Broncos Sign OL Tony Hills, Release OL Herb Taylor
by John Bena on Sep 6, 2011 3:23 PM MDT
in Denver Broncos Roster Moves
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According to Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos have shuffled the deck a bit within the offensive line crew. The Broncos have signed OL Tony Hills, a former 4th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers. To make room, the team waived OL Herb Taylor.
Hills (6-5, 305) was among the final cuts for the Steelers on Saturday and was battling to be the team's starting RG this year. Doug Legursky won the job, mainly because he can backup Maurkice Pouncey at center. Hills appeared in 4 games for the Steelers during his 3 seasons in Pittsburgh.
Hills played his college ball at Texas.
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He is better then Herb Taylor by a mile. Excellent signing.
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Xbox360 gamertag: SnipeMeHarder
Any move that got Herb Taylor out of Denver was good with me.
Follow me on Twitter: ballinnickcast
Xbox360 gamertag: SnipeMeHarder
LOL
Made for walking
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:11 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thx
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:36 PM MDT up reply actions
Herb Tarlek had nice shoes
not sure about Herb Taylor’s
by sc31089 on Sep 6, 2011 5:33 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
LOL
That is really good! What is amazing is that it was intended for your comment down below regarding “yesterday”
First thing I thought of was the movie, The Hillis have Eyes.
he’s actually the opposite of Herb Taylor, look at their initials. HT ~ TH
ha ha ha. The crap I find to fill my life with.
It wasn't him Charlie, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." Ya remember that? 'This ain't your night.' My night I could of taken Wilson apart. ~ Brando aka Terry Malloy
Sounds like Music
to my ears. Kinda like Hills, never thought much of Taylor but frankly never focused on him.
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:27 PM MDT up reply actions
the latter ...
but dang! Imagine Peyton Hillis trying to kill you. THAT would be scary.
It wasn't him Charlie, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." Ya remember that? 'This ain't your night.' My night I could of taken Wilson apart. ~ Brando aka Terry Malloy
I posted something similiar to this in a fanshot post but I'll put it here as well
He’s purely an OT and I doubt he’s much of an upgrade over Taylor. The Broncos have a better 1st team offensive line than the Steeler’s do so it’s only reasonable to think our backups are at least on par with theirs.
I have not seen him play so I cannot pass true judgement. All I know is that he was a 4th round pick in 08 who many people thought would go in the 3rd round. Most scouting reports on him read, A player with good athleticism and potential but could have problems transitioning to the NFL especially if not in the right program. He was also injury prone in college though I’m not sure how he’s been in the NFL. This a high risk/high reward player. Not the type of player you bring in to improve depth which is what we’re looking for since we’ve already got a lot of players like this.
He seems like a good fix for Foxy’s system but unless he pan’s out this seems like a pointless move to me. I guess I should just have faith in EFX that he is better than what we originally had which shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish right.
And now for something completely different
He played G at Pittsburgh
He has positional versatility. Plus, the drop-off between our starters and second string is so wide that you can’t make any assumptions about anyone else’s backups based on how their starters compare to ours.
by BroncosBassist on Sep 7, 2011 4:31 AM MDT up reply actions
This has me excited based on this article
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_752633.html
Dude seems to be dedicated and on the rise. Just the kind of guy we need at a backup spot. Big now too, 330!
There is no I in team.
by LovedemBroncs on Sep 6, 2011 3:58 PM MDT reply actions 3 recs
I had not realized he had bulked up that much
The scouting report I read said he was only like a 305 lbs
And now for something completely different
I just happened to think (with me, that can be dangerous):
If Beadles continues to struggle, and with Hills having battled to start at G, maybe it’s a possibility we might eventually see Hills in there next to Clady?
BILLY THOMPSON GOT SHAFTED!!
Beadles Ain't Struggling
Beadles ain’t struggling. So far he’s been playing just fine.
I read the OL analysis that was posted on here a week or so ago and I agree with parts of it, but there were categories that were misleading. Help blocking is one them. Often when an OL guy’s assignment doesn’t appear where he’s suppose to be due to defensive adjustment, it frees up the OT or OG to help. The help isn’t designed, but rather than an OL guy standing around watching the play, they’ll run over and help even when it’s not needed. That one category made Beadles sound like he needed the help, but if you watched the tape, you’ll see he didn’t need it.
