Let’s Get It StartedFinally. The regular season is here. Preseason just doesn’t do much for me. Sure, it’s mildly interesting to see if any players emerge as legitimate. Running back Selvin Young undoubtedly falls into that category.
But a guy like Young is the exception. There just are not that many surprises.
Now the rosters are set and it is go-time. It is time to see where every team stands. Here are a few observations on the Broncos as they enter Sunday’s regular season opener at Buffalo.
Here We GoHere we go. Let the football season begin.
Broncos training camp started this weekend and the cacophony of opinions will undoubtedly follow shortly. We all think—actually, we all know– we have the answers for everything orange and blue.
I’m making a pact with myself this year. Call it a New Year’s resolution for the new football season: I resolve to enjoy each day of the season and remind myself that I’m just an interested observer whose opinions don’t really mean too much.
Ahhhhh. It feels good to exhale. The pressure is off.
High-Character GuysWell, we’re starting to see the look of our defense change a little bit, going a little bit towards what Coach Bates is used to — monsters for the d-line. I think it’s caused a little stress for our equipment managers, but they’ll figure it out sooner or later. Hopefully it takes a lot pressure off the linebackers. D.J. is a great athlete, really fast and talented guy, and if we can keep the offensive linemen off of him he could have a Pro Bowl-caliber year in my opinion. Athletically he’s as good as it gets as far as that position. So I look forward to see how he does in this defense now that we’ve added these huge guys that Coach Bates is famous for.
It should also make life a lot easier for us on the back end. I think defensive line and defensive backs are probably some of the more linked positions, as far as how well we do sometimes affects how well they do. And if they can get a pass rush it makes us look like the best secondary in the world, which we are.
Photos from the Shanahan Golf ClassicOTA Day 1: First GlimpseWell, 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 …
The OffseasonIt’s very exciting to be embarking on the preliminary stages of a new season. We brought in a lot of new players who will add a lot to the team, and we’re excited about getting into this mini camp and starting to work together.
I think a lot of people don’t understand how much goes into our jobs, and how many people around here — not including us — are working towards making us better, like the training staff and the equipment guys and strength coaches and everybody upstairs. It’s a lot of people.
Painting the Roster By NumbersEarlier this month, we learned that Travis Henry had successfully pried No. 20 away from fellow running back Mike Bell, moving the second-year back to No. 30, a jersey last donned for a regular-season game by Terrell Davis.
The rest of the numbers game is coming into focus, as well, with many new Broncos grabbing their digits for the upcoming season. Grab your scorecards, and let’s go:
Darrell Hackney, QB: He’ll wear No. 4, which he donned at at UAB.
Brandon Stokley, WR: The Broncos issued him No. 14. He has never worn a number outside of the 80s in his NFL career until now, but wore this number to great acclaim back at Louisiana-Lafayette. It was retired from UL-L annals after he completed his four years there with 241 receptions for 3,702 yards and 25 touchdowns while becoming the first player in Division I-A annals to average 100 receiving yards per game for his career.
Glenn Martinez, WR: Will wear No. 17. He wore No. 87 for the Rhein Fire in 2005 and Nos. 12 and 84 for the Detroit Lions in recent years.
Paul Smith, FB: Will wear No. 26. He’s been all over the map, donning jersey No. 27 in San Francisco, 40 in Detroit and 31 in St. Louis.
Troy Fleming, FB: Jersey number 35. He donned 44 with the Tennessee Titans and had No. 27 at the University of Tennessee.
Eric Hill, CB: Jersey number 36. He had Nos. 14 and 37 for the Colts earlier in his career, but that belongs to fellow Colorado State alumnus Cecil Sapp. Hill wore No. 38 for the Carolina Panthers on their practice squad last year and donned No. 26 for the Hamburg Sea Devils in 2006. Back at CSU, he played wide receiver and wore No. 7.
Eddie Moore, LB: Will wear No. 51, donned by Keith Burns the last two years. Moore wore No. 58 in his four years with the Miami Dolphins — three of which were under Broncos assistant head coach Jim Bates — and was No. 37 in your program at the University of Tennessee.
