Here we are back in the press box at INVESCO Field at Mile High. It certainly feels like the season is almost here — and that the offseason flew by.
Fans have been pouring into the stadium since the gates opened at about 4:45, and Matt Prater, Britton Colquitt and Lonie Paxton are already on the field warming up for the night practice.
At the end of session, Floyd Little’s acceptance speech from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony will be broadcast on the giant Thundervision screen. In the meantime, the players will don No. 44 decals, one of which is featured in the corner of the picture at the top of this blog.
We’ll have a live blog of the practice, so starting at about 6 p.m. MDT, keep refreshing this page for updates.
5:48 p.m. MDT: Head Coach Josh McDaniels just entered the field to a loud ovation.
5:52 p.m. MDT: All three quarterbacks have made their way onto the field, and the crowd got excited once again as their faces were shown on the Thundervision screen.
Speaking of thunder, there is a lightning warning for the area — hopefully it stays away and practice goes forward without any delays. We’ll keep you updated.
More and more players have made their way onto the field — mostly on the offensive side of the ball. The defense is apparently going for a fashionably late entrance.
5:57 p.m. MDT: Looks like rookie haircuts have made their way to Dove Valley. Riar Geer was just on the big screen without his helmet on — he’s got some sleek zebra stripes. Oh, there’s another on the screen — Zane Beadles is missing a nice stripe down the middle of his head.
6:01 p.m. MDT: Robert Ayers elicited a loud cheer from the crowd as he made his way onto the field. The team has started special teams drills, with Perrish Cox, Cassius Vaughn and Alphonso Smith splitting return duties.
6:11 p.m. MDT: Yep, as the players have their helmets off for a stretching session, you can see there are plenty of rookie haircuts. Tim Tebow might have it worst — he’s got a Friar Tuck thing going, with the top of his head shaved but the rest left intact. The front of Eric Olsen’s head is shaved, but his long hair is still there in the back. Kind of like a really intense version of a mullet.
6:17 p.m. MDT: Kyle Orton and quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels are throwing deep passes to linebackers and defensive backs, while Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow are passing to wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.
6:21 p.m. MDT: The attendance has been announced as more than 14,000 fans — a record crowd for a Broncos practice.
6:25 p.m. MDT: With Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, LenDale White and Spencer Larsen sitting out tonight’s practice, there are just three running backs working with position coach Eric Studesville. Lance Ball, Bruce Hall and Toney Baker will get plenty of reps this evening.
6:37 p.m. MDT: 7-on-7 has started. Kyle Orton is in the shotgun, and finds a diving Brandon Lloyd in the middle of the field in front of a fast-closing Champ Bailey. Now Brady Quinn is in and immediately finds Marquez Branson for a completion. Now it’s Tim Tebow’s turn — looks like each quarterback is taking one rep at a time. The rookie just found Brandon Stokley for a completion after firing a pass between the hands of Alphonso Smith who missed the interception.
6:40 p.m. MDT: Quinn is back in for his second rep, and he squeezed the ball in tight coverage past Nick Greisen for a completion to Eddie Royal. The quarterbacks have been on top of things to start the drill. Kyle Orton is back under center with Matthew Willis, Royal and Demaryius Thomas out wide. He went for a quick dump-off to Daniel Graham.
6:42 p.m. MDT: There still hasn’t been an incompletion in the first set of 7-on-7s, as Orton just found Jabar Gaffney for a reception, and followed it up with a deep completion to Graham.
6:44 p.m. MDT: Tebow just threw the first incompletion of the drill, looking toward Lance Ball. Now it’s Quinn’s turn, and he connected with Royal, who sprinted between defenders after the catch for a touchdown.
6:46 p.m. MDT: Tebow just lofted a pass to Demaryius Thomas in the back of the end zone, but referees signaled that the rookie receiver didn’t get both feet in bounds for the touchdown. Orton followed that up by squeezing a pass between defenders for another touchdown to Royal.
6:54 p.m. MDT: The team just started a live goal-line drill. Marquez Branson is in at fullback, and the handoff goes to Lance Ball, who is stopped at the 1-yard line. On second down, Ball is stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Third down will bring another running play, as no receivers are out wide. The defense holds yet again, so the offense’s drive comes to an end.
