Denver Broncos Training Camp – 8/5 PM Practice Report

Denver Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels (left) and Lee Robinson (51, right) watch rookies participate in a muddy fumble recovery drill during the team's Wednesday afternoon practice. The rookies were drenched by teammates during the lighthearted exercise. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Denver Broncos training camp… News and notes from the Wednesday evening practice.

It was easy enough to tell the rookies apart from the rest of the Denver Broncos practicing this afternoon. Just look for the muddy pants.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels had the team participate in a little buffoonery Wednesday, setting up a well-earned diversion after five days of grueling work. The tall grass in the south end of the east field was soaked beyond the end zone, and the rookies were instructed to dive for the loose football, with one catch – the veterans holding the hose and buckets of water. It didn’t take long for several Broncos to find themselves diving into a muddy mess, and the jubilant activity set the stage for a lighthearted, hooting-and-hollering practice the rest of the evening.

Attendance Report

Still missing were Brian Dawkins, Brandon Marshall and Knowshon Moreno. DL Rulon Davis missed a second straight workout, and RB Ryan Torain was noticeably absent. All the other veterans who missed the morning practice returned to work in the afternoon.

Overall, the offense was a mess again today, with the defense continuing to dominate. The defensive MVP was hard to pick from so many deserving guys, while really only one offensive player stood out. Here we go!

Offense

MVP: CORRELL BUCKHALTER. Correll had a good practice from the start, including a punishing pass block against Lee Robinson that had his teammates shouting in reaction. But Buckhalter really set himself apart during the practice’s final goal line drill. The Broncos took six stabs at the end zone, three times with Buckhalter and three times with Lamont Jordan. Three times, Jordan was stuffed. Three times, Buckhalter scored. The first time, Bucky ran through a huge hole and was literally untouched. The second time, he was stopped short by the wall of players, but Buckhalter stretched his arms to reach the football over a pile of blue and white jerseys and broke the plane (and of course, since the refs were there, the line judge confirmed). The third touchdown was equally impressive, as Buckhalter swept left, waited for the play to develop, then cut to the inside to find a hole. A smart player with great physical ability – today, Buckhalter showed why he’s been starting all along.

Denver Broncos quarterback Chris Simms throws during training camp. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

• Lamont Jordan isn’t undeserving of praise, however. He had a few nice plays; he was just stonewalled during that last segment.
• Both quarterbacks saw about the same number of reps in passing plays, and frankly, both stank. Kyle Orton was off target, threw off his back foot, and made a few poor decisions. Chris Simms overthrew receivers again, made some really bad decisions, and got sacked a few times. The offense struggled overall; other than Buckhalter’s 3-for-3 performance near the end of practice, there was hardly anything positive to report offensively.
• But I’ll do my best. Simms did throw a high dart to the back of the end zone that would have gone through the field goal posts had Brandon Lloyd not made a giant leaping catch for the touchdown.
• Orton had a few nice throws, particularly before the red zone work at the end of practice. He hit Eddie Royal on a crossing route with a ridiculously accurate pass between Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill, good for 15 yards. A few plays later Jabar Gaffney beat Josh Bell on a 9-route and Orton delivered the deep ball perfectly.
• Brandon Stokley got the crowd riled up, making back-to-back tough catches before motioning to the fans for vocal support. He put a nice move on Alphonso Smith for the first grab before making a tough catch between four defenders for the second. Nice day for the vet.
• After struggling in the huddle, Coach sent the entire second team offense to run a lap around the field. The Walk of Shame seems to be a daily occurrence.
• I also saw a lot of protection problems again, especially on the right side. Either the defense is really stepping up on the strong side, or it’s time to worry about Ryan Harris and Chris Kuper. Maybe it’s neither, and, like every year, the offense just needs some more time to catch up. Ryan Clady had a rough practice too, getting beaten a few times. Pull it together guys…

Defense

MVP: ROBERT AYERS. The defense made a ton of big plays today, and I could have chosen a lot of players for this award. But I’ll go with Ayers based on the strides he’s made since he first put on the pads Tuesday morning. Ayers blew up a few passes today, one with a loud pad-smacking explosion that got the crowd fired up, and another he could have intercepted and taken to the house about five yards from Orton. I also saw him simply reacting more naturally – during one running play that came to his side, Ayers stepped back at first, read the offense and stepped forward out of his coverage, beat a block, then made the tackle. I saw the exact same type of play this morning, and Ayers’ indecision then saw him get swallowed by blockers and taken out of the play. I’d wager he’ll be our starting LOLB sooner rather than later.

Andra Davis (54), Jarvis Moss (94) and D.J. Williams (55) watch teammates participate in drills during Denver Broncos training camp on Wed. Aug. 5, 2009. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

• My 2nd MVP would be Kenny Peterson. The big fella played both DT and DE on the line, which was interesting, and wreaked havoc at both. He beat Clady cleanly at one point and gave Ben Hamilton all he could handle several times. As I said a few days ago, I think he’s our best, most consistent pass rushing lineman at this point, and he made a few plays in run defense too.
• In every individual drill, Jarvis Moss‘ speed, size and athleticism stand out. In every scrimmage, Moss gets eaten up and taken out of plays. It’s frustrating to watch this guy do so well in every individual drill only to be neutralized on the field. He has size, speed and power, it’s just not translating to the game, and I don’t know why.
• Big kudos the defense overall, except for a few big plays, the offense had their hands full.

Tomorrow’s morning practice has been moved to 11:15 a.m., with the Thursday evening session at INVESCO still scheduled to roll at 6 p.m. It will sadly be my last day covering camp, but I couldn’t imagine a grander finale for my exit!