Despite being labeled as a veteran leader among the receivers by fellow wideout Brandon Stokley, in some ways Eric Decker and this year’s rookie class have a lot in common this offseason.
Like this year’s rookies, Decker is going through his first typical NFL offseason.
After he was drafted in 2010, Decker spent his offseason recovering from a foot injury and wasn’t able to participate in OTAs. Last season, there were no OTAs due to the lockout.
Now, Decker is enjoying being out on the field with his teammates working to build on his breakout 2011 campaign.
“Personally it’s been great,” Decker said. “Just the fact of having time to work your craft, to get in the weight room and focus on certain things that make you more explosive that can help you on the football field. Also just being able to catch balls every day, run routes, go against the defense, work on your releases and work on the top of your cuts. It just makes it so much easier when training camp rolls around in August.”
Along with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who is also entering his third NFL season in 2012, Decker will be viewed as a veteran leader for the receiving corps.
That means it is up to him and Thomas to set the tone for the group as the team assembles for the first time during the offseason for OTAs.
“Right now expectations for us are just to utilize this time to work on our craft, to get better,” Decker said. “We know that if we take advantage of every opportunity that we get, we’ll set ourselves up for a successful training camp. I think we’re going to set our goals high and our expectations are going to be high for ourselves.”
Decker suffered a knee injury during Denver’s Wild Card victory over Pittsburgh in January and as soon as he got back to full strength, which he estimated came in early February, he began working towards the 2012 season.
“I was happy with how my body kind of responded,” he said. “The training staff here did a great job of getting me back. So far no setbacks, no pain.”
Since the Broncos signed free agent quarterback Peyton Manning, Decker has been running routes and catching passes from the four-time NFL MVP trying to build chemistry.
Just as helpful as his time spent catching passes from a future Hall of Famer in Manning has been running routes against another future Hall of Famer in cornerback Champ Bailey.
“Working with Peyton Manning is a dream come true in my mind and going against Champ Bailey is frustrating at times, but it’s what you want,” Decker smiled. “He’s a guy that is going to make you better as far as every piece of what we do as a wide receive. I respect Champ so much. He does help as a younger (receiving) corps, ‘Try this on your release, try this on the top of your route.’ He’s been great to have on our team.”
-Stuart Zaas
Tags: Eric Decker
A full deck of cards.
good news bringing in gronk and shipping vaughn. i dont want to beat a dead horse too bad but i am in the ‘good move because he wouldve ended up cut anyway’ crowd. again elway comes through. he is good a this running a team stuff. we are gonna be good for a long time imo. at least thats what i’m gonna keep telling myself…
Although most have graded our receiver corps as no better than a C+; I believe it will dominate the entire AFC. Obviously this includes having Payton Manning as the Ace of Spades but I was already looking for breakout seasons from DT and Decker last season. The particular mindset that was necessitated last season for Denver’s offense prevented that from happening but placing Decker, along with the rest of Denver’s receivers, in a fluid and dynamic passing attack will payout in massive dividends. Time to cowboy up and make their collective presences felt!
Dominate their will to win!
Mike in San Diego
Hey LBF, whats shaken bro?
cutler and marshall are back on the same team. lucky bears, they got them in a better mindset than we did. we got them as kids that needed some maturing and it showed on and off the field. you could always tell they had it n them to be great and i thought we were gonna get to watch them grow together in shanahans offense and then BBAAMM the broncos went all deconstruction on us and everyone got traded and the coach sucked, and the drafts sucked, and the coach got fired cuz the whole team sucked, etc, etc… and the dang bears now have them and i believe they will now excel together because they have grown up (cutler more than marshall but still) and will be together tearing it up for years to come. and they got alshon jefferey who i think was a 1st round talent and hester spreading the field. anyway i sometimes wish we coulda seen what they woulda become together but it is what it is. i love the heck outta what we’re doing now!!
hey strand what it is man? loving the heat, summers comin and i cant wait. love flip floppin around in shorts. hate the dang winter.
boy you can tell alaskan is on vacation.
Oooo yay! Things are heating up, and I’m loving the news of late. Haven’t had time to keep up with all of the comments, but excitement for next season is really starting to build! Did see the “Neck” post, though. Hilarious and definitely apropos! Can’t wait until TC and pre-season! Catch you guys later.
Love summer-time LBF. I love being apart of the great outdoors. Its time to go camping!
hey tide. slow blog evening. how are you? anyway i’m hoping the team comes together well this year. remember the eagles of last year. they were the ‘dream team’ and they flopped because they didnt do well as a TEAM. not saying we brought in that kinda talent but thats what its all about and also why you dont just go out and get a buncha people based solely on play on the field. you want guys who are good teammates, leaders, and team players. finding the right mix of personalities is as important as pure football talent. thats part of what makes the job of gm or team president tough. if it was easy as getting a bunch of guys that can play the job would be easy. but it isnt. theres a lot more to it. heres hoping for us this year tho!
And just as summer ends its FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!
Goog evening Tide!!
heck ya strand. love camping. used to do it all the time. that and get out on the water in the boat and wake board and knee board. i was good too. could do flips and all that. loved doing it. we would go all summer long on the weekends and every summer holiday. then i got old and just camp and sit there and eat. still fun tho!
