Now that the NFL draft is in the books, our attention turns to the lockout and speculating on how good the Broncos new players are.
We all know the draft is an inexact science. Teams do their best to rank the players and take the ones they believe will be good. But no one yet knows who will turn out to be good.
Looking back over the draft, I came away with several impressions.
1 – THE BRONCOS DID A GOOD JOB FOR FOR WHERE THEY ARE AT. Head coach John Fox was one of the Broncos’ front office personnel who regularly kept perspective throughout the three-day draft.
“We came into it with a lot of needs and I think we were not going to fill them all in this process,” head coach John Fox said after the draft ended.
Amen.
We know the Broncos have some serious rebuilding to do. I think they took a good first step in that process. They were able to pick some players they had rated highly, they acquired a couple of extra selections and they infused the defense with much needed talent and speed.
Given their needs are many, they did a good job addressing a good number of those needs. I know that may not seem like much, but to me, it is crucial to getting a good start on the rebuilding process.
2 – THE BRONCOS TOOK TALENT OVER NEED. This is perhaps the greatest debate in draft philosophy. I believe a team needs to pick the best player they think is available. Talent wins games in the NFL and the Broncos have to increase their talent level.
For example, Denver was able to pick safety Quinton Carter in the fourth round. The Broncos had Carter as the second-highest ranked safety in the draft behind Rahim Moore, whom the Broncos had already drafted.
Sure, the Broncos could have taken a less talented player who plays a different position. But why not take another safety you think is really good? Let’s face it, the Broncos could use two really good safeties.
The key in being successful with this drafting philosophy is to correctly evaluate players. If the Broncos did that, then their draft class might be even better than we think.
3 – THE DRAFT WAS JUST THE FIRST STEP. I have to keep reminding myself that the Broncos still have free agency, and potentially trades, to shore up other areas of need.
Clearly, defensive line remains a huge need and running back isn’t far behind. While I recognize the need is great in these areas, I also know that there is a long list of free agents in both position groups.
While I wish the Broncos had drafted a top-notch defensive lineman, I will wait to see what they get done in free agency, whenever that begins. It’s not easy to wait, especially with all the labor uncertainty. But before thinking about what the upcoming season might hold, I have to see what personnel moves the Broncos make.
I know many of you have weighed in on the draft but feel free to offer your thoughts.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
Tags: 2011 NFL Draft
Tebow, Champ and Dawk should be on the phone now rounding up every healthy player on the team to start practice tomorrow morning. With all the changes to the play book and the defense this is a must if we want to become a better team. The real bronco players will show up and the bum’s wont. If Orton is to salty from last year for being benched to get the team together than he isnt a real leader and needs to go. The draft class was great and all but if these guys dont start practicing now they wont do us any good this year. Hope they can get this done but its not looking good so far
I wouldnt voluntarily show up and work for McD either. Just sayin…
Bay, I know you’re not a DJ fan. Lets just hope he does right by us fans this year!
Totally awesome! Rahim will look good in orange.
Lol Brian. Ouch. Didn’t mean that literally!!! No apologies necessary. Just giving you some fodder for your fables!
Personally for me, I’m just hoping to see some better things from our team this year..duh right?
Last year it seemed like we watched our team fall apart fundamentally. It just seemed like they weren’t doing the little things, bad angles, missed tackles, easy catches dropped, dumb penalties, and at times lack of effort. I will be honest, I’m not expecting us to win the Super Bowl, but I sure hope we can muster a better season both matchmatically, statisically, and fundamentally.
I should say “I’m not expecting us to win the Super Bowl this year.” I’m however expecting we’ll win a Super Bowl again…sometime…maybe next year…
Haha, yea Bay is not high on DJ…I still am tho and LOL at not voluntarily showing up to see mcd. If he did want to be a Captain in the new regime however, this would be a great first step. But between guys like Irving at Mike and Miller at sam, 2 leader guys, chances are unlikely. He doesn’t seem willing to take up the mantle anyway, but he is one of the most talented on our Defense and one of the few people on our Defense who can start for just about any team.
