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Broncos 2011 Training Camp-Kaptain's Log-Day 13

 

Denver Broncos CFO John Elway takes in Training Camp practice (Photo by Kaptain Kirk 8/13/11)
                                                                                                   
It's an early Saturday morning. While most of you are sleeping in, I am making my way to the Denver Broncos Dove Valley Training Complex. I set up at the 47 yard line today and wonder if the coaches will address the penalty issue from Thursday's game. Or maybe the return game that didn't fare so well. It could be that they will merely continue the course they've set and maintain an even keel. 

At 8:30 Sharp, Tim Tebow makes his appearance along with Kyle Orton. Special Teams coach Jeff Rodgers lays out a couple of cones down at the 15 yard line. His Assistant, Keith Burns, does the same over on the far field. Adam Weber joins Tebow for a bit and then Manny Ramirez comes out and snaps balls to Tebow for 10 minutes. Oh yeah, this will be a Full Pad practice. Brady Quinn and Virgil Green are the next players to show and then the rest of the team dwindles on to the field in twos and threes. The JUG's machine is set up to my left on the 40 yard line and the Punting unit casually lines up awaiting the HORN.


The JUG's machine launches punts to Eric Decker, David Anderson, Matthew Willis and Perrish Cox on one end of the field. At the other end, the Punt protection unit takes reps under the supervision of Coach Rodgers. The 2nd and 3rd teams take reps as well. Davis Bruton calls the signals as the Personal Protector for the 1st team. Darcel McBath and Lance Ball have the same responsibility for the 2nd and 3rd's respectively. HORN.


1st string 11 on 11's at quarter speed. Knowshon Moreno gets most of the reps with a few passes mixed in. I see Wesley Woodyard and Cassius Vaughn rotate in for the Nickel package. Joe Mays goes out, but I don't see which other player is being substituted for. The "Wild Horse" formation makes an appearance and a few wrinkles are added. Kyle Orton splits the reps with Brady Quinn during this segment. HORN. 

 "Scenario" by A Tribe Called Quest starts off Rich Tuten's Stretch and Flex session. As that song ends, the players spread out for their upper body stretches as the Foo Fighters "Everlong" blasts through the speaker next to the building. I am happy to report that Knowshon is using an assistant to help him stretch his Hamstrings, something that Eddie Royal usually does.  Mark Dell (knee), Chris Clark (ankle) won't be participating this morning. Those were the only acknowledged injuries from Thursday's game. Eddie Royal and Syd'Quan Thompson, Broderick Bunkley and Louis Leonard also did not suit up today. The 3rd song to play is Sugar Hill Gang's "Apache." That song is almost allowed to finish before the HORN.


The three Offensive units run plays and then trot downfield 20 yards. They run two reps apiece before moving to their individual position drills. Wide Receivers coach Tyke Tolbert grabs a couple of arm pads to Jam the WR's at the Line of Scrimmage as they run pass routes. Adam Weber practices with the Running Backs, while Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow pass to the Tight Ends in the Red Zone. The Offensive Linemen vie against one another and over on the far field, the Defensive Backs run diagonal drop-backs, switching from the left to the right. The Defensive Linemen work on their first move around the blocker and into the backfield. The Running Backs are catching passes from Adam Weber out of the backfield now, and the other 3 QB's join the Wide Receivers down in the Red Zone area to my right. The Running Backs do their hurdle drills. HORN.

11 on 11's. Orton passes to Eric Decker and then Knowshon gets a carry. The coaches tell the Offense to pick up the tempo. They want them to get in and out of the huddle and up to the line in a timely manner. A trick play is bungled up and then Kyle makes a nice pass completion to Brandon Lloyd, who then trots back to the huddle doing his patented "Can't cover me" face wave. Moreno gets another carry. Brady Quinn passes low incomplete intended for David Anderson. The Offense is having a sloppy segment and I encourage them to "clean it up." Tebow throws a low incomplete intended for Anderson and then LenDale White rumbles for 10 yards. A Tebow pass to Dan Gronkowski is broken up by David Bruton. Adam Weber overthrows D'Andre GoodwinHORN.

The ball is spotted at the 15 yard line for more 11 on 11's. Moreno runs twice and Willis McGahee once. On a Play action play, Orton rolls right and hits Daniel Fells. I spot John Elway on the sideline looking down the Line of Scrimmage as LenDale White gets a carry. Derrick Harvey gets a Sack on Tebow, then Brady Quinn hands off to LenDale White, who fumbles as he is tackled. Defensive Line Coach Wayne Nunnelly tells his charges to "Focus." Lance Ball has two nice runs in a row and I notice that Quinton Carter and Rahim Moore are teamed up at the Safety spots with the 1st team. Darcel McBath and David Bruton are getting reps with the 2nd unit. Jeremiah has to earn some tough yards in traffic during his two carries. Brandon Minor gets around the edge on a sweep right and one of the DB's coaches berates Brandon Bing all the way over to the sideline. C.J. Gable gets two carries. HORN.

The Line of Scrimmage is the 45 and it's time for full speed 11 on 11's. The segment clock is operating as the 40 second play clock. Kyle Orton throws a nice pass to Brandon Lloyd in between D.J.Williams and Champ Bailey. Moreno has a good run and Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy says, "Good patience Kno!"  Kyle throws a pass behind Eric Decker and then they discuss what went wrong on the play. Eddie Royal and Demaryius Thomas come out to watch practice. They must be through with their morning treatment. Orton passes to Lloyd on a deep out and then hits McGahee out of the backfield. Kyle passes to Decker on a crossing pattern. Eric turns it upfield and points to Lloyd to block ahead of him. Tebow rolls left and passes to the feet of the intended receiver. Orton and Decker have another discussion on the sideline. Herb Taylor holds Derrick Harvey to prevent another Sack on Tebow. Brady Quinn leads Virgil Green to much for an incomplete pass. Green was well covered by Kyle McCarthy. Brady completes a reverse pass against the grain to Virgil Green that works well. Adam Weber throws at the feet of Dan Gronkowski incomplete. Weber then passes to Jamel Hamler on an inside out play that stumps Nate Jones. Jones is shaken up on the play, but limps off. HORN.

2 minute Water break.

Special Teams Punt protection drills. Short cones are placed along the 50 yard line to indicate coverage lanes. The JUG's machine launches a salvo of punts in the direction of Matthew Willis, Eric Decker and David Anderson. Britton Colquitt takes turns with the JUG's as the unit works "live" against a scout return team. I see Cassius Vaughn, Jeremiah Johnson, Nate Jones,  Eron Riley and D'Andre Goodwin get reps as Gunners. HORN.

A ball boy spots the ball at the 35 yard line and another round of 11 on 11's begins. Orton makes an outlet pass to Spencer Larsen. On the next play, Kyle rolls right out of play-action and passes to Julius Thomas. Champ Bailey thought he had a clean pick, but Thomas came back for the ball and "Took it!" A great play by the rookie that leaves Champ shaking his head. Orton passes intended for Brandon Lloyd but D,J. Williams deflects the ball halfway towards it's intended target. Willis McGahee gets a carry and then Orton makes a play-action pass to Willis out of the backfield. Orton throws incomplete to the sideline, just out of Champ Bailey's reach. The pass was intended for Matthew Willis and looked to be a miscommunication by the way Orton is acting. Lance Ball gets a carry and then Brady Quinn completes a nice pass to D'Andre Goodwin over Cassius Vaughn. LenDale White gets a carry and then catches a Tebow swing pass. Adam Weber passes to Jeremiah Johnson and then Tebow rolls to the left and takes off running. HORN.

The ball is placed on the 22 yard line and the 11 on 11's continue. Orton hits Lloyd in the left corner for a TD. Kyle passes to Decker with Bailey guarding him then throws to Lloyd in the right corner for a TD. Brady Quinn replaces Orton with the 1st unit and connects with Decker. The Ball is moved up to the 5 yard line and Kyle throws the fade to Lloyd for a TD. Brady gets picked by Champ at the goal line. Tebow puts it high over the middle deep End Zone for Virgil Green to catch. The ball was placed where only Green could get it. The next play, Tebow locks in on Knowshon. Brady Quinn throws the fade for D'Andre Goodwin, but Perrish Cox breaks up the play. Quinn finds Jeremiah Johnson for a TD. Adam Weber gets blown for a Sack by Coach Fox and then Weber overthrows the End Zone. HORN.

Another 2 minute Water break.

The ball is placed on the  30 yard line for yet another 11 on 11 session. Moreno gets 4 yards. An Orton to Decker pass is good for 12 yards. Kyle passes to D'Andre Goodwin for 6 yards and Brian Dawkins is there to clean it up. On an 8 yard run by Willis McGahee I see J.D.Walton get to the 2nd level for an effective block. McGahee gets another solid run out of a 2-back set. The blocking was very good. Orton pass to Moreno over the middle. C.J.Gable gets two carries and then Tebow passes incomplete to Goodwin, who might have gotten a push from Nate Jones. Quinn completes a quick pass to David Anderson. LenDale White stumbles in the hole. Weber completes a pass to Jamel Hamler. HORN.

The Special Teams are up again. The Punting unit vs. the scout return team. Eric Decker fields a Colquitt punt one-handed. His other hand was holding his helmet at the time. Across at the other field Coach Burns is taking the Gunners through "tip" drills at the goal line using a soccer ball. On the other end of the far field, Steven Hauschka and Matt Prater are kicking Field Goals through a narrowed set of Goal posts. Back in front of my position, the punting unit gets two reps "Downing" punts inside the 5 yard line. HORN.

The Line of Scrimmage is the 20 yard line with the Offense moving toward midfield. Knowshon Moreno gets two carries and then Orton's pass goes through Brandon Lloyd's hands. Willis McGahee, Knowshon Moreno and Jeremiah Johnson each get a carry. Tebow rolls left and has nowhere to go but out of bounds for a 1-yard loss. Tebow runs for 2-yards with Kevin Vickerson all over him. Brady Quinn passes to Jamel Hamler. Lance Ball direct snap and then a final carry by Ball. HORN.

End of practice huddle and then the Quarterbacks are up for autograph duty. Being as it's a Saturday crowd, I'm not inclined to attempt getting Tebow's signature. And I pass on Adam Weber's because I already have a couple of hats that have cut player signatures on them. So I get Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn to sign a hat for me and then head for home. The next practice will be on Monday afternoon, so I get another day of rest.

Go Broncos!