The day players have been waiting for is here. Training camp is now over.
With cloudy skies and pouring rain, the Broncos held their last practice of training camp, a 45-minute jog-through, in the South Suburban Sports Dome in Dove Valley. Wearing shorts, jerseys and helmets, the team went through a few series offensive and defensive plays as they finalize their gameplan for Saturday’s preseason game against the Cowboys.
Considering the short duration and nature of practice, there was not near as much action as is typical of a morning camp session, especially after the last two days with the Cowboys. But here are a few quick hits…
TAKE AWAYS: Patrick Ramsey did not attend the team’s final practice, and with good reason. Ramsey is at the hospital with his wife as she gives birth to their second child. Congratulations Patrick!
- Selvin Young caught a screen and while attempting to turn, tumbled to the ground with a loud thud. Players and coaches let out a groan, and someone called out, “You OK little buddy?” Given the recent injuries on the squad, people had plenty of reason to worry. But Young was fine, he hopped up with a big smile on his face.
- Head Coach Mike Shanahan answered a few questions from reporters after practice. The first was about the status of Anthony Alridge, who limped off the field with what appeared to be a leg injury yesterday afternoon.
“He’s got a sore hamstring right now,” Shanahan said. “I’m not sure if he’ll be able to play. We’ll have a better indication tomorrow. But it’s not bad. Hopefully it’s nothing more than a tweak and we’ll see tomorrow.”
Asked if he was worried about having to give Selvin Young more carries than he had wanted in the preseason, Shanahan responded with, “Well, you don’t have a choice. That’s part of the game. You’re hoping you don’t have too many injuries at one position, and if you do, you have to work through it.”
Shanahan also said that Dewayne Robertson will play in tomorrow’s game, likely seeing action on 10-12 plays.
- With Alridge’s hamstring potentially ruling him out of tomorrow’s action and Torain out for as much as three months, Andre Hall will have to pick up some of the slack as well. He also took some time to answer reporters’ questions after practice.
He said that the game with the Cowboys is “going to be really intense.”
“I know I’m bringing my A-game,” Hall said. “I hope they bring theirs. It’s gonna go down.”
Asked if he would be willing to carry more of a rushing load in the game, such as 25 carries, he had a quick and confident reply.
“Give me 25. Give me those 25. I’ll take them and be more than happy with it.”
– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Adam Zinser, Andre Hall, Anthony Alridge, Dewayne Robertson, Jog-Through, Mike Shanahan, Patrick Ramsey, Preseason, Selvin Young
LETS GO BRONCOS. BEAT THOSE COWBOYS AND DONT GET HURT.
Does anybody know who is starting at MLB
snake53: Nate Webster is listed first on the depth chart, but Niko Koutouvides has played a lot with the first unit this week. With the competition intense, either player could get the starting nod tomorrow night at INVESCO.
Is the position battle at MLB over?? The only thing I see on these blogs is who ran with the first team that day or Nate Webster comments; Like how he screams before practice, or how he chants defense, or if he hit someone. Why are there no details on Niko??
Can someone please tell me how Webster actually performs as a MLB?? There is alot more to the position than screaming and hitting. Does he line people up in the right posistion? Does he make the proper checks? This is the main job of the MLB. Being from the Seattle area, Seahawks personnel raived about Niko being very exceptional at this, and how he excelled at stopping the run.
Can we get some info on the MLB battle?? The winner of this battle is going to have a huge impact on the overall performance of our defense.
greekbronco9 I heard they used to name drills after Niko in Seattle, because he used to knock out players in practice. Trust me this kid can hit.
I agree with my fellow fans, some details on the battles. Webster runs around and does hit but is he in position? What about the defensive calls, who is better?
What about the other battles, like Holland came back but is not on 1st team, does that mean that Kuper stays? Harris had a rough first game but how did he look at practice against the Cowboys?
Polumbus graded out pretty good against Houston and Pears has a bad back, so does this move Polumbus up?
Barrett also graded out real good, is he now #2 at safety?
We now know why Ramsey was having a terrible camp, having a baby!!!
How is Gandy playing/practicing? Kory and Erikson graded out good, right?