Glad to hear that from Rahim. I can believe it too. He kissed that bronco hat like a fan and looked so emotional. Day 1, work on his tackling lol. We already know he has good ball skills.
Von on the other hand is over the hills in love with the cowboys. I was just watching the first episode of everything to prove and he was like he would willingly drop all the way down to the second round if it meant being drafted by the cowboys. Of course along with older statements that he has always invisioned himself playing with a star on the side of his helmet. Just fandom i know and im sure he is happy to be here but he doesnt hide his cowboy crush….at all lol. TRB out…
Well he has been around College Station forever, every Texan boy dreams to be a Cowboy one day, and he very well may be at some time and then we’ll be talking about why didn’t we take Dareus or PP all over again, LOL.
And actually he grew up in Desoto, just south of Dallas, it would be abnormal if he didn’t like the Cowboys.
Round 1)
Von Miller has the chance to be special and if he is coached and pushed properly he could be the best SAM Linebacker in football.
I think in 3 years the distance between Von and Dareus will be pretty significant and I was one of the people that wanted Dareus in the beginning of this process. I remember seeing Dareus 2 years ago and thinking this dude is going to be the next Vince Wilfork but after studying the two players more I really don’t think it was even close. Von is absolutely explosive and with the right attitude and coaching he will be great! Love #58 for him…the next generation Derrick Thomas could be in Denver as we speak.
Round 2)
With the next selection I must say I was a little disappointing at first. I wanted Kyle Rudolph and Marvin Austin to fall to us. When both of them where on the board at 36 and we traded back I was shocked. Then 45 came around and we had Austin and Paea on the board I thought for a second..”OMG we are going to get both of them!” Well when I heard Moore’s name called I was kind of pissed off to be totally honest.
Pick number 45 has kept me up at night. I watched the 1st round again this morning and I finally get it. They showed the highlights for Robert Quinn and in those highlights Austin was getting thrown around pretty good. It is hard once you get all the combine numbers in your head…”38 reps, 5. sec 40, etc..” but those number don’t always translate and a prime example of that is actually Rahim Moore. His forty is 4.56 and when you watch him he looks much faster. I think his playing speed is more like 4.4 and the selection has grown on me. Out of all the picks this is still the one I would like to swap out… Paea would have been my personal pick for #45 but I hope in a year from now I want to take that back.
I love the Orlando Franklin pick! He looks mean and tough. He wasn’t on my radar at all but once I saw the highlights I see what the boys saw in him. I can’t wait to get our running game back to where is belongs and he could be the missing puzzle piece that makes it go. If the Steelers picked him at 31 it would have been harolded as the best pick in the round by all the”experts” but since it was us and #46 it will not get the proper recognition until Franklin pancake blocks Lamar Woodley a couple times. I still like Ryan Harris allot and hope they have the opportunity to compete. I also really hope the 2010 rules apply this year for Free Agents because we will have Ryan and Marcus Thomas for atleast another year.
Round 3)
This could be the ultimate sleeper pick and is one of my favorite selections in the entire draft by any team. Nate Irving could be our starting Mike LB for the next decade. He looks allot like our old #56…Al Wilson. Wow have we missed Al Wilson! Since he left we have not been the same.
This pick enlighten me about the Broncos draft approach. He was a player that was clearly targeted and picked and the right spot. It is not very often that you can get your starting MLB in the 3rd round and I believe the only reason he lasted this long was because he didn’t run at the combine and because of the car crash that almost killed him. Irving is an absolute beast! He is fast, tough and smart. I hope he works out a deal with Ayers to get #56 because he will do it justice. I also want the switch for Ayers because he should have his college number #91 that did him justice and complete the move from Outside LB to Defensive End.
