NOTES AND NEWS FROM DAY TWO OF TRAINING CAMP:

“That long arm’s going to be home for you baby, home! That’s the leverage we’ve got to have, gentlemen!”

— Jim Bates, in reference to a great play by Elvis Dumervil

So, Day #2 is in the books.

The Broncos had another great day of practice. The morning practice was with shoulder pads and shorts, and the afternoon practice was a shortened Special Teams session. Highlights included Brandon Stokley’s impressive work as he competes for the #2 WR spot. Jarvis Moss showing some great improvement today and Elvis Dumervil proving to his new coach that a short man with long arms can still bust up a play (see above quote)!

On to the notes…

OFFENSIVE LINE UPS: MONDAY

Wide Outs:
Brandon Stokley and Hixon both had time with the first team, but Stokley seemed to impress the most.

Tight Ends:
No real change, although Nate Jackson had a good practice. Daniel Graham remained the primary TE with Stephen Alexander and Nate Jackson both getting some reps on the 1st Team. Teyo Johnson worked exclusively with the 2nd and 3rd Teams.

Running Backs:
Travis Henry began to pull away seriously from the pack as the rest of the roster followed. Cecil Sapp was running second with Mike Bell, Andre Hall and Young following behind.

O-line:
* 1st Team O-line was unchanged from yesterday: LT Matt Lepsis, LG Ben Hamilton, C Tom Nalen, RG Chris Kuper and RT Erik Pears.

DEFENSIVE LINE UPS: MONDAY

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

NICKLE PACKAGE NOTE: Amon Gordon replaced Adams in this package.

Linebackers:
* 1st Team LB’s saw D.D. Lewis rotate in for his turn with the unit: SAM D.D. Lewis, WILL Ian Gold, MIKE D.J. Williams

Secondary:
No surprises 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.

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For those of you that wondered, in the wake of Al Wilson’s departure, who will become the main captain of the defense – you need to look no further. John Lynch has all but announced his intention of leading this year’s defense.

If actions speak louder than words, then Lynch’s first day of the 2007 Denver Broncos Training Camp said it all…

On Sunday, John Lynch was the first player on the field at 8:00 AM. He was dominating throughout that morning session. Then, even though he was scheduled to take the afternoon off with the other veterans, he suited up and completed the partial-pads practice yesterday afternoon.

That pretty much says it all, folks. Lynch is going to be The Man this year.

Leadership is not something new to Lynch, who became the defensive leader in Tampa in 2000 when he was voted defensive captain after LB Hardy Nickerson left the team.

“Hardy had always been our captain, and our team nominated me captain. I think that goes down as the proudest moment in my career because your teammates think that much of you. My definition of leadership is just to make the people around you better, and I just try to do that in any way that I can.”

— John Lynch 2000

Two years later, he led that defense to a World Championship as the Bucs won their first Super Bowl in 2002. And although many people thought his career was over after his 2003 neck injury, he has only excelled in Denver where he has been named to the Pro Bowl the last three consecutive years.

Lynch may not be the first member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity from Stanford named John that turned down a chance at play pro baseball for football, to end up in Denver becoming a team captain. But I would venture to say, that he’s in good company with the only other man on that list!

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News broke today that Hall of Fame Coach Bill Walsh has died from complications with leukemia. He was 75 years old.

For more on the life and contributions of one of the greatest coaches in sports history, please see this article by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Words cannot express the sadness felt today… Bill Walsh was not only a genius, but a great man and example. Mike Shanahan was highly influenced by Bill’s work, being among the “upper” branches of Walsh’s vast coaching tree.  He will likely depart to pay his respects for this great man. On behalf of all BroncoTalk readers, our condolences to the Walsh family. The NFL has lost one of its treasures today.

Complete Denver Broncos Training Camp coverage continues, as the Broncos just finished their morning practice of Day 2. Shoulder pads were used again this morning, according to a CBS4 Denver report by Gary Miller. And the Broncos again looked great. I’ve collected the cliffsnotes from a few reports for you here.

