This was about as much athleticism as the Broncos would display on Tuesday morning, as Head Coach Mike Shanahan called his team together after pre-practice stretching, said a few words and then dismissed them for the day.
“We stretched well,” he said.
Most players couldn’t leave the field quickly enough, sprinting as though there was a loose football sitting in the end zone, waiting for someone to claim it for a touchdown.
“Everybody was amped up,” running back Travis Henry said. “I thought he was going to talk about the wind because it was really windy yesterday and we kind of lost focus in some areas. It was a surprise.
“He gave us a bone, and we’re going to take care of our responsibility, enjoy this time off and come back in July (for minicamp).”
So there’s not much in the way of notes from the day. Wide receivers Brandon Marshall, Glenn Martinez, Rod Smith and Brandon Stokley were all out of uniform, continuing their rehabilitation. Today, it was Martinez’s turn to be tethered to the goalpost for some conditioning work; on Wednesday, it was Brandon Marshall who went through that session after practice concluded.
And just as Shanahan shook up the schedule by calling off practice, some players threw a curveball to onlookers by switching jersey numbers:
A slew of other Broncos changed jerseys a group that included including safety/linebacker Steve Cargile (from No. 38 to No. 97), linebacker Ian Gold (from No. 52 to No. 91), linebacker D.J. Williams (from No. 55 to No. 60) and defensive tackle Demetrin Veal (from No. 97 to No. 38), among others.
And here’s a few more photos from the short session:
It felt like the last day of school here at Dove Valley, and in a way, it is, although the players will continue in offseason conditioning for the next few weeks. For the coaches, the end of OTAs commences their longest respite of the year. And for your humble blogger, the close of this practice means vacation is in sight … but still a few days away. I’ve got plenty of stories to write and Broncos TV pieces to edit over the next few days, so we can keep bringing you something new each weekday, even while I’m away.
Back with more over the next few days … until then, vaya con dios.
(Oh, by the way … my long-lasting respect to anyone who in the comments section can identify which cartoon character said “unfettered hurly-burly” and under what circumstance he or she said it.)
Elvis Dumervil came to Denver fresh off one of the most prolific pass-rushing and playmaking seasons for any college defensive lineman in recent memory. Questions nevertheless arose about his 5-foot-11 stature after the Broncos used a fourth-round pick on him, but the answer to those were simple — he simply found himself at the epicenter of the play too often to be ignored. That was “the biggest factor” in the decision to select him, General Manager Ted Sundquist said.
With seven sacks in the last four games, Elvis Dumervil has quickly become one of the NFL’s most lethal pass-rushing threats. So you’d think that as he watched the Raiders allow nine sacks to the Seattle Seahawks last Monday night — including three in succession during one disastrous first-quarter possession — that the rookie would be licking his chops.