For the first time since Saturday’s Summer Scrimmage, the Broncos hit the practice field on Monday. Clouds kept it from getting too hot for the afternoon session, which featured an exciting two-minute-drill session.
For today’s trivia question, rookie quarterback Brock Osweiler led the third-team offense in a two-minute drill near the end of practice — more on that drill later in the blog. On second down, his pass was intercepted to seal the win for the defense. Who made the interception? Of the correct answers, the winner will be chosen at random and will receive a Broncos prize pack. Leave your answer in the comments section, and the correct answer — and winner — will be revealed at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
ROLL CALL
After practice Head Coach John Fox went over the injury report. He started by saying safety Quinton Carter did not participate with a hamstring and a “scoped knee.” Wide receiver Tyler Grisham (knee), running back Ronnie Hillman (hamstring), defensive tackle Justin Bannan (calf) and tight end Anthony Miller (ankle) also did not participate.
Demaryius Thomas (“His Achilles got a little tight, nothing serious”), Greg Orton (ankle) and Ryan Harris (right ankle) left practice early.
PLAYMAKERS
- Wide receiver Jason Hill had a nice day of practice, bringing in a deep pass over his shoulder from quarterback Peyton Manning during 7-on-7s. That drew some of the loudest cheers from the crowd of the afternoon. Earlier in the drill, he made a back shoulder catch on the sideline in front of safety Rafael Bush.
- Wide receiver Cameron Kenney had an impressive catch of his own. Quarterback Brock Osweiler threw to the receiver’s back shoulder, and he made the leaping catch with cornerback Joshua Moore in tight coverage.
- Syd’Quan Thompson stripped the ball away from a receiver to force a fumble during 7-on-7s.
- On the first play of team drills, defensive tackle Ty Warren batted Manning’s pass at the line for an incompletion.
- Safety Rahim Moore was part of two plays notable for tight coverage. Both were passes from Manning aimed at wide receiver Eric Decker. On the first, Manning launched the ball deep and Decker couldn’t catch up to it, sandwiched by Moore and cornerback Champ Bailey. On the second, Manning simply threw the ball away as Moore and cornerback Tracy Porter had Decker double covered.
- Decker still had some big catches, including one in front of Champ Bailey during team drills, and another for a touchdown during red-zone drills.
- Hill had perhaps the catch of the day in the team red-zone drills, leaping up and over Bailey in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown catch off a Manning throw. After the play, Bailey offered Hill a high five for the highlight catch.
- Right before Hill’s catch, Manning hit wide receiver Andre Caldwell in the opposite corner of the end zone for another toe-tapping touchdown catch. Safety Mike Adams was in coverage and argued that the receiver was out of bounds, but it looked to be ruled a touchdown.
- Cornerback Drayton Florence had a nice pass breakup during team drills, tipping the ball high enough for Bush to nearly intercept it before it hit the ground for an interception.
- During one of the last team drills of the day, safety David Bruton had an athletic, leaping pass breakup with one hand at the ball’s highest point to ensure an incompletion. That drew cheers and some “ooohs” from the crowd. Just after that, Bush slapped the ball out of Hill’s hands at the last second to force an incompletion, drawing props from Florence.
TWO-MINUTE DRILL
The club closed practice with some situational football. The offense started with the ball at its own 35-yard line, down 21-20 to the defense with 1:20 left on the clock and no timeouts.
Manning and the first-team offense was up first. He got started with a quick 5-yard completion to wide receiver Matthew Willis, which was followed by an incompletion because Manning’s intended target slipped. Manning wanted a flag, but the coaches didn’t give him one. So on third-and-5, he hit Eric Decker for a first down at the 46-yard line. The next play was a completion to running back Lance Ball out of the backfield, and Ball got out of bounds after a gain of a yard to stop the clock with 30.8 seconds remaining.
On the following play, Manning hit Willis again down the sideline to the defense’s 30-yard line, and the offense ran up to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball and stop the clock. With 5.9 seconds left, kicker Matt Prater jogged onto the field and hit a field goal to give the offense the win.