Beadles, along with the rest of the OL, is doing just fine. Denver has a solid OL that doesn’t need fixing or player replacement.
Keeping Harris would have been nice to backup Franklin. Hills will be a decent 6th man on the OL, but he’s not a Beadles killer—which the Broncos don’t need.
by FormerUMP on Sep 7, 2011 10:12 AM MDT up reply actions 2 recs
Agreed. I think with last year’s experience and then a full offseason/preseason to prepare at G (he played LT mostly in college) he will be even better than last year. Last year I thought he did a great job for a rookie OL.
Jason
The Hanging Curve
The article says Hills is at 330 with 13% body fat! That means POWERFUL!
BILLY THOMPSON GOT SHAFTED!!
Hope its all legal
Such a dramatic change in one off-season. And he has a suitcase full of supplements. Sounds like Romanowski. Would be a shame if he crossed some lines.
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 6:33 PM MDT up reply actions
Thought occurred to me, but
he would have to be pretty misled to think he could get away with it for long.
BMI, etc.
Improving your Body Mass Index (fat/muscle%) along with a ~5% weight gain (a small amount) is not a good indication of steroid/HGH, etc. use. As always, I defer to those who are trained in this area, but his weight composition change is telling you what’s going on.
He has not gained a tremendous amount of mass, but rather, he’s replaced a lot of fat with muscle. That fat didn’t disappear because of supplements/etc., but because he worked if off. (note: if you have a ‘chemical’ way of removing fat then you could make a fortune, so please tell me). Fat is removed through exercise. And I know everybody would love to take a pill and have it go away, but those are mostly scams. Fat blockers have a limited effect, but they don’t remove fat but limit acquisition. The other key element is diet, which limits the adipose acquisition, which is important since athletes can put fat back on after workouts through careless eating habits.
This is a hard argument to explain but steroids don’t remove fat, even though they make it possible to work out longer. Hills’ previous playing weight was about 315 despite the presence of old measurements from when he was a rookie, so the weight gain was rather small (~ 15 lbs.) and was accompanied by dramatic a BMI change, which means he replaced a lot of fat with muscle during the course of workouts. If he were to (but I assume he has not) have used ‘roids,’ his muscle mass would have dramatically increased, along with a dramatic increase in total weight, but his BMI wouldn’t have changed so much, not without removing a lot of fat somehow.
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
Great job Ski...and remember muscle mass weighs about 3 times as much as fat.
"I actually watched the World Cup. I HATE baseball. Hockey’s over. Hey, at least we have the WNBA. Oh, man. I’m making a noose. Want one?"
Harv Neptune.
Psyched on our team...will tolerate our QB if i have to for another year!
my trainer emphasized that (more muscle % = higher calorie burn)
Yes, replacing fat with muscle can lead to a weight gain, and that’s even when one is becoming more ‘cut’ and looks thinner. And the higher calorie burn allows one to sustain that fitness level more easily and with less work.
What I didn’t go in to in more detail is how the BMI math makes it unlikely he was ‘juicing.’ It takes a little mathematical intuition to understand but here goes:
BMI – 80% / 20% x 315 lbs. = 252 lbs. muscle, 63 lbs. fat
BMI – 87% / 13% x 330 lbs. = 287 lbs. muscle, 43 lbs. fat
First of all, I’ve undergone a similar transformation in the past so I understand what it means to dramatically change one’s BMI, My workouts were specifically tailored to losing weight / increasing fitness so the emphasis was on cardio with some resistance at high reps of 60% – 70% capacity. I wasn’t trying to gain muscle but it’s unavoidable when you do a heavy workout routine on a regular basis for an extended period. Hills undoubtedly had a different goal since his objective was quite different than mine. I could have added much more muscle if that had been my goal but my workout regimen was closer to that of a fitness athlete than a football player.
The point here is that adding muscle isn’t that hard but reducing fat is. It takes an enormous amount of work to take off that much fat, The body resists taking off fat and a juicer might add a substantial amount of muscle mass but the composition wouldn’t decrease by as large of a percentage. What’s noticeable about Hills’ BMI composition is the loss of 20 lbs. of fat for a gain of 35 lbs. of muscle. Of the two figures, the fat loss figure is the more impressive one. It takes a lot of work to remove that much fat.
