Our series of interviews during the recently-completed organized team activities continues. This time, we bring you a conversation that new defensive back Tracy Porter (TP) had with the Broncos’ flagship radio station, 850 KOA in Denver.
850 KOA: During the offseason, there has been some conversation about the Broncos’ struggles against spread offenses last year. The Broncos set about to specifically add some defensive backs and you and Drayton Florence were at the top of that list. How do you see the secondary coming together?
TP: We’re definitely starting to gel. We have a lot of experience back there with Champ, Drayton and myself. We have Chris Harris who was here last year, a number of guys on that back end. We’re starting to develop that chemistry. We had quite a few good practices. We got our hands on passes; we knocked balls down; we intercepted multiple balls. That can only be big for us during the upcoming season.
850 KOA: Peyton might not like to hear that you guys intercepted a number of passes.
TP: (chuckling) I don’t know any quarterback that wants to hear the fact they’ve been intercepted a few times but that just goes to the fact that we (DBs) really hone in on our craft. We want to push this team to get better as much as we can. By causing havoc on our offense, that’s only going to make those guys get better. We push each other back and forth.
850 KOA: When a guy has the chance to sit down and decide where he is going to go play, what struck you about the Broncos and how did the whole free agent process work?
TP: First and foremost, every guy wants to take care of his family but aside from that, just being put in a position where you feel like you can be successful. Every player knows what situation to put himself in to become successful. Coming here, I had an opportunity to play. I had an opportunity to learn from one of, if not the best, corners in the game in Champ (Bailey). Being under his wing, his mentoring me, that was another thing that drew me to come here to Denver. Aside from that, the defense was one or two plays away from winning games and getting to the championship. (They needed) a piece here and a piece there to get those guys there (to the championship). We have a quarterback in Peyton and that speaks for itself what he is going to do for the offense. The few pieces that we put together on defense with what they’ve already had with Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller make it better for a secondary guy.
850 KOA: New Orleans is as low as you can get in terms of elevation. Denver is as high as you can go, at least in the NFL. What kind of adjustment was it for you physically when you first got here?
TP: It was a bit of an adjustment basically coming from ground zero to mile high air. That’s a big difference. I felt like I was 350 pounds the first couple times I ran. I’m slowly becoming adjusted to the climate, adjusted to the altitude and I can only continue to adjust. You can run back and forth as much as you want but you won’t get that real test until you’re out there in pads and you’re doing football movements.
850 KOA: Realistically, how good do you expect this defense to be or is it too early to tell?
TP: I don’t think it’s too early at all. The way they finished last year, the way they played, you can only continue to go up. We got the necessary pieces. Guys are flying around. Though it’s just OTAs, I think it’s a great start and a great level to determine where we’ll be. We’re getting our hands on the ball. We’re intercepting passes. This is against the (first-team) offense. Things are definitely looking bright for us. We just have to continue to build on where we’re at in OTAs and mini-camp.
How much improvement do you expect out of the Broncos’ defense this year?
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Mike
Good to see you on here kod!
Thx cat!
Nice breakdown OT.. I think DT position will be vastly improved this year. Just as important for the reserves/practice squad players to be ready though. You’re right about Bruton flying under the radar. He was all over the field vs. Steelers in playoffs last year!
Afternoon Royal. Hows it going?
strandsky – how you been bro!
I`m blessed Royal. I`m doing really well.
That’s great strand.. I read you’re going to trng camp this year!! awesome!!
OT, Cat, and Kod, good to see ya all. Man, when in the world are we gonna get Osweiler and Hillman signed. Talk about having patience.
I`m going with my buddy that I went with last year. This time I get to see Manning up close. Heck Yeah!!
Shoud be real soon strand.
August 2nd my friend. I may even go to the scrimmage at Mile High. That would be a blast!