The Back Seven

John Lynch, Nate Webster and Domonique Foxworth were reportedly delivering the big hits this morning, with Cecil Sapp and Brandon Stokley being on the receiving end of those hits. The big play of the morning happened on the defensive side of the ball as well – Dre Bly deflected a ball into the arms of D.J. Williams, who took it to the house to the cheers of the watching crowd. I’ve heard Dre being named the MVP of the practice – definitely exciting news.

Offensive Skill Positions

On offense, Stokley looked exceptionally good. I’ve been hearing that about David Kircus – while I’m not a fan of his off-field incidents, his on-field work appears to be solid. It’s a bit of a comfort to know they’re practicing well in the absence of three of Cutler‘s favorite targets.

Speaking of Jay – another report, courtesy of the Orange Mane, says he played well again today, but not as dominantly as he appeared yesterday. Both reports indicated that Travis Henry looks extremely good. Mike Bell and Andre Hall fell down to earth today, with Cecil Sapp seeing snaps at the second team and Selvin Young still sitting at the bottom. Based on today’s work, the consensus would be Henry 1, Sapp 2, and one of the other three for the third spot. I guess Bell looked that bad.

Offensive Line

Along the offensive line, I’m hearing mixed reviews. Apparently Jarvis Moss improved his game, but at the expense of Erik Pears and Adam Meadows, neither of which is making a move to push the other’s game forward. Chris Kuper did well though, and Nalen is still the man. A big part of the Tackles’ struggles was likely due to the impressive work of our defensive line…

Defensive Line

Jarvis Moss stole the show, moving up and seeing some work at #1. But apparently John Engelberger, the surprise of the camp so far, is doing exceptionally well. One report said he did an excellent job at a red zone contain play, earning praise from Mike Shanahan – he forced the RB to cut inside, shed his blocker and still made the tackle. Very impressive report.

Marcus Thomas is learning the nuances of NFL linemen, showing a bit of a promise but struggling as well. Antwon Burton also showed improvement.

And of particular note – even if you happen to sign a multi-million dollar contract as a rookie in the NFL, it does not exempt you from the aged, honored tradition of carrying the pads. Andrew Mason has a great picture of Jarvis Moss carrying pads after a hard days’ work.

I’ll update when more comes to me. The Broncos main squads are done for the day, with a Special Teams practice to be held at 3:50 PM.

MORE COVERAGE

• CBS4 Denver report by Gary Miller
• Andrew Mason’s DenverBroncos.com report
• Orange Mane’s Day 2 Report

The Broncos hold practice again today – a morning session with the regular players followed by an afternoon romp with the Special Teams. But I thought I’d throw in a little fun into the mix.

To go along with your morning coffee, a little bit of the lighter side of the Broncos. The Simpsons Movie was released this weekend – and the Broncos have been the bud of a few jokes for years. Come with me down Memory Lane as we join the Simpsons in celebrating our struggling past… and how damn good it feels to put that era of Broncos Super Bowl losses behind us.

Quick break from Training Camp to bring you my weekly Pick ‘Em segment – where I rank some other division not in the West and/or not in the good conference. Today I break down the AFC North, where the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns will go at it to fight for the division and a hard-to-get Wild Card in the AFC.

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NOTES AND NEWS FROM DAY ONE OF TRAINING CAMP:

Last week Bates announced that he will be face-to-face with this players this year as he plans to troll the sidelines instead of hiding in the booth. During the first practice of training camp, players and fans got to hear how vocal Jim Bates will be come game day. After Sam Adams forced a fumble, Bates verbally blasted his players for not celebrating the accomplishment enough. Bates wants his troops pumped up. He wants them to display energy — and that includes feeding off the excitement of a great play. Have a coach yell at you in order to increase your on-field celebrations may be new for most of the Denver defense, but then your dealing with a group that has to be prepared for anything.

“This is a different individual that we’re dealing with. People always say to play this game you have to be a little insane, but sometimes it starts at the top. We’re all insane — it starts with Coach Bates, though.”

— Nick Ferguson 7/27/07

We also have a fairly poor video from someone that somehow got a video phone into camp today.

VIDEO OF A WALKER’S CATCH

Veterans that are on on-a-days include: Brandon Stokley, Matt Lepsis, Tom Nalen and Sam Adams. However, 15 year veteran John Lynch took part in both of the day’s practices. What can we say — he’s the Man!