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
all muscle
I enjoy reading 330 lbs and only 13% body fat down from the 20’s…
by Orange77Crush on Sep 6, 2011 7:55 PM MDT up reply actions
I expect this to happen about 4 more times. lol
OL for an OL.
Learn how to dominate your fantasy football league through a solid fantasy football strategy. A shameless plug for a fellow Broncomaniac!
He's big enough...
to be a “pusher” on the goal line….
That's an interesting thought...
Do teams ever put in big road graders just for short situations? Like sub this guy for Zane who tends to get pushed around in those types of 3rd & short/goal line situations. I’ve never really noticed that, but it seems logical.
by Mile High ThundaDownUnda on Sep 6, 2011 4:32 PM MDT up reply actions
Very interesting
Anyone else hear Fox say that the “53 that he had were the 53 for the season” on the Broncos site video? Perhaps Elway wasn’t listening!
The previous "version"
As far as the waiver wire “non-picks” Fox said that they didn’t see anyone who would be better than someone who had been with the team through the 5 weeks of camp and preseason and who knew the system. Was following the rationale, but it goes to show you that when it comes to player moves, don’t ever believe everything you hear, even if from the head coach. Was a little surprised though that Fox would say yesterday that “these are the 53 for the year” and then this cut and acquisition the next day. Fox didn’t have to say what he said, so perhaps he was a little in the dark on what was happening with the Hills pick-up—which is really hard to believe . . .
I was referring to SunValley's use of a song reference...very nicely done.
However, he may have given away his age…that is not a recent song.
Didn't hear Fox say that
Heard Fox say they didn’t see anyone on the waiver wire that was better than the guys they kept and spent 5 weeks training. But they didn’t spend 5 weeks with Taylor.
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:46 PM MDT up reply actions
Will check back
but I am pretty sure that he said “these are the 53” they would be going with this year . . .
He may or may not have said it
Can’t believe any experienced coach would say it, but if he did, I simply didn’t hear it. Don’t shoot me.
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:50 PM MDT up reply actions
He said it, but my mistake on the meaning
Okay, here’s what he said, but after listening to the tone of his voice, I believe that he wasn’t really in the dark at all. At 1:26 of the video (post-practice press conf.) yesterday, in response to a question about if these are the 53, he says:
“this is like it will be all year . . .today.” I am getting from his tone that he was really saying “this is how it’s going to be all year [as of] today” — meaning, as SunValley put it up above, things can change and what is today may not be what will be tomorrow. As you suggest, a smart coach wouldn’t have said that and meant it, so my bad on the interpretation. Thanks for bringing up that point. btw, I do believe that Taylor was with them for the 5 weeks, though.
He did say it but....
he followed up with something that was difficult to hear/understand but it sounded like something on the lines of “at least for today”. There was laughter afterwards from him and the media which leads me to believe I heard him right.
VonDoom for Secretary of State!
by broncofaninIL on Sep 6, 2011 5:07 PM MDT up reply actions
Thanks for the confirmation
it makes sense
Better to be quiet and thought of as ignorant than to open your mouth and remove all doubt
by broncofaninIL on Sep 6, 2011 5:21 PM MDT up reply actions
they will add and subract as many as they deem prudent
The statement by Fox cannot be taken literally, although I can’t say more about what he meant since I didn’t hear the entire press conference.
I can say without any doubt that there will be more moves.
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
And yet Hochstein remains on the roster
Herb Taylor though had a LOT of Ole’ blocks. I guess it cannot be worse.
Ok, Von Doom is a way better nickname than what I liked. So cool to be excited about a pass rush in Denver again!
I want to say how awesome a particular Rockies player is and that he will be the MVP, but the last time I mentioned it in my sig he went out with an injury, so, GO PLAYER WHO IS SO AWESOME!
There are better matadors on the market than Hochstein
Brad James
Follow me on Twitter
With Coach Zorro on our side, we will slice opponents to ribbons. Tim Tebow gives me hope and I already have faith and charity in my heart! I see a propitious future rife with Lombardis for our Broncos!
by the new Bradfather on Sep 6, 2011 5:17 PM MDT up reply actions
Hochstein is definitely on the list for everyone’s favorite guy to bag on (yeah I think he’s pretty crappy too), but it is nice to have at least one backup lineman who is extremely versatile. On gameday Hoch can backup the middle three spots and maybe Clark can swing in at either tackle spot if there is an injury. Then, if there is still an injury going in to the next game, perhaps Hochstein isn’t the first option to fill that spot, perhaps Hills becomes the starter and Hoch is still the backup. He may not be as good at playing the spots as someone else, but he gives us more flexibility on gameday. Since OLmen don’t play a lot of special teams, we can activate players like Irving, Carter and Harris who can have a bigger impact on ST instead of a third or fourth backup lineman.
