The Broncos returned to the practice field Tuesday for the first day of Team Camp, phase two of teh team's OTAs. While there wasn't a whole lot of news on the field to speak about, there was plenty off of it. I wrote about the David Kircus situation yesterday but certainly wasn't alone. You can read about it HERE, HERE and HERE. I'll have more thoughts about Shanny's polygraph machine TONIGHT on MHR Radio
One bright spot on the practice field was the return of Matt Lepsis to Left Tackle. Lepsis is still recovering from a knee injury that cost him the second half of the 2006 season. Lepsis spoke with the meida yesterday for the first time in years, complying with Roger Goodell's kinder, gentler player-media policy that requires all players be open to interviews.
Lepsis admitted to being nervous talking to the media about his recovery, but noted it felt good to get back on the field for the first time in 7 months. There will be some tough times ahead, and Lepsis is prepared for them --
"If something happens, they'll just pull me out. Everybody has setbacks with these things. I hope it doesn't happen. But if it does, I'll kind of give it a rest and come back when I can."
Lepsis also spoke about his new quarterback, and admitted that the job of the O-Line got a bit harder with jay Cutler at quarterback --
"It's definitely going to make it harder for us," Lepsis said. "We've been kind of spoiled with Jake in the past, because he can get out of anything. Cutler's a good, mobile quarterback too, but (mobility) is why they call Jake `The Snake.' He was good at what he did, and he made our jobs really easy."
Lepsis makes a good point, and it was definitely a problem last year when Cutler seemed to be under constant pressure. As fans I think we forget how much a quarterback's pocket style effects pass protection and there is going to be a learning curve for the lineman as they get used to Cutler. Obviously all of this should be patched up in plenty of time for the season, and Cutler will have to do a better job of getting rid of the ball in a timely manner.
No matter what, it will be good having Lepsis back protecting Cutler's blind side.