Anytime a tree falls down in the middle of practice, it’s safe to say the conditions weren’t exactly favorable.
As Denver experienced gusts of wind from 45 to 70 miles per hour, the Broncos felt the consequences on the football field during Monday’s passing camp practice.
THE GOOD
The wind made the team’s punters look like Hall of Famers. Britton Colquitt and A.J. Trapasso boomed kicks out of their own end zone — with the wind at their backs — that approached the opposite end zone and occasionally bounced out of the back of it.
Matt Prater certainly got a look at some of the worst conditions he could face come gameday. The team dragged out uprights skinnier than the normal posts — think Arena League size — and Prater essentially aimed 10 yards to the right of the posts only to see the ball swoop back left and through the uprights before continuing to sail.
“Hopefully we won’t have a game like this, but at least we got some experience if we do,” Prater said, predicting that he could have made an 80-yard field goal with the wind. “They were sailing pretty good today.”
To that point, Prater kicked several of his attempts through the uprights and all the way over the top of the Dove Valley building.
THE BAD
It’s hard to judge anything the offense did during 7-on-7 drills Monday. While the drill was taking place, a tumble weed rolled across the field, followed quickly by a napkin and a grocery bag — not to mention the tree that fell on the side of one of the fields. Brian Dawkins started to chase down a piece of paper he lost, and Andre’ Goodman took off after it as well before Dawkins told him to let it go. It quickly flew into the players’ parking lot, before later being tracked down by an equipment manager.
Kyle Orton started off 7-on-7s with three straight incompletions. To give you a taste of the conditions, a short pass to the right intended for Lance Ball out of the backfield flew out of bounds once the wind caught it.
Still, with such unfavorable conditions, Eddie Royal said he was impressed with what the quarterbacks were able to do.
“They actually did a good job of throwing in the wind, so I’ve got to give them credit today,” he said.
THE FUNNY
Royal himself struggled with the gusts from time to time.
“I was lining up and the wind was blowing me (offsides),” he laughed. “So if it would’ve been a game I would’ve had a few false start penalties.”
Jamal Williams said it was snowing when he first came to Denver to join the Broncos, so he wasn’t too shocked by the strong winds on Monday.
“Little bit of dirt, bugs flying in my mouth, but it’s good,” he smiled.
Robert Ayers, for one, joked that he tried to use Williams to shield the wind.
“I was trying to find someone to hide behind, but I didn’t have too much luck,” he laughed.
POSITIONING
There’s no such thing as a depth chart during OTAs, but when the team lined up for 11 on 11 drills, the offense consisted of Tyler Polumbus, Seth Olsen, J.D. Walton, Chris Kuper and Zane Beadles (from left to right) along the offensive line, Spencer Larsen at fullback, Knowshon Moreno at running back, Kyle Orton at quarterback, Daniel Graham at tight end and Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd at receiver.
On defense, Le Kevin Smith, Jamal Williams and Jarvis Green were on the line with Robert Ayers, Mario Haggan, D.J. Williams and Baraka Atkins behind them at linebacker. Champ Bailey, Goodman, Dawkins and Renaldo Hill were in the secondary.
QUICK HITS
In a special teams drill, two gunners sprinted downfield to try to pin a returner near the goal line. Players rotated through the drill, and college free agent safety Kyle McCarthy stood out during his repetition. He forced a fumble that he picked up and ran into the end zone, drawing praise from defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale.
During an offense-only drill, Tim Tebow stood in at quarterback and barked out a call, but offensive coordinator Mike McCoy stopped the play before it began to point something out to the rookie.
Marquez Branson continued to get involved in the offense, taking a few snaps at fullback but mostly participating as a pass-catching tight end. During 7-on-7s, he made one of the only catches of the afternoon despite the wind, leaping over a linebacker to haul in a catch. It even drew “ooohs” from some of the media since so many other passes had fallen incomplete.
Tony Carter made his presence known, looking in a Tom Brandstater pass for an interception that he returned for a touchdown, much to the delight of his teammates on defense. David Bruton met him in the end zone for a leaping celebration.
A ball Orton tried to loft downfield for Royal caught the wind and flew directly into the waiting arms of Darcel McBath for an interception. He turned and ran back upfield while the offense ran to stop him, including Tim Tebow, who wasn’t even in on the play.
Check out more pictures from the session below.
Later this afternoon we will have more from Broncos TV, a photo gallery and a top story on the day’s biggest news.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Passing Camp
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Glad to see the Broncos are coming along nicely….too bad our recievers can’t practice because of the foot thing (I believe). Hot topic seems to be starting QB (as it almost always is). Personally I don’t care who it is as long as is the best player. Theres an arguement for each one. Orton has the most experience, Tebow is our first round draft pick and Quinn I believe has some unrealized potential. Who wins is anyones guess. My Ideal scenario woulda been to trade orton for something (since he has the most value, and let the other 3 battle it out. Even if we get rid of orton we would have someone knowledgable of the playbook in Brandstater. Worried about Tebows blind side a bit tho. Orton is clearly the best out of all of them at the moment tho. Its all about what have u done for me lately, and while many might agree orton aint do that much last year, by default and circumstance, he is ahead of the other QBs.
Preseason will help us understand alot. I personally have seen what Orton can do so Im not interested in seeing him play against the first team in preseason. Im more interested in seeing Quinn, Brandstater, and Tebow (in that order) play against the first team in pre season so we can better guage…..Just my two cents tho. Till next time broncos country. TRB Out.
PS: lol BroncosRmyReligion, I hear ya.
I just had a flashback or a deja vu, TRB is back on, right on… I thought he moved to the Dolphins blog, LOL/jk.
I have not been around lately too busy to look at a computer but it is good to know that the team is getting in practice in all conditions and that they are getting along well. I have to throw my support behind Orton for at least one more season i think at this moment he is the best person for the job come the end of training camp that may change. I like all the competition we have going on this should be an interesting year. Is Larsen getting any reps at LB at all or only at FB?
Been away for a while was too busy parting hard but I’m back now, any update on Westbrook? will he be our Kevin Faulk.
NFL Network said last night that Westbrook is gonna make a decision by the end of this week
I agree TRB, with that experiment of letting Quinn and Brandstater (not so sure about Tebow for this year doing this) play against first teams, so we can REALLY know what they have, where they REALLY are in learning the system and avoid a “Simms delusion” again (remember when people wanted Orton out for Simms? When they kept saying that no matter we were 6-0 with Orton, we’d be better with Simms? -yeah, “the wise” Woody Paige included here).
That way we at least could know how good or bad are our backups, or justify the reasons why we traded for Quinn, why we drafted Tebow and why Brandstater is still with us.
I know preseason is used to experiment the new playbook, and the best thing to do is to do it with who’s going to lead the team, but there’s 4 games, and you can experiment with 2 of them, and still gain in experience for your backups with the other 2 (and at the same time avoid a couple of Orton’s “finger” injuries).
SIGN DOOM!
Correction *there are 4 games
Hello gang!
First of all how and the hell can you let Orton go? Trade value? uh…no! So let’s say Quinn or Tebow start. Both don’t have any experience in this system! Even if JMac starts either of them because of the “best player plays” clause, the 2nd string still doesn’t have what Orton has and that’s experience!
All I’m saying is there is huge value in Orton’s experience in this system. Brandstater is out! If he isn’t I’ll be floored.
Secondly, I don’t understand how someone can say “Maybe Tim starts because…he’s a 1st round pick” Look, we all know the stock that a #1 pick brings…However, let’s be realistic…if Tim doesn’t show the experience to jump in as a rookie to start you honestly think he’s going to put him out there simply because he was drafted #!? Come on….use your head!
You can like him or hate him, frankly I don’t care. However, you can not deny JMac knows football. To say he’ll start a player because of his draft spot is insane! There is no doubt that JMac will start the best 11 guys on both sides of the ball because they are the best 11 guys. With that said, I just can’t see us trading Orton. Whether he’s the start or backup his experience is valuable.
This is just my opinion is all….I will on the other hand say there is so much I don’t know that is taking place on that practice field. So I guess is Orton’s production is such that the other 3 QB’s are outperforming him I guess it would make sense….I just don’t think Brandstater is going to outperform Orton in this system. I think Quinn and Tim are safe.
Just my thoughts
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Broncsfalls, the argumeny here is McD is his own man and so far with us he has mostly defied logic, so I’m not going to make the mistake to assume he will do the logical thing anymore, just saying.
argument
I beg to differ. Mcd replaced Weis as OC at new england to become HC at ND. So weis basically implemented the same offense for quinn. So quinn should have a broad understanding of the offense. Not to mention the fact that romeo crennel drafted quinn who used the same offense in cleveland. So quinn is more experienced than ppl think he is. Also brandstater has been in the system for a year as well. Also, florida players slide really easily into this offense. That why the patriot got like 7 players from them this year. So maybe tebow’s transition will be easier than you think.
