Photos by Kaptain Kirk 8/15/11
It's another fine day as I male my way into the Broncos Dove Valley Training Complex. I find a spot at the 45 yard line as Tim Tebow begins throwing to an intern. Adam Weber takes over for the intern as Manny Ramirez, Virgil Green and Dan Gronkowski walk on to the field. The JUG's machine is set up on my right at the 30 yard line. New Wide Receiver Greg Orton is wearing #14 and catching passes from Tebow. I see the emerging players are in Full Pads today and the JUG's is setting up for low squib kicks. HORN.
Special Teams start the practice session as different players field the squib kicks. These must be the players that set up between the Kick Returner and the line blockers. You wouldn't expect David Veikune, Robert Ayers, Mitch Unrein, Mario Haggan, Austin Sylvester, Jeremiah Johnson, Jeremy Beal or Jeremy Jarmon to normally field Kickoffs. Assistant ST's coach Keith Burns oversees this drill. HORN.
11 on 11 first teams walk-through. The Nickel package has Brian Dawkins leaving for Cassius Vaughn, with Champ Bailey covering the slot. Brady Quinn gets some reps with the 1st unit Offensive Line. This segment lasts for 20 minutes. HORN.
Tuten's Stretch and Flex session begins with T.I.s "I’m Back" thumping over the airwaves. I see Stanley Daniels and Syd'Quan Thompson are in shorts and sitting out practice. I also don't see Richard Quinn, so I assume his "tweaked" knee isn't feeling better yet.As the players spread out to continue their stretching Guns and Roses "Paradise City" begins to play. I see Knowshon Moreno has brought a personal stretch man to assist him. I like this and have been lobbying for KnoMo to do this last season. He and the team can't afford another pulled groin or Hamstring injury this year. The next song is "Bottom of the Map" from Young Jeezy. HORN.
The Offense goes through a play and then trots down the field 20 yards. All 3 units run down and back, then downfield once more, before breaking off into their individual drills. HORN.
The Quarterbacks hand off to the Running Backs, who practice with the running lane mat. The Offensive Line works by themselves and the Tight Ends do the same. The Wide Receivers work with coach Tyke Tolbert. Over on the other field, the Defensive Linemen are hitting the bouncy stationary sled. Now the Tight Ends join the Quarterbacks and Running Backs. Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy calls plays for them to execute. The Wide Receivers catch short passes and then run a gauntlet of the other Receivers who attempt to strip the ball. The Tight Ends and Running Backs go their respective ways as the Quarterbacks join the Wide Receivers in passing drills. The Running Backs hit the sled in a drive blocking drill. HORN.
1 on 1 drills begin on either end. The Wide Receivers run against the Cornerbacks on one end, while the Linebackers and Safeties pass rush against the Running Backs and Tight Ends. Von Miller swoops past Julius Thomas and Brian Dawkins gets the best of Dante Rosario. Spencer Larsen holds his own, but other than that, the Defense wins this battle. I don't bother watching the Wide Receiver/Cornerback contest as the pass rush is more interesting and I have seen plenty of the WR vs. CB battles. HORN.
The ball is placed at the 20 yard line and the Offense is working towards midfield. This is a 6 on 8 drill. Kyle Orton completes passes to Brandon Lloyd, Eric Decker, Daniel Fells and Eddie Royal during this segment. Tim Tebow completes a rather weak 5 yard pass to Virgil Green and then hits Matthew Willis in between Cassius Vaughn and Kyle McCarthy. That was a very nice play by both of them. Tebow then sends a high arcing pass to Knowshon Moreno that the Running Back tries to catch over his shoulders looking straight up, but can't come up with. I count that as a drop, but it was a difficult situation. Brady Quinn passes behind Eron Riley, but the Receiver makes the catch anyway. Brady Quinn then hits David Anderson and Jamel Hamler on successive plays. Adam Weber throws a pass to Dan Gronkowski and then hits Eron Riley at the sideline. Riley comes up limping after the play. HORN.