Jason
The Hanging Curve
Hey Guys Steelers Fan here
I became a fan of Tony Hills this off season, but unfortunately he lost out to potential in youth this year. When we drafted him he was seen as an athlete that was really raw at the position. It was a foregone conclusion that he would take some time to develop. This preseason he was gifted a chance to win the RG spot, but he lost out to Doug Legursky, our backup C who is a lot smaller/athletic than him. Once that happened a lot of speculation arose that he would be cut since he could not backup C.
I still think he has a lot of potential if he can improve his technique and learn to use his hands better. His footwork is pretty decent and his athleticism is there. You could have a diamond in the rough if he can pull it together.
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
Follow me on Twitter
by John Stephens on Sep 6, 2011 4:08 PM MDT reply actions 8 recs
Thanks John and good luck this year
I remember Hills at UT, had a rep as a big mauler with excellent athleticism. All American in 07 only gave up 4 sacks in 3 years. Looks like Fox’s kind of player.
"as in football so in life"
"Look good, play good, play good, pay good, pay good, eat good, eat good, live good, live good, die good".........Primetime
Yes, Thank you for the rundown John
Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks
My ship finally came in, but it was the Kobayashi Maru.
Follow me on Twitter @MHR_KaptainKirk
Much appreciated John!
+1 for Steeler’s fans in my book
They say the cool is all over me..
The Steelers aren't my favs
but still a classy thing to say!
Brad James
Follow me on Twitter
With Coach Zorro on our side, we will slice opponents to ribbons. Tim Tebow gives me hope and I already have faith and charity in my heart! I see a propitious future rife with Lombardis for our Broncos!
by the new Bradfather on Sep 6, 2011 4:37 PM MDT up reply actions
Thanks John!
VonDoom for Secretary of State!
by broncofaninIL on Sep 6, 2011 5:09 PM MDT up reply actions
Sounds like a solid pick-up
Can be no worse than Russ Hochstein
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun" - Ash from Army of Darkness
"H.I., you're young and you got your health, what you want with a job?" - Evelle from Raising Arizona
"It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes." - Agent Rogersz from Repoman
by Broncoman on Sep 6, 2011 4:12 PM MDT reply actions 1 recs
That has been Sayre's
soapbox on Twitter today
Brad James
Follow me on Twitter
With Coach Zorro on our side, we will slice opponents to ribbons. Tim Tebow gives me hope and I already have faith and charity in my heart! I see a propitious future rife with Lombardis for our Broncos!
by the new Bradfather on Sep 6, 2011 4:38 PM MDT up reply actions
Butler would be worth a "trade" for Gronkowski
who the Pats picked up when they cut Butler
If I can't have high expectations that succeed, I''d rather have high expectations and be disappointed than have low expectations and be resigned to losing.
by OrangeandBluesBros on Sep 6, 2011 4:43 PM MDT up reply actions
Wait..did we not just hear that Mr. Bill B. was an excellent DB evaluator??
I questioned Wilhite at the time but CB is a need. Darius Butler, how can he be that big of upgrade over Wilhite if they both go one day apart?
No Thanks
Butler
Did you know Butler is the cousin of Willis McGahee? … at least according to Wikipedia!
Did you know that 18% of all children born in America
born in the next 25 years will have either Travis Henry or Antonio Cromartie as their grandfathers?…at least according to boanst
Drinkin the kool-aid, smokin the Orange Kush
by boanst on Sep 6, 2011 7:32 PM MDT up reply actions 3 recs
That's funny, I don't care who you are.
Oh, you were finished? Oh, well, allow me to retort!
--Jules Winnfield
the one team with a priority claim
FIGURES!
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
IMO Butler isn't as good as Wilhite.
Looking at his combine stats he is a great physical talent, but it hasn’t lived up to New Englands standard for some reason.
comparisons to Phonz
As the third and fourth ranked CBs in 2009 along with being high 2nd draft picks, there are comparisons that could be made. I’ve speculated in the past that Butler would have caused less consternation if we had traded for him in 2009 instead of Smith. We wouldn’t have fared any better but the selection would have gone over far better.
