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Day 8 of Denver Broncos Training Camp just wrapped up earlier today. Paradis and Garcia continued to impress, big days for Fowler, Patton and Norwood, some injury updates, and more!
Garcia and Paradis continue to get reps with the starting offense:
Matt Paradis was the Broncos starting center, and rookie Max Garcia was your starting left guard for the second consecutive day. Both continued to perform well today.
#broncos CJ Anderson with long TD run on perfectly blocked at middle of line. Paradis and Garcia seeing first team reps again
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 7, 2015
It's nice seeing some of the Broncos younger player getting a chance to succeed under coach Kubiak. General Manager John Elway made it a point of emphasis this offseason to get the young guys some reps and it appears to be paying off all over the roster.
What will be key for Paradis is getting comfortable snapping the ball cleanly to quarterback Peyton Manning. I would assume that Gino Gradkowski has handled the majority of the snapping duties this offseason. There was a fumbled snap or two during yesterday's practice, so hopefully these two can get comfortable with each other.
Garcia continued to look good today.
Max Garcia continuing to impress at #BroncosCamp - great strength and quickness inside a phone booth. smart, quickly identifies stunts
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
I am really liking everything I am hearing about Garcia. His teammates believe he will be great, the coaches promote him, and he continues to impress on the field. We may have a good one in the making.
Fowler, Norwood, and Patton all have big days:
We all know about Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas, and Cody Latimer, but players like Bennie Fowler, Solomon Patton, and the veteran Jordan Norwood have all looked great during today's practice.
#broncos WR Bennie Fowler enjoying strong day. Made TD play on alley-oop pass and ran crisp routes on two other receptions
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 7, 2015
Fowler has quietly been having a solid Training Camp it seems. He has been overshadowed by Jordan "Sunshine" Taylor, but he flashed today. The preseason will be very important for Fowler. He needs to show he can contribute on special teams as well as a receiver.
#broncos WR Jordan Norwood shining as a receiver today. Versatility key for a guy trying to make team as punt returner
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 7, 2015
I think Norwood has a spot on this roster. He adds depth at the wide receiver position and in the return game. This is something that both Kubiak and Elway have said will be needed from them to make this team.
Solomon Patton had a good day too. He might be the fastest player on the team.
You know what, he's done that a couple days" said Kubiak. "I think I've mentioned that obviously we know returning is a specialty of his, but if he can go out there and make plays as a wide out, it's going to make him even more valuable to making this football team. He's done it a couple days in a row."
He hauled in a 25-yard touchdown from Zac Dysert. I think he's on the outside looking in, but a strong preseason could help his chances.
Up and down day for Osweiler:
Quarterback Brock Osweiler had another up and down day during today's practice. He missed some open receivers, threw a couple interceptions, and just looked iffy at times today, but he also had his good moments as well.
Oh, Brock ... Gotta hit that ... Air-mailed Jordan Taylor on a deep post.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 7, 2015
Osweiler and Dysert both struggled during a 7 on 7 drill today, and Osweiler was picked off by Taurean Nixon during a two-minute drill.
Not all was bad for Oz though. Osweiler hit Bennie Fowler with a fade pass for a touchdown during goal line work. He also made some "wow throws" and is showing progress according to Cecil Lammey.
Broncos run the Pistol:
Head Coach Gary Kubiak mentioned how he will be flexible with Peyton Manning and combine philosophies with the future Hall Of Fame quarterback. Today showed some evidence of that.
Kubiak cited used of Pistol formation in Fri. practice as example of meshing what Manning has done in past w/Kubiak's past playbooks.
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) August 7, 2015
Kubiak says that they're trying to find out what they do best and move forward from there
I don't know if you guys saw it but we were working our offense out of the pistol formation today. We've basically taken our schemes and what we do, put him in the gun and doing it. We're taking a look at both ends. Like I told you, we're going to do it all. We're going to find out what we do best. We're going to have the ability to do it all."
I like this approach. This will keep Manning comfortable in the offense, and it still allows Kubiak to be creative and do what he does while letting Manning do what he does.
Camp attendance record:
The Broncos set a Training Camp fan attendance record today.
Today's attendance at Broncos Camp was 5,507, setting an all-time record at team's training facility. Previous best was 5,034 (Aug. 2, '12).
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) August 7, 2015
Good Job Broncos Country!
Injury Report:
- Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders sat our practice today with a "very minor" hamstring injury according to Kubiak. Sanders suffered this minor injury during yesterday's practice. The Broncos plan to play it smart with Sanders and will not rush him back.
- Derek Wolfe has been officially diagnosed with a concussion. He will need to pass the NFL's concussion protocol before practicing.
- Offensive tackle Michael Schofield returned to practice today after sitting out yesterday's with back spasms.
- Linebacker Danny Trevathan had an illness yesterday which kept him from practicing, but he was back out there today.
- Linebacker Lerentee McCray (groin), safety Ross Madison (groin), cornerback Tevrin Brandon (shoulder), nose tackle Marvin Austin Jr. (groin), Cornerback Curtis Marsh, Linebacker Steven Johnson(knee) and defensive end Derek Wolfe all did not practice.
Tweets from Day 8:
Aqib Talib with a nice breakup of an intended Manning-to-Daniels connection. Talib using his wingspan well lately.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 7, 2015
Beautiful 1-yard catch by Bennie Fowler for a TD on a fade route to cap an Osweiler-led 7-on-7 drive.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 7, 2015
Joe Don Duncan is making a positive impression in multiple roles #BroncosCamp - super athletic for a player his size, strong, aggressive
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
#broncos joe Decamilis, special teams coach, brings crazy energy and intensity
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 7, 2015
saw some positive moves/reps from Shane Ray at #BroncosCamp - kid is getting fired up out there, showing incredible aggression
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
Sylvester Williams looked better than I expected vs Gino Gradkowski early at #BroncosCamp - doesn't look as good vs Matt Paradis
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
James Casey is going to be a larger part of this offense than some think, listed at FB but can be used like a TE, H-Back for #Broncos
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
for those overly praising Trevor Siemian at #BroncosCamp remember that he's sharing reps with Zac Dysert...who is struggling
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 7, 2015
Patton absolutely terrific over the shoulder catch in tight coverage. Caught strike from Siemian #broncos
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 7, 2015
Quote:
Kubiak when asked how many running backs he will carry.
"I tell you what, it's a really good group and they're all young—all of them. It'll be interesting. I don't know. I've had three. I've had four. One thing about it, if they're special teams players and stuff, you can always find room for them. You can keep too many if they're playing on all these special teams and doing other things. We'll see. It'll be a good battle. Special teams will probably separate them when it's all said and done, but they're all repping and they're all getting opportunities. Preseason is going to be really big for all of them."