Denver Broncos Quarterback Camp Week 1 Round Up

by John Bena on May 23, 2008 6:56 AM MDT in 2008 OTAs Comment 21 comments

The first of two weeks in this year's Quarterback Camp are complete and while there isn't much to be learned from a bunch of guys in shorts and a t-shirt it sure was nice to be talking about football again.

There is some news to speak of. Tony Scheffler had his foot examined and the news turned out to be better than expected. The soreness in his foot is nothing but that, but the Coach will still tread lightly this early in workouts.

We know there's not another break in there. You can see that on the X-rays. But there's something in there that keeps him quite sore, and, hopefully, with a couple weeks in the boot, he'll come back full speed and we don't aggravate the injury.

Nate Jackson, Scheffler's back-up, knows all too well how frustrated Scheff is with the chronic pain.

"He feels like, 'What am I doing wrong for this to happen?' It's the same time as last year, the same play. But I feel for him. He's a friend of mine, and I don't like to see him dealing with this. He'll be fine, though. It's not as bad as it was last year, I don't think."

While an injury to Scheffler could open the door for Jackson to emerge, Jackson doesn't want to see his good friend go down like this.

Yeah, but I would prefer him to be happy, I would prefer the competition part with us feeding off each other. That's not a good thing for anybody. We want to be at our strongest as a team.
Ideally, you would utilize all the talents for every guy. We have a lot of great skill players. We all want the ball. That's what makes me happy as a football player is catching the football.

What would make me happy as a fan is to see Nate Jackson, in uniform, for 16 regular season games. That is what would make me happy.

Newly acquired DeWayne Robertson will not participate in any remaining Quarterback Camp practices, something that Mike Shanahan says was planned all along.

He probably could practice, but we're a little bit cautious with him. We know he'll be able to go in the June camp. So we want to get him stronger in a couple different areas.

Robertson is recovering from wrist surgery and has a chronic knee condition that he has played with since college. Despite that, Robertson has missed only 3 games in his NFL career.

Ryan Clady already has a nickname, something befitting a guy who stands 6-6 and weighs around 315 pounds. Sweet Feet. The guy who coined the name, fellow O-Lineman P.J. Alexander has no problem with it.

Yeah, 'Sweet Feet,' what's wrong with that? His feet, from what I've seen, are pretty sweet. He's quick on his feet, moves well. He's impressive, man.

Alexander wasn't the only one impressed by the rookie's initial workouts. Erik Pears also has been impressed by the big man's moves.

Shoot, he's gifted, man. His feet are unbelievable. He's obviously a huge human being, but he's got quick, quick feet and heavy hands. I see no reason why he shouldn't be great. He looks good.

It wasn't just O-Linemen heaping the praise. Jarvis Moss, who figures to go against Clady every day at practice for years to come was impressed as well.

I was trying to see how strong he was when I went up against him. We locked up and I just tried to fling him up off me because he's a much bigger guy than me. But he's got the strength. He's got everything he needs, as far as I'm concerned, he just needs to get more comfortable in our system.

Heavy praise, indeed, until the coach gets his chance to bring everyone down to earth.

There's a lot of pressure on him, mentally. There's going to be a lot of pressure on him physically. But we feel like he's got the ability to compete. We're going to start him as No. 1, but he's got to earn the position, just like everyone else.

While Mike Shanahan has not feared playing rookies in prominent roles right off the bat, few times have those guys simply been handed the starting job before workouts really begin. There is little doubting the confidence Shanny has in Clady, which in turn makes me feel good about it.

The Broncos now head off for a Holiday Weekend before commencing back next Tuesday for 4 more days of workouts. Will Travis Henry be back on the field? Does Brandon Marshall own another pair of pajama pants? Answers to all these questions and more as The Quest continues....

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Man I love this stuff.

Bring on September 8th!!!

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
MHR's Bronco History

by Tim Lynch on May 23, 2008 8:16 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Fumbled

Man I am glad I fumbled across this website. It is a God send after losing mason’s site. It looks like I will once again have a place to go where other people can appreciate my healthy addiction to the Broncos.
I can’t wait for this year to start!
I can’t wait for our D to teach Philp Rivers how to eat grass!!

by ThorpeBroncosfan on May 23, 2008 8:38 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Welcome!

