Posts Tagged ‘Sam Adams’

OTA Day 12: Notes, Photos and Sam Adams

June 5th, 2007 - 4:11pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

Sam Adams
The newest Bronco had little choice but to don jersey No. 63 for his first organized team activity of the 2007 offseason. All the numbers in the 90s — including jersey No. 95, which he wore in Cincinnati last season — were claimed by his new teammates.

“Sixty-three is a great number,” he said. “My father was 61. There’s no significance.”

But, to say the least, the jersey was a tad snug on the 345-pound defensive tackle.

“As you can see, I had to hold my breath the entire practice, so I won’t be in this (practice jersey),” he said.

But it wasn’t how he looked in a jersey, but how he looked in action, that concerned Head Coach Mike Shanahan.

“He looked pretty good today, even though he didn’t get a lot of reps,” Shanahan said. “He got a few reps, and it looks like he’s been working out. With the offseason conditioning program and summer camp, hopefully there’s no setbacks and he’s ready to go.

Tuesday’s session was Adams’ first since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this year, but he appeared to show no ill effects.

“I feel good,” Adams said. “This is a great system to be a part of as a defensive lineman. It’s an attacking front. It allows us to put pressure on the football, whether it be run or pass.”

More Day 12 notes:

… One of the niftier catches of the day belonged to tight end Nate Jackson, who reached back while falling — and actually had one knee on the ground — in order to snag a pass from Darrell Hackney that had passed just behind him …

… Shanahan said that he thought about returning safety Sam Brandon to full team work this week, but opted to wait as the sixth-year veteran returns from two torn knee ligaments. Shanahan said that Brandon should be “full speed” by minicamp, which begins July 9 …

… More photos from the morning:

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More on Adams on the main site later tonight, and more in the blog on OTA Day 13 tomorrow. Adios.

Sam Adams: Broncos Get Their Big Guy

June 4th, 2007 - 11:41am by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

Live from the 19th hole at the Mike Shanahan Golf Classic, where I unexpectedly found a wireless Internet connection that is functional, if balky …

… As for the news of the day, the Broncos finally got their beefy veteran defensive tackle.

Back in March, the team executed a trade with the Miami Dolphins for Dan Wilkinson, but the 14-year veteran of multiple teams opted not to join the Broncos, rendering the swap null and void. Two and a half months after the deal hit the compost heap, the Broncos got a player at the same position, of nearly the same massive dimensions and with a strikingly similar résumé — 14-year veteran, 1994 first-round pick, peripatetic career.

Sam Adams has donned many jerseys, and the Broncos will be his sixth team. After spending the 1994-99 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, he had a two-year stay in Baltimore, played one season in Oakland, toiled for the Buffalo Bills for three years and then one year — 2006 — with the Cincinnati Bengals. (With a name like “Sam Adams,” it’s surprising he hasn’t been a Patriot.)

At 6-foot-3 and 350 pounds, he can still clog run lanes. At 33 years of age (he turns 34 later this month), he remains durable, having started all 16 games for the Bengals last year, when he notched 25 tackles (12 solo), two sacks for eight yards and a pass defensed. He was also a Pro Bowler as recently as 2004, which represented his third trip to the NFL’s annual all-star game.

The impact of this move on the Broncos’ D-line will bear itself out over the next couple of months. Gerard Warren and Demetrin Veal have been the primary D-tackle tandem throughout team camp so far, with March signee Alvin McKinley rotating in from the second team and rookie Marcus Thomas working his way up from the third unit.

Also worth noting about Adams is that he is already a professional sports team owner. He founded and runs the Everett (Wash.) Hawks of arenafootball2, the Arena Football League’s developmental circuit.