As far as trade value, orton is obviously has the most. His value is the highest now, say he loses his job to quinn or tebow, then his value will go down significantly at the end of the year.
When McD came into town he inherited a horrible defense and a pretty potent offense and he defied all logic according to the experts when he traded Cutler. When Marshall completed his third 1000 yds receiving season in a row, even so most the experts said it would be a major mistake to let a guy like that go regardless of his issues, McD traded him anyway. When Hillis was such a fan favorite here and everyone was calling for his number, Mcd decided to let him go even so now he has no fullback but wants to go to a two back formation so he has to put Larsen in there, defying logic again. What exactly is so obvious to anyone that Orton fits McD’s mold so well that he will be the starter because it is the logical thing to do? Well, I have a different opinion I guess, I say McD could get trade Orton without giving it a second thought. Just my opinion.
McD could trade Orton…
Good point florio, and I’ll go one further, if we keep Orton as a back up as some suggest, his value would also take a hit.
Good to read Coach McD is a serious supporter of Brandstater at DP. (Paige words – not mine). Like what Tom B. had to say about running the scout team has he had to emulate Tom B. from the Patriots.
Let see what plays out…….
Josh likes versitile guys with many skills. Hillis, FB, RB verses Larson, FB, RB, LB, ST.. it makes a lot of sense to me, but hey, we all think in different ways… jomho
Yeah, Hillis on ST didn’t work out so hot, LOL.
Agreed bay. His worth is the highest its gunna be.
I mean I can imagine it now. He throws a pick and tebow chants start. We have 3 potential starters right now. Orton could lose his job and lose his worth quickly.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
And OC will be the Maestro leading those chants, LOL.
Somehow I think McD will have things playing themselves out quickly rather than slowly is my guess, he didn’t waste anytime naming Orton his starter last year. I don’t think he really wants to enter training camp with the QQ and definitely not pre season. Just my opinion.
Baylin…I hope you’re right,I’d hate to wait 3 more months to find out who the starting QB will be,but knowing McD who knows what he’ll do ????????
I do agree with you guys tho,if we wait and trade Orton we’ll get nothing for him,at least if we trade him now we might get a 2nd or 3rd next year if we’re lucky,besides I don’t see why McD would want to string him along,knowing he’s gonna be gone next year anyway.Like florio said Quinn isn’t a stranger to this system and Brandstater has been here as long as Orton,and Tebow will learn very quickly I think.Just one man’s opinion that don’t mean a Helluva lot.
Well I was gonna respond to broncos fall but Florio and Baylin seem to have taken my words.
Yea Baylin, Gave Dolphins blog a shot, didn’t work out too well. Just a bunch of losers lol….J/K dont even know what their site looks like lol I was actually out of the country for a couple of weeks. Been back for almost a week now. I figured not much was going on but decided to do a quick check in today. Besides Broncos on Facebook give me every update from top stories, to videos to blogs so I can keep up. But havent posted cuz not much is going on and I would hate to get back in the habbit of talking in circles about the same thing lol. But very much still a fan. Couldnt stop if I tried. Good Day Broncos Country….TRB out.
SuperBowl to new york. That is interesting. If New York gets one why cant Denver get one??? i dont get why having “cold weather” conditions at a SB game.. Its football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We played in the 1997 blizzard why during the season why should the SB be any different than the rest of season its FOOOOOOOTTTTTBBBBAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!! seriously. lol
anyways that window yesterday was crazy even here in the springs. It was crazy!! My spartment was literally shaking!!!! crazy
Welcome back TRB…haven’t been posting so much lately myself,been camping with the kids for a few days,trying to kick back and relax by the water,glad to see you back bro.
BFE
“A ball Orton tried to loft downfield for Royal caught the wind and flew directly into the waiting arms of Darcel McBath for an interception. He turned and ran back upfield while the offense ran to stop him, including Tim Tebow, who wasn’t even in on the play.”
Lol i want to go be apart of these but im not sure how to get there =-(
Its also hard to not be a little worried with the season coming up..But when you listen to the coach, and guys like brian dawkins speak, you get a sense of …calmness??? **trying to find the word lol** What i mean is, when i listen to the players talk, they dont just say things they are suppose to say to the media, you can tell they want to progress, learn, win, and get over the mistakes they made. And its good to hear a player feel the same way i do and im sure the rest of us do about the KC game…I have a feeling we will pull away this season and make the play offs…I believe it all depends on Winks defense…I believe the offense will be much more crisp than last year, so no worries there. Plus jamal williams will make a huge upgrade to our defense, so will jarvis green.