Theres sound wisdom in what ya just said Louisiana. Those are family type words, team-mates who have each others backs.
LMAO!! Hey, im there also. Time creeps up on you.
Gotta have chemistry no doubt.
What a really slow day today.
man it sure does strand. you cant wait til your 21 and can get into a bar, and it seems to take 10 years from 18-21. then after your 21st birthday its like a blur. 21-31 seems like 2 years!! you young people enjoy it it does NOT last long!!
Theres truth to that. LOL
LBF, I hear that Ted Nugent, Styx, and REO are all touring together this summer. That would be a cool show to see. Im not much for REO though, blah!
chemistry there ya go. good word for what i was talking about. its not just about football playing, its the rest of it too. and you really gotta understand people, football, personalities, meshing those peoples personalities, and even math! among lots of other things. gotta respect the ones that can build the great perineal winning teams.
Your a good man, good perspectives Louisiana.
hm. i kinda like that line up. i hear you on reo but i like their music, just not the singing. if they didnt sound like mickey mouse little boys singing and have such goober lyrics i would like em more. but i could dig it if it was an instramental i guess! i love nugents show, he’s great. gettin out there with his bow and arrow and all. lots of fun. i saw him twice. i saw stix with aerosmith about 10 or so yrs ago. theyre ok but i’d go to that show for ol ted mainly. but he’s worth it.
Freak is here!
ya strand i try to have a good perspective on things. its important. and speaking of age you get a better perspective the older you get. its unbelievable how much you change over time.
uh oh broncosfreak30 is not gonna like that handle!!
kidding freak i was reading earlier. whats up man? why the change, you never explained that i saw.
Hey Freak, thanks bro. It worked.
Sweet bro! Glad I could help ya out!
Awesome!!
hm. i musta missed something.
Thats way better looking, my handla rocks now!!
Hahaha, yea Louisiana.
I had 30 for Terrell Davis since I’ve been here for 4 years so I went to elways number and Mannings number. Both of our HOF Broncos quarterbacks!
Howdy everyone the girlfriend needs to rest again so back at the hotel for a bit.
I see Strand and Freak changed their handles. Howd you do it?
Like I said earlier im glad for the trade. A player who was going to be cut IMO for a player who could very well make the roster.
LBF, I saw Nugent with Kiss 11 years ago. The origanal Kiss with their make-up. I never did see Styx, that would be killer.
so ab did you pop da question yet? how’d it go if so? did you forget everything you were going to say like i did?
Alaska, I got me a new E mail address, so it was simple. I hated the OFTDS in bold, it looked rediculous, so I changed it. The 82 is the year I graduated. Just wanting to be original is all.
wow strand i believe after a show like that my head would explode! how awesome is that duo? i dont know how i missed that!
Lol LBF Not yet. Going to after dinner. Which is what were getting ready to go have.
I hope I dont forget the words.
Lol MT2 saw you post about me being worried. Always worried its a big thing. I doubt she says no for the few obvious reasons lol but you never know she may say not right now or something. Also saw the Small World idea. I hate that ride lol and wont go on it. I actually get really creeped out by the people. Has been that way since I was real young. Have it all planned. Going to do it at the wishing well.
Strand LBF most those bands your talking about I have never heard of lol.
LBF Very true what you said earlier about wishing you were 21 and all that. I used to wish I was 18 all my youth after I turned 18 I hated it and wanted to go back to being a kid.
Alaska, you gotta take the girly friend to IN N OUT Burger. You won`t be disappointed. They are famous for whats called their Double Double Animal Style. It rocks bro!! The French Fries are real patatoes that are cut right into the fryer, awesome stuff.
hey strand why did you have to have the OFTDS in all caps? what happened to your original handle?
Alaska, good luck bro!
When this new blod setup happened, thats when the caps changed, weird bro.
I`m not much of a Kiss fan, their alright I guess, but not my cup of tea. Love Uncle Ted though, thats why I went. But I did get to see Kiss in their make-up and atleast I can say, hey, I saw the original Kiss in concert. So thats kinda cool.
Lol Strand! We are just staying at the resort for food and all that. I have a cousin who is part of Club 33 (Not very many people know what that is) but she got me into there for dinner tonight. Its the only place in Disneyland that serves Alcohol not that it matters since im only 20 lol. But its a very good place. I love a lot of the Disneyland restaurants.
Well the girlfriend is all ready and my cousin and her husband are ready (She has to get us in) to go eat. So I will catch you all later.
Go Broncos!!!!
couple of things ab. good luck with the question. its hard to do it by the plan you make. dont wanna make it worse tho so i’ll leave it at that. and good for you. just wait. watch how fast your 20′s go. you will be 30 before you know it. not kidding. its gonna seem like only a couple of years and you’ll be there. finally if you havent heard those bands you dont know what you are missing my friend. classic rock is some timeless great stuff!!
Alaska, she`ll say YES dude. Get it over with bro. LOL
hm. did you try to change it to just strandoftds? prob a dumb question. and i dont like kiss all that much either. i’ve never owned one of their cd’s but i love their concerts. LOVE EM.
I did and wouldn`t let me. WE know the answer to that. LOL
The only Kiss CD I ever had was Lick It Up, their 1st CD without make-up. It was so different. God those guys are ugly. LOL