6:56 p.m. MDT: Brady Quinn is now in the game, and he hands off to Toney Baker, who is stopped short of the goal line. Eric Decker limps toward the sideline after the play.
The crowd at INVESCO is doing the wave.
7:00 p.m. MDT: There are now more than 20,000 fans at INVESCO Field at Mile High, with more filing in as practice continues.
7:02 p.m. MDT: The offense and defense are now facing off in 11-on-11 situations. Orton connected with Brandon Lloyd’s back shoulder for a long completion on first down, but the next play is second-and-5, just so the teams can get a feel for what plays would be called in different situations. Next up is a third-and-1 play, which is a first-down run by Ball before the back was stopped by Brian Dawkins.
7:04 p.m. MDT: Now it’s Tebow’s turn under center, and the first play of the drive is a designed quarterback run. In fact, that was the only play of the drive, as Orton jogs back into the huddle.
7:08 p.m. MDT: Quinn’s first play in the huddle was a fake handoff to Bruce Hall, followed by a deep bomb to Lloyd, who made a leaping catch before launching the ball all the way back to the line of scrimmage in celebration. It earned the receiver a high five from Orton on the sideline.
7:21 p.m. MDT: Baker just took a handoff from Tebow for a big rush down to the 10-yard line. The following play was a deep bomb from the rookie down the sideline to Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown, bringing the entire offense sprinting to the end zone for a celebratory huddle.
7:26 p.m. MDT: As practice continues, Floyd Little’s enshrinement speech is about to begin.
7:34 p.m. MDT: Robert Ayers just battled past his blocker into the backfield for a sack. Well, a hypothetical sack, at least. No one is hitting the quarterback, of course.
7:40 p.m. MDT: Practice is about to come to an end, and the offense just practiced a Hail Mary situation — and Orton completed the bomb to Lloyd in the end zone. In real time, Floyd Little just finished his enshrinement speech. It will be played on the big screen at the conclusion of practice.
I’m headed down to the field for interviews. Look for a top story on the day’s events in a little while.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
OK, this injury bug is getting absolutely ridiculous now! Both Eric Decker and Demaryius thomas were injured Saturday night during practice!? What’s next? Pat Bowlen falling out of the owner’s box and into the crowd during a game? The Broncos could seriously use a break right about now!
I don’t like the finger pointing with these injuries. Speculation leads to false rumors. Once again injuries happen, I don’t think the teammates are taking cheap shots at each other or lack the proper strength to deal with full on contact. If you follow the offseason blogs you see the stuff they do for conditioning and it’s very intense.
Wearing down last season is simple in my eyes. We lost the running game (Moreno hit his wall) which resulted in use relying on the pass. Aka we got dominated in time of possession and opponents were able to wear our D down with ease. Also doesn’t help the circus we had with Marshall and Scheffler towards the end of the season causing unecessary mental fatigue.
wow, Tebow sure throws a nice ball! I wanna get in on this injury talk haha! I don’t think its bad luck, some of it might be but it seems like only KEY players are going down, could this be from practice being too demanding? whatever it is I hope it stops, because this is the biggest injury bug I think I’ve seen!
Just a FYI Demaryius injured his ankle coming down after catching a TD pass..**which was 1 of 2 amazing td catches** It wasn’t any type of hit…he jumped and came down weird on it.
Lindsay Jones reporting about the QB’s last night:
Though Kyle Orton remains the clear No. 1 quarterback, McDaniels evenly divvied up the work among Orton, Brady Quinn and Tebow, allowing each quarterback the chance to show off for the largest crowd ever to watch a Broncos practice.
Orton’s performance at Saturday’s open practice could not have been more different from what it was at the open session at Invesco a year ago. Then, he threw multiple interceptions and was booed. Loudly.
Saturday, Orton was composed and confident, and many of his throws were impressive, including touchdown passes to Jabar Gaffney and Eddie Royal. But that should be no surprise to anyone who has watched the first week of camp and has seen Orton further distance himself from Quinn and Tebow.
I think Orton being the starter come September is pretty much a fait accompli now. Entering next Sunday’s pre season, he will get to play all the early part of games, except game 4 maybe, so Quinn and Tebow will have no shot at catching him since they will be doing all their work with players other than the ones. Injury to Orton in my opinion is the only thing that could change the starting order, and it obviously is a distinct possibility this season….
Dave Krieger and his thoughts on Ayers:
Early in Saturday evening’s public practice at Invesco Field, Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton dropped back to pass on third-and-4 from his 28.
Second-year linebacker Robert Ayers steamed around left tackle D’Anthony Batiste, reached Orton and pulled up. If he’d had a lawn chair, he would have had time to set it up, have a seat and possibly pour himself a beverage.
Ignoring this unexpected spectator, Orton found Jabar Gaffney on a crossing pattern in front of safety Renaldo Hill for a first down. The crowd of more than 20,000 cheered.
A few moments before, on a goal-line series from the 1 1/2-yard line, the Broncos tried each of their available backs, running behind tight ends lined up as fullbacks. On five running plays to Lance Ball (two), Bruce Hall (two) and Toney Baker (one), none of them sniffed the goal line. Each time I looked at the fallen back to figure out which one it was, Ayers seemed to be standing over him.
When I mentioned to coach Josh McDaniels afterward that it looked as if the former first-round draft pick from Tennessee would have had a couple of sacks if they were permitted, he nodded.
“And he dominated the entire goal-line period,” McDan- iels said. “He’s a totally different player.
All this tells me three things: First and foremost, Ayers might still become the force that I always saw in him when he was the only player I predicted we would pick in the draft correctly, with our second pick.
Second, If these practices were played without the QB’s wearing orange because they are not to take hits, the overall picture for all the TD’s in TC would be drastically different, so come pre season I won’t expect quite the same fireworks since they get rid of the orange and the QB’s become fair game. Third and very disappointing, the O can still not get one yard at the goal line in multiple tries and it’s a sense of deja vu I could care less to have. 5 plays from the 1 yd line with three different backs and none of them could get in!?!?!?! So much for the great expectations of our back up RB’s (Baker, Hall and Ball), thank God we brought in LenDale, but that won’t be until the 5th game of the regular season, unfortunately for the first 4 games even if we have Moreno and Bucky healthy, we already know that those two could also not get that elusive yard if their life depended on it. This set of failed runs at the goal line brings strange memories back in my head, when we got to the Giants one yd line in the 86 superbowl only to lose like 5 yards in the following 4 plays and turned the ball over on downs, it was the turning point of the game, still sick to my stomach about that 25 years later…
Today one practice scheduled, 2:30- 4:30pm.
BTW, about the Tebow haircut, it’s a very common hair style for monks, so it fits Tebow to a tee in my opinion, he looks the part sort of speak. The football Monk.
Yes, Robert Ayers!!!! BLOW SOMEONE UP FOR THE ORANGE CRUSHER!!!!!
Don’t hurt anybody on our team though…lol, save it for the Jags!!
I am super stoked to hear about Ayers doing well…
Something positive in a cloud of question marks..
I LOVE ME SOME DENVER BRONCOS!!!!
Was Ayers used in the 34 OLB or the 43 DE last night?
Can someone tell me what defensive allignment was used in practice yesterday?
Maybe it says more about the lack of tallent at LT than it does about the ability of the OLB… Maybe a setup to make us believe that we can still dominate without the Doominator…?
ILMSDB!!!
Legwold just reporting;
The Broncos canceled their Sunday afternoon practice, which had been scheduled to go from 1:15 to 3:15 at their Dove Valley complex. The next opportunity for fans to view practice will be Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The team was not scheduled to practice on Monday.
Do you think McD is worried? Excuse the sarcasm, but maybe the couple days off will give him time to sit down and evaluate the reasons for the rash of injuries if there are any other than bad luck and take correcting actions, something he sorely needs to do as I mentioned last night, at least he would sleep better for just looking into thoroughly rather than just brushing it off to bad luck. I hear folks who say every team is having injuries, but it is reported that Denver has by far suffered the most. Houston, we may have a problem, a double check on everything is a necessity. Just my opinion.
here is what Kiz of the post says about the injuries
Kiz: Injuries are a bummer, plain and simple. Placing blame for the aches and pains? That’s tougher. I would tend to point a finger at wear and tear from the violence we crave as fans rather than lack of proper stretching at Dove Valley.