You’ll find MHR to be a great site. Mason recently wrote us to thank us for our support, and I’m sure he would be glad you’ve found us.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on May 23, 2008 8:52 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome

thought you should know a few big things:

neither oakland nor raiders is capitalized on this site

Rivers is refered to as Phyllis

Any addiction to the Broncos is healthy and needs to be fed.

looking forward to reading your posts we are a great family here on MHR

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 23, 2008 9:31 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

These are (of course) friendly suggestions..

..and not required. But the non-caps on oak and raiders buys you points! : )

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on May 23, 2008 9:32 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

of course of course

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 23, 2008 9:33 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

ThorpeBroncosfan, you will love this site

I lurked around here for awhile and finally signed on about six weeks ago. The depth of knowledge is impressive and all of the characters are intelligent ant courtious. You are among friends. You also now belong to any army that wants to see Phyllis “eat grass” as you say. Welcome.

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. - Emerson

by firstfan on May 23, 2008 11:46 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

also

dont let the avi fool ya! =)
This is the best football and Bronco site anywhere.
I cant wait for Phylis to eat much grass and welcome

by broncfanstuckinsd on May 23, 2008 12:37 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

We've learned a lot from this week.

I’m dying to figure out what kind of system Slowik runs, but we’ve learned some other valuable things.

1. It looks like the competition on the OL is between (LT) – Clady/Pears; (RT) – Kuper/Harris.

2. I’m not sure how much stock I put into this report from TheSportingNews.com, but it may be a glimpse into how DRob gets used:

Defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson admitted recently that while he could play a nose guard in a 3-4 with the Jets, his inexperience at that spot led to too much hesitation. Also, the extra weight taking on both ‘A’ gaps meant more wear and tear on his balky left knee.
Now at his desired playing weight of about 310, Robertson is back at the natural three-technique position that made his a top-five pick in 2003. And he’s been locked in during offseason workouts.

Robertson has an innate feel for the angle playing over the guard and how blocking schemes are trying to attack him. So big things are expected with him as a one-gap slasher. But Robertson may still need to combat frequent double-teams until the other Broncos linemen prove they can’t be handled with single-blocking

3. Marshall is probably going to be ok. Folks may not realize it, but running routes without catching is a good guage of his arm’s improvement (no, really). In running hard and doing routes, a player’s arms are an important part of his ability to maintain balance and have a normal form. That he is running routes earlier than expected is good news.

4. Henry’s injury is not something to worry about yet. The injury itsself will be fine, and isn’t an issue. The worry is whether or not this is something (a string of small injuries) that we can expect again this season.

5. I’m worried that Scheff’s foot still bothers him. The injury itsself is fixed. Perhaps Scheff compensates for the pain by carrying himself in an unatural way that aggravates the pain even further (something physcial rehab could address). Still, the best sports medicine guys are in his corner, so I’m sure it’s being looked into.

Here’s the position battles I’m most interested in (in no special order):

A) WRs – We have so much depth now; it will be facinating to see how it shakes out.

B) SAFs – Here too we have depth (and not a lot of hybrid CB/SAFs).

C) OTs – Clady sound like the early favorite at LT. Kuper may get the nod at RT, but it would be fascinating if Harris is better than expected and takes the RT position.

D) DT – DRob was brought in to start, and Thomas is most likely next to him. But in a heavy rotation, where does newcomer Powell fit in with McKinley and Harris?

E) RB – Henry and Young look like the primary starters. With Henry an injury question mark, perhaps Young will rotate instead of spell. Where will Torrain fit in, and Andre Hall? Hall might lose his kick return duties to rookie Royal (though Royal is more of a punt return specialist), and he may lose his #3 RB ranking to Torrain. His biggest saving grace may be that he is needed in the event of injuries. He remains a great speed specialist. And as a last headscratcher, what if Torrain beats out Young? We could see a rotation of two power RBs with Young as a change of pace back!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on May 23, 2008 8:50 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs

Until Guys Lay Some Wood

It’s just conjecture. Like I said on the show the other night, I won;t feel good about Brandon Marshall until the first time he uses that arm to brace himself on a fall, or the first time a safety put the crown of his helmet right on that forearm. It is a positive sign that he is on the field in PJ’s running around but I need to see the dude get hit before I start warming up the “Marshall To The ProBowl” bus.

As for Henry, injuries like this have been his whole career. The guy has been a 12-14 game back and with age that isn’t going to get better. That doesn’t mean he can’t be productive in the 12 healthy games, and it makes it that much more important to maintain depth at running back. The word on Selvin Young adding weight is huge becuase the dude needs to get tougher between the tackles if he wants to take that next step.