Montrae Holland, OL: Will wear No. 70 after donning No. 61 for his entire New Orleans Saints career. He also wore No. 61 at Florida State.
Carlos Hall, DE: Will wear No. 98 in Denver; he had No. 92 in Kansas City and No. 97 in Tennessee.
Alvin McKinley, DT: Issued No. 99. He had No. 97 for most of his years in Cleveland, although he started there with No. 70. He also wore No. 97 at Mississippi State.
Some players have not yet been issued numbers: tight end Daniel Graham, punter Eddie Johnson, quarterback Patrick Ramsey, offensive tackle Jacob Rogers and three NFL Europa allocations: tight end Teyo Johnson, guard Kevin McAlmont and cornerback Lamont Reid. On Graham, it’s worth noting that there is only one number in the 80s currently open (81).
Talking Tight Ends
As Daniel Graham returns to his hometown, he joins a team that could likely use the boost a tight end of his ilk could provide.
That’s because the Broncos, a team that once used the tight end like no other, are coming off a season in which they got fewer receptions, yards and first downs per game from tight end than at any time this decade.
(Before I go any further, I must note the discrepancy in tight-end receiving totals from the games Jake Plummer started last year versus the ones in which Jay Cutler took part. In Plummer’s 11 starts, Broncos tight ends collectively averaged 2.4 receptions, 22.7 yards, 0.1 touchdowns and 1.4 first downs a game. Cutler’s five starts saw those averages skyrocket to 3.4 receptions, 53.4 yards, 1.0 touchdowns and 3.0 first downs per week, numbers that compare favorably to the performance of Broncos tight ends in previous years, particularly between 2000 and 2003.)
But back to the decade-long numbers. Granted, Shannon Sharpe’s exploits are now four years in the past. But the Broncos’ utilization of tight ends went far beyond the man who amassed more yardage, receptions and touchdowns than anyone else at the position. In fact, it was during the two seasons when Sharpe played for the Baltimore Ravens that the Broncos had their best per-game numbers from the position — 6.4 receptions (2001), 70.3 yards (2000), 0.8 touchdowns (2001) and 3.6 first downs (2001).
Graham’s receiving numbers don’t put him among the league’s pace-setters at his position, but the Patriots shuffle tight ends in and out of the lineup the way most teams do defensive backs.
Nevertheless, since Graham entered the league in 2002, his 120 receptions rank 24th among tight ends. But his 1,393 yards place him 18th; his 17 touchdowns are 10th-best and his 11.6 yards per reception is sixth among tight ends with at least 100 receptions since 2000.
It’s too early to tell just what kinds of numbers Graham will amass in the Broncos’ offense — although his receiving totals at the University of Colorado seem to show that he is capable of some spectacular tallies when given the opportunity to catch the football. But Graham’s first charge in joining the Broncos is obvious — to help the tight ends as a collective return to the productivity they displayed four, five, six and seven years ago, years when the Broncos demonstrated how to make tight ends indispensable to an efficient offense.
By the numbers at tight end, this decade:
2000:
Receptions/Game: 5.6
Yards/Game: 70.3
Touchdowns/Game: 0.4
First Downs/Game: 3.5
2001:
Receptions/Game: 6.4
Yards/Game: 61.7
Touchdowns/Game: 0.8
First Downs/Game: 3.6
2002:
Receptions/Game: 5.5
Yards/Game: 56.3
Touchdowns/Game: 0.4
First Downs/Game: 2.8
2003:
Receptions/Game: 4.7
Yards/Game: 55.4
Touchdowns/Game: 0.6
First Downs/Game: 3.1
2004:
Receptions/Game: 4.1
Yards/Game: 50.3
Touchdowns/Game: 0.4
First Downs/Game: 2.6
2005:
Receptions/Game: 3.7
Yards/Game: 42.1
Touchdowns/Game: 0.1
First Downs/Game: 2.4
2006:
Receptions/Game: 2.7
Yards/Game: 32.4
Touchdowns/Game: 0.4
First Downs/Game: 1.7