Round 4)
Luke Stocker was the next guy I have my eye on and he was snatched up quickly in the forth round. This round also helped me see why drafting a Defensive Tackle in the second round was not the best option. With 12 defensive lineman going in the first round alone the Talent was not lined up with the Round and would be a huge reach to Draft the “8th best DT” instead of the “#1 Safety”. I actually like Carter more than “Moore” but I hoping that both of them help our Turnover ratio big time! To get Carter in round 4 is pretty amazing and he could be a huge steal as well.
I loved seeing a TE on the TV when we drafted Thomas and if anyone knows how to pick a basketball conversion it is the coach who converted Gates. Great Pick!
Virgil Green was considered one of the best steals in the entire draft and the draft did allot for that very important position. The one guy I would have really liked to see selected by the Broncos in round 5 was running back, Jacquizz Rodgers. Hopefully not selecting a RB in the draft pushes Deanglo Williams closer to the Broncos.
Overall they did a great job without any help from McD. Not having a 4th or 5th round pick knocked Klye Rudolph away from us but it looks like that might have been what is best after all.
GO-BRONCOS!
I am wondering why the Broncos chose Nate Irving as the 1st over all pick at ILB in this draft. One of the keys, as mentioned, in a successful draft is player evaluation. How much evaluation goes into 2nd and 3rd round picks as opposed to 1st round talent?
Allot and he will be a stud! Check him out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otgKKqUcWhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gA-nz5OldA
O.K folks. For those of us wondering what Tebow has been dpoing this off season to work out and his working on contacting others to work out with, this just off the presses…
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b9lfL
nice!
seweatherman, nice article. i like at the end how it talks about orton is probaly doing the same but is just not publicised. no one knows cause no one cares about orton. as soon as we can get rid of him. ITS TEBOW TIME.
socal dont get to excited about what was said about orton. i read on of the ocmments on the page
Where is Kyle Orton?
This week he is playing golf at the swanky Bandon Dunes resort on the Oregon shore of the Pacific Ocean.
I aint mad at him. No matter what he has done. Fans want who they want and it aint him. Id be pissed too. Every city he has been too he is never good enough. Like Rodney Dangerfield “no respect at all”. Not his fault he dont got the IT factor lol
Incumbent starting quarterback Kyle Orton spent Thursday morning working out with a local personal trainer along with at least four Broncos teammates.
It was Orton’s second training session here in Denver this week. Orton, who started 13 games in 2010 before he was injured and then replaced for the final three games by rookie Tim Tebow, has been away from Denver for much of the offseason.
According to a Twitter post from ProLink Sports, other Broncos who attended today’s session with trainer Loren Landow were center J.D. Walton, left guard Zane Beadles and wide receiver Eric Decker. Those three players were all rookies in 2010. ProLink Sports is a marketing firm for professional athletes.
The Broncos have yet tohave formal player-run practices during the lockout. However, small groups of players have been getting together for conditioning sessions when they are in town.
More extensive plans will depend on the status of the lockout.
Players are waiting now to see what the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rules this week about the NFL lockout. That court granted a temporary stay last Friday, ending a 10-hour period in which the lockout was lifted. The court is expected to rule on if it will grant the NFL’s request for a longer stay this week, possibly today.
The circuit court will hear the NFL’s appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Nelson’s ruling in favor of the players on June 3.
