For the next four days, the Broncos and football will have a chance to be separate entities.
After holding a film study on Wednesday morning, Head Coach Josh McDaniels released the players to embark on their bye-week break.
The team will have the time to rest and recuperate before resuming practice in preparation for the Ravens on Monday.
“We made some corrections today and talked about things we didn’t do very well in the game and tried to put that game behind us,” McDaniels said. “Now we’re moving on and the coaching staff’s going to do a few things here in the next few days and get ready for the next 10 weeks.”
Bye weeks don’t always occur at the same juncture. McDaniels said that he’s been a part of bye weeks where practice has been held, and ones where it hasn’t. He’s had bye weeks appear on the schedule as early as Week 2, and ones much later than Week 7.
Regardless of when the respite arrives, there is one key task at hand.
“You do really want to take a look at your football team and what you’ve done during the bye week, and then try to use that information to go forward and make some improvements and adjust things that need to be adjusted,” McDaniels said.
The Broncos will be an active part of that adjustment process on their own time. McDaniels had told the team prior to Wednesday that they would have some time off.
Despite a 6-0 start, Ronald Fields plans to use his break to target bigger goals.
“We’ve still got a lot more fighting to do,” Fields said. “This is just the beginning. It still doesn’t put us in the playoffs or anything like that, so we’ve got a lot to fight for.”
Tags: Bye week, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Ronald Fields, Week 7
Glenn Martinez, is it?
OH! I thought he meant the last to score a TD on a punt and kickoff return in the same game. I’m positive that Martinez was the last Bronco to score a punt return TD. The last KR touchdown was in 2000 or something. I don’t remember who.
You’re right in 2000 it was Deltha O’Neal who had a KO return TD.
Deltha also had a punt return for TD in 2001 and another in 2003.
Rod Smith also had a punt return TD in 2003, I remember that one, it was unreal he was helping out on ST.
That completes the list of all KO and Punt returns for TD’s for the twenty first century, 4 on punts and 2 on KO’s. Pretty thin, not Upchurch era like, but Deltha held is own, better than at CB.
You guys keeping me busy, LOL.
tjnartw and baylinorcrush, an onside kicked ball is live for the receiving team the moment it leaves the T, but the Kicking team cannot touch the ball until it goes ten yards.
Oh and it does not have to touch the ground.
baylinor – you got it Glenn Martinez on Punt Return and Delta Oneal on Kickoff Return.
If the ball hasn’t hit the ground I believe the receiving team can call a fair catch. Thats why they kick it in the ground to try and bounce it up. But it is live after 10 yards in the air if no one calls a fair catch. Cant fair catch once a ball hits the ground.
Didn’t you love the shots of orton doing dropkicks before the game. That man is talented
To put the matter to rest, here is the entire KO rules in the NFL rule book where they cover the onside kick, there is no separate onside kick rule section:
Digest of Rules Main
Kickoff
In addition to a kickoff, the other free kick is a kick after a safety (safety kick). A punt may be used (a punt may not be used on a kickoff).
On a safety kick, the team scored upon puts ball in play by a punt, dropkick, or placekick without tee. No score can be made on a free kick following a safety, even if a series of penalties places team in position. (A field goal can be scored only on a play from scrimmage or a free kick after a fair catch.)
A kickoff may not score a field goal.
A kickoff is illegal unless it travels 10 yards OR is touched by the receiving team. Once the ball is touched by the receiving team or has gone 10 yards, it is a free ball. Receivers may recover and advance. Kicking team may recover but NOT advance UNLESS receiver had possession and lost the ball.
When a kickoff goes out of bounds between the goal lines without being touched by the receiving team, the ball belongs to the receivers 30 yards from the spot of the kick or at the out-of-bounds spot unless the ball went out-of-bounds the first time an onside kick was attempted. In this case, the kicking team is penalized five yards and the ball must be kicked again.
When a kickoff goes out of bounds between the goal lines and is touched last by receiving team, it is receiver’s ball at out-of-bounds spot.
If the kicking team either illegally kicks off out of bounds or is guilty of a short free kick on two or more consecutive onside kicks, receivers may take possession of the ball at the dead ball spot, out-of-bounds spot, or spot of illegal touch.
The following official NFL fair catch rule:
Digest of Rules Main
Fair Catch
The member of the receiving team must raise one arm a full length above his head and wave it from side to side while kick is in flight. (Failure to give proper sign: receivers’ ball five yards behind spot of signal.) Note: It is legal for the receiver to shield his eyes from the sun by raising one hand no higher than the helmet.
No opponent may interfere with the fair catcher, the ball, or his path to the ball. Penalty: 15 yards from spot of foul and fair catch is awarded.
A player who signals for a fair catch is not required to catch the ball. However, if a player signals for a fair catch, he may not block or initiate contact with any player on the kicking team until the ball touches a player. Penalty: snap 15 yards.
If ball hits ground or is touched by member of kicking team in flight, fair catch signal is off and all rules for a kicked ball apply.
Any undue advance by a fair catch receiver is delay of game. No specific distance is specified for undue advance as ball is dead at spot of catch. If player comes to a reasonable stop, no penalty. For penalty, five yards.
If time expires while ball is in play and a fair catch is awarded, receiving team may choose to extend the period with one fair catch kick down. However, placekicker may not use tee.
I guess we all got our lesson for today, I did, pretty interesting stuff.
Glad I’m not a referee, ahahah. They are underpaid if you ask me, LOL.
beastlybroncs….. an onside kick does have to go 10 yrds AND touch the ground before it becomes live for the kicking team.
baylinorcrush:
I suspect you’ve quoted from and of date rule book. You used to get a second chance on onside attempts, but that was changed this year and you now get only one shot at an onside attempt.
hope the guys get some well earned rest, and burn those ugly retro uniforms, looking forward to the return of the blue and orange going for 7-0
GO BRONCOS
Love how Doom waited for Coach Mac after the game to give him some love….they love him and so should all Broncos Fans.
I wonder if they’ll start using those uniforms once a year? Kinda like they suddenly started wearing the orange alternates last year? Either way, I prefer the regular blue and orange. My favorite was the uniform with blue jersey and pants, but they don’t use that one any more. It’s too bad, that one was awesome.
oldsouthstander, these rules are from the current NFL rules taken out of the Digest of rules found in NFL.comRulebook!
actually, it’s nfl.com/rulebook
I doubt nfl.com would have outdated rules on their site. I know what you’re talking about, but it seems to me it was last year that you got one shot. Maybe this year they reversed it again to the two chances. Like I said, referees don’t get paid enough.
Not only don’t refs get paid enough, they should be full time NFL employees, not a part time job. Strange about the kickoff rule. Could be it was changed back to on side getting a second chance. Sure doesn’t seem logical. But then, when you have a field goal blocked and it doesn’t go past the line of scrimage, you still can run, pass or whatever like any other offensive play. I think the rule should be changed so that the only thing the team attempting a field goal can do is recover the ball to determine the other teams starting scrimmage line. After all, by trying a field goal you are, in effect, surrendering possession of the ball.
A missed field goal though is a live ball just like a fumble. Just another angle to keep in mind in a game full of possabilities.
Oh, and I’ve always wondered why refs aren’t full time. Might add to the consistnecy if they were. I’ve never ref’d football, but I have ref’d soccor and I think football has to be the hardest sport to ref just because of the speed, chaos, and coagulation of players on the field. The only reason I can think of for not having full time refs is to discourage any form of cheating like was recently seen in the NBA.