Scheff is probably going to have to deal with some pain for the rest of his career. Some of it might be mental, not the pain, but the concern that every time he feels a twinge it could be somoething bad. I don’t blame the guy. He knows, as all players do, that the next play could be their last play. Hopefully he can get over the injury, physically as well as mentally.

It is amazing how quickly the Broncos realized Ryan Harris was not a LT in the NFL. He was the guy that was going to replace Matt Lepsis. Sure, the Broncos didn’t think Lepsis would be gone this year, but it is obvious that they felt strongly that Harris was not the answer.

I guess you could say some things were ‘learned’, but I put alot of weight in the physicality of football, strapping it on and getting down to business. Maybe it’s because I am sick and tired of teams physically dominating this football team that I want to see some hitting, a little bit of mean, something to show me this team is ready to start delivering the punishment instead of taking it.

-TSG

www.milehighreport.com

by John Bena on May 23, 2008 9:04 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

wouldn't it be nice to see

Your Draft Grade and Breakdown with this under ONLY Harris Name:

Ryan Harris-

Ryan came out of college a top prospect to replace Matt Lepsis but spent time as a back up and on the practice squad only to be replaced 2 years later by a rookie. Our one and only draft choice that isnt on the field today!

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 23, 2008 9:37 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great point Guru.

The team has been missing a “mean” reputation for some time. Right now, Lynch is probably the only player known for knocking people into space, and a return to toughness is something that would be nice to foster. Right now I think we are more of a precision sports car than a muscle car, and it might take either a change in coaching or the addittion of a key leader on the team to change things.

I agree on your take on all three players. We won’t know for sure about Marshall. I’m still in the camp that wants to see how he reacts to the jump to playing against #1 CBs. It looks like our new found depth may keep him from being double teamed, but as you point out, the injury won’t be a sure thing until he starts taking some hits.

Henry may very well be “injury prone”. Let’s hope we at least get several good games from him this year. Until (if) he goes down, I think he’ll start. I’m hoping he plays in a rotational system so we can extend his playing time more.

WIth Scheff I’m more hopeful than the other two. He played well the second half of last season, and I think he’ll be ok.

Cutler remains the guy to be excited about. He played very well with untreated diabetes, so imagine how much better he’ll play while his condition is in check.

We can also throw in concerns about injuries with Lynch (neck), Nalen and Hamilton. Hamilton in particular scares me.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on May 23, 2008 9:42 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Re: Lack of Mean Streak

I think you’re on to something here, Guru, and I believe that Shanny has identified and targeted this, particularly in this past draft. A number of the scouting reports I read on Powell stated that he played with a ton of fire, and though he wasn’t the most mobile player (though some reports conflicted), he was extremely difficult to budge off the line. In a similar vein, K-Lich (man, I don’t like that nickname; we’ve to come up with something better) bulldozed his way to the most knock-down blocks Div. I, and he played hurt much of last year. The kid is mean, and that can be quantified. Also, when you throw-in a one-cut bruiser like Torain (when healthy) and a natural (if undersized) FB in Hillis, then it seems like many of the picks not only singled out character, but toughness and physicality as well—both to run in the red zone, and stop the run on D. In fact, I think Jack Williams slots into the toughness category, and it’s important to note that our speedster wideout, Eddie Royal, did the most bench presses out of any WRs and even many of the DEs, and is the best against bump coverage due to his strength and ability to get good leverage.

As far as UFAs are concerned, I think perhaps that K2 is the only one who might fit into this bracket (although I like the addition of Boss, I don’t see him as this type of player), but the fact remains that mean-streak players hit free agency rarely, as teams are often loath to get rid of them, and understandably so.

I’m with you, Guru. I’d love to see a return to the days when no one wanted to go over the middle because of guys like Mecklenberg, Atwater, Smith, et cetera. I think we’re heading back that direction (I hope); it’ll just take some time, and this past draft was a step in the right direction.

by Arturo Bandini on May 23, 2008 10:04 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Solid Arturo...

I’ve been beating this dead horse for awhile now. If anyone wants to see what we are talking about, just watch the Jacksonville game last season. I never, EVER, want to see a Denver Broncos team get that thoroughly dominated, AT HOME NO LESS, again.

I completely agree with you about the types of players Shanny is bringing in as well. Guys with something to prove, guys with chips on their shoulder, even Boss, who, like you pointed out, isn’t known to be that type of player, left Detroit as somewhat of a bust. These guys are pissed and want to get back to playing football. With Boss in particular, playing with his older brother should get the competitive juices flowing, just like the days when they would play on the street. Can’t let your brother get the best of ya, if Boss makes a big pplay, Champ will want to. I love it!

-TSG

www.milehighreport.com

by John Bena on May 23, 2008 10:17 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not just the Jags, but the Bolts home and away too...

I was at the SD away game, and it was ugly, ugly stuff. Sure, Phyllis made a right jerk of himself, but it was far more disheartening (excruciatingly so) to see both O and D lines get bulldozed. For some reason, I have a feeling that won’t be happening this year with so many players back on the O line and Clady, at least.

Forgot to mention this earlier: it’s interesting to note that rookie LB Spencer Larsen has been at least partially converted to FB. That would seemingly add some more muscle to the red-zone offense if he finds a way to excel in the blocking role. It also signals to me that Shanny is looking to use Hillis as a more versatile (see also: pass catcher) back in the vein of what HT has mentioned previously regarding Denver’s tendency to convert RBs to FBs.

And in his defense, because he’s just been getting too much flak lately (though much of it rightfully so), Brandon Marshall is an absolute beast. He does play with a mean streak. For proof, check out all the guys he destroyed with his highlight-reel blocks last year (BUF, MIN, CHI, the list goes on). That is straight fire. I suppose the most important question for him (beyond healing properly) is can he find a way to contain his fire (like Rod Smith, for example) and use it in the most productive way possible?

You’ve made a great point here though, as per usual, Guru, and this is simply that even players who aren’t necessarily known as ‘mean streak’ players will have plenty of motivation. In the cases of Colbert, Robertson, and Bailey, they need to step it up and prove their worth. Thankfully, both Baileys have the added motivation of outperforming each other. God knows I was the same way when I played with mine. In K2’s case, he has to show everyone what they’ve been missing out on, and that kind of fire is priceless to a team forging a new identity.

by Arturo Bandini on May 25, 2008 10:39 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great post, great analysis and great comments. Thanks all.

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. - Emerson

by firstfan on May 23, 2008 11:47 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Reply to HT above regarding our DTs

Just guessing but I think we should hope for a Mckinley/Drob Powell/Thomas set up. As in, Mckinley and Powell on running downs, Drob and Thomas on passing downs. Also, Drob and Thomas on nickel and heavy nickel downs.

I like this rotation in so many ways on paper. Now if these guys can just produce…

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by Jeremy Bolander on May 23, 2008 4:10 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

half or fullbacks

ht and co., i was wondering if you think if/when henry goes down, does that set up a fullback possibly taking the reigns. bell, sapp, or even hillis may have what it takes to do the job. i don’t see anyone else on the roster that can replace henry, unless torain surprises, but i really don’t want to bank on an that. bell has done it before, and i used to hear how shanny was impressed with sapp’s running. is he a possibility? also, hillis got some carries in college, and did pretty well, but that may be more of a split situation with young. any thoughts?

btw, d-rob is being held out of camp now, and is getting the “veteran” treatment from here on in. it appears they are being careful with him, but i’m not really confident in him being there for 16 games in a starter role at full tilt. he’s going to get a lot of attention, as sporting news pointed out. if he has to take a game or 2 off, we’re screwed. again, i still think we need to add 1 guy there, and i will keep saying it until we get him ! then, my wish list is complete for this year

by davecheffy on May 23, 2008 4:17 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it is possible.

FBs in Denver are almost always RBs that can block. If Henry goes down, the first line of players to fill in (rotationaly) will be Young and Hall (who have proved themselves). Young may be more durable this year, having added some weight. Torrain would definetly get a look as well, and may very well beat out Hall. (Don’t be surprised if, as in the past, a late rounder like Torrain gets the nod over more than one vet by te regular season).

In a worst case scenario, Bell and Sapp can both be brought in (though Bell may be in the dog house after last year’s chance at redemption). Hillis (if playing as a FB) would mean that the roster has become dangerously thin. I say “if playing as a FB” because of the possibility that he may have been brought in as a suprise option at RB.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on May 23, 2008 4:36 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hillis

I’m really excited about Hillis. I think he is going to be a great option out of the backfield for us. I think our FBs may get a few more plays this year, not only to mix things up but to help keep our RBs more fresh. Let the big guys take a few more of the hits.
I really liked Bell the first part of his rookie year but I’m afraid after last year his days are numbered.

by ThorpeBroncosfan on May 23, 2008 11:12 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs