Elvis Dumervil sacks Oakland QB Andrew Walter. Photo Courtesy

The defensive end position is the one I’m most excited about coming into the regular season – after years of struggles, we made so many moves across the defensive line that we may actually be able to mount a pass rush this year. The biggest move of all has to be the hiring of Assistant Coach/Defense Jim Bates, who has experience grooming some of the best defensive talent across the National Football League. With three young defensive ends coming from the past two years’ drafts, he’ll have all the clay he’d like to mold.

Ebenezer Ekuban

Last week I said Gerard Warren would be the undisputed captain of the Browncos – if there were to be a co-captain, it would be Ebenezer Ekuban, who saw, far and away, a career high in tackles last year with one of his more impressive sack totals. Amassing 63 tackles last year (his career best before that was a mere 39), along with 7 sacks, demonstrated the versatility of this 6-4, 275 lbs. lineman. He’s the frontrunner for the starting job, and he’s even been moved inside to play defensive tackle on dime packages. If healthy, I expect him to play all through the season and into the playoffs.

John Engelberger

One of the bigger surprises at camp, this 6-4, 252 lbs. lineman has been working with the first unit all throughout practices. He has a solid work ethic, but he doesn’t typically have the size or flash Broncos fans want – as one of the smaller ends on the team, he doesn’t produce the pass rush you’d like. I, for one, am more than happy to see John Engelberger succeeding this year, and am rooting for him to make the team. If he keeps up his current pace, he’ll likely start the season opposite Ekuban, but I anticipate our first round pick this year to push for the starting job by mid-season.

Jarvis Moss

All of Denver waited with bated breath for the good news on Moss’ knee – with any luck he’ll be 100% by season’s start. I said all offseason long that I didn’t expect too much from our first round rookie Jarvis Moss this year in terms of run support – I, along with others, anticipated a more situational experience for Moss in pass rush situations. Well, he looks to be exceptional in his pass rush technique, beating Matt Lepsis several time during practice. The guy is a physical freak of nature at 6-6, 251 lbs., and if he can improve his run defense he could be a solid starter through the second half of the season and beyond. I’m now expecting big things from Jarvis Moss.

Tim Crowder

Originally I slated second round rookie Tim Crowder to be starting this season, but he hasn’t been turning heads the way Moss has and may find himself adding quality depth to our defensive line rotation, instead of starting there. At 6-4, 270 lbs., T-Crow is among the larger defensive ends on the team and will make his mark on the running game. With Jim Bates spreading the defensive line out a few steps, we’ll be relying on our big boys in the middle, along with guys like Crowder, to stop opposing running backs. He amassed 13.5 sacks in his last two years at Texas, showing he has the versatility to get to opposing quarterbacks as well – I like his future prospects but will be happy to see him on the field learning in year one.

Kenard Lang

The biggest loser this training camp has to be Kenard Lang, who has gone from likely starter to desperate for a roster spot. His sack total was decent at 6, but he had one of the lowest tackle totals of his 10-year total with a mere 36. When I think of Lang, I just remember the Ladainian Tomlinson play from last year – an admitted mismatch, to be sure, but I can’t get the image of LT catching the short pass against Lang’s coverage and taking it to the house out of my mind. He’s a mid-sized guy at 6-3 and 263 lbs., but he needs to step up his game or he risks being cut from this team.

Elvis Dumervil

The other disappointment this offseason has been the lack of news regarding Elvis Dumervil, whom I really expected to hear about in year two. He has a ton of work ethic and upside despite his small stature (the smallest of the Broncos defensive linemen at 5-11, 250), Dumervil silenced his critics with 8.5 sacks in 2006. Now he finds himself at the bottom of the Broncos depth chart. He’s always used his speed and knowledge of leverage to best his opponents, but with the line spread out Dumervil might need more power to deal with the focused blocking he’ll receive. He’ll make the team as one of the Broncos’ best passing threats, but unless things from camp change it looks like Dumervil will be disappointingly low on the depth chart to start the season.

Kenny Peterson

On Saturday, July 30, Kenny Peterson went to sleep as the first camp casualty and without a team to call home – the day before camp started at all. By the team he went to bed the next night, Peterson had played in the afternoon practices in Engelberg, Colorado in his second stint with his former team. Talk about an emotional and physical roller coaster. Peterson will have to work his butt off to make this team, especially considering his 4-game suspension hanging over his head for steroids. He has virtually no shot of the 53-man roster.

Predicted Depth Chart

1. Ebenezer Ekuban
2. Jarvis Moss
3. Tim Crowder
4. John Engelberger
5. Elvis Dumervil
6. Kenard Lang

Quite a surprising depth chart you see here, but if Moss can get over his knee injury and come on strong, I could see him trump Engelberger opposite Ekuban. I’m still pulling for T-Crow to pull through and impress a little more. I would feel extremely good about the depth and versatility of this defensive line – with an experienced veteran as your last backup and a ton of young talent in between, the Denver’s defense could be dominant this year.

Sports’ most hallowed record fell to Barry Bonds with his 756th home run last night… Bonds just disgusts me, and I hope they put the biggest asterisk in history next to his name in the record books. Since that’s not even worth talking about today, I move on to some noteworthy notes today…

• Surprise! Jay Cutler has been suffering from wrist tendinitis in his throwing right wrist, and has been wearing a brace for the past week under his long sleeves. Cutler (yesterday): “It felt a lot better today. We’ve been icing it and rehabbing it quite a bit. Everything’s fine now.” Hope he means it.
• The big news from yesterday’s camp – Tony Scheffler, AKA Jay Cutler‘s best friend, returned to the field in pads for about half an hour in the morning practice. He didn’t participate in the afternoon practice, which was special teams anyway. Today he is expected to move up to a full 45 minutes of work – all good signs that Scheff might just be ready for opening day, Broncos @ Bills.
• Matt Lepsis is adjusting to his first summer after major knee surgery.
• The Browns finally signed Brady Quinn to a lucrative deal that sees the 22nd overall pick potentially earning more than Jarvis Moss, the 17th overall. Looks like the player won that battle.
• Chiefs LT Damion McIntosh injured his right knee and will miss an extended period of time. Meanwhile, the Saints are playing the Jarvis Moss game with injured LT Jammal Brown. After quite a scare for Saints fans, Brown is only suffering a bruised knee.

Training Camp Breakdown – Defensive End, along with the Gary Zimmerman write-up, in the hours to come…

NOTES AND NEWS FROM DAY NINE OF TRAINING CAMP:

“I’ve just been banging into Travis a little bit too much.” — John Lynch 8/7/07

Not content with one injury announcement, the Broncos had four of them today. The biggest name among them was John Lynch, who left the field this morning after suffering a bruised sternum… Uh, yeah. The dude bruised his sternum on Travis Henry — ouch! John Lynch said he would have continued to practice, but that the coaches pulled him. TRUTH: Lynch is a BEAST!

LT Matt Lepsis hit the injured list today. No, it wasn’t his rebuilt knee –it was a pulled groin. Actually, according to Mike Shanahan it was “a little bit of a groin pull”… which sounds more like a very naughty action rather than an injury.

“I’m not sure how serious it is right now, but it’s enough to keep him out” — Mike Shanahan 8/7/07

Mike Bell was shook up after a got hit during team drills today. And finally, backup safety Quentin Harris left the field after smashing into RB Andre Hall during goal-line drills. It looked like he was getting treatment on his right knee. Both players remained on the sidelines but didn’t participate for the rest of the morning practice.

But, a small ray of hope was seen briefly as Tony Scheffler showed up this morning in full uniform. He only participated in 30 minutes of warm-ups and light work, before calling it a morning… but it’s progress!

ATTENDANCE:

In addition Lynch, Lepsis, Bell, Harris wideouts Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith, Marquay McDaniel and Glenn Martinez were all still out.   TE Chad Mustard, LB Louis Green DT Sam Adams were also held out today.  Brandon Stokley was in pads, but only did light work in individual drills and installation.  Lamont Reid and Doug Niehuis were also both still on PUP.

OFFENSIVE LINE UPS: TUESDAY

Wide Outs:
No real changes here… The WR’s we have get reps.  :)
Tight Ends:
No real change from the last few days. Although in an update from Andrew Mason reported that Nate Jackson (although listed on the 3rd Team) has had plenty of reps with the 1st Team when we they line up with two TE’s.
Running Backs:
No change: Travis Henry, Cecil Sapp running second. Mike Bell, Andre Hall and Young following behind.
O-line:
1st Team O-line was unchanged from yesterday with LT Adam Meadows (filling in for Lepsis), LG Ben Hamilton, C Tom Nalen, RG Montrae Holland and RT Erik Pears.

DEFENSIVE LINE UPS: TUESDAY

D-line:
* 1st Team D-line stayed the same as the last couple of days: DE’s Ebenezer Ekuban and John Engelberger, DT’s Gerard Warren and Sam Adams.

NOTE:Jimmy Kennedy filled in for Adams and Warren throughout the day.

Linebackers:
* 1st Team LB’s were: D. D. Lewis took his turn with the starters today at SAM today, D.J. Williams at MIKE and Ian Gold at WILL.

Secondary:
No changes here as CB’s Champ Bailey and Dre’ Bly and Safeties Nick Ferguson and John Lynch played on the 1st Team. Foxworth was their Nickel back and Cox joined the 1st Team during work on the Dime Package.

SPECIAL TEAMS LINE UPS: TUESDAY

Kick-Off Return Team:
Scott O’Brien had a very active Special Teams practice in the afternoon. Check out Andrew Mason’s blog entry covering this: HERE.

He’s got your “Orange Crush” right here. Photo Courtesy

Randy Charles Gradishar, born March 3, 1952 in Warren, Ohio, came into the National Football League after a tremendously successful college career. Playing for the Ohio St. Buckeyes, Gradishar was selected as first-team All-American in both his junior and senior seasons (1972, 73). In his senior year, he even finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting – this guy was truly dominant as a linebacker in college. Legendary college coach Woody Hayes – “The Vince Lombardi of College Football” – once called Gradishar “the best linebacker I ever coached.” To this day, the award given to outstanding Ohio State linebackers is called the Randy Gradishar award.

The Denver Broncos drafted Gradishar with the 14th overall selection in the first round of the 1974 NFL Draft. Only a few years after the Broncos finally earned their first winning record, they were hoping this talented defender could lead them to an actual championship. With one of the most loyal fanbases in the nation – despite a lack of general success – a championship was in the Broncos’ sights.

He played in all 14 games in his rookie year, earning 51 tackles and All-Rookie honors. He would never tally less than 150 tackles per season the rest of his career, and he would never miss another non-strike game.

Over the course of his career, Gradishar exceeded these gaudy expectations. In 1977, he led the Broncos to our first Super Bowl – an embarassing loss at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, but it was our first AFC Championship and the most successful season in franchise history. Leader of the vaunted “Orange Crush” defense, Gradishar was elected as Defensive MVP in the NFL for his career high 286 tackles and 4 interceptions.

He earned his first Pro Bowl in his sophomore season of 1975, and he never looked back. He averaged a whopping 204.9 tackles for his 10-year career – among the best in NFL history. As you can see below, year after year, his numbers were impressive.

Get Him in the Hall

Possibly more than any of the other Broncos snubs, Gradishar’s exemption from the Canton, Ohio is simply unexplainable. I’m convinced it has to do with some sort of grudge on the side of the HOF Selection Committee – just look at this article from Woody Paige to get an idea of the injustice toward Gradishar.

Now, I’m not a big fan of Paige’s… he didn’t do all of his homework in this article (feel free to check out my comments, and others, at the article link)… but the fact remains: Gradishar not being in the Hall of Fame has to be considered one of the worst disgraces in all of Sports’ Hall of Fames!

One need look no farther than Harry Carson… Carson had a very successful career, and made plenty of big plays when it counted. Statistically, Gradishar’s career compares favorable to Carson’s – they played for much of the same era, and Gradishar as a whole had more tackles, interceptions and one less fumble recovery than the 2006 Hall of Fame Class member. In less time. While he didn’t win a Super Bowl, Gradishar was instrumental in leading the team to its first Super Bowl, and the leader of entire defensive nickname in “The Orange Crush.”