Next, it was Caleb Hanie’s turn. The quarterback quickly hit tight end Virgil Green, who got out of bounds at the 48-yard line. Hanie then went back to the same sideline, hitting Caldwell at the opposite 40-yard line. The receiver got out of bounds with 1:08 left on the clock. From there, the offense ran down the clock until they spiked the ball to set up a fourth-and-1 at the 31-yard line with 5.6 seconds remaining. Prater came out and hit another field goal to give the second-team offense the win.
Finally, Osweiler was up. He threw a quick, 4-yard completion to set up second-and-6, but his second-down pass was intercepted to seal the win for the defense. The defender who brought down the pick — the answer to today’s trivia question — will be revealed in the comments section at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
Practice ended with one more situation — the offense was down four at the defense’s 40-yard line with only four seconds remaining on the clock. The first Hail Mary rep belonged to quarterback Adam Weber, whose pass fell incomplete out of the back of the end zone. Next up was Hanie, who hit wide receiver Gerell Robinson for the touchdown — but the defense backed off to allow the receiver to catch it. Finally, Osweiler had the last throw of practice, but it fell incomplete out of the back of the end zone as well.
QUICK HITS
- The newest Bronco, linebacker Keith Brooking, watched practice from the sideline in shorts and a Broncos T-shirt. Fellow free agent signee, safety Jim Leonhard, watched the first part of practice away from the field, talking with Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway.
- Alongside Elway, Owner Pat Bowlen took in the session from the sideline as well.
- In one-on-ones between the offensive and defensive lines, the O-line had the advantage, but defensive lineman Ben Garland stood out on the defensive side of the ball.
The team is back on the field Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. MDT for a practice free and open to the public. As always, gates open an hour prior.
Click below for a photo gallery from Monday’s practice.
Tags: Training Camp 2012
true OT……….but I still think it’ll be a hot button as the season wears on and decisions go or don’t go a certain way. Guess it’s just a wait and see thing. Hey, all I really care about is having football being played………much rather have replacement refs than replacement players! haha
Yep. I guess we’ll see how it all plays out, and I might end up eating my words, but I’ve never really been overly impressed with the officiating to begin with. Maybe this whole thing is what’s needed for everyone to get their acts together.. Lol
Each day this clown holds out helps us get off to a fast start to the season:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/19741507/steelers-gm-theres-really-no-contact-with-wr-mike-wallace
hahaha, yeah really. I bet he was a little choked when the Steelers shelled out the dough to Brown in that contract extension. I think he’s on his was out of Pitt………….
I’m looking forward to the blow-up we might be in store for between Big Ben and Haley! hahaha
Danny Trevathan intercepted
I’m back after getting my leg hurt at Jets training camp. It’s been alot going on with our Broncos. Peyton is gonna be Peyton. So the only question is if the Oline will show up. The DBs are more talented now. That I think Chris Harris Might get cut. The Rookie Bolden is making plays all over the field.
Two more days folks and then its time for some football!!!!!!!
Not able to chime in much lately hope everyone is doing well.
Good to see some of the rookies making a splash at camp this year. Expecting big things from Wolfe and Trevathan this season.
007: Good to hear Bolden is having a great camp as well. I see Hillman has a ankle injury hope its not too serious.
Kod: Good to see you got your handle back.
I like the signing of a solid veteran at LB…I hope Brooking and leonard still have plenty left in the tank.
Greatness hope your leg is ok.
Interesting stuff about Harris. But good news about Bolden.
OT I agree about Wallace holding out. Every day hes out it hurts the team.
Kod while I dont particularly agree with you abou tthe calls in that game there were many non calls and the two (Goalie holding it to long and the arms touching the ball) that gave USA the chance to tie at 3 couldve gone either way.
DB That one post made me laugh. The fiancee not so much lol.
Didnt say this last nigh but im glad to see a women ref in the NFL. If they are good and make good calls then they should train more women who are interested to be refs.
As for replacement refs I think we will barely see a difference. If anything IMO they will be a tad better because they want to make such a good impression and show that they can do this too. So does the NFL so they can use it in negotiations with the regular refs lol
It takes time AB – that was serious humor and my wife of 26+ years laughed with me over it.
I don`t like the idea much of having replacement refs. Its always about the money. Even the NFL can be cheap too. LMFAO!!
I gotta kick out of that Daddy. LOL
the Broncos signed linebacker Keith Brooking. He is a weakside linebacker by trade, although he played inside linebacker in the Dallas Cowboys’ 3-4 defense the previous three years.
I don’t think Brooking affects Joe Mays at middle linebacker. But it appears with weakside linebacker D.J. Williams serving a six-game suspension, the Broncos wanted reinforcement.
Don’t be surprised if Brooking starts at weakside linebacker in the Broncos’ 4-3 base and Wesley Woodyard or rookie Danny Trevathan compete for the nickel spot.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_21254276/tim-tebow-tries-make-peace-jets-brawl
So..TT and RR both responded to break it up. This article makes it sound like two hot heads, not a 50 man wrestling match.
The Broncos will wear their alternative navy blue jerseys in Week 11, Nov. 18, against the San Diego Chargers. The NFL allows teams to wear their “alternative” jerseys twice a year, but the Broncos will only use it once as they want to establish their new orange jerseys as their predominant color
http://www.denverpost.com/broncosmailbag/ci_21248227/broncos-mailbag-2012-rookies-make-nfl-impact
This post and my last one were both from this
That’s my read on the LB situation as well AB except that I think Elway will look to hang on to DJ long enough to position him on a team where he can’t hurt us – but I’m also confident that JE will cut DJ asap.
We do need added depth at LB. Thats probably the one position that has potential holes. We know soon enough.
Cool AB.
In this preseason game do you think Brooking will see time with the first string D?
I dont think he will for the fact that he wont know the playbook completely but I think we will see him in there with the 2nd and/or 3rd strings and see him lined up at every LB position.
If Brookings were younger I would guess that we would see a lot of him in preseason play. At 37 – Brookings will appear enough to give the coaching staff confidence that he is the plug-and-play player they think he is.
I don’t see the play book as being as big an issue for an old vet. Brookings will step right into it.
Gotta be gone – be good ya’ll!
I think this is another step towards cutting DJ, IMO. We know 6 games for sure right now………..and I mean, it can possibly go up to 7 or 8……….who knows. He has zero trade value right now. He’s put the organization in a tough spot. Hard to say what they’ll do. I couldn’t care less to see him gone and give a guy like Treviathan an opportunity to show what he’s got.
Hopefully Brooking has something left in the tank. This was a low risk move my the Broncos……and it has the potential to have a good upside.
How’s the whole pregnancy going AB? Hope all is well.
Kod its going great. Though she gets mad at me cause I call her waddles…..
I agree about DJ. Im more sick of just hearing about him than what hes done. Hes been a good solid LB but never excelled. We may just hold onto him for this year and try to deal him next year or cut him.
Great to hear AB! Gotta watch the knicknames though………..lol From my experience, pregnant women are on a wicked emotional roller coaster! haha
That’s what gets me most about DJ. I think he’s one of those guys that coasted on talent alone, and never tried to take it to that next level to become elite……….of which I believe he has the talent to do………..but unfortunately, not the work ethic.
LOL Kod.
I agree about DJ I think his first few years he pushed hard then he just stated to coast and not push himself or work hard to excel and now the trouble uts going to be he needs to push himself to show the coaches “hey stick with me ill stay out of trouble and work harder to be the type of player i should be” I would hate to see him gone then see him excel and stay out of trouble.
Broncos Country:
FYI update on Jets camp and TT. Running 11 laps and running 1st the whole way.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000046587/article/new-york-jets-fight-despite-rex-ryans-warning?module=HP11_headline_stack
LMMSDB
LONG LIVE THE NECK
FTR
Tick Toc. Its almost here!!!!!!!
FTR
Keith Brooking is 36. He will turn 37 on October 30th.
