Jim Saccomano

When you work in professional sports for a number of years you cannot help but develop a second family, besides the one at home which means so much to all of us, and is in fact the basis of our entire lives.

But that second family is in a building where you spend a huge percentage of your time, working with a unified group of individuals passionate about a singular goal.

Every team can’t win every year, but that’s the goal for every team, and that is the bond that creates the second family.

Over the years in the Denver Broncos family I have been fortunate to be a part of seasons that have been mostly good, and often great.

And there have been great people as part of the extended Broncos family; I can remember when the children of Mike and Peggy Shanahan were very young, and my own son and daughter working here as summer ball boy (son) and PR office typist (daughter).

At the same time the kids of other longtime coaches were growing up – many have now moved away, but they will always be a part of the Broncos family.

New members enter the family every year through the NFL draft, which in 2008 brought us nine players of diverse backgrounds and locations.

But as of April 27, they are tied to the Broncos forever.

The new draftees perhaps do not yet know how outstanding a franchise they are coming into, but they soon will see the operation of a great meritocracy.

Draftees come in rounds from one through seven, but when they first enter the locker room and later the field, they are treated as equals, and the best advance.

So to tackle Ryan Clady, wide receiver/return specialist Eddie Royal, offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger, cornerback Jack Williams, running back Ryan Torain, defensive tackle Carlton Powell, linebacker Spencer Larsen, safety Josh Barrett, and fullback Peyton Hillis, welcome to the Broncos family.
 
The 2008 season now is just lifting and sprinting, but it will evolve into meetings and practices, and ultimately into 16 games that once again will determine the measure of a team.

The above players already have passed the test of talent and character which brought them draft day selection by the Denver Broncos, and soon enough all the members of the Broncos Country family can watch the new guys integrate themselves into our “second family” community.

With the Denver Broncos in the midst of their authorized off-season field workouts, it takes the memory of long time observers back to how it used to be.

It is completely different now in the NFL, and much for the better. 

Decades ago the players did not have the intense off-season training programs that exist today.

As a result, players came into training camp in July in various stages of physical fitness, some of which are not very attractive to recall today.

The off-season was for hanging out and slipping out of shape, and then many guys worked their way into shape during camp, especially the savvy veterans who knew their jobs were secure.  Some guys worked out regularly, and some not at all, sad to say.

No more.  Now the running and lifting start in early April, so the players are in tip-top shape when camp begins.

They have to be.  The competition for jobs is too great year-round for the situation to be any other way.

The other thing that is a large part of the current NFL off-season is the field work, coupled with classroom study.

All teams are able to head into July training camp with squads that are in exceptional physical condition, know their roles and assignments, and are able to compete for positions from day one.

Training camp itself then has become shorter, but also crisper, with less breakdown of the body by a steady diet of hitting.

So as a player becomes older, he is happier because his body is not beaten down during camp as much as his counterpart 30 years ago.

The rookies also are a lot happier, although they do not have any previous experience to compare with, because they have been integrated into the team concept during the post draft period and can pick things up a little faster.

The result when training camp begins is one of the greatest meritocracies in the country–the National Football League of today.

The best players play.

Regardless of draft position, salary or pre-conceived notion, the players are placed in a position on the field and in the classroom to show themselves to the best of their abilities, and the cream rises.

The resulting play is hence sharper, and that benefits coaches, franchises and the fans who watch.

This time of the year is one in which we are in the midst of four weeks of field work, first a couple of weeks of quarterback camp, then two weeks of team camp, although there are a prescribed number of maximum days that teams can spend on the field in the offseason.

And the media is busy during this time as well, getting interviews and setting the ground work for future interviews as well.

You can read and view a lot about both new and old players on this web site, of course.

The PR department is busy working with the media, coordinating where they can go, etc., but also getting much of our own work done, inclduing getting the new head shots taken for our media guide and other publications.

Veteran team photographer Eric Bakke is taking those pictures, and Eric is truly the pro’s pro–he has been my photographer for 20 years.

Rebecca Villanueva, our Media Services Manager, works with Eric in making sure every player is properly identified, has a jersey on and has no unusual clothing items underneath.

A common theme expressed by everyone in my department, including Eric and Rebecca, who have had to deal with every new guy, is that this is a great bunch of people in terms of attitude, politeness, promptness and how they treat other people.

I have had the same sense as the players are coming off the field after each workout.

This is a very likeable group of players.

While that does not automatically translate into good performance, it doesn’t hurt, either.

And it shows that the player personnel department was on top of its game in how they identified every new player who was brought into the organization.

 If you are a good guy off the field, you are probably a good one on the field as well.

And that benefits the entire organization and community.

We are in mid-camp mode at this time, so this has to be brief, but I had to pause long enough to relate my opinion via blog that this is a good bunch, and I have found that to be a very positive sign in the past.

My guess is it will prove out in 2008 as well. 

The Broncos soon will embark on the on-the-field phase of the off-season, with all the NFL teams conducting their camps.

For the Broncos, the annual quarterback camp is in the final two weeks of May, team camp the first couple of weeks of June, and then the annual mini-camp will be in July, a couple of weeks before training camp begins.

Right now it is real quiet, but it will get real busy for four weeks, then real quiet for a month or so, and then the season will essentially be underway.

And the off season will be a distant memory.

But what has happened in the winter and spring is that the Broncos have signed and drafted new players, most of them anonymous to our legions of fans. 

But if you fail to prepare, you have prepared to fail, and this team has not been preparing to fail, but to bounce back to winning.

What I want to point out to everyone, even those of us on the supposed inside, is that these players are only unknown until they are famous.

That might seem contradictory, but just think about it.

Almost no one comes into the game as a star, with greatness expected.  The John Elways are few and far between.

Everybody who follows the Orange and Blue knows who Karl Mecklenburg is, but did you, did we, before he started making big play after big play?

But I can still vividly remember the day when I brought the 1983 draftees in to meet the press, and not a single member of the press even asked Meck a question.  I do not say this as any criticism of the press at all, but merely as an indicator of how completely unknown Mecklenburg was at that time.

Eventually, I asked somebody to pretend to ask him a few questions, just so he would not feel excluded from the process.

But very soon, he became KARL MECKLENBURG!!!

Now, none of us can predict with certainty that the recently drafted players and free agent signees will go on to be big time players; but we can’t predict that they won’t, either.

Because somewhere in the NFL, somebody will.  And with the system, coaching staff and support system here in Denver, it is just as likely to happen to a young Bronco as to anyone else.

Not only does each one of these new players have record of playing ability, but each also has a character pedigree that makes the whole team better just by locker room presence.

The NFL is a great meritocracy.

The best guys play, especially for Mike Shanahan.  He once cut Anthony Miller and Mike Pritchard, both number one draft choices, and went with Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith instead.

I can tell you, the press thought he must have been crazy.

What does everyone think now?  Does anyone in Denver think McCaffrey was a good player?  How about Rod Smith?

That’s the whole point.

Nobody is famous until he makes himself famous, and we are going to give every player in this 2008 group every opportunity to accomplish that while contributing to the only goal which the Denver Broncos ever have, which is to win now.  

So don’t worry about whether or not we know somebody by his name; let’s see what kind of name he makes for himself as time goes by. 

 A sportswriter friend long ago made the casual comment that “It’s all about the quarterback.”

I would add, it is always about the quarterback, in Denver, regardless of who he is, and all the more so if he is a big time player.

While still in the very early stages of his career, Jay Cutler certainly has demonstrated at every opportunity that he is going to be a very big time player for the Denver Broncos and in the National Football League, and he is a big time person as well.

The world at large is still getting to know Jay Cutler, but as it does so people will find what a fine individual and leader he is.

The latest and forevermore most obvious dynamic at play here is the quarterback’s recent diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes.

Like anything else in life, it is all in how one handles what comes his way, and Jay Cutler is going to not only handle it very well for himself, which is most important, and for the Broncos, which is professionally important to Cutler and of monumental importance to the leagion of fans who inhabit Broncos Country, but he also is going to take a big step forward as national represenative and spokesman for this those who work with this disease.

He did not ask for this role but he has it.

And he is going to do a great job as a very public face, which he will always be anyway as the Broncos’ QB, but even more so on the national level due to how he handles himself in the management of his condition.

There are so many people to be taught, educated, influenced, all in a potentially positive way, regarding the disease and its control, and just coming to the realization that not only can it be controlled, but that the individual who has it can not just function but thrive.

When the crown of spokesmanship is placed upon one’s head, it is impossible to remove.

Jay certainly asked for his assignment as the Broncos’ quarterback, and then quickly developed into one of the team leaders.