OFFENSIVE LINE UPS: SUNDAY

Wide Outs:
Other than Walker everyone rotated between teams.

Tight Ends:
Daniel Graham remained the primary TE with Stephen Alexander and Nate Jackson both getting some reps on the 1st Team. Teyo Johnson worked exclusively with the 2nd and 3rd Teams.

Running Backs:
The surprise here was that RB Andre Hall (one of my favorite unknown Broncos) actually got some 1st Team reps today! However, Travis Henry had the majority of reps as expected.

O-line:
* 1st Team O-line was unchanged from minicamp: LT Matt Lepsis, LG Ben Hamilton, C Tom Nalen, RG Chris Kuper and RT Erik Pears. (Note: In the afternoon session Eslinger filled in for Nalen, and Meadows filled in for Lepsis — both starting veterans are on one-a-days).

* 2nd Team O-line consisted of: LT Ryan Harris, LG Chris Myers, C Greg Eslinger, RG Montrae Holland and RT Adam Meadows.

* 3rd Team O-line featured: LT Cliff Washburn, LG Emmanuel Akah, C Mark Fenton, RG Kevin McAlmont and RT Jacob Rogers.

DEFENSIVE LINE UPS: SUNDAY

D-line:
* 1st Team D-line included: DE’s Ebenezer Ekuban and John Engelberger, DT’s Gerard Warren and Sam Adams. (Note: Elvis Dumervil and Jimmy Kennedy got 1st Team time in the afternoon session).

* 2nd Team D-line consisted of: DE’s Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder, DT’s Jimmy Kennedy and Alvin McKinley.

* 3rd Team D-line featured: DE’s Kenard Lang and Elvis Dumervil, DT’s Marcus Thomas and Amon Gordon.

DIME PACKAGE NOTE: Jarvis Moss and Elvis Dumervil played DE and Ekuban slide inside to one of the tackle slots.

Linebackers:
* 1st Team LB’s: SAM Warrick Holdman, WILL Ian Gold, MIKE D.J. Williams
(Note:Webster got 1st Team reps at SAM in the afternoon session).

* 2nd Team LB’s: Outside LB’s Louis Green and D.D. Lewis, MIKE Nate Webster

* 3rd Team LB’s: Outside LB’s Wesly Mallard and T.J. Hollowell, MIKE Cameron Vaughn

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

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Andrew Mason has another terrific update. For all the details on the second Denver Broncos Training Camp practice you’re drooling for, check out his latest posts. Here’s a cliffsnotes version:

• Shoulder pads were put on today in the 79-80 degree weather of the Colorado afternoon. Reportedly a little humid, but the weather was fine for practicing.
• Training Camp tradition states that your veterans only have to go through one-a-days – and those vets that have gone through that rite of passage included Matt Lepsis, Tom Nalen, Sam Adams and Brandon Stokley. 15-year veteran John Lynch came out to play twice though.
• New players who saw snaps on the first team unit: Elvis Dumervil, Jimmy Kennedy and Nate Webster at SAM!
• Early signs say I had my runningback preview all wrong… it appears that Andre Hall is really exploding on the scene, and Selvin Young is fizzling and will struggle to make the practice squad. Of course, this is just day one, but word is both Hall and Mike Bell broke off big runs on the right side (behind our new linemen). And Travis Henry looks terrific as well.
• Todd Sauerbrun seemed to be confusing his mission: it’s called punting, not sending foreign objects into space.
• Jarvis Moss isn’t satisfied with his performance today – although he saw snaps on the first team during nickel packages, he plans on studying his own tape and really improving his game. That kind of work ethic is exactly what excites me as a fan.
• More over at Mason’s Morsels.

The 2007 Denver Broncos Training Camp has officially begun. But before the first players hit the field we had several roster announces…

Carlos Hall was placed on the ‘reserve/did not report list.’ According to Mike Shanahan he “just didn’t want to play football”… Ok, great. Glad we found that out now! :)

Denver announced the signing of linebacker Wesly Mallard. Mallard was a reserve for three years with the New York Giants (2002-04), where he played primarily on special teams and was one of the Giants’ leading kick-coverage tacklers. The last two years he has played for the Tampa Bay Bucs. He is listed as 6’1″ and 250 lbs.

