Posts Tagged ‘Tom Nalen’

The Darrent Williams Teen Center Fundraiser and other Random Thoughts

September 18th, 2007 - 3:12pm by domonique_foxworthOther posts by domonique_foxworth

Let’s blog…

Another great win, a heart-stopping win. It was a really exciting game, but it was tough for me because I was not allowed to play, unfortunately. It’s really difficult because I just felt like a glorified fan, because I was right on the sideline. I was signaling in the defenses for the secondary and trying to give tips to the players on what I saw and advise the referees as politely as possible whenever they missed calls or made what I thought were mistakes on flags. So I was really into the game, and when it got down to crunch time, it was really hard to be on the sideline watching when you’re used to playing.

Like I said last week, I’d never missed a game in my entire life. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. But it was a great win. It was really exciting. It was a great way to start this coming week.

Tuesday we all went down to the site of the Darrent Williams Teen Center, which is currently the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club in Montbello, and we had a little fundraiser. There were a lot of TV stations there, and the radio station 850 KOA broadcasted live from the location from 5-9:30 a.m. for the morning show, if anybody caught that. We were on a lot of the morning TV shows trying to raise money and point people in the direction of PositivePlaceDenver.org, which is a Web site where there are some items we are auctioning. If you want to make any type of donation you can go there, so if anybody wants to be a part of building the Darrent Williams Teen Center, we’re only a few thousand dollars away and we’d appreciate any help that you guys are willing to offer.

You can bid on some really cool items, like a few sideline passes for this coming game, go in the locker room before and after the game with us, and some Darrent Williams signed footballs. I know Rod Smith is going after those footballs, so you might have some competition there, but there’s a few of them, so we’ll see.

Click to continue reading “The Darrent Williams Teen Center Fundraiser and other Random Thoughts”

Amazing Game at Buffalo

September 10th, 2007 - 3:37pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Everybody who saw the Broncos’ heart-stopping 15-14 win at Buffalo was astonished, captivated, electrified and stunned by the finish.

This is my 30th year with the Broncos, and I have never seen a finish like that.

Neither had anyone else among a veteran press corps whom I informally polled after the game.

Game-winning field goals at the final gun are nothing new in the National Football League, but for the kick to take place in that amount of time, without any clock stoppage, is remarkable.

Basically, the Broncos ran two plays in 18 seconds, the pass from Jay Cutler to Javon Walker, and then, with no clock stoppage, the offense left the field and the special teams took the field, lined up without flinching, snapped, and kicked.

Click to continue reading “Amazing Game at Buffalo”

O Captain! My Captain!

September 7th, 2007 - 1:43pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

For what seems like the entire history of sport, when there have been teams, there have been captains. But until now, only hockey had a formal on-uniform designation for the honor, with one player on each team wearing the captain’s “C” and two others with the assistant captain’s “A.”

There is a logistical reason why the NHL clearly delineates its captains; these players are the only ones who may discuss rules issues with the on-ice officials. In soccer, the captain is usually the player who is the primary conduit between the sideline manager and the other 10 players on the field.

In the NFL, it’s a little different. The quarterback is the one who commands the huddle by sharing the playcall, but for many years, he received the actual play selection from another player who rotated into the lineup, or via hand signals from the coaches on the sideline. The captain’s only formalized duty is ceremonial — to walk to midfield for the pregame coin toss.

The captain’s role won’t change, but the way the NFL denotes it will, as the NFL follows the NHL and scattered other teams in other sports (like the Boston Red Sox with Jason Varitek) by incorporating captain’s patches on its uniforms. According to UniWatch blog majordomo Paul Lukas, only three teams have designated their captains with uniform patches, lettering or insignia prior to this year: the 1983 Cowboys, the 1992 Chargers and the 1994 Patriots.

Now, everyone will have this:

“The league wanted (the patch),” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said, “and we will obviously do that.”

On the Broncos, the men wearing the patch will be …

Offense: Jay Cutler, Tom Nalen.

Defense: Champ Bailey, John Lynch.

Special Teams: Chosen game by game; this week, it’s Jason Elam.

“That is always a tremendous honor,” said Lynch, who has been one of the team’s captains in each of his four Broncos campaigns. “I don’t care how many years you played in the league; to me, it’s the greatest honor you can have, for your teammates to say, ‘We want you to represent us and be one of our leaders.’

“It’s a great honor.”

It’s also quite signifcant for Cutler, who was elected by his teammates in spite of only having five career starts to his name.

“It gives you an idea what the team thinks of him,” Shanahan said. “This is totally a team selection. The coaches have nothing to do with it. It’s strictly among the players and who they see as their leader.”

OTA Day 3: Images and Morning Notes

May 18th, 2007 - 11:21am by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

OTA Day 3

A gorgeous, sun-kissed Friday morning greeted the Broncos as they began their final day of organized team activities for the week. They’ll go through four such sessions from Monday through Thursday next week before a four-day Memorial Day weekend respite.

Some quick morning observations from the 10 minutes of warmups and stretching I could watch:

… D.J. Williams brought rookie offensive tackle Ryan Harris in front of his teammates to lead the pre-stretching breakdown. Harris jogged up as some players yelled “Babyface!” but soon left with groans and one Bronco — whom I couldn’t identify by voice — yelling “Stone him!” after a short jig that was quickly deemed lackluster by his new teammates …

Click to continue reading “OTA Day 3: Images and Morning Notes”