—-I stand corrected. Found this article on DP
free agency choices…. ANY THOUGHTS? i want a certain CB as well!! haha
“2011 DENVER BRONCO ROSTER ”
STARTING QB 15 Tebow, Tim ACT TDS 5 INT 3 YDS 654 RTG 82.1
BACK UP QB 9 Quinn, Brady ACT TDS — INT — YDS — RTG 0.0
RB 27 Moreno, Knowshon ACT CAR 182 YDS 779 AVG 4.3 TDS 5
RB 35 Ball, Lance ACT CAR 41 YDS 158 AVG 3.9 TDS 0
PICK UP A FEW OF THESE FREE AGENT RB’S
RB 23 Brown, Ronnie ACT CAR 200 YDS 734 AVG 3.7 TDS 5 MIA
RB 43 Sproles, Darren ACT CAR 50 YDS 267 AVG 5.3 TDS 0 SD
RB 34 Williams, DeAngelo ACT CAR 87 YDS 361 AVG 4.1 TDS 1 CAR
RB 46 Betts, Ladell ACT CAR 45 YDS 150 AVG 3.3 TDS 2 NO
WR 87 Decker, Eric ACT REC 6 YDS 106 AVG 17.7 TDS 1
WR 10 Gaffney, Jabar ACT REC 65 YDS 875 AVG 13.5 TDS 2
WR 84 Lloyd, Brandon ACT REC 77 YDS 1,448 AVG 18.8 TDS 11
WR 19 Royal, Eddie ACT REC 59 YDS 627 AVG 10.6 TDS 3
WR 88 Thomas, Demaryius ACT REC 22 YDS 283 AVG 12.9 TDS 2
PICK UP 2 FREE AGENTS
WR 17 Edwards, Braylon ACT REC 53 YDS 904 AVG 17.1 TDS 7 NYJ
WR 89 Moss, Santana ACT REC 93 YDS 1,115 AVG 12.0 TDS 6 WAS
WR 10 Copper, Terrance ACT REC 18 YDS 157 AVG 8.7 TDS 0 KC
TE Green, Virgil UDF REC — YDS — AVG — TDS —
TE 82 Gronkowski, Dan ACT REC 8 YDS 65 AVG 8.1 TDS 0
TE 81 Quinn, Richard ACT REC 1 YDS 9 AVG 9.0 TDS 0
TE Thomas, Julius UDF REC — YDS — AVG — TDS —
PICK UP A FREE AGENT
TE 81 McMichael, Randy ACT REC 20 YDS 221 AVG 11.0 TDS 2 SD
TE 80 Scaife, Bo ACT REC 36 YDS 318 AVG 8.8 TDS 4 TEN
C 50 Walton, J.D. ACT G 16 GS 16
PICK UP A FREE AGENT
OT 74 Harris, Ryan ACT G 11 GS 10
OT 78 Clady, Ryan ACT G 16 GS 16
OT 75 Clark, Chris ACT G 8 GS 0
T Franklin, Orlando UDF G — GS –
PICK UP A FREE AGENT
T 77 Brown, Jammal ACT G 15 GS 14 WAS
K 3 Hauschka, Steven ACT FGA 7 FGM 6 PCT 85.7 LNG 46
K 5 Prater, Matt ACT FGA 18 FGM 16 PCT 88.9 LNG 59
LS 66 Paxton, Lonie ACT G 16 GS 0
OG 68 Beadles, Zane ACT G 16 GS 14
OG 64 Daniels, Stanley ACT G 7 GS 4
OG 69 Olsen, Eric ACT G 1 GS 0
G 71 Hochstein, Russ ACT G 16 GS 6
G 73 Kuper, Chris ACT G 15 GS 15
P 4 Colquitt, Britton ACT PUNTS 86 AVG 44.6 LNG 63 IN 20 19
PICK UP A FREE AGENT
P 5 Graham, Ben ACT PUNTS 94 AVG 43.4 LNG 65 IN 20 29 ARI
P 9 Koenen, Michael ACT PUNTS 74 AVG 40.7 LNG 61 IN 20 29 ATL
LB 55 Williams, D.J. ACT TCKL 119 SCK 5.5 FF 1 INT —
LB 59 Woodyard, Wesley ACT TCKL 37 SCK 1.0 FF 0 INT —
LB 56 Ayers, Robert ACT TCKL 39 SCK 1.5 FF 1 INT —
LB 57 Haggan, Mario ACT TCKL 87 SCK 5.0 FF 2 INT —
LB Irving, Nate UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
LB 51 Mays, Joe ACT TCKL 40 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
LB Miller, Von UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
LB Mohamed, Mike UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
CB 24 Bailey, Champ ACT TCKL 45 SCK 1.0 FF 0 INT 2
CB 33 Jones, Nate ACT TCKL 57 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
CB 22 Thompson, Syd’Quan ACT TCKL 18 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT 2
PICK UP A FEW FREE AGENTS
CB 21 Asomugha, Nnamdi ACT TCKL 19 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT — OAK
CB 24 Taylor, Ike ACT TCKL 66 SCK 1.0 FF 1 INT 2 PIT
CB 22 Rogers, Carlos ACT TCKL 54 SCK 0.0 FF 1 INT 2 WAS
CB 25 Carr, Chris ACT TCKL 61 SCK 0.0 FF 3 INT 2 BAL
CB 31 Buchanon, Phillip ACT TCKL 49 SCK 0.0 FF 2 INT 2 WAS
S Moore, Rahim UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT –
S 30 Bruton, David ACT TCKL 25 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
FS Carter, Quinton UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
FS 23 Hill, Renaldo ACT TCKL 63 SCK 0.0 FF 1 INT 2
SS 20 Dawkins, Brian ACT TCKL 66 SCK 2.0 FF 2 INT 1
PICK UP A FREE AGENT
FS 37 Considine, Sean ACT TCKL 52 SCK 1.0 FF 1 INT 1 JAC
SS 27 Mikell, Quintin ACT TCKL 88 SCK 1.0 FF 1 INT 3 PHI
SS 43 Sensabaugh, Gerald ACT TCKL 71 SCK 2.0 FF 0 INT 5 DAL
DE 52 Hunter, Jason ACT TCKL 61 SCK 3.0 FF 1 INT 1
DE 92 Dumervil, Elvis ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
DE Beal, Jeremy UDF TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
PICK UP A COUPLE FREE AGENTS
DE 93 Babin, Jason ACT TCKL 58 SCK 12.5 FF 2 INT — TEN
DE 98 Ball, Dave ACT TCKL 30 SCK 7.0 FF 0 INT — TEN
DT 79 Thomas, Marcus ACT TCKL 35 SCK 1.0 FF 0 INT —
DT 99 Vickerson, Kevin ACT TCKL 42 SCK 2.0 FF 1 INT 1
PICK UP A COUPLE FREE AGENTS
DT 95 Adams, Anthony ACT TCKL 37 SCK 2.0 FF 2 INT — CHI
DT 92 Franklin, Aubrayo ACT TCKL 39 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT — SF
TRADE
QB 8 Orton, Kyle ACT TDS 20 INT 9 YDS 3,653 RTG 87.5
RB 25 White, LenDale ACT CAR — YDS — AVG — TDS —
RB 28 Buckhalter, Correll ACT CAR 59 YDS 147 AVG 2.5 TDS 2
RB Eckel, Kyle ACT CAR — YDS — AVG — TDS —
RB Johnson, Jeremiah ACT CAR — YDS — AVG — TDS –
RB 26 Maroney, Laurence ACT CAR 36 YDS 74 AVG 2.1 TDS 0
RB Minor, Brandon ACT CAR — YDS — AVG — TDS —
WR 12 Willis, Matt ACT REC 1 YDS 17 AVG 17.0 TDS 0
WR 17 Davis, Britt ACT REC — YDS — AVG — TDS —
WR Riley, Eron ACT REC — YDS — AVG — TDS —
TE 85 Coats, Daniel ACT REC 0 YDS 0 AVG 0.0 TDS 0
LB Douglas, Dominic ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT –
LB Kelley, Braxton ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT –
LB McLaughlin, Mike ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
LB 46 Larsen, Spencer ACT TCKL 1 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
OLB 54 Robinson, Lee ACT TCKL 2 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
OT Murphy, Shawn ACT G — GS –
OT Taylor, Herb ACT G — GS —
FS Polk, Nick ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
DE Unrein, Mitch ACT TCKL — SCK — FF — INT —
DE 90 Veikune, David ACT TCKL 5 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
DE 98 McBean, Ryan ACT TCKL 19 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT –
DT Leonard, Louis ACT TCKL — SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT 0
DT 91 Fields, Ronald ACT TCKL 22 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
CB 32 COX, Perrish ACT TCKL 58 SCK 0.0 FF 2 INT 1
CB 21 Goodman, Andre’ ACT TCKL 17 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT –
CB 29 Jackson, Chevis ACT TCKL — SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT 0
CB 41 Vaughn, Cassius ACT TCKL 8 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT —
S 34 McCarthy, Kyle ACT TCKL 4 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT –
S 31 McBath, Darcel ACT TCKL 17 SCK 0.0 FF 0 INT –
Don’t know if anyone has posted this or not but apparently Orton finally started working out today…
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_18001010
Freak30, I wonder if he feels threatened by Tebow since he heard the news that Tim hasn`t let up one iota during the offseason. It`s Tims job for the taking.
i remember first joining this blog after last years draft and all the backlash i took for going in on McD
The Decision he made were terrible and i tried to highlight that last year even tho my comment were a lil bit aggressive. McDaniels was the worst coach ever. He made very bad personnel decisions and honestly he set out team back about years. Fox made some great picks we needed another line backer to put next to DJ so that he doesn’t have to make every single tackle and Dawkins is getting old we needed some one else on the back end to cover and make some tackles in the secondary
our offense is ok im not a Tebow believer but lets give the kid a chance and see how he fares. the only thing we need to do is address the D Line with a free agent pick up
While watching the draft, I noticed all the noble sounding names like Von, Virgil, and Julius and imagined the Broncos on a quest for the trophy and wrote this intriguing article:
http://www.divineinspirationastrology.com/articles/BroncoCrusaders.pdf
Yea Strand…
Orton has not even been heard of this whole off season and then when all of this news comes out about how Tebow has been working every day and working with teammates, he all of a sudden shows up out of nowhere!
Walton needs to be taking snaps with Tebow instead of Orton!! I am glad however that Orton is working out now because it will only increase his trade value!!
We need to trade Orton straight up for a great DT or a couple mediocre DT’s. We have our QB in Tebow but still do not have our DL. I think we need to get at least two starters for of DL!! Vickerson could be a starter with how great he was last year but we still need at least two viable starters for depth and rotation!!
I really want us to re-sign Bannan. He was great last year and was by far the hardest working and best production our of our D-line last year. Him and Vickerson really stepped up and proved that they have what it takes! We can re-sign Bannan for basically nothing but I would still like to get maybe two more DT!
2-3 DT and Deangelo Williams will be automatically fixing our team in a huge way! If we do that, I really believe a lot of us will be very surprised with the result next year! We actually changed for the good finally and Fox is a guy that gives that immediate improvement so here’s to a new CBA, FA, and a heck of a season opening beating the Faiders A$$ on Monday night football in our house!!!
Brazenwood that was quite a story you posted.
Like Mikey said, it was quite a story. An angle that I doubt any writer would take. Nice play on names and words. Guess thats the poet part of you. demaryius thomas however was spelt wrong. Hopefully this draft class is all we hope it is. TRB out…
freak, what you must understand is that McDaniels gave out some ridiculous contracts, from the 1 year upgrade orton will be making now, to the contract we gave goodman, bannan, williams, and all these guys who were over 30 during signage. He straight up blew alot of cash in my opinion. The Brass wants Bannan back but not at that price. Also they hope to get Marcus Thomas back. I am believing that will be enough if not Seattle can use a QB like Orton for DT Mebane or something. Either way, Im not writing anyone off based on production under McDaniels and Shannahan for that matter. Those guys didn’t know defense and their Dcoords with the exception of Nolan were subpar at best. TRB out…
A cacophony of numbers and a divine intervention!
That’s what a cbaless off season has brought us down to, LOL.
I don’ think that we have anything to worry about when it comes to Tebow. Here is a good article I just found that pretty well lays out what he has been up to.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/broncos-update-tim-tebow-organizing-team-workouts
Talking about our D line. I still can’t help but think how motivated Tebow got them in the last three games. I keep wondering if that motivation did what it did the last three games, what would it have been like getting them motivated to get the ball back for him during the entire year. Motivation goes a long ways. Please do not misunderstand me. I know we need some d-linemen, but, the difference in our defense those last three games was like night and day to the rest of the year.
Seems as if Dawkins is taking exception to all my early am comments yesterday spurred on by Woody’s column, or most likely vice versa since people do pay attention to Woody, haha, here is the lowdown as reported by Klis:
Broncos players are awaiting a St. Louis courtroom ruling on whether the NFL lockout will continue before they go forward with tentative plans to gather as a group for workout sessions.
The ruling is expected today.
If the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decides to uphold Minnesota Judge Susan Nelson’s earlier ruling to end the NFL lockout, the Broncos players likely would reconvene for organized team activity (OTA) workouts at Dove Valley in the next week or so.
If the St. Louis appellate judges decide Nelson’s lockout-lifting ruling should be “stayed” until the league’s appeal on whether it can enforce a lockout can be formally heard June 3, Broncos co-captain Brian Dawkins can enact his preliminary plans for a large group of Broncos players to gather for three or four days of workouts.
The workouts would be conditioning-based and not the typical practices in which players would work on plays or blocking and tackling drills.
“Our situation is different from that of the Saints,” Dawkins said.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has organized self-run practices this week for 37 players at Tulane Stadium. Brees and many Saints players have been executing the plays of Saints coach Sean Payton for the past five years.
Broncos players, though, have not run through a play designed by coach John Fox, who was hired in January. Players did receive Fox’s new playbook for the first time last Friday, when the lockout was lifted for about 10 hours. But the players have not had coaches teach them how to run those plays.
So instead of 7-on-7 pass drills or something resembling a minicamp session, the Broncos player workouts likely would be supervised by trainer Loren Landow, the director of sports performance for the Steadman Hawkins Clinic. The Broncos players could hold their workouts at the sports bubble, which the Broncos don’t own but use for practices during inclement weather.
“If we did get a group together, I would work on all the athletic demands associated with the sport,” Landow said. “Everything from the acceleration, top-end speed, deceleration. And I’d also work on the metabolic conditioning demands. If they were to flip and go to an OTA next week, these guys have to get some sort of metabolic training under them that allows them to run a series, series and a half.”
Several current and former Broncos and locally raised NFL players already are working out with Landow. Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton, center J.D. Walton, left guard Zane Beadles and receiver Eric Decker trained Thursday with Landow.
“All of us are training, all of us are working, so in a sense if we do come together, nothing would change as far as what we’re doing now,” Dawkins said. “But we would be able to build camaraderie by working out together.”
All this waiting for the judge this, the judge that, hoping for some favorable ruling for the players to happen is unfortunately not the way to go Dawk, these planned activities should of been in place long ago, like the Saints and many other teams. This team ended last season at the tail end of things, and already now they are behind the eight ball. Very, very arduous road ahead as is and only making it harder by just playing the hoping the judge rules in your favor waiting game. Makes no sense to me at all.
I know, I know, individuals and small groups have already been working out… So what? They have all been off since early January, don’t you think it would be expected of anyone to be working out after 4 months of vacation???? Geeeeee!!!
That’s not enough though, the team needs to get together and workout together to build camaderie and itself, even if you don’t think you can practice the new playbook since it’s all new, you must organize yourselves players! Isn’t that what you guys are all about, organizing yourselves against the league because it’s not good enough for you? I thought you guys were good at that self made thing, obviously not.
Still attempting to light a fire under everyone’s arses here!
Specially Bailey and Doom, they make most of the money, they are uncontested leading forces on our team, where are you two guys, what’s the hold up, do something, pay your teammates back with some worthy leadership now that it needs it most, lead this effort for gosh sakes!
I guess there are two ways to look at “things Broncos” the way they are now:
1. Being happy with what’s going on and keep posting all the positive “make everybody jump for joy” tidbits that the media reports, mainly regarding Tebow’s effort to organize.
2. Being unhappy with the way things are and demanding more, like defensive leaders of our team to step up to the plate.
Guess I made it clear where I stand, LOL.