Denver resigned Kenny Peterson, who is still facing a four game suspension for violating the league’s steroid policy. But with Carlos Hall not showing up for camp, the Broncos were able to bring Peterson back for camp. Peterson has a slight advantage to his learning curve as he played for Bates in 2005.

“I had told Kenny that we wanted to evaluate everybody that would be on the squad. But that if we lost anybody I wanted to bring him back because I liked Kenny. We had to evaluate a lot of these defensive linemen, but when Carlos said he was not going to play football, I called Kenny right away and got him back on.”

— Mike Shanahan 7/29/07

And most surprisingly, LB Eddie Moore who was running with the first team defense during mini-camp was waived. The problem seems to be coming from his knee. If he clears waivers he will revert to the Broncos’ injured reserve list — and that would be the end of his season.

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Details on the first practice from training camp are flooding in from all corners – whether you’re checking out Andrew Mason’s Blog or one of the many great Broncos forums out there, you’ll find tons of insight on the stars of practice so far and who lined up where.

Offensive Line

First Team: It is being reported that the first-team offensive line looks exactly as many (including myself) thought it would – from Left Tackle and moving over to Right, it featured Matt Lepsis, Ben Hamilton, Tom Nalen, Chris Kuper, and Erik Pears. Everyone looked good by all accounts.

Second Team: Rookie Ryan Harris took snaps at LT, with Center/Guard hybrid Chris Myers filling in at left Guard. Greg Eslinger lined up at Center (one report said he got blown up by Rookie Marcus Thomas). At Right Guard and Tackle were Montrae Holland and Adam Meadows.

Skill Positions – Offense

With Marshall and Smith on the PUP, there was a lot of rotation among receivers, with Javon Walker playing consistently and mixup between David Kircus and Domenik Hixon, among others. Apparently Kircus really shined, catching a ton of balls and snagging the “Catch of the Day” from a deep ball by Jay Cutler.

Undrafted rookie runningback Andre Hall also took a few snaps behind the first team – that’s always exciting, even though I’m still hopeful our other undrafted tailback Selvin Young can step up. Mike Bell also reportedly looked good – no word if Cecil Sapp saw any snaps behind Cutler and Nalen, but his absence in these reports seems to indicate that he did not.

Daniel Graham shared snaps at tight end with Alexander and Teyo Johnson, among others.

Defensive Line

First Team: Veteran John Engelberger was the surprise of the defense, taking snaps as the starting defensive end opposite Ebenezer Ekuban. Gerard Warren and Sam Adams filled in the middle, and both looked extremely impressive in Jim Bates system.

Second Team: Rookies Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder took snaps as the second unit starters, leaving a noticeable absence of one Kenard Lang. At defensive tackle were recent acquisitions Alvin McKinley and Jimmy Kennedy.

Third Team: We’re extremely deep at the defensive line, and these seedings were worth noting. Marcus Thomas was relegated to third team for the time being, although I think he’ll find his way up the depth chart soon enough. Fan favorite Elvis Dumervil and rumored trade bait Kenard Lang found themselves as the third-string defensive ends. The other DT was Amon Gordon.

Thomas and undrafted rookie Steven Harris even entertained the crowd with their impressive backflip/handstand duo trick. Mighty athletic for 300-pounders.

The Back Seven

First Team: D.J. Williams and Ian Gold were locked into their respective spots, with Warrick Holdman filling in most of the strongside snaps. Of course, our superstar tandem of Champ Bailey and Dre Bly started at corner, with John Lynch and Nick Ferguson filling in at Safety.

Second Team: D.D. Lewis and Louis Green saw work at OLB, with Nate Webster serving as D.J.’s backup. Domonique Foxworth serves as probably the best third-corner in the league, with Karl Paymah seeing work, along with Curome Cox and Hamza Abdullah at Safety.

It’s worth noting that this is the first practice, and all of these are highly likely to change at any time. I’m particularly excited about the possibility along the defensive line – it’s going to be highly competitive, which can only make our defense that much better.