The final open practice for the 2017 Denver Broncos training camp happened on Saturday. It was a full padded practice. The team will be travelling to California next week for some joint practice sessions with the San Francisco 49ers leading up to their game next Saturday, August 19, 2017.
Here is what went down today.
F.M.L. with the injury scares
The season may be derailed more by injuries than by below average quarterback play. This has got to stop! So far, the Broncos are dodging these bullets left and right, but it is getting scary.
Broncos front 7, already battered by injuries to Ray, Barrett, Winn now sees Derek Wolfe leave on cart.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 12, 2017
It turned out Derek Wolfe ended up with an ankle injury, which could still sideline him for some time. What ever it is, it isn’t season-ending.
Wolfe’s serious injury wasn’t the only scare. Chris Harris Jr. had a scare late in practice as well.
Chris Harris Jr. now being looked at by team medical personnel. Nearly got an INT in team red-zone. Immediately got up in discomfort.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 12, 2017
He was seen later laughing and standing around, but did not return to practice. At that point, most Broncos fans had had enough of injury scares. Put them all in protective bubbles, please!
How did the quarterbacks do?
Trevor Siemian:
Siemian had a less than stellar practice today, but with him being the clear choice at starting quarterback the pressure has been quite released for him now.
As far as Siemian is concerned, the first practice after a terrible outing in the first preseason game is the perfect time for Lynch to “win” a day of practice. It changes nothing at this point. Both quarterbacks are who they are and neither has progressed from 2016, which means the same starter should start in 2017.
Will Parks almost INT on Siemian on deep post to Jordan Taylor. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Roby almost picks Siemian. #Broncos @1043TheFan outside slant
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Siemian off target to DT inside. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Langley with dropped INT of Trevor. That's 3 dropped picks today for Siemian. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Paxton Lynch:
Lynch had a fine practice today. He had a nice bounce back day and did a lot of solid things with the first-team offense. He needed this kind of confidence boost heading into his last chance to change the rising tide of Siemian.
Where has this Paxton been? He's going thru 2-3 reads consistently. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Chris Harris Jr. even got it in coverage today from Lynch.
Paxton TD to Sanders. Goes between Harris and Simmons. #Broncos @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) August 12, 2017
Lynch closed his 7-on-7 red-zone period with a TD pass to Sanders in the back of the end zone.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 12, 2017
His problem will continue to be his poor throwing mechanics. He is two offseasons into his NFL career and he is still unable to put his arm strength and other physical traits into good, consistent quarterback play.
He reads defenses just fine. He has quick processing speed, but these poor mechanics derail every single positive attribute he has and it is why he will not be starting for the Broncos in Week 1.
Lot going on here with Paxton Lynch. Waits too long to release, pats feet instead of being firm and driving through, causes bad miss. pic.twitter.com/iuQoiWFBGf
— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) August 12, 2017
Allen Barbre competes with first-team
The Broncos may not have been pleased with Max Garcia’s performance or Allen Barbre has just been slowly chipping away in that competition, but it sounds like Barbre may get the nod to start against the 49ers next Saturday.
Vance says "maybe" when it comes to whether or not Barbre will play with the 1st team offensive line against the 49ers
— Ryan Edwards (@redwardsradio) August 12, 2017
Injury report
- Safety T.J. Ward missed another practice with a hamstring injury.
- Linebacker Todd Davis missed practice once again with a shoulder injury.
- Wide receiver Carlos Henderson will undergo surgery on his thumb. No timetable on his return.
Just a little swelling pic.twitter.com/iCz1TL7FhE
— Derek Wolfe (@Derek_Wolfe95) August 12, 2017
Notable Quotes
Vance Joseph on when he would like to decide on the starting offensive line
“Well, the offensively line is like running back in my opinion--you need more than five anyway. The more we can work [G/C Connor] McGovern at some left, to work Barbre there left and right—in my opinion, that’s a good thing for the offensive line. As far as the guys playing together, that’s kind of not important—it’s your job to block the three-technique or block the shade. Whoever’s out there, it works. I’m not concerned about the one group playing together. This is more about guys playing different positions.”
Vance Joseph on what he saw from watching game film
“I liked the offensive line as far as the run blocking. We moved guys, the double teams were stout and aggressive. We had some big holes in the running game. Protection-wise I wasn’t totally pleased there; we gave up some protections as far as the five-man pressures. I wasn’t pleased there. Defensively, getting off to a fast start—the first three drives were three-and-outs. Two out of three drives were turnovers. But the run defense wasn’t good enough at all, even versus 11-personnel or sub-personnel groups it wasn’t good enough for us. The effort was there—we won the game, that’s important. I was pleased.”
Aqib Talib on what it means to have the fans watching during camp practices
“We need it— from the first day to the last day. You’re going to play a little bit harder if you’ve got people watching— if you’ve got 5,000 people watching. That extra juice that we need towards the end of camp, the fans definitely bring it for us.”
Chris Harris Jr. on what it means to have Derek Wolfe on the defensive line
“We have to be able to stop the run. That was our problem last year. Teams are going to check us. They’re going to check to see if we stopped that. Whether we can come out and run goal line offense, run the ball, and pound us until we stop it. We need Derek Wolfe. He is our best run defender. He’s our leader upfront. You have to have a guy like him to be able to anchor us.”