But that is all about football.

This is all about life, which even the most ardent Bronco fan would have to admit is a far bigger thing.

As great as his influence is going to be on the Bronco team, even greater will Jay Cutler’s positive influence be on legions of young Americans who will learn valuable lessons about the handling of life from this young gentleman.

What greater role can one have in society than to positively influence young people? 

Again, he did not ask for the role, but the graceful and professional handling of something which is suddenly thrust upon an individual is very often the measure of a man.

And Jay Cutler will measure up very well.

It can be very fashionable to make an absolute determination–as if there are any absolutes–that a given year’s National Football League draft is a “good” or “bad” draft, as if there is any choice in the matter.

Every year you play a schedule, and you have a team composed of players.  So every year, every team needs players.

Each season as well, there is a new crop of aspiring young players waiting to be drafted.

It is a given that some will succeed and others will fail, but some will always succeed.

If a draft is bad, but a certain team gets a great player, was it a bad one for that team?

In 1983 the Denver Broncos wound up with John Elway.  Try telling any Bronco fan that 1983 was a bad draft.  From where I sit, it looks like a pretty good one.

And just for the heck of it, let’s take a look at some Broncos and where they were selected in their respective drafts.  This should serve to remind us all that anything can happen at any time.

Karl Mecklenburg was taken in the 12th round (the 310th overall selection), which no longer even exists.

Tyrone Braxton was taken in the 12th round and was just one pick away from being the last player taken, the fellow dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant” each year.  He was the 334th player chosen; too small, too slow.  Of course, he played on three national championship teams in college, so he must have made a tackle or knocked down a pass now and then.

Terrell Davis was a sixth round dhoice, the 196th player selected–so 195 guys were projected as better than Terrell Davis that year.

Shannon Sharpe, who becomes eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next January, was chosen in the seventh round, pick number 192.

Longtime starting safety Steev Foley was an eighth round pick, the 199th overall, in 1975, and he did not even play safety in college.  Foley was a quarterback, and the first time he ever played safety was for the Broncos.

Keith Bishop was the 157th player chosen in 1980.

Gary Kubiak was regarded by many as the best backup quarterback of his generation, and he was the 197th player chosen back in that 1983 draft.

Steve Watson, one of the favorite receivers of Elway and Kubiak, was not even drafted at all.

Much more recently, Rod Smith was never drafted.  Not late, not by anybody.  And in the entire history of the NFL, among undrafted wide received he is the all-time leader in reception, reception yards, and touchdown catches.  And he was a key leader on two world championship teams.

Every team has names like this, success stories to go along with the misses that the media love to talk about.

There is still no way to measure heart, and it can be very difficult to project development with absolute certainty.

So when somebody says it is a good draft or a bad one, that statement is completely correct–except for the times when it is wrong.

When you are only taking one player at a time, it only takes one to equal that number.

The 2008 National Football League schedule was announced today, and that officially gives every fan the information he or she needs to plan the fall football schedule, including whether that favorite team has a big home prime time game.

But you cannot play without a schedule, so this is the moment that starts it all.

As far as our Denver Broncos schedule is concerned, I personally like it a lot.

I once got a very cogent opinion from Mike Shanahan when I asked him how he liked our schedule compared to a rival’s.

He looked at both on paper, and said, “Looks like we each have eight at home and eight away.”

In other words, it always comes down to how you prepare and how you play, not when you play, where you play, or what the weather is.

But I like the idea that this year our fans do not have to sit in sub-freezing temperatures for a late saeason Sunday or Monday night game (unless we get flexed, of course, which would be a positive thing).

We all enjoy the exposure of Sunday and Monday night football, and we are not being overlooked in that regard, with three prime time games, but all on the road–the opener on Monday night at Oakland, a subsequent Monday nighter at New England, and a Thursday night NFL Network matchup at Cleveland.

There’s a lot of home-away, home-away to our schedule, and I have always liked the rhythm whcih that allows a team and its fans to get into, in addition to our season ticket holders and the televisoion networks being able to enjoy our spectacular Sunday afternoons.

As to the results?

You plan hard in the off-season, plan your program, work your plan, try to stay injury free and pack your lunchbox every day.

It is not rocket science, but it is hard work, and our staff and veteran players have a track record of putting in the effort and the hours.

It is easier to put in that work when you have something tangible on paper on which you can focus, and we all have that starting today.

I have just returned for the annual NFL Business Seminar, at which I attended the public relations sessions with my counterparts from the other 31 teams, and a week earlier I was able to attend the NFL’s annual meeting of owners, coaches, and high level football personnel people.

You take a lot of notes at meeting like that, some involving new thoughts and projects, others that just remind oneself of perhaps a better way to do something.  When you stop taking notes, you slip up.  You have to try to stay sharp.

 I saw a sign in a weight room once that said, “strength is not permanent.  You have to keep working on it.”  The same is true of being effective at whatever you are doing.

Now that I am back in the office, there are a varied number of tasks, projects and issues to be started, continued, or finished, and it is like that for everyone in the NFL right now.

We get the chance to share ideas, borrowing and stealing the best ones from our friends and associates, and now is the time when all these thoughts are being translated into action elements by the various departments, football and administrative.

What that points up to me is something that the average fan often is anaware of–the fact that a lot of the work is just a matter of grinding it out, every day, taking the day at its start, usually around seven a.m., and just working the work that has to be done.

There is an old saying that you should plan your work, and then work your plan.  Working your plan is the part that would seem completely boring to anyone on the outside, but which is the most fundamental part of giving yourself an opportunity to succeed in the coming year.

Doing all the organizational work during the week is what gives you the chance to win on Sunday, and in some cases can make it the simplest day of the week–after all, if the student is prepared, he should not be afraid to take the test.

Our player personnal people–like those of all the other theams–are hard at it right now getting ready for the draft at the end of the month. And that is a great example of just grinding it out. 

They have all the reports, as well as all the video you can imagine, but eventually a complete analysis has to be made that ranks all these players in an order–and different teams have differnt ideas of how they choose to do that–but regardless, it involves hours, days, weeks, and untimately, months of organized work that all comes together in the last few weeks.

It takes meeting after meeting, comment after comment by the scouts who have seen each player, along the input from coaches, all making a final deretmination as to how someone fits into an organization.

The rest of our departments are not doing anything as exciting as the draft, but marketing is estalishing its sponsors and promotional initiatives, the ticket office is getting all the tickets renewed and making plans to sell those which remain available, and PR is planning and organizing media policy and access for every remaining day of the year that involves the coming together of team functions and the press–and the press will assuredly be at any team activity that they are allowed to attend, most notably practices and interview sessions.

There are specific NFL rules as to the access which we must allow, but each team still has to determine how best to tailor that to its own needs, eventually matching press requirements and mandates with the most important team goal of making sure that all distractions are minimized as the players and coaches go about their work.

And all of this is a matter of grinding, just taking one task at a time and doing it, like a big puzzle that you put together one tiny piece at a time.

Sometimes when people ask me how we won back-to-back Super Bowls–and of course superb talent is always a preeminent factor in that type of success–but I have answered that by saying we did it 40 seconds at a time.

That is, just like a team emphasizing maximum effort, focus, and performance on each play, one at a time, so too do those of us behind the scenes just keep laying bricks, one at a time, but not drifting from the task at hand.

You can’t take yourself away from the task, or the mortar will dry up. 

And any bricklayer knows that is not a good thing.

As we sit on the advent of free agency once again, as well as just a couple of months from the annual college draft, everybody has the excitement of being 0-0.

Every team has to live with what it most recently did, and for the Broncos that means the sour taste of a disappointing 7-9 season.  For the Giants, it means being on national late night TV shows and basking in the glow of a world championship, as well they should.

But the one hunk of knowledge that every NFL coach and personnel man knows is that yesterday’s accomplishments, or failures, should be studied, evaluated, learned from, put proudly on a shelf if it is a trophy — but then you have to move on to the new season.

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The press has a very influential role in our society.  It presents the news, reports the news, and tells us what is going on in the world.

And sometimes it instructs us in what we are supposed to think and believe.  When it does that, it is counting on our cooperation in believing what it tells us, with the hope and confidence that we will not think for ourselves and form our own opinions.

Every year about this time I observe an example of this:  the Pro Bowl.

Last Sunday the NFL season ended entirely with the annual playing of the Pro Bowl, the NFL all-star game, which is about to end a 30-year run in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Presently there are discussions about whether or not to extend the contract in Hawaii, and while none of us knows what the result will be, one thing we do know is that the Pro Bowl remains very unpopular with the press, and very popular with the public.

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