I agree Bronco-blaze (to everyone who doesnt like orton this year) I think the only realistic shot we have at the playoffs this year is with Orton, although he isnt the flashiest guy or the most exciting to watch he is simply the best/most experienced we have RIGHT NOW. Tebow will be ready soon but if we really want to get to the playoffs this year it will be with orton “managing” the offense, and the defense holding the opponents to low numbers! I do think this can be a Denver playoff year but it will be tough! I am so ready for kickoff!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!
Thomas, Tebow & Decker bonding as the “got carded”.
(Rookie Card Photos)
http://www.nfl.com/videos/denver-broncos/09000d5d8184fece/The-Bronco-bunch
sorry meant “they”… I’m needing glasses anymore…lol
I saw Jay Cutlers twin brother this afternoon in my backyard, accept he is golden brown and the size of a huge DT. And the reason I say that they are twins is that the are both juvenile. hahahahaha!!!!!
Funny interview, rbf1, specially the “illegible” blond lady reporter ending. Thomas is kind of the shy one, Tebow the easy going guy with the sense of humor and Decker is a bit of a showboat. At least that’s how I read it. Interesting to see if their personalities carry onto the field.
I say start Orton. Knowing the system in year two is gonna help him big time. If he starts to struggle mid season, throw in TEBOW. IMO.
Jammie Kerlew next to sign. Just in on new Blog.
Why does everyone call Orton the “Game Manager”???
The only thing he really “managed” to do was screw up every time he needed to to find an open reciever or run for a first down….
As a matter of opinion, I don’t think the real “Game Manager” Josh McDaniels could run his business effectively with a “Stock Boy” trying to perform the duties of the “Field General”…
So did Tebow just try to tackle him from the sidelines, or what? Seems like he must have had a good time.
Why in the world bring in two first round draft pick QB’s to sit on the bench?
The “QB competition” is a euphemism to “who will start until Tebow is ready”.
There is really only a “temporary” starter competition going on.. As soon as Tebow is game day ready, Orton gets to be on the sideline where most of his passes end up….
I’m glad that Josh seems more than prepared to unyoke his wagon from the lesser tallented QB and let his destiny be shaped by an athlete better equipped to succeed..
ILMSDB!!!!
Agree baylinor- Thomas seems on the shy side. Got a kick out of them teasing her about how long she’s been doing interviews…. “illegible”.
HAHAHA that was great! I like how they all seem to get along so well! I really believe all 3 of them will be big successes!
Yeah great vid,thanks rbf1.
OC…I heard that bro,everybody knows it too,Orton ain’t takin us nowhere.We might as well get Tebone in there and get him game ready NOW!!!!!!!!!!He’s got more talent in his pinky finger than Orton does in his whole body.Bash me if yall want to,the truth is what it is.AND that is one man’s opinion that don’t mean a Helluva lot.
BFE
Not sure what to make of these boards, but I just had a conversation with my brother, another life time Bronco fan. We argued about Tebow and McD. He claims Quinn will start this year, we will be 6-10 and next year Orton is gone, Quinn and Tebow are 1 and 2. McD has two years left before being ousted. Very bleak IMO. I am looking at a 12-4 year this year with Orton leading the way, and a Superbowl win. Yes with Orton at QB. So talking with him, and reading the boards, I am the only one setting myself up for a huge disappointment. But I am ready. To reap the benefits or take the disappointment.
McD is gonna ride Tebow to the Superbowl or ride outta town,he done made his bed now he has to lie in it.I think Mr. B will give him his 2 more years,and if we ain’t playoff contenders,he’ll be gone,but,I think McD can make it all work,IF,he does a little learning along the way too.Orton is not the answer,I’m sorry,I just don’t see it.If Quinn or Tebow can’t show more skill at the QB position than Orton,I’ll eat shi*.haha
as I agree that Orton gives us the best chance to win, I don’t see a superbowl in the cards for us this year! (GOSH I hope I’m wrong!!!) Playoffs I can see but the big one will come in time! I think having a year to learn the system and make the adjustments will truly benefit Tebow and next years draft should help solve some of our D problems! I like Tebow in 2011!
GO BRONCOS!!!!
Orton is about as ill equipped to win a SB with the D and running game we have now ( both below average for the last 10 games they played). To think that because of the draft and off season free agents acquisitions it can all be fixed within a summer to go to the SB is nothing short of a really nice dream, then the season starts and you have to wake up, just saying.