wanna hear what you think!
GO BRONCOS!!!
I sit corrected, but i still see more than 9 wins 1. JAC 2. SEA 3. N.Y. 4. OAK 5. S.F. 6. K.C. 7. SAN 8. STL 9. ARI 10. OAK 11. HOU AND THATS SPLITTING WITH SAN & KAN. I THINK THEY WILL SWEEP SAN THIS YEAR. NOT TO MENTION THE 2 0R 3 THEY STEAL EVERY YEAR. I THINK THEY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR FOR SURE.
Yovi, the thing about starting Tebow too early could hurt his career if he has a terrible year and only wins 5 games really doesn’t apply to a guy with the strong positive outlook type of personality that the young man has. I would agree that it would be a factor for most rookie QB’s, but not Tebow, whatever is dished at him , he would get up from it and recover as if nothing had happened, specially because of his strong faith, he is a strong guy mentally, he could take whatever is my opinion. Definitely not good enough an argument not to start him if McD thinks he is ready.
johnhenry, the stealing games goes both ways, every year we steal a couple and every year other teams steal a couple from us, like at Washington and against KC and Oakland at home last year.
I don’t think anyone here will enjoy seeing what Klis has to say today about how Dumervil has been recently treated, here it is:
In their latest round of contract negotiations, the Broncos threw a cut block at NFL sack king Elvis Dumervil.
According to an NFL Players Associations source, the Broncos recently sent a letter to Dumervil stating that if he didn’t sign his restricted free-agent tender of $3.168 million by Monday, the team on Tuesday would exercise its right to reduce his 2010 salary to 10 percent above what he made the previous season.
Dumervil made roughly $573,000 last season, which would put his 2010 salary at about $630,000 if he doesn’t sign his tender. Would the Broncos really play hardball with their Pro Bowl linebacker by paying him a relative pittance?
The union source said New England’s Logan Mankins and San Diego’s Vincent Jackson along with Marcus McNeill were among unsigned restricted free agents who received similar letters. Although such letters are not uncommon, and Dumervil had intended to sign his tender this weekend, the Broncos declined to make the goodwill, negotiating gesture of not reducing his salary if he opted not to sign.