Hey Strand! Great to see ya! So jealous that you’re heading to training camp. You’d better be yelling “ALL HAIL THE NECK!!” hahaha
I’m not too worried about those guys………there’s still plenty of time and not a crucial item on the FO’s agenda I’m sure. I think you’ll see it done by the end of next week though. I think both sides are pretty close……….it’s just about the garaunteed money. But hey, they’re rookies so they should be fortunate enough to have a job! LMAO
I think your right Kod.
Howdy Strand – Have fun at camp! I’m jealous!
Rbf1 – agreed on our DT’s, it’s actually one of the groups I’m most excited about this year, and I think we will surprise people with the guys we have, but I included them as a “weakness” just b/c all of the scruntity surrounding the position. On Bruton, people often forget (myself included) that he’s only 24 years old. We have three quality young guys at the safety position, hopefully two will pan out.
strand – you should come up for Raiders or Chargers game – we could hook up for some pre-game festivities!!
I hope things workout for Bruton, OT. Don’t know too much about Adams but understand he’s pretty solid from what I’ve read.
And we need to remember that safety is one of those positions that takes a while to get really good at…….and where instant success is not the norm. A little patience is needed with the young guys………..
I don’t really know too much about Admas either, but everything I’ve read seems solid. I do know that he was born in Patterson, NJ which is a VERY rough area.. If he grew up there, he must be a tough kid. He went undrafted in 2004, and signed with the 49ers. What stands out to me is his durability. Take a look at his games played, he’s only missed one game in the last three seasons, and has not played less than 14 games in a season, since his rookie year – that’s pretty impressive IMO.
http://www.nfl.com/player/mikeadams/2505708/profile
There’s no doubt that one (or two) of our younger guys needs to step at safety, as Adams is not the answer, but he’s a good mentor and provides depth. It could be an issue being so young at that spot, but thankfully we have a good pass rush. Carter seemed to come into his own as the season went on, I just really hope Moore can rebound and improve on his tackling.
Wow…. Take a look a Dawkins’ career sacks, INT’s, and FF’s….
http://www.nfl.com/player/briandawkins/2500343/profile
To put that into perspective, here are Ed Reed’s career numbers…
http://www.nfl.com/player/edreed/2505221/profile
Agree with you on Carter – OT… the kid was a great draft pick!
Dawk deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. First ballot.
I concur Cat.
Royal, that would be ideal. I`ll make a note of that. I gotta go to atleast 1 maybe two games this year. I`m pushing to go to the Steelers game week 1. I`ll see, money is tight. LOL
I hear you strand…that’s going to be a great opening game!!
OT, I believe Moore is gonna step up to the plate this year.
I think will win against the Steelers with ease. Pittsburgh has lost to many valuable players this offseason. I think they`ll tale a step backwards this year. Thats my observation anyway.
I`m no prophet though, I may be way off base. LOL
What up guys. Cant stay and chat just thought I would say hi and have a good one
Go Broncos!!!
Hey, DO, good to hear from you. BRONCOS 2012
So your taking another vacation Cat?
Lol! Yes! Off to Tennessee to see my niece. But that’s what summer is for, for teachers. I don’t get any vacations for 9 months!
Strand… I agree about the Steelers. Plus they have stupid Haley trying to mess up the offense and the tension between Ben and Haley has been real, even if the Steelers are trying to cover it up. All I got to say is I’d much rather play them at the beginning of the season than the end. We are going to be an enigma for at least the first six weeks so hopefully we can keep changin it up and no one can figure us out! LOL
Hey my bronco bros!!! What’s going on?
