Broncos Sign Dylan Gandy To Active Roster, Add Josh Bell To Practice Squad

by John Bena (aka TheSportsGuru) on Sep 24, 2008 11:01 AM MDT in Roster Moves Comment 23 comments

The Denver Broncos on Wednesday signed guard Dylan Gandy to their active roster and added cornerback Josh Bell to their practice squad, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

Gandy (6-foot-3, 290 pounds) is a fourth-year guard who rejoins the Broncos after he was released by the club on Sept. 9. Originally signed by the Broncos on May 16, Gandy competed in Denver's training camp and was inactive for its season opener at Oakland on Sept. 8.

He spent his first three professional seasons (2005-07) with the Colts after they selected him in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft from Texas Tech University. He has played 42 career games (14 starts) in the regular season along with six career playoff games (1 start).

At Texas Tech, Gandy started 20 games during his four-year career and was an honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference choice as a senior. He attended Pflugerville High School in Pflugerville, Texas, and was born on March 8, 1982.

Bell (5-foot-11, 177 pounds) is a rookie cornerback who joins the Broncos after San Diego waived him on Aug. 31. He entered the NFL with the Chargers on May 2 as a college free agent from Baylor University.

During four seasons at Baylor, Bell totaled 94 career tackles and 12 pass breakups. He received its Best Defensive Skill Player Award as a senior.

A first-team all-district selection at Skyline High School in Dallas, Bell was born on Jan. 8, 1985.

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Again why not sign Barret to the roster

He works well as a ST gunner and we need some help at safety, Gandy I understand the depth but I have not been impressed with him. Looks like another undersized CB to me.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 11:23 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

They are trying to find someone to plug in. What is the deal with limiting Jack MF Williams?!?

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

by Zappa on Sep 24, 2008 11:33 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

My guess is the learning curve.

During the preseason, he saw vanilla offense and non-1st strings for most of his time. That’s great for proving you belong, but not for showing you have the reads and decision-making for regular action. I don’t doubt the kid will get there, but I would imagine they’re still getting him up to speed on the mental side of the NFL game.

by hooper on Sep 24, 2008 11:36 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry I am not as high on Jack Williams as everyone else

I hope he does get it done, but I just think in this day and age, it is hard to have undersized corners and not get burned. I think he has good ball skills and plays with a swagger, but when you have to go up against 6’ 5" guys, you are going to lose most of the time regardless of the ball skills and swagger, he will be a very good 5th CB covering guys in the slot, but I shutter to think of him matched up with a taller receiver.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 11:38 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree to a point.

Against a team that we match up poorly against, such as tall receivers, we can mitigate the problem by having safety help over the top. Paymah is taller and he has proven that height doesn’t really matter, position is everything.

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

by Zappa on Sep 24, 2008 11:44 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Plus

JMFW rocks a 36" vertical jump. Paymah last weekend (live) looked like he was glued to the freaking turf.

by jonahsilas on Sep 24, 2008 11:52 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

yep

Royal also has an awesome vertical to help compensate for lack of height. Admittedly, none of us here have said anything negative about Royal yet, but I would bet that the first time we do it won’t be that he is too short… :)

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

by styg50 on Sep 24, 2008 12:04 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

We’d only be complaining about his height if he’s running Brandon Marshall’s routes. But then, that’d be more of a problem with the play designing than the player. If we already have good pass-catching TEs and a phenom tall receiver, why would Royal be asked to run tall-man plays?

It is a little easier to hide shortness with WRs than CBs by scheming.

by hooper on Sep 24, 2008 12:07 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

good luck

finding a 6-2+ corner

Jason
The Hanging Curve

by poorboywilly on Sep 24, 2008 12:09 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, that's easy.

I’m short, slow, can’t accelerate, can’t maneuver, can’t jump, can’t catch, can’t tackle. Just take my genes, reverse all of them, and whamo! Instant mega-corner!

by hooper on Sep 24, 2008 12:11 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, more seriously. You’re right on that. However, I do think you’ll start seeing taller corners trickling into the league in about 5 years or so. With the focus on tall, uncoverable receivers, their counterparts are inevitably in the pipeline. My guess is that you’ll start to see so many of the taller receivers making it in, that a few of the medium-tall receivers will find it easier to make the league by converting themselves into CBs. Not quite as maneuverable as the shorter guys, but still big enough to tussle with the bigger receivers.

by hooper on Sep 24, 2008 12:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

We used to have one in Lenny Walls 6-4"

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 1:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only thing going for him

was being the tallest CB in the league.

I think Dick Enberg mentioned anytime he saw Lennie on the field.

Too bad he had hands of stone!

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

"I love your analysis of our team. Its kinda like watching a spider monkey trying to figure out a jar of peanuts.. you know whats going on.. you know whats in there, but to actually figure it out, is just a bit beyond your mental skills..."
- Bronco Dano

by DesertBroncoFan on Sep 24, 2008 1:56 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Very true

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 3:01 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Both Cromartie and his cousin Cromartie-Rogers are 6'2"

And making waves in the league. Of course Antonio got burned repeatedly by B Marsh, but who doesn’t?

by jonahsilas on Sep 24, 2008 6:06 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Antonio also missed

a sure interception against Jay and one for 6 against the Jets that hit him right in the hands (though he did get one later on MNF).

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Sep 25, 2008 8:20 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree Paymah is not the answer

Trust me, I am not a Paymah fan, just observations on Jack Williams and smaller CB in general

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 1:47 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Jack Williams

Williams posted a a 41 inch vertical at his pro day, which may make up for some of his deficit in height.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=26661&draftyear=2008&genpos=CB

I don’t see his height as being any more of a problem that Darrent Williams’ height was for him (DW was 5’8, JW is 5’9), and there are many similarities between the two. If JW can perform like DW then I’m all in favor of his seeing playing time, but that’s the big question. Height is one factor in performance but it’s not the only one. In any case, we’ll have to wait and see before we can draw any conclusions.

by Colinski on Sep 24, 2008 5:10 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

But Darrent Williams height was a problem

I can remember Williams getting routinely torched his last season by guys that were taller and bigger than him (Reggie Wayne), good QB knew to throw the ball high and they’re receivers could get it.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 24, 2008 6:08 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

nickle corner

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the height metric. I think the coaching staff would be thrilled if JW turned out to be as good as DW, especially since the position there’re looking to fill is the nickle corner — not the starting CB. The calculus changes a little when you’re talking about the #2 CB. Moreover, Bly is only 5’10, and he’s still considered better than most CBs, although he has his detractors.

by Colinski on Sep 24, 2008 7:20 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hate misspellings -- nickel

by Colinski on Sep 24, 2008 8:51 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wrote an entire...

….MHR-U article on the nickel and variations. When I got to the end I realized I had made the same spelling error as you just did, and had to go back and fix it. I wonder why nickel looks like it should be nickel (sic) to everyone?

It should be changed to nickle. Sharp cookies like you and me would do better with it that way. : )

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

by hoosierteacher on Sep 26, 2008 5:30 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

i can't tell the difference

so i accept both spellings as genuine. kinda like develop/develope. you can find the same definition for both spellings. english is a hard language, really

hear me, perpetrators of bread crime, your punishment is at hand.
taste my blintzkrieg!

by davecheffy on Sep 26, 2008 11:15 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs