Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, left, directs quarterback Kyle Orton during passing drills at a preliminary session before the start of the team's training camp for the upcoming NFL season in Englewood, Colo., on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos training camp report… News and notes from the July 31, 2009 AM practice…

I heard from a few of the more-seasoned birds at Dove Valley that this practice was a bit more physical and more intense than previous years. That can only be a good thing, especially for the defense… Josh McDaniels gets lost in the crowd, but his voice bellows and commands respect. It’s an odd sight watching a group of 10 giant offensive linemen immediately stop everything at the sound of a man’s voice half their size, but it happened more than once today. The Broncos went through a lot of individual drills, some one-on-ones, then finished with team drills that included a few trick plays on offense and several special teams drills. Not a bad first practice.

Offense

All three quarterbacks – starter Kyle Orton, backup Chris Simms, and rookie Tom Brandstater – looked good. Orton put some zip on the ball and had some nice touch (he joked after practice that Brandon Marshall didn’t need to make his acrobatic catches and was just showing off. I tend to agree). I saw a few goose eggs from just about everybody, maybe Simms more than the others, but I’ll attribute that to first-practice rust. Brandstater’s release and footwork was a bit slow. I will say this – Orton looked the best, but it wasn’t head and shoulders better. No one really stood out – not sure if that’s such a good thing. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall takes part in drills during the opening day of the team's NFL football training camp at the Broncos headquarters in Englewood, Colo., on Friday, July 31, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Denver Broncos kicked off their 2009 campaign with the start of training camp Friday morning. Everyone – and I mean everyone, from the 1,657 fans in attendance to the support staff to the throng of media to the players – was in good spirits.

Even Brandon Marshall.

The disgruntled wide receiver, who has requested to be traded and only appeared in one offseason practice this year, stood out from the start, dancing, jumping and singing as the team warmed up.

It was a sign of things to come. Between jumping high in the air to catch overthrown passes and making acrobatic, one-armed grabs to the cheers of the crowd, Marshall showed no sign of the residual soreness that kept him out of practice since Monday, and reminded fans (and maybe the front office) why he was elected to his first Pro Bowl last year. 15 stole the show.

With first-round rookies Knowshon Moreno and Robert Ayers still holding out, other players were left to fill their vacated positions and try to step up. One player in particular took advantage: running back Ryan Torain. In team drills, Torain broke off several long runs and showed his power and shiftiness. He looked to be healthy and in great shape, easily standing out from the other running backs. If Moreno’s paying attention, he’ll want to get out there quickly and show people why he was drafted 12th overall. Torain isn’t fooling around.

The Broncos have another practice later this evening, starting at 5:30 pm MDT. Full, much-more-detailed AM practice report coming soon!

The Denver Broncos will have to start training camp without three veteran playmakers on defense. Cornerback Champ Bailey, safety Renaldo Hill and defensive tackle Marcus Thomas have all been placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

The Broncos have not announced any of these moves, but the Gazette cites two unnamed NFL sources in their report. One source also claimed Thomas was placed on the list after he pulled a Montrae Holland and failed his camp entrance physical Thursday. The reasons Bailey and Hill were placed on PUP were not known.

Players placed on the PUP list can return to the active roster any time before the start of the regular season, at which time they must either be activated or placed on the reserve/PUP list. The reserve list sidelines a player for six weeks before they’re re-eligible for roster activation.

The team’s first official training camp workout is open to the public and starts at 8:45 am Friday.

And the hits just keep on coming…

Denver Broncos rookie linebacker Robert Ayers (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Denver Broncos and Robert Ayers had a contract in place that would ensure the first-round pick reported for camp on time, but the NFL Management Council threw a wrench in the works, ESPN’s John Clayton reports. The committee did not approve of some language in the contract, making it unlikely Ayers will report on time (Clayton states he simply won’t, but the Broncos have worked through the wee hours to get a rookie contract done as recently as Jarvis Moss in 2007).

Fellow first-rounder Knowshon Moreno also remains unsigned.

I wonder if this is a common occurrence for all NFL teams. I recall this happening several times over the past 2-3 years with the Broncos…. I understand why these contracts have taken so long, what with the entire NFL’s first round rookie contract environment only heating up in the past 48 hours, but if neither Ayers or Moreno are present to start camp, I’ll be very disappointed.

Rashod Moulton

With the official start of training camp mere hours away, the Denver Broncos front office kept busy Thursday negotiating contracts with several players. Two signed; unfortunately, neither was one of the team’s unsigned first round draft picks, Knowshon Moreno or Robert Ayers.

Cornerback Rashod Moulton re-joins the Broncos less than two months after being waived. The first-year player sat on the Broncos’ practice squad since October of last year. The club also re-signed rookie wide receiver Travis Shelton, who was also waived in June.

Welcome back guys, have fun in camp. Meanwhile, our first-rounders remain unsigned. Will they agree to terms before the start of practices Friday? The clock is ticking. Press release after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Renaldo Hill, 23, Brian Dawkins, 20, Champ Bailey, 24 and Andre Goodman, 21, represent a revamped Broncos defensive secondary. Reza A. Marvashti, The Denver Post

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments. Last week’s winner after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow, yours truly embarks on a 12-hour drive to God’s country: Englewood, Colorado and the site of the 2009 Denver Broncos training camp! I’ll be covering every practice through next week, and other staff members will be dropping in from time to time as well. What’s more, the Broncos have been kind enough to give BT press credentials – we’ll have access to everything the media sees behind-the-scenes. Epic win!

We’d like to open up the comments of this post to talk about any planned visits to camp (we’d love to meet every one of you!), and also any requests for information you want from training camp. My main focus will be scouting the players and coaches, telling you who’s hot and who’s not, breaking down depth charts, and breaking the latest on players news. I’m also hashing something out to make video updates possible, so stay tuned for that. Any specific requests or ideas for updates? – Post them here!

Also, if you’re not already doing so, you’ll definitely want to be following BroncoTalk on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll be staying connected via mobile whenever possible and will post updates and pics to those services often.

I don’t believe it’s possible to convey my excitement in writing – I was born in Colorado and haven’t been back in over 6 years, and I’ve never visited any official Broncos facilities (not even the stadium, let alone HQ). I can’t wait to get there and begin covering the world’s best sports team in person! This should be a real treat for me personally; hopefully one for you all as well.

The guys from the Broncos Nation podcast (iTunes) were good enough to invite me back for another episode. This time we discussed the Brandon Marshall saga, the Robert Ayers and Knowshon Moreno contract situations, some more camp, and a little Michael Vick and Brett Favre, among other things. Enjoy!

After staying good to his word and reporting for camp on time yesterday, Brandon Marshall was a noticeable no-show for Tuesday’s morning practice. Head Coach Josh McDaniels told reporters after practice that the coaches held Marshall out of practice because the receiver was “sore.”

No kidding, coach. In more ways than one.

WR Lucas Taylor was also held out of practice. “Precautionary measures, nothing more than that,” McDaniels said. “It was a coaching decision, and when they’re ready and healthy and we feel good about where they’re at they will be out on the practice field.”

Marshall wouldn’t be doing himself any favors by missing practice. The Broncos will be using his off-field incidents and injury history as leverage in trade/contract negotiations, so the skeptic in me wants to call BS. Is it possible Marshall was really with his agent, busy talking to the Broncos front office? Don’t rule it out.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME (fantasy) FOOTBALL?! BroncoTalk is proud to present their first-ever Staff vs. Readers fantasy football league, with a great prize on the line:

You wants the jersey? You has to earns the jersey.

That’s right, a replica KnoMo* jersey (*or player of your choice) to the winner. At least six BT staff members are participating, and they have just as much a chance to win the blue and orange threads as any of you. But that wouldn’t be any fun, would it? What are you going to do about it?! Entry details below!

Details: Starting today and continuing through August 2nd, BT will be accepting submissions for our Fantasy Football Challenge. Leave a comment on this post letting us know “You’re In” and wanna get your butt whooped by the staff of BroncoTalk. After the deadline we will choose, at random, enough readers to fill out two 12 team leagues. Click here to read the rest of this entry »