I just put my big broncos desk calendar at my desk today!! It shows AWESOME pride and represents like no other. It catches everyones attention when they walk by my desk
hey strand whats up? glad to see everything turned out okay for you man. one thing i would browse here for while i was so busy were updates about your situation. thats pretty crazy stuff the people in colorado had to go thru. i’m glad its over for you.
i wish sometimes i wasnt so dang busy. but i realize it means lots of work and i cant complain. not much to talk about on here so its not as hard to miss time. i need to think about the best and worst moments for me in broncos history. so many of both. more best, of course. good subject.
and i gotta respond to you from yday db. i need to ‘adjust’ my point i guess. i hear ya on doing what you love for less and thats great for you. nothing better than doing what you love. i do what i love and my wife hates her job. our demeaner about work and after work couldnt possibly be more different. i wish she loved her job like i do. but i guess part of my point would be that you wouldnt turn down a huge raise doing what you say youre doing for much less (and you shouldn’t, or if you do dont tell your wife). for example if i was doing what i do and someone said ‘hey louisianabronco fan, i want to pay you $20 million a year to do that from now on’ i wouldnt say ‘nah, i love what i do and i dont want you to spend all that money when i’d do it for almost nothing. keep your money’. i’d say ok before he finished his sentence. i’m sure you and most others (like 99.72%) would too. and players shouldnt take less than whats being offered or what fair market value for what they do is. now dont get me wrong, the money theyre being payed to play football while the men and women teaching our kids and in the military get dirt, is bass ackwards and stupid to say the least. but it is what it is. market value. taking less money to do something else that suits you better is different than not excepting or pursuing money you deserve or have earned (i know how my post sounded). now the part of my point thats part opinion i guess is the players demanding that money shouldnt be attacked because its their right and they should try to get it if their worth it. the market sets what they can ask for, if theyre not worth it they wont get it. and who says just because they want to make as much as possible they dont love the game? they can love the game and ask for as much money as possible. you can do both. i simply dont agree with bashing someone who is just trying to earn all they can doing what they are good at. and i should probably say ‘almost all (like 99.89%)’ instead of ‘all’ when i reference people that would do the same thing they criticize the players for. i was reading other blogs with people saying that kind of stuff adnaseaum. was annoying. we could go on forever about market value and capitalism and the right thing to do but i’m just making a generic point. man i cant wait for the season to start….
Have a blast Cat, safe travels! God be with ya!
Freak, good to see ya bro. How goes it my friend?
LouisanaBroncosfan, the danger is over. It was like out of a Hollywood movie, real erie stuff. Its good to be back home. I`m glad your busy with work. Better to be to busy, than not busy at all. Its good to catch up with ya. Camp is just around the corner. BRONCOS 2012!
And thats a good observation Cat about Ben and Haley not meshing together. Me likey. LOL
Ya strand i like it too. Haley and benny goin at it and struggling to get on the same page is great to see. I can’t stand the Steelers. Or ben. Or haley. Good times. Keep it goin guys!! Hey strand u got an opinion on what me n daddybronc r talkin about? U think players should go for the money or be glad theyre being paid so much doing what they like to do? Or do u hate when a player goes for the money instead of what’s considered best for the team? I say i dont blame nor judge him for it even if it aggravates me.
What’s going on Strand bro?? I’ll be giving you a call tomorrow after work around 5:00 pm. Well that would be 3:00 pm for you. Talk to you then bro. Gotta get to sleep. Haha the full time job thing is killing my sleep schedule!
I think I mostly agree w/ the way you explained it LOU. Although, If someone did offer me a lot more money for what I do it would irritate me because then a bunch more folks would jump in with wrong motives.
In Manning’s case I have been critical, primarily because while Peyton is likely worth every dime (market price), what he takes in pay – has hurt both the Colts in prior years and the Broncos now. Especially now with salary caps in place with such specific rules.
Any Turtle sightings? I think Turtle musta got banned.
Take care all. God Bless!
Morning Everyone!
Well, it’s Thursday……….which is a day closer to Friday………….and also exactly two weeks til training camp!!!! WHOOP! Feels like it’s taking forever for it to get here!
http://blogs.denverpost.com/crime/2012/07/11/broncos-linebacker-dj-williams-flunked-doping-test-court-documents/4168/
Great article in the DP about DJ’s case. Didn’t know a lot of the details of it until after reading this. I’m still not sure what to think of it all. Either way, I highly doubt an appeal will win and the league will uphold its suspension. Kinda makes you wonder what the heck DJ was up to though……..
