Day 19 of Denver Broncos Training Camp is now in the books. Today we have yet another update on the QB battle, a possible serious injury to a starter, a fight, an update on the running backs, injury news, and more!
Quarterback update
After a poor showing by the offense and the quarterbacks on Saturday, they put together a much better showing on Monday. All three quarterbacks connected on deep passes early in practice. The only turnover was an incredible diving interception by safety Will Parks who intercepted Paxton Lynch.
Totally QB Stats for Day 19: pic.twitter.com/xqBeOsvYnj
— The Orange Page (@theorangepage) August 15, 2016
As usual, the two co-starters Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian continued to split snaps today, and both had good days.
Sanchez hit Jordan Taylor on a deep ball. Sanchez nearly had another deep completion for a touchdown, but the Harris/Sanders fight happened(more on that later). A total of two DPI's really hurt his drive there. Sanchez worked mostly with the second-team offense today but went up against the first team defense for the most part.
As for Siemian, this might be his week to start or Mark Sanchez is starting to lose his job because all the turnovers. He hit Emmanuel Sanders and Jordon Norwood on long completions as well today. Siemian took the majority of the first team reps today and was working mostly against the second-team defense. Glad he's continuing to throw downfield more, and according to some, this was Siemian's best practice to date.
Paxton Lynch connected with his former Memphis teammate Mose Frazier on a deep ball as well.
It was a better day for all three quarterbacks, but I do not think much changed after today's performances. The key practices will come on the 17th and 18th when the Broncos have two joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers. It will be against another team so how all three perform here and against the 49ers during the game could very well decide who gets the start week one.
The battle continues for one more day!
Vance Walker injury
Probably the biggest news of the day was the injury to starting defensive end, Vance Walker.
Defensive end Vance Walker has been carted off the field with a knee injury #BroncosCamp https://t.co/WlVjWJ69F5 pic.twitter.com/wPtzWq1yUb
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) August 15, 2016
He went down after the first play of practice and couldn't put any weight on his right leg and had to be carted off the field.
According to 9NEWS Denver's Mike Klis, Walker's leg was immobilized by a large brace and is getting an MRI according to Denver Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak.
"Fingers crossed when that happens. I didn’t really see it. It was one of the earlier plays at practice. He and Max Garcia were tied up and he went down. We just have to see and hope for the best."
Jared Crick immediately replaced Walker in the lineup, and I'd expect rookie Adam Gotsis and veteran Billy Winn to get some snaps there as well. Either way, it's a tough blow to the Broncos defensive line
Chris Harris and Emmanuel Sanders fight
We're almost 3 weeks into Training Camp and closing in on the end of it before the regular season continues to draw near, and this means the Broncos offense and the Broncos defense are getting tired of each other.
Whoa ... Huge brouhaha with CHJr and Sanders. Lots of shoves. Ward got in, as well, along with Roby.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 15, 2016
There were two ugly DPI's by Chris Harris Jr. before tempers flared.
Kubiak said both guys were just competing
"They’re just tired of going at each other. We have to keep our composure. Guys are going to get upset and battle each other, but there are some things that they won’t let you do on the field, so we can’t do those at practice either. They were just competing. Nobody was thrown out of anything. They’re just competing."
Sounded like the receivers were getting the upper hand on the DB's today, plus almost 3 weeks of battling against the same guy will lead to some tempers to flare. Soon the 49ers will be there and camp will be over. Only one more practice to go!
Special teams will have a lot to do with the running back battle
The running back battle continues for the #2, #3, and possibly #4 spots on the depth chart. The guys battling are rookie Devontae Booker, Kapri Bibbs, Ronnie Hillman, and fullback/running back Juwan Thompson
"Ronnie's in a battle." - Kubiak on RB competition between @dbook23 @MrHillman2U & @KapriBibbs. pic.twitter.com/u3gZWSmWBp
— L.Lattimore-Volkmann (@docllv) August 15, 2016
Kubiak said Hillman is in a "helluva" battle with those other backs.
"Ronnie is in a battle. He’s in a hell of a battle with Kapri and Booker right now. There’s no way around that. I’m just being honest with you. Special teams will be really important. Ronnie is going to play a lot this week and he’s going to play some special teams, so it’s a very competitive situation."
If Special Teams is going to be important, we can already pencil in Juwan Thompson and Andy Janovich on to the roster. Obviously, Booker is a lock to make it, so that final roster spot will come down to how Bibbs and Hillman do on special teams.
It's not looking good for Hillman.
Injury report
- Tight end Garrett Graham misses another day of practice
- Tight John Phillips returns to practice after missing most of Training Camp due to an ankle injury.
- Defensive lineman Darius Kilgo and Vance Walker returned to practice after missing Saturday's practice.
- Cornerback Taurean Nixon continued to sit out practice.
- Recently signed safety Ryan Murphy continues to sit out practice as well.
- Fullback Andy Janovich returned to practice after sitting out Saturday's practice.
- Offensive lineman Robert Myers Jr. sat out another practice.
- Receiver Bennie Fowler and tackle/guard Ty Sambrailo continue to sit out practice with elbow injuries.
Tweets from camp
76°, no clouds or breeze and a somewhat light crowd for Day 19 of Broncos training camp.
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) August 15, 2016
Coach Tolbert plays catch with a kid from Iowa wearing a DT88 jersey #BroncosCamp pic.twitter.com/05GJvkK1Il https://t.co/Tgj4lMevsN
— Kirk Davis (@MHR_KaptainKirk) August 15, 2016
And it is orange towel day for fans attending training camp today. pic.twitter.com/MCAxGrmsEu
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) August 15, 2016
Visiting the champs. pic.twitter.com/opGj4isNOl
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 15, 2016
Coaches not going to put up with much today. Wade Phillips just gave Von Miller an earful five minutes into practice.
— Ryan Koenigsberg (@RyanKoenigsberg) August 15, 2016
Snap count and initial reaction is extremely important to offensive lineman. Here is how they practice #BroncosCamp pic.twitter.com/f56IAWIopn
— Zac Stevens (@Zactionpacked) August 15, 2016
The Broncos backfield building chemistry. FB Andy Janovich blocks for CJ Anderson @AndyJanovich @cjandersonb22 pic.twitter.com/U7VQgFtxt3
— Zac Stevens (@Zactionpacked) August 15, 2016
#Broncos CB drills on this Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/L1OrzbaAvZ
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 15, 2016
Paxton Lynch has been throwing Elwayesque bullets throughout camp, today in receiver warm-ups he seems to be using much more touch.
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) August 15, 2016
Rookie fullback @AndyJanovich just flipped a blocking sled (on his own).
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) August 15, 2016
CJ is good, but Devontae was born to be a cut back runner. That plant-and-get-upfield step is #BroncosCamp
— Ryan Greene (@RGreene5280) August 15, 2016
Notable quotes
Kubiak on what he wants to see from his team the next few days
"I have so many questions that we can answer on the team. I get a lot of them answered. This week is a big week for this team. We had a very competitive practice today. We’re going to have two against the 49ers, and then we’re going to play them on Saturday. You’re getting to a point where you should start to answer those things. We’ll keep pushing. I’m not going to treat this week any different other than our starters will play longer. We treat all games the same. We have to make a decision on reps and how we’ll go about it. "
Kubiak on Lorenzo Doss's development
"He’s much more mature. The thing that I noticed about Doss is that he’s now a more physical player than he has been. He’s always been a pretty good at coverage and a good space player, but he’s starting to tackle. He’s starting to shoot his guns, so to speak, in those ways as a football player with confidence. That’s what I see, but we’ll see. He obviously has received a ton of reps, a lot of starter-type reps over some of those guys and Taurean Nixon is out. He’s becoming a good player."
Kubiak on rookie defensive end Adam Gotsis's improvement
"He is getting in better physical condition. I think it took a while coming off his knee, so you see him improving his physical condition at practice. He’s taking what Defensive Line Coach Bill Kolar teaches. He’s still has a long way to go as a young player, but obviously, we’re counting on him big time."