Mason's Morsels

Like a category-5 hurricane lingering over 88-degree waters, the storm of injury-related losses that has beset the Broncos continued its unremitting fury Thursday when Jarvis Moss fractured his right fibula and tore ankle ligaments in practice, ending the first-round pick’s season after just eight and a half weeks.

Moss’s injury was compounded by the news that Rod Smith would not be ready to play within the next two weeks, thus going beyond the three-week trial period allowed to physically-unable-to-perform list. He, too, is lost for the remainder of the season.

Moss’ injury was “kind of a freak accident,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said when he announced the news after practice.

“He’ll have surgery here in the next few days and it will be about a three- or four-month recovery time,” Shanahan said. “It’s very similar to the injury Cecil Sapp had (last December against Seattle), and he came back full speed. It happened in a nine-on-seven drill today.”

As for Smith, the decision came after a week of practice during which the wide receiver’s hip remained “quite sore,” some eight months after the debridement procedure that sidelined him through all of the offseason and training-camp practices, as well as the first seven games of the regular season.

“After seeing the doctor (and) after practicing for about a week, he could see that he’s a little too far away to have a chance to be activated in the next couple of weeks,” Shanahan said. “So, obviously, he won’t be activated in the next two weeks, which means he won’t be activated for this year. We’ll just take some time, see where it’s at at the end of the season and we’ll see exactly where he’s at.”

LYNCH UPDATE: Shanahan said that John Lynch was limited in his on-field practice work Thursday, and that he would have a better idea of his status after Friday’s session.”

Solving my Saturday escapades may not have required turning to outer space for a ninth plan, but they certainly showed that my mind can be a tad spacey sometimes, and I’d like to think that one of the worst directors of all time would have appreciated that. So let’s start pulling the strings …

When I have a little time on my hands — or when the timeliness of a reply is crucial for adding something to the myriad discussions on this blog — I like to respond to comments in the comments section and wade into the conversation. I did a few times yesterday, and nearly did so again last night after reading one comment that suggested banning a certain vociferous supporter of a former Broncos quarterback, a poster whose name many of us have come to know.

The comment that struck me was this one, which suggested banning the poster, using as his argument a phrase that has become a political and cultural flashpoint in recent years:

“If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”

A permutation of this phrase was uttered by President George W. Bush on Sept. 20, 2001, and his use of it has often been cited by observers on various positions on the political spectrum. (Its use is not limited to the right side of the aisle; Sen. Hillary Clinton also spoke in such terms.) Truth of the matter is, the phrase is a hoary one, as old as the Bible itself.

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Bienvenidos from the basement-office bureau of DenverBroncos.com, where I find myself decamped in order to meet a deadline on a game-program feature for the Chargers game, compose my as-promised response to numerous blog comments and write another blog entry about this morning’s heavily-attended kickoff event at the Broncos Boys and Girls Club.

Which brings me to one of the stars of the morning, Domonique Foxworth, and his little blog-based salvo …

As for my Blog Master, it’s not no stinkin’ Andrew Mason. I’m in direct competition with Andrew Mason. My blog is consistently better than his blog. I get more attention and I give more quality insight, so I wouldn’t dare let Andrew Mason be the one who transcribes my blog.

Oh, Foxie, Foxie, Foxie (or is it “Foxy,” perhaps?) … where do I begin …

Better? Well, you have your moments, my friend. Your work is decent, but it would be nice if you actually wrote the thing instead of dictating it.

Having someone else transcribe … that’s poseur blogging. I know you’re better than that. I know you’ve got it in you. If Jack Nasty can write his stuff, so can you. No hiding behind a “Blog Master” over here, my friend; this blog here is all me … right down to the occasional late-night ramblings from the comfort of home.

But in general, I’ll give you a free pass on that one, Foxie. I’ve heard many worse insults tossed my way.

Seriously, I enjoy the blog. It’s a different perspective, one we haven’t seen too often in recent NFL annals.

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With John Browning making his practice debut Wednesday afternoon, the defensive line remained the focal point as the Broncos moved a day closer to what could well be a revealing preseason game against Cleveland on Saturday night.

But how much that game shows about Browning remains to be seen. It has been nearly 20 months since he played in a regular-season game, and after leaving the Chiefs with an injury settlement on Sept. 30 of last year after suffering a back injury, it has been nearly 11 months since he had a team to call his own. Wednesday afternoon represented his first session, and his coaches were pleased with his work, although there’s little that could be gauged from a practice that took place just hours after his signing.

“For what we did today, he looked like he did just fine,” defensive line coach Bill Johnson said. “But it takes time. We’ll get him some game time and see how it goes. It’s hard to tell after one practice when you’re in a game-week situation, but, he did show some striking ability and some firmness in there, and that’s a good start.”

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Countless beads of sweat dangled and dropped from Jarvis Moss’ face as he left the practice field at Dallas Cowboys headquarters on Thursday morning. After all, just because you’re local and used to the stifling conditions doesn’t mean it won’t leave you soggy and in need of a shower.

But when Moss walks onto the Texas Stadium turf for Saturday night’s game, he’ll do so with a large contingent of his nearest and dearest looking on — about 30 strong.

But they won’t all be in matching No. 94 jerseys. Moss is a rookie; it takes time to get everyone outfitted. “My brother and little sister got a jersey, but that’s about all right now,” he said.

Moss was drained late Thursday morning, but happy nonetheless. His knee made it through a second straight day of practice, and his gallop was returning to normal after he favored the left knee he injured during practice on Aug. 6.

“(The knee) is actually doing really good. I’m really excited about that,” Moss said. “My legs the past few days have been back under me and it’s showing. I’m out there competing and that’s just a really good feeling for me especially since I’ve got family and friends coming to the game. Just feeling a little healthier and ready to go.”

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The first sign of good news regarding Jarvis Moss’ left-knee MRI examination came when onlookers at Broncos practice first received a glimpse of him at the afternoon practice — standing upright, with only a wrapped bandage covering his knee.

As it turned out, not only was the MRI on Moss’ left knee negative, but the first-round pick left open the door for actually participating in Tuesday morning’s practice — something that would be a staggering sight to anyone who witnessed Moss’ tumble to the ground and heard his anguished yells halfway through Monday morning’s practices.

“Everything checked out,” Moss said. “It kind of scared me for a minute. I felt like it was something real serious, but I’m fine. I’m going to go rehab tonight, and hopefully I’m ready to go in the morning.”

Moss was nevertheless uncertain about his status until the MRI took place.

“I didn’t know,” he said. “I was just waiting for the results to come back. But right now I’m fine, and hopefully I’ll feel better in the morning.”

The injury itself was typical for someone at his position.

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Another day, another injury for the Broncos as training camp continued to exact a toll on the roster Monday morning.

This time, the afflicted player was rookie defensive end Jarvis Moss, who hit the ground after making a spin move during a one-on-one drill midway through the two-and-a-quarter-hour session at Dove Valley.

Moss was treated on the field for several minutes by Broncos medical personnel and was eventually helped to the sidelines, although it appeared he was able to put some weight on the knee. After arriving at the sidelines, a cart was summoned, which transported him back to the headquarters building for further examination.

The extent of the injury was unclear at the end of practice.

“(The medical staff) really does not know,” Shanahan said. “They think it’s a twist(ed) knee. It’s not loose right now, which is a good sign. But until you look at that MRI, you’re not really sure.”

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A gorgeous, sun-kissed Friday morning greeted the Broncos as they began their final day of organized team activities for the week. They’ll go through four such sessions from Monday through Thursday next week before a four-day Memorial Day weekend respite.

Some quick morning observations from the 10 minutes of warmups and stretching I could watch:

… D.J. Williams brought rookie offensive tackle Ryan Harris in front of his teammates to lead the pre-stretching breakdown. Harris jogged up as some players yelled “Babyface!” but soon left with groans and one Bronco — whom I couldn’t identify by voice — yelling “Stone him!” after a short jig that was quickly deemed lackluster by his new teammates …

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Well, the 10-minute viewing period has come and gone, and the team now goes through its workouts behind closed gates while we await their opening in time for post-practice interviews.

A few notable items:

… That, of course, is the decal on the back of each helmet to memorialize cornerback Darrent Williams and running back Damien Nash. It was placed on every player’s helmet that I could see …

… Rookies Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder were second in line on the outside at defensive end in warmups; Marcus Thomas was third in line at tackle in his new No. 77 jersey …

… The pre-calisthenic breakdown, handled for the last few years by middle linebacker Al Wilson, was chaired by the man who is expected to be his successor in the middle, fourth-year veteran D.J. Williams. He handed the spotlight to first-round pick Jarvis Moss, whose jig was met with jeers, causing Williams to turn to wideout David Kircus, whose gyrations found more mass approval among his teammates …

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