One thing I find interesting is McD is recently saying they haven’t changed anything from last year regarding their physical preparation in the off season when asked about the rash of injuries, but I clearly remember him saying just a few weeks ago that in order to be competitive at year end to avoid recent year end collapses, they have changed some of their preparation and overall approach to this off season, or something to that effect. So, which is it?
All the local reporters need access to Dove Valley and to the coaches and players to make a living, so they have to maintain a good relationship with them, hence they won’t get into discussions like these, that’s where I come in, LOL.
I know what we should do.
Fire McD- cause hes responsible for all of this
Fire Xanders- for not getting guys that dont get hurt
Fire Greek and Tuten- no explanation needed
Fire all the assistant coaches- because they listen to the coach
Make Bowden Sell the team- cuz he allowed all of these to be hired
(SARCASM< SARCASM< SARCASM)
Football is a tough sport and stuff happens. Some of the injuries are freak accidents that dont need blame. Maybe we should all write Roger Goodell and ask him to make the game flag football. he listens to the fans so maybe injuries will not be part of the game anymore.
Hey Baylin I really do respect your football thoughts. So lets just agree to disagree on this point, and not have another recurring talk about the same old thing.
The league has gone overboard making the game safer for years, it would be nice to see some results. At least we don’t have players like Tatum purposely decapitating others. I don’t mind injuries when they count, having them in the off season is harder to take. Heck, I’ve had so many injuries over the years playing sports, I broke 10 bones among many other things, maybe that’s why I’m so particular about injuries, don’t like them, it’s in my blood, I’ll always look for a way to avert them, no reason to decapitate me for it, LOL.
Fine with me, but I will still talk about it if I feel the necessity, just don’t reply. Everything is cool, man, lately you have always been here first reporting Bronco news and I really appreciate it.
Hey Baylin you should fire your trainer, LOL. I just hope you dont train yourself, LOL.
Well bay, they say the Decker injury is a sprain, and that he had symptoms of a high ankle sprain before the injury. According to Josina Anderson tweets.
Thanks bay, yeah Ive had more time on my hands recently.
Ouch, high ankle sprains are slow to heal, if he does have one now.
Thing is both Decker and Thomas are the ones who missed most of the off season activities with the recovery on their foot injuries, so neither of them can afford to miss any more time if they are to contribute this year.
You know Bay makes me think they could have been rushed for the same reason you said in your last statement
“Thing is both Decker and Thomas are the ones who missed most of the off season activities with the recovery on their foot injuries, so neither of them can afford to miss any more time if they are to contribute this year.”
Maybe they figured take the risk if not they cant help us this year anyway, if they miss TC.
im out for a while, catch you on the rebound buddy
Yeah, there is no doubt that the rushing them back to play is the first thing that entered my mind when I heard they both had injuries on the same foot injury they were recovering from. McD says this is not a rebuilding year, so yeah it might have something to do with getting them out there as soon as possible to have a better shot at winning right now. With my view that this is really a re-building year, those decisions could of been averted, oh well, McD has to win games and now for Mr. Bowlen, he is the one with all the pressure, let’s face it, it must be overwhelming for this young coach at times.
Who’s Bowden?????
I watched the Thomas injury. He flew 20 feet in the air to snag a sick TD. There were two DB’s right on top of him. So when he landed he came down funny in the jungle of legs. It looked to me like a minor ankle strain. ( but I’m no doc) now ive seen some grusome ankle sprains were the guy is runinng and his cleat gets stuck and gets twisted around in a tackle.
DmT’s looked nothing like that. So I’m hoping he will be back before the bengals game.
Posting to read comments
Okay I guess it was a foot. I could swear it looked like an ankle. But it makes sense since he injured his foot in college
It still didn’t look that bad though. I mean he walked off the field under his own power.
sorry for mispell on Bowlen, LOL
heres more info on Decker
Fox 31s Josina Anderson reports that Broncos WR Eric Decker suffered a left foot sprain, not left ankle sprain like previously speculated.