At this point, Kyle Orton takes the first team Offense to work on the running game against the first team Defense at the 25 yard line. The other 3 Quarterbacks throw to the Wide Receivers in their one on one match up with the Cornerbacks. Champ Bailey steps in front of Matthew Willis and intercepts an Adam Weber pass right off the bat. Brady Quinn and Kyle Orton switch places and Quinn takes reps with the Running Offense. Tim Tebow gets a chance to work with them too. This drill goes on for roughly 15 minutes and tempers flare up a few times. HORN.
11 on 11's first team full speed drills. The ball is spotted at the 40 yard line and Knowshon Moreno gets the first carry for a good run. Then Orton finds Spencer Larsen in the flat and Larsen runs it 40 yards for a TD. Kyle hits Eddie Royal on a not-so-good screen play and then again over the middle. Then things get sloppy when Orton and Willis McGahee collide with each other during an attempted hand-off. The next play has Kyle stumbling out of the snap. As he recovers, Von Miller and Brian Dawkins are nearly on top of him. Tim Tebow comes in and promptly throws a one-handed interception to Nate Irving. Tebow then completes a pass to Virgil Green. Brady Quinn hits David Anderson and his next pass is tipped down field, falling incomplete. Brady hits Jamel Hamler at the sideline. HORN.
Special Teams Coordinator Jeff Rodgers has one group of players working on engaging and shucking blockers in Punt coverage. On the other end of the field, ST's Assistant Keith Burns is drilling the outside Kickoff coverage men to pursue and close on the Kick Returner while avoiding a two-man Wedge. From there, the players assemble for live Kickoff practice. Steven Hauschka and Matt Prater each kick through the upright Goal posts and then Hauschka kicks one off the crossbar. HORN.
Red Zone drills from the 20 yard line. Orton hits Knowshon Moreno with a shovel pass. Then the Defense gets pressure in the backfield on the next two plays and Orton is forced to throw the ball away. The Offense is getting sloppy again. After the next play, Rahim Moore and Brandon Lloyd are seen jawing and pushing one another. Knowshon Moreno comes over to break it up. Kyle hits Daniel Fells for a TD and then completes a quick pass to Willis McGahee as Von Miller seemed to be in the backfield immediately. More scuffles break out as the Offense takes offense with the Defense getting the upper hand. Tim Tebow connects with Britt Davis for a TD. Then Jason Hunter wraps up Tebow for a Sack. Brady Quinn passes to David Anderson and then Jamel Hamler drops Brady's sideline toss. Adam Weber completes a pass to Dante Rosario and is nearly picked off on the next play. HORN.
The ball is placed at the 50 yard line for another 11 on 11 segment. Orton makes a quick pass to Brandon Lloyd in front of Andre' Goodman. On the ensuing play, Wesley Woodyard gets in for a Sack. His Sack Dance is to squat and strum an air guitar real fast with sound effects. It was hilarious. Orton's next pass falls short of Eric Decker. Kyle hits Eddie Royal and then Cassius Vaughn interferes with Matthew Willis. Brady Quinn comes in and is Sacked by Derrick Harvey. Quinn's next pass sails over the middle intended for Britt Davis. Tebow is pressured by Derrick Harvey and his pass falls incomplete. Tebow hits Eron Riley and then Adam Weber is Sacked by Nate Irving. HORN.
The Kickoff coverage unit drills against the scouts with the JUG's machine providing the kicks. Brandon Bing is returning for the scout team and shows off his elusiveness. The players run about 10 reps and then it's time for the final HORN. The players assemble for the practice ending huddle where coach Fox addresses them. The Linebackers draw autograph duties and I get signatures from Joe Mays, Mario Haggan, D,J.Williams, Von Miller, Lee Robinson, A.J.Jones and Wesley Woodyard.
The highlight today was Nate Irving's one-handed pick, but Wesley Woodyard's "Sack Air Guitar Jam" has to get honorable mention. Other than that, the Defense bested a sloppy Offense most of the afternoon. The low-light was seeing Ty Warren leave the field with an arm injury. I didn't see what happened to Marcus Thomas, but found out he got dinged up as well. Early practice tomorrow and hopefully the Offense tightens things up.
Go Broncos!