Remember, we had a decent offense, but our defense was dead last in just about every category. Need I say more? I’m proud of Tebow, but he is not going to turn this franchise around on his own, without D you are doomed in this league, specially no stopping the run D like ours, meaning teams take all day to simply run it down your throat, end result Tebow doesn’t hardly ever get the ball. Just rying to keep things in perpective here is all.
And interestingly enough the O is reportedly getting all kinds of players to organize themselves somehow, but the D is completely AWOL, as if they are still under the heavy burden of being the worst D unit in the league. Depressing me to the max.
just trying
perspective…boy it looks so much better when spelled correcctly….
correctly, hahaha.
I think that if all the players orginized there own workouts and practices that might send a positive message to the owners, maybe not. It seems like both sides are just draggin’ their feet waiting for someone else to deteremine what happens.
I’m starting to leave the depression stage and entering the mad stage. I don’t get why they can’t get this figured out. I’m no genius but $9 billion is a lot of money and they can’t figure out how to divide it up. Everyone wants more money which is causing more problems, but a ***** ain’t one. LOL!
This whole thing is really taking the fun out of football for me.
I’m wondering if it wasn’t for lawyers, would this thing be settled by now? We all know that the lawyers have to make house and expensive car payments too. At how much an hour are they getting paid? and.. Who is paying them for what ever work they are doing? I for one do not understand this whold scenario. They want to talk and get it settled, but they are tring to do it through the court. What sense does this make?
It has been said many times by many people “The only people making money during the lockout is the lawyers.”
It has been said many times by many people “The only people making money during the lockout is the lawyers.”
I apologize for the double post.
I dont doubt the guys are training. Lil pockets of them have been training long before the draft. A more organized one on a larger scale would be nice tho. Surprised most of them don’t live in the denver area. Would make things easier. No point waiting for the ruling but maybe to dawk since its already about to come up might as well wait to hear it. The true strength of this organized workouts like was said is for comradary and bringing the new guys into the fold. Heck…time for some woodyard haircuts lol. But yea, the defense should be training alot harder than the O but im sure they are in good shape, the playbook is what they need to know and apparently they cant learn that solo but they can at least gel. Maybe all this is a lot easier said than done but once this ruling goes into effect we will see what our players are about. TRB out…
Bologna. They cant run plays. Umm. Base packages Dawk. You, Champ and DJ have seen it all. I mean really. Start with the basics. Add the exotic packages when the players/coaches reconvene.
To use the litigation as an excuse is downright pathetic and an insult to most of our intelligence.
It’s clear as ever, the players are only in it for the money. Sure Drew Brees took some initiative. Could it be since his name is on the lawsuit, that he felt compelled to act? I do
Disgusted 33 Year Bronco Fan
i blame the owners. they could’ve had a deal worked out in the 2 last years. they’re the ones who got up and walked out of mediation. the players gave up more to try to work out a deal and it still wasn’t good enough. the lockout was lifted, the lockout they started, they could’ve let it be so the season could get started and they didnt like it. they once again stopped football. its obviously the owners fault. come on. the majority of the fans spoke out at the draft, fans from each team were represented when the commisioner walk out. ”WE WANT FOOTBALL!” heck i want football. im glad they boooed him. this is ridiculous.
You would of thought that everyone of them got the message, but apparantely they didn’t. The said they were doing this for the fans? Which ones? I am one that does not want this as it is right now, and for the life of me, I can not think of one fan that does like this situation. Actually, none of them are thinking about the fans or this would of never started.
For the fans? Of course. We are the reason they will all get richer.
Whatever deal they work out, us fans will pay for it. Literally. My 1 year old has a better concept of sharing…
Agreed. All they are doing for the fans are screwing us a bit more. (or trying to figure out how to)
Meanwhile, they are all playing golf these days, ownership/management and players, i.e. Fox, Elway, Tebow, Orton just to name the top guys….. Tough life….
I don’t know about the rest of them but Tebow is doing his charity golf tournament I think this weekend.