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
The first report I read of Hills said he was only 305 lbs and primarily a tackle
after seeing now that he’s bulked up to 330 lbs and can play guard, I like this move a lot more.
The broncos now have 1 swing tackle, and 3 G/C’s on the team. I can definitely see us cutting another G/C and replacing him with someone like Darius Butler. Most teams go with only 8 offensive lineman on the roster and we still have Grant on the practice squad so it would make sense.
And now for something completely different
he gained a following from Steelers' fans playing there
It doesn’t sound like Pittsburgh fans thought he couldn’t play OG. They had very nice things to say about his recent performace.
He played formidably last week at RG.
- LINK
I’m not suggesting we continue with Pittsburgh’s experiment but it’s encouraging that he could successfully transition there, even though he lost out in the competition.
I see him as a more athletic OT who could play LT but is fine at RT for now, especially since he might balance out RT in terms of pass blocking.
******* George Santayana described fanaticism as -- "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim"
Better than Herb Taylor I suspect.
Herb Taylor was never the answer and Tony Hills may not either, but as things go, I think they felt Hills has a greater upside, and I agree for now. I don’t get all the hate for Hochstein. The guy is very versatile, but not starter material. He can play Guard, Center, FB and special teams if needed. He’s one of those utility guys you love to have around just as a filler. Now with that said, if the Broncos find an upgrade to Hochstein then I won’t be sorry that he left. I see the reason behind it all…
G/C is the position name of the backup interior lineman
since you only keep 3 or 4 backup lineman, the backup tackles are called swing tackles and the backup interior lineman are referred to as G/C’s. I know he isn’t a good center and I actually like Ramirez (if he can get all those boneheaded mistakes under control he could actually be a really good center). I said G/C because I was referring to the backup interior lineman as a whole.
And now for something completely different
And while he was originally a tackle in college
he bulked up and was moved to guard in Pittsburgh and if you’re big and strong enough to play guard for the Steelers, your definitely big enough for the Broncos. He can play both guard and tackle.
And now for something completely different
Looks like a good move.
It is a good thing they got him after the preseason or writers might not have been able to write how quickly Tebow skipped later reads and looked to run too early.
Yup, I found a way to make this about Tebow.
From a Steelers fan
This article is a bit misleading, while he was among the final cuts this year, it was more about the Steelers trying to find some place where he could play. He could not play LOT and was beaten out by a turnstile for the position. He was give 2 games to play RG to show what he had, and he failed miserably. Legursky can play C and G and with Pouncey having ankle problems keeping Legursky was a mandate.
Let me put it this way, the Steelers OL is not a unit that is talked about as being one of the best. If it were not for Big Ben keeping plays alive the Steelers sacks against total for any of the past 3 years would have been the amount of time the Colts have allowed Manning to be sacked in his career, and yet we let Tony Hills go. Honestly, this is not a diamond in the ruff, this is a wasted projected. Good luck with him, I’m pretty sure most of Steeler Nation is glad to see him gone.
Thanks for the input imike
Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks
My ship finally came in, but it was the Kobayashi Maru.
Follow me on Twitter @MHR_KaptainKirk
Aint that sad?
"I actually watched the World Cup. I HATE baseball. Hockey’s over. Hey, at least we have the WNBA. Oh, man. I’m making a noose. Want one?"
Harv Neptune.
Psyched on our team...will tolerate our QB if i have to for another year!
Just like with other positions on the football field
some times it takes a new environment or a new coach to get a player to reach the fullest of his abilities.
I’m hoping that Magazu can mold this former tackle who beefed up into a dominant OG. 330 is big for a guard in a predominantly zone-blocking scheme, but if he has the foot-quickness to play OT, then he probably has the lateral movement ability to play OG in a zone scheme.
Ding Dong the lockout's dead
Draft profile
He was converted from TE to OL in college and was considered reasonably athletic but lacking strength and bulk to man the right tackle position and lacking footspeed to man the left tackle, he also had some serious injury concerns and suffered a potentially career ending foot injury in high school but overcame it.
I expect he will be the primary backup at OG although I very much hope we won’t have to use him, he is technically not a sound player and he is not strong enough to make up for his lacking technique as a starter.
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