Didn’t catch the Espys but saw the highlights of Tim’s speech……….DMT didn’t want to speak, which doesn’t suprise me one bit. lol Don’t worry Tim, Peyton will take care of us just fine! hahaha
DB………I think turtle had mentioned he wouldn’t be on a whole lot until training camp started……..I don’t think he got banned.
This was also an interesting article in the the DP about strength and conditioning.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_21056509/broncos-strength-coach-luke-richesson-wants-players-finish
It’s hard to believe that we have sucked so bad down the stretch every season. We’re an astounding 26-76 in December on the road in our franchise history………….and in the last three seasons we’ve gone 2-12 down the stretch……….that is just plain ugly!
Let’s hope they can get this turned around and make us one of the toughest teams to play down the stretch of a season and solidify our spot in the playoffs!
hmmmm, I posted a comment earlier and now it’s awaiting moderation. What’s that all about I wonder? I only posted a couple links to articles in the DP and didn’t use any foul language. Bizarre!
Try reposting with no links…………….
Morning Everyone!
Well, it’s Thursday……….which is a day closer to Friday………….and also exactly two weeks til training camp!!!! WHOOP! Feels like it’s taking forever for it to get here!
Great article in the DP about DJ’s case. Didn’t know a lot of the details of it until after reading this. I’m still not sure what to think of it all. Either way, I highly doubt an appeal will win and the league will uphold its suspension. Kinda makes you wonder what the heck DJ was up to though……..
Didn’t catch the Espys but saw the highlights of Tim’s speech……….DMT didn’t want to speak, which doesn’t suprise me one bit. lol Don’t worry Tim, Peyton will take care of us just fine! hahaha
DB………I think turtle had mentioned he wouldn’t be on a whole lot until training camp started……..I don’t think he got banned.
This was also an interesting article in the the DP about strength and conditioning.
It’s hard to believe that we have sucked so bad down the stretch every season. We’re an astounding 26-76 in December on the road in our franchise history………….and in the last three seasons we’ve gone 2-12 down the stretch……….that is just plain ugly!
Let’s hope they can get this turned around and make us one of the toughest teams to play down the stretch of a season and solidify our spot in the playoffs!
Looks like the links were the culprit I guess………..
Good Morning Kod ! – yeah I read the same article on DJ Williams…. more to it than we knew.
I didn’t see the espys but out of curiosity, what did Tim have to say… in a nutshell?
Yeah – it’s has been pretty bad down the stretch… numbers don’t lie. New S&C coach seems to be on the right path keeping the players in line, from diet, conditioning, monitoring their heart rates, etc…
Sure hope this new approach makes a difference.
Morning rbf1!
He didn’t say too much………..he thought that Bubba should’ve won the award. Thanked the lord, as per the usual. Thanked his former teammates and then told Peyton to take care of them. lol He also gave props to DMT and said they had a great year together and DMT came up huge in a lot of games.
That’s about it in a nutshell.
And why do we sum things up in a nutshell anyways? LMAO where did that saying come from?
Food for thought…………thanks to the power of the Internet. lol This is what i found.
The origin goes back much further than Shakespeare:
Entry for “Nutshell”, _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_, E. Cobham Brewer, 1898: “The Iliad in a nutshell. Pliny tells us that Cicero asserts that the whole Iliad was written on a piece of parchment which might be put into a nutshell.”
So it dates back at least as far as Pliny (61/63 AD- ca.116 AD) or Cicero (106 BC- 43BC)
Thanks for the scoop kod.. much appreciated.
nutshell – a slang term to describe events or meeting notes with a brief snynopsis … “just give me the facts”.
Wow – interesting information… in a nutshell…lol!!
“synopsis”