If you could, please find out the first basic numbers per position. Keeping 6 WR? 9 DL? 4 SAF? 5 CB?
I know this may be hard but us GHF fans really like to figure ahead.
Thanks
Give the ball to Hall!!!!!!!!!!!!!The most underrated player we have!!
Yes, orangecrush44, while Cutler, Champ, Scheff, and Stokley are all among my favorites on the squad, Andre Hall is easily my favorite Bronco! The guy is electric and he can hurt the Cowboys (as well as everyone else we play) with big runs. Go Broncos! Crush the Cowgirls!
I could not agree more with orangecrush and BradJamesBroncoFan, Andre Hall should be the starting running back and I hope that he can show his coaches tonight vs. the Cowboys. Nothing against Selvin Young, he is a great running back, he is fast, agile, and once he gets into the open he is gone. But Hall has shown that he can make big plays happen and he is extreamly powerfull and is fast going to the out side, and in the open field he can run players over and has really strong legs that will run over linebackers and safties and he has quick footwork to juke defenders and get into the open. So I say give Hall the Ball and then on third down mix in a litle Selvin Yung.
I could not agree more with orangecrush and BradJamesBroncoFan, Andre Hall should be the starting running back and I hope that he can show his coaches tonight vs. the Cowboys. Nothing against Selvin Young, he is a great running back, he is fast, agile, and once he gets into the open he is gone. But Hall has shown that he can make big plays happen and he is extreamly powerfull and is fast going to the out side, and in the open field he can run players over and has really strong legs that will run over linebackers and safties and he has quick footwork to juke defenders and get into the open. So I say give Hall the Ball and then on third down mix in a litle Selvin Young.
Oh, you guys know Mike will give the starting job against Oakland to who ever EARNS the job, he always does. We seem to have a bunch of runningbacks who will be sharing carries, and how they do in preseason and practice will determine how many carries they each get. Mike always puts our best chances on the field. I loved how our first unit scored in game 1. Lets see them do it again.
why dont you girls watch the game tonight and see who is better yourselves. i like thes blogs just like you but what a guys looks like in practice and what he looks like in a game is totally different. niko is starting tonight and getting his shot with the first team so lets see if this guy has what it takes. my guess is either of them are not that great and we will be looking to draft a mlb next year in the first or second round.
For everyone asking about MLB: It is extremely hard to say anything definitively about this position. By no means is the position battle over. Both Webster and Koutouvides have played well at the position. The coaches don’t get into details about which one is leading or who is making better calls. Watching from the sidelines, they both look to be making the right calls and getting everybody in place. We talk a lot about Webster because he is more vocal, as he comes out to practice shouting “YEAH!” everyday. Niko is not as outspoken — he just does his job, and does it well. This is what competition is all about. Head Coach Mike Shanahan will let them battle it out until one of them emerges as the clear-cut starter.
dlmyers: Kuper and Holland will battle it out for that starting right guard spot. Because Holland missed so much time, he has some catching up to do, and Kuper has performed well in his place.
Harris had ups and downs against the Cowboys. The Dallas front seven wreaked havoc on almost every offensive line last year. In one-on-ones, the Cowboys may have gotten the best of the Denver O-linemen, but once 11-on-11s came around, Denver played great as a unit.
As for Polumbus, he plays right tackle, while Pears is at the left tackle spot. We will have to see if Coach Shanahan wants to switch Polumbus over to the left side.
Barrett has had his moments in camp, and he can lay some pretty big hits, but he is still listed as the third safety. He did get more playing time when Hamza was sitting out in the last week though.
As for basic numbers at each position, that is impossible to guess. Cuts are looming around the corner, and it all depends on where Shanahan and co. feel they need the depth. I can’t speculate on that.
As for everything about Andre Hall: He has had a very solid camp. In practice against the Cowboys, it seemed that he would get at least five or six yards before ever being touched. Young and Alridge both had flashes too, however. We all know how this team loves RBs, so this is a major area of competition to watch.
Let’s go Broncos, take it to the ‘Boys in the possible snow! Can you say preview for January Football?