From a pure business standpoint, I don’t see us cutting DJ Williams. Not when we will still owe him money, and also since we will get anything in return for him. I could be wrong, but I don’t think we have to pay him during his suspension, so it will only cost us a roster spot. He does have guaranteed money in his contract, so we owe that to him after his suspension, whether he is on the team or not. Once his suspension is up, it will be nice to have his fresh legs take over for the then 37 year old.. Just trying to look on the bright side, as our hands are kind of tied at this point IMO..
I personally think that the situation with the Jets will implode as the season wears on……….especially if they start the season 1-4 like we did last year. Winnng will mask a lot things, as it usually does……..but when the going gets tough, I think the Jets will crash and burn. I just don’t see this system working out over the course of a season.
*and also since we will NOT get anything in return for him.
Kod – the Jets season hinges on getting off to a fast start. I don’t see them digging themselves out of a deep hole in that division. The fact that Tebow led the team in those laps says it all – no one cares on that team. They have a huge need at RT, and their run game is weak. I’ve been hearing more and more that there was never a QB competition, and that the plan all along is to use Tebow as a RB. Should be interesting, to say the least..
it’ll make for good TV, that’s for sure……….no matter which way it goes. lol
Yep. I just hope it doesn’t all end with the obnoxious NY fans booing Tebow out of the stadium… That is not the way I want to see it going down, and I’m honestly a little worried.
That is if he does end up taking over for Sanchez
Well, first they’ll boo sanchize, then they’ll boo TT………..rinse and repeat. LMAO
I think he could be a beast in the wildcat and in the goal line offense
Lol @ rinse and repeat!
true……….but like we found out last year……..teams will figure out the wildcat quick enough and it will stop being effective. Teams won’t be overly worried about TT throwing and will stack the box. It worked in Miami for a while before it got figured out. It’s a gimmick that works for a while, but IMO, more in the short term.
The answer is Danny Trevathan!
Agreed. But he does throw a decent long ball, so you have to somewhat honor it. But you’re right, he’s in the wrong division for it to be real successful. NE absolutely owned us, and I think that’s what put Elway over the edge, realizing that you have to beat the Pats to get to the big game. The other thing is that he has a tendency to fumble quite a bit..
lol………guys, the answer was posted last night……….and the trivia game is over until probably later today. Read the entire blog! LMAO!
yup, he had 7 fumbles last year………all from trying to extend the play and make something happen, albeit, but still, those turnovers hurt our team and he really needs to do a better job protecting the football.
Tebow is already being bood at Jets camp because his accuracy is so bad.
He’s a gamer AB
OT Agreed. Tebow is a straight up baller.
Harvey Steinberg = MVP!!!
I cant believe this…..while watching the Olympics they talked briefly about “sports” that are trying to become part of the Olympics here were some they named…….
Arm Wrestling, Rock-Paper-Scissors, Thumb Wrestling, Video gaming and the only real sport football.
Video games would have 15-20 different games ranging from Call of Duty Gears of War NBA 2K12 Madden NCAA WII games and computer games.
Also Baseball and Softball (More so softball) were taken out because USA was too good well football would be the same way.
This is great news………….now let’s hope Goodell decides to let the incident pass as well and Doom avoids any type of suspension.
If they put any of those sports in the Olympics that would be a huge mistake and one heck of a joke… They Olympics are all about athletic ability and none of those with the exception of Football take athletic ability. I would lose a lot of respect for the Olympics if they put any of those in.
I also think they should remove Equestrian from the Olympics as well as it is really the Horse doing all the work. Sure it takes talent to guide a horse through a course but the rider is not the one doing all the jumping… just my two cents
Melo I agree with it all except the Equestrian. It takes a lot of skill and talent to guide a horse and while its not as physical its just as mental and involves a lot of strategy and smarts by the rider.
I think Brookings was brought in purely because of DJ’s pending suspension. Since he’s one of the most veteran guys in our LB core, him being out can hurt not only a physical presence but a leadership presence as well. Some may argue whether or not he shows leadership. I don’t anticipate Brookings stay with the Broncos to be too long.
On the topic of Olympics, they should get rid of basketball too. It is just a complete joke and the US doesn’t take is serious.