If having over 2,000 tackles in 10 years in the NFL isn’t enough to warrant a Hall of Fame bust, it’s hard to imagine what is. When you consider that Randy Gradishar was the biggest playmaker on the feared Broncos Orange Crush defense, and that he dominated the line of scrimmage on third and fourth downs, it’s simply a no-brainer. 20 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries only increases his already impressive resume, and his postseason success is more than enough to guarantee a spot in the hallowed hall. I hope the Hall of Fame Voting Committee can right this wrong and restore a piece of Broncos history to NFL history.

I can’t even express how thrilled I am just to watch some live Broncos scrimmages in less than a week. It’s finally time for a little footbal – now I’ll tell you what to watch on Monday Night Football when we play the San Francisco 49ers. Ranking the worst to the first in my weekly segment that sounds like “First and 10″…

Worst

The Score

The one thing you shouldn’t watch as you’re enjoying the Broncos preseason game is the score – it doesn’t matter. It has no bearing. It may seem hard at times not to care that the Broncos are losing by 20, but it really bears no indication whatsoever on the team’s potential in the regular season. Last year the Oakland Raiders went 5-0 in the preseason… we all know how they did once real football was being played.

…and 10

10. Backup quarterbacks at work

Patrick Ramsey has finally showed something in training camp, and Preston Parsons and Darrell Hackney are fighting for a practice squad spot. Since these guys will be on the field more than Cutler, it’s worth watching who looks good and who doesn’t.

9. Dre Bly getting “picked” on

First teams won’t be on the field for long, but while they are, look for Niner QB Alex Smith to avoid Champ Bailey at all costs. I’m interested to see how newly acquired CB Dre Bly handles the focus he will garner simply by not being the best on the field.

8. Offensive line work

The news about Chris Kuper giving up 3 sacks has me worried – I plan on really watching the right guard position closely on both teams. Comparing how the first team and second team squads (ahem Montrae Holland) fare is one of the things I’m looking forward to most come Monday Night.

7. Which of our injured players pull through

Will Brandon Marshall or Tony Scheffler see the field? Is Ben Hamilton 100% after his concussion last week? Marcus Thomas and Sam Adams have also missed practice time with various nicks – will they be up to the scrimmage against San Fran? And the biggest news of late – will Jarvis Moss truly be ready to turn his knee and go after the quarterback. I must admit, I shuddered as I typed “turn his knee” – I hope he doesn’t push it and just gets healthy.

6. Special teams improvements

Scott O’Brien has had his work cut out for him – our new Special Teams Coordinator has his hands full with implementing a new system and working with our impressive new/old Punter. Todd Sauerbrun will win the job, Elam will return for another season – but the big news is the coverage and return teams. How will they fare against the 49ers – I’m really excited to watch the special teams on Monday Night. One of the few battles where the players will truly be giving it their all – everyone wants to prove they deserve a roster spot, and so the kickoff and punt coverage/return units will be playing at their most elite levels.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Noteworthy notes today…

• Jarvis Moss is okay after quite a scare yesterday morning. The MRI on his left knee returned negative, and the impressive first round pick will work to return to the field as early as this morning. While I think it’s a little soon to think about active football after such a close call, I’m excited to see Moss eager to return to the field and bust heads.
• Andrew Mason has got practice reports from yesterday. Afternoon Report, Morning Report. Of particular note – the depth chart released yesterday, RG Chris Kuper getting benched after giving up 3 sacks, and Coach Shanahan talks about the unimportance of Preseason Week 1.
• They’ve yet to play a single game, but already the defending Super Bowl champs are reeling from injury. Less than a week after they cut their “mistake,” Corey Simon, Anthony “Booger” McFarland goes down with a horrible knee injury. I don’t want to sound cocky against our annual Kryptonite this year, but if we just hit the A Gap every other play, the Colts might just be beatable…

I’ll have the Worst and 10, Hall of Fame posts in a few…

NOTES AND NEWS FROM DAY EIGHT OF TRAINING CAMP:

Another day, another injury…

Like Holdman’s terrifying neck injury, the team was rocked today when their #1 draft pick, Jarvis Moss, fell to the field screaming in pain and holding his left knee.

Like Holdman, Moss was loaded onto the team medical cart and driven away from the grounds to a hospital to be checked out.

And like Holdman, the news from the doctors was a welcomed relief. In fact, so good was the news that Jarvis returned to the afternoon practice to watch his teammates complete the day’s work and to let them know he was OK.

“Everything checked out. It kind of scared me for a minute. I felt like it was something real serious, but I’m fine. I’m going to go rehab tonight, and hopefully I’m ready to go in the morning.”

— Jarvis Moss 8/6/07

So, with that little scare behind everyone, we can get back the really important news this Monday — OFFICIAL DEPTH CHARTS! That’s right, today Shanahan posts the first official depth chart for the team.

OK, that’s a bit over-dramatic… These camp depth charts don’t mean all that much. I mean they don’t stay the same for long, and by tomorrow it could be well outdated. But it’s still a great way to gauge who the coaches have their eyes on. So, on with the juicy news!

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Post reports that first round pick Jarvis Moss was carted off the practice field this morning with an injured knee. Coach Mike Shanahan said that he will undergo an MRI today, and that he hopes the knee is just twisted.

The injury occurred when Moss attempted a spin move on one-on-one drills this morning. He planted his leg after attempting a spin move and fell to the ground. He got up and walked to the cart, which is somewhat encouraging news, but I’m not feeling optimistic at this point.

Moss has been among the most impressive looking players in training camp thus far, repeatedly beating his opponent to the quarterback and forcing pressure. Hopefully the injury is not serious, or one of our bigger moves this offseason will not come into fruition until 2008.

UPDATE #1 – According to Khan over at Orange Mane.com.

I’m back and I’ll comment here before I get to my report. He dropped down and was carted off. He was grabbing the lower part of his knee and looked to be in a lot of pain. It’s a shame too because they released the new depth chart today and he was the second team defense end. He was tearing it up in practice. Greek said that the ligament wasn’t loose so it might be partial tear. There is still a (what I feel is next to zero) chance it could be something less severe.

After he was gone we really only got pressure up the middle. It will be more of the same this year without him: No pass rush. I’m not someone who believes that different coaches can magically make average players amazing. …

More on this news as it comes.

The Denver Post has just released the Broncos’ first depth chart – remember that this is subject to change as Training Camp progresses.

Offense
WR: Brandon Stokley, Domenik Hixon
LT: Matt Lepsis, Ryan Harris
LG: Ben Hamilton, Chris Myers
C: Tom Nalen, Greg Eslinger
RG: Chris Kuper, Montrae Holland
RT: Erik Pears, Adam Meadows
TE: Daniel Graham, Stephen Alexander
WR: Javon Walker, Brian Clark
QB: Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey
RB: Travis Henry, Cecil Sapp, Mike Bell*
FB: Kyle Johnson, Troy Fleming

Defense
LE: John Engleberger, Tim Crowder
LT: Sam Adams, Jimmy Kennedy
RT: Gerard Warren, Marcus Thomas
RE: Ebenezer Ekuban, Jarvis Moss
WLB: Ian Gold, Wesly Mallard
MLB: D.J. Williams, D.D. Lewis
SLB: Louis Green, Nate Webster
LCB: Champ Bailey, Karl Paymah
RCB: Dre’ Bly, Domonique Foxworth
SS: Nick Ferguson, Curome Cox
FS: John Lynch, Hamza Abdulllah

Special teams
P: Todd Sauerbrun, Paul Ernster
K: Jason Elam, Brandon Pace
KO: Todd Sauerbrun, Paul Ernster
PR: Domenik Hixon, David Kircus
KR: Quincy Morgan, Domenik Hixon
PC: Mike Leach, Chris Kuper
H: Todd Sauerbrun, Paul Ernster

Noteworthy: Louis Green holding the spot at SAM… Todd Sauerbrun winning back his job at P/KO… Mike Bell moving down to 3rd…

*According to 950 The Fan Radio

The Broncos only chance for years was #44.

Part 2 of 6

Floyd Douglas Little was born on the Fourth of July in the year 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut. After having a very successful 3-year stint as an All-American at Syracuse, he was the 6th overall selection by the Denver Broncos in 1967. No first round pick had ever signed with the Broncos at this time, where the Broncos were one of the weakest teams in the country. In fact, until the Broncos selected Little, relocation to another town (Chicago, Atlanta, and Burmingham were all rumored) seemed eminent. But Little signed anyway, and the rest, as they say, is history.

When Little hit the field, he literally kept the Broncos in Colorado. His elusiveness, speed, and great hands elevated him to one of the best runningbacks in the game for his time. Consider that the talent around him was meager at best – he had no offensive linemen blocking for him; his quarterback situation was fluid; the defense had yet to make its mark – and his success is all the more remarkable.

Despite this lack of surrounding talent, Little had great success on the field. He was a 2-time AFL All-Star and 3-time NFL Pro Bowler. At only 5-10, 195 lbs., Little truly resembled his surname. He didn’t let his small stature interfere with his big play, and he went on the lead the AFC in rushing in 1970. The following year, he led the entire league with 1,133 yards rushing. He complemented this success with 255 yards receiving.

Another great contribution Little made to the Broncos was on special teams – in his career, he added 2,523 yards off kickoff returns to his impressive resume. All told – rushing, receiving, and returns – Floyd Little retired with 12,203 all-purpose yards. He still holds the Broncos record for his 89-yard non-scoring kickoff return.

Little helped Mile High Stadium expand due to repeated sellouts – a tradition that still holds true today, with the waiting list for season tickets being depressingly long. The sellouts kept the Broncos in Denver, giving Little the well-deserved nickname “The Franchise.” These ticket sales all happened BEFORE the Broncos ever saw their first winning season in 1973. He truly was the Broncos franchise through its early years.

When Little retired in 1975, he was the 7th all-time leading rusher in league history.

Get Him in the Hall

There really is no explanation behind Little not being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are plenty of examples of exciting, famous running backs in Canton who may not have scorched all of the record books in their careers (look no further than the Bears’ Harold “Red” Grange or the Colts’ Lenny Moore). These players had championship talent around them, and have long been inducted in the Hall of Fame. In particular, these running backs are recognized in the Hall as much for their influence as their success – they set the stage for players to come.

To really hit this home, I examined the career of long-time Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, a halfback/flanker hybrid who played for both the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins in the 1960’s. In 14 years in the NFL, Mitchell tallied only 1,875 more all-purpose yards than Floyd Little totalled in 9 years. Again, Mitchell’s surrounding talent was much more impressive than Little’s, and he utilized this talent to over 90 career touchdowns. “It is little wonder NFL defenders shuddered whenever Bobby got the ball. He was a potential time bomb who almost always went off.”

Did Floyd Little not do the same? Little was an exceptional runner and returner who struck fear in the hearts of defenses – hell, he was the only person on the team worth fearing! He made plays all his own, dodging defenders left and right, on his way to 53 touchdowns. I mentioned before that Little retired as the 7th all-time leading rusher in the league – isn’t it intersting that 1-6 have all long since been inducted? I tried for over an hour to find the others ranked below Little to no avail – but given the unexplainable bias against Broncos in the Hall of Fame, it wouldn’t surprise me to find 8-10 in the Hall as well.

When a player saves a franchise from relocation, leads them to their first winning season after over a decade of failure, holds one of three retired jersey numbers in franchise history, and virtually singlehandedly sells out and expands a stadium, there’s no question his influence on the league as a whole warrants a bust in Canton. His records and statistics are consistent with so many already enshrined. I can’t fathom why Little isn’t already immortalized with a bronze bust. I hope the Senior Committee can do him justice and include his name in the Class of 2008.

For more information on Floyd Little, please visit:

• A tribute to Floyd Little, Denver Broncos #44
• Wikipedia – Floyd Little
• Floyd Little – The Original Franchise
• Floyd Little (DenverBroncos.com)
• Q&A with Floyd Little