Anderson also reports that a pre-MRI detected evidence of a previously existing high ankle sprain. In short, when Decker went down yesterday doctors found both a pre-existing high ankle sprain in addition to a left foot sprain. What does this all mean? If the MRI confirms aggravation of Decker’s previous Lisfranc fracture he’ll be looking at missing extended time. Any way you cut it things don’t look good for Decker.
Source: FOX31 Denver
I went to the mile high scrimmage and Tebow looked sharp. He lit up the field, no doubt. If your a Bronco fan and your not to sure about Tim Tebow, your gonna be in for a big surprise.
Thanks florio and KFS for the info, sure sounds like Decker has got the worse of it.
I just hope Bay Bay and Decker come back soon and heal fast.
Well lets hope for a very safe and injury free day!!
Posting to view comments, this needs to be fixed.
First off…hope everyone had a great summer Ive enjoyed mine…the hottest on record here in the Garden State lol…Wow lots of injuries to start camp…Doom gonna hurt bad..Now Decker..gonna be tough this yr but im hopeful…..what do u guys think bout bringing in white?? maybe he will be able to compliment moreno….whenever he gets back healthy…congrats to Mr Little..to long comin but im glad it finally came
Injuries suck.
Tebow looks a lot like the mascot for the San Diego Padres.
Does anyone know how to change the password? please and thanks.
go Broncos!!!
well pre-season starts today. Means we are almost close to starting the season.
Hey guys, well I found some good news and figured that I would try to brighten everyones day a little bit. Some news came in on the NFL.com website saying that Thomas was diagnosed and that he is okay! They said that it is nothing at all long term! So our bay bay is just fine!! Omg, is this actually good news on an injury! Wow, hopefully this becomes a trend. I hope Decker heals up really fast though…I really want to see what him and Thomas can really do on the field. Especially Thomas, apparently he has been killing it so far and I am glad that him and all our other guys get some MUCH needed rest today! Hopefully they spend it wisely and on Monday!
I love me some Broncos Country!!
Good news, thanks BF30.
Go Broncos!!!
Here you go Bay,
some ammo for your gun
Broncos should explore their conditioning, training techniques
Posted by Mike Florio on August 8, 2010 5:31 PM ET
Today’s AFC West training camp one-liners included a link to a mailbag item from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post regarding the sudden rash of injuries for the Broncos. Kiszla generally attributed the ongoing Dove Valley Massacre to the overall level of violence in the sport, pointing out that it’s hard to place specific blame on any person or thing or circumstance for an uptick in injuries.
Still, we think that any team that experiences more than a random cluster of injuries should at least explore whether there’s an issue with the conditioning or training practices. We’ve previously made that point regarding the Seahawks, who struggled in 2009 and 2010 through a dizzying array of strains and sprains and tweaks and tears en route to something below mediocrity and above the Lions and the Rams.
There’s a good chance that it’s simply bad luck. Either way, football coaches who are obsessed with having as much information as possible rightfully should want to know as much as they can about why their guys are dropping like road apples in a five-mile parade.
posting too see comments
It sounds like he just read my posts, it’s nearly identical, glad to see I’m not the only crazy on the block, thanks for posting that KFS, that was big of you.
No problem Bay. Never said you crazy, I kind of agree with you. I just dont know who to blame 100%. If I did I would want their heads also.
I CANT WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO START … PRAYING FOR THE BEST SEASON.
60 MINUTES OF FOOTBALL GO BRONCOS!!!
Broncos OLB Elvis Dumervil will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair his torn pectoral muscle.
Multiple doctors confirmed Dumervil would need surgery, which figures to end his season. Both Dumervil’s pectoral muscle and pectoral tendon were injured during a 1-on-1 practice drill last week. The club will decide whether Dumervil should be placed immediately on I.R. after he goes under the knife.
Source: Denver Post
so im guessing he wont be back for the latter part of the year
That would be no big surprise, the recovery for his injury had always been set at 4 to 6 months and why would you take a chance on bringing your new 60 plus million dollar man 3 months into the season at best and risk further damage for bringing him back too soon. He needs to recover fully and take the season off to do that.