Broncos Training Camp – Thursday Stadium Practice Report

13,402 fans attended the Thursday night practice at INVESCO Field at Mile High, a record audience for a Denver Broncos practice. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Denver Broncos training camp goes to INVESCO Field at Mile High… News and notes from the Thursday evening practice.

The record 13,402 in attendance for a Broncos practice didn’t disappoint. Yes, there were boos, but there were also plenty of cheers and foot-pounding thunder as well. To end the practice, 850 KOA AM’s Dave Logan (who was the emcee of sorts) echoed a message from the Broncos thanking “the world’s best fans,” and then the entire team spent a good fifteen minutes signing autographs. And joy and good times were had by all.

Attendance Report

Only missing were the usual suspects – Brandon Marshall, Brian Dawkins and Rulon Davis. Tight end Marquez Branson and defensive lineman J’Vonne Parker both left the field with what looked like knee injuries.

Offense

OFFENSIVE MVP: BRANDON STOKLEY. During 7-on-7’s, Stokley stood out as the best receiver of the bunch, catching the most balls and making tough grabs. He lined up both wide and in the slot during 11-on-11’s and was a consistent target for Kyle Orton, scoring the first touchdown of the night and three overall. Many of Stokley’s catches were short routes in the slot, but he found ways to get open, particularly in red zone work, where he nabbed two more touchdowns from Orton. I believe Kyle Orton threw three touchdowns for the night, and all of them were caught by Brandon Stokley.

• Ryan Clady had some really nice plays, a few that fascinated me in particular. Successful teams in recent years past, like the Steelers with Alan Faneca or the Seahawks with Steve Hutchinson, will pull a guard to the other side during a run play. The Broncos did that last night too, but with their left tackle, at least twice. Clady’s quick enough where he stepped in front of Ben Hamilton and blocked Ronald Fields one-on-one, while Hamilton picked up the weakside backer. Both times, Fields didn’t stand a chance. That’s McDaniels recognizing that you don’t have to be a skill-position player to be a weapon.
• Chris Simms played a bit better than Orton Thursday, but he wasn’t all that dazzling either. He suffered from the usual inaccuracies and overthrows, although he definitely looked more comfortable in the pocket. He had a lot less reps than Orton, though. If memory serves me, I don’t believe Tom Brandstater threw a single pass in team drills.
• Correll Buckhalter has the best vision of any of the running backs and looked best yesterday. He’s a good fit for the one cut, run downhill system. Both he and LaMont Jordan have seen time as the starters, but Buckhalter is clearly superior.

Jarvis Moss and Robert Ayers during Thursday's stadium practice. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Defense

DEFENSIVE MVP: ANDRE GOODMAN. Goodman had two picks and could have had at least one, maybe two more. One he impressively returned for a touchdown, weaving around his pursuers (the offense really was trying to “tackle” him). I have to say, I’m relieved to see Goodman doing this. I hadn’t seen very much from him up to this point in camp – the guy just disappears (but as McD says, if a DB disappears that means he’s doing his job). But he stole the show last night, and received the loudest cheers of the night as he stepped into that end zone.

• The defense got consistent pressure on both QBs last night, and from every phase of the game – defensive line, linebackers and secondary. Matthias Askew blocked a pass and Ronald Fields had a sack after the NT beat Casey Weigmann cleanly; Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss each notched at least one (Orton’s toss that Goodman returned for a TD would have actually been a sack by Ayers, but since they don’t make contact with the quarterback they play it through); Alphonso Smith had a big two-handed pass block on Orton.
• Because you’re not there in the playbook and in the huddle, it’s hard to tell who’s to blame when the defense breaks down. But twice last night, it was clear Alphonso Smith made mental mistakes that cost the team touchdowns. You can tell by the nonverbal communication – when a teammate points at Smith after a score and shouts what the play was, and Smith nods in understanding and shakes his head in self-disappointment, it’s clear he knows he goofed. Smith did make plays though, including a pass break-up of Stokley and a big blocked pass on a blitz.
• For now, little has changed in the starting defensive lineups. Darrell Reid is still lining up at LOLB and Elvis Dumervil still lines up at ROLB. The Broncos are expected to release their first depth chart Monday.

Special Teams

S/T MVP: ALPHONSO SMITH. Both Smith and WR Kenny McKinley had kickoff returns that could have gone all the way back for a touchdown in a real game situation (McKinley ran his all the way through). Smith gets the edge because he saw a lot more work in both punt and kickoff returns and didn’t make any mistakes. McKinley only got the ball once or twice – he made the most of his chances, but Smith is clearly ahead of him on the returner depth chart.

• Matt Prater went 3/5 and heard it from the crowd.
• Punters Brett Kern shanked one punt and Britton Colquitt had one blocked. But both players bounced back during team drills, placing a perfect punt each that pinned the opponent behind the 10-yard line. Both punts had plenty of hang time and forced the fair catch by Smith.

Thursday night was my last night covering training camp in person in 2009, but BT Staffers Josh and Ian will be around from time to time for more updates, and we’ll have daily updates regardless. Stay tuned!