Photo Courtesy

[UPDATE 11:51 AM – Mason has posted many more pictures that will keep you drooling. Be sure to check them out via the link below!]

The Broncos are in the midst of their first Training Camp practice, and news from Andrew Mason at Training Camp is that the defense has been the real star so far in practice. For all the credit the Broncos have received in signing Daniel Graham and Travis Henry, along with others, it seems that the coaching move to grab Jim Bates may be the best move of the offseason.

When Sam Adams forced a fumble, Bates roared, asking his defense why they didn’t celebrate the big play. The crowd roared its loudest they had all day – but the coach seemed to barely notice.

The first team defense registered a duo of sacks against backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey, and backup safety Curome Cox nearly had two interceptions. Champ did his thing as well.

Jim Bates, on the defense and his excitement over the run defense in particular:

“I like the way we played against the run — we played with a lot of muscle. This is the first day. There’s so much room for improvement, but just coming out here, the biggest improvement from minicamp was how we fit blocks and how strong we were at the point of attack.”

In other news, Javon Walker was a little shook up after a big hit between him and Nate Webster. Both seem to be fine, though. With Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith and Tony Scheffler all on PUP, our star receiving corps. is beginning to look a little thin, and a blow to Walker would really hurt our season.

Stay tuned for more as it comes.

Training Camp practices begin today – yes, Broncos fans, football is here again. With the break of camp comes the first roster moves, and true to their offseason as a whole, the Broncos have been busy. Yesterday afternoon, the Denver Broncos waived Defensive End Kenny Peterson and everyone’s favorite fullback, Thump Belton. It appears that Kenny Peterson’s time away from the team was much shorter than most expected – the team re-signed the former Green Bay product today.

After announcing yesterday that linebacker Eddie Moore needed more work on his knee, the club waived him today, saying he could return to the team if he passes waivers but would only be placed on injured reserve in that situation. Moore’s 2007 season is effectively done either way, and there’s no doubt that this hurts our depth at linebacker when we’re relying on competition to set our starter at SAM.

The news with Moore likely sparked the signing that took place this morning – LB Wesly Mallard, a bit of an ace on Special Teams, was signed. In six years with the Giants and Patriots, Mallard has 43 stops on Special Teams and will impact that area more than anything. He will also be given the opportunity to compete at SAM, but I can’t see him elevating to a starter position there.

At 6-1, 230 lbs., Mallard has the size you’re looking for in a linebacker. He was a bit of a track star, showing that he has the speed as well. He also started at linebacker for the school in his senior year, where he succeeded in leading the team with 111 tackles and being elected as a second team All-Pac 10 selection. In the NFL, Mallard never saw that success – but with the size, strength and speed that Mallard has demonstrated in the past, he will at least help our Special Teams if he can crack the 53-man roster.

Finally in news this morning, Defensive End Carlos Hall was placed on the Reserved/Did not report list.

The Broncos are practicing this morning and again at 3:50 p.m. – if you’re lucky enough to live in the vicinity of Englewood, Colorado, walk away from your computer immediately and go watch the future Super Bowl champs at work.

The Denver Broncos were one of the busiest teams in the NFL this offseason. They added several pieces on offense at different places across the roster, and they made trades and move all over the defensive side of the ball as well. But it’s rarely mentioned all of the moves the Broncos made to improve the third, but often just as important, area of the team – Special Teams.

Last year, the Broncos’ unit was worst in the league when it came to field position. We ranked 32nd – dead last – in our average start position at the 27.0-yard line. And our opponents averaged a starting position at the 33.5-yard line – a ranking of 31st in the league. It was a huge drop-off from the year before, where the Broncos consistently won the field position battle. When you consider that we were giving our opponents an average of a 6 1/2 yard advantage EVERY SINGLE SET OF DOWNS… it’s really amazing that we went 9-7 at all.

To really hit this home, consider the San Diego Chargers Sunday Night game from last year, where the Broncos saw their 24-7 3rd Quarter lead vanish in a virtual blink of an eye. Yeah, Ladainian Tomlinson lit it up, but don’t forget that Michael Turner was running all over us on Special Teams. On three of the Chargers’ last four posessions, the Chargers started with field position at their 40-yard line or better. For the game the Charger’s average starting position was the 36-yard line. The Broncos’ was the 21.

Obviously this wouldn’t be tolerated in Denver, and Mike Shanahan made several moves to make our Special Teams… well, special.

Making Moves

Scott O’Brien. Photo Courtesy

The first move the Broncos made was with the coaching staff, hiring Scott O’Brien, who is widely considered as much of a guru on Special Teams as Shanahan is to offense or new Assistant Coach Jim Bates is to the defense. He has been coaching football at the collegiate and professional level for 25 years, and he’s been head of NFL Special Teams across the league for 18 years. In 1994, he was voted by his peers as Special Teams Coach of the Year. During his six-year stint in Carolina, the Panthers scored a league-high 11 touchdowns from punt and kick returns.

Needless to say, O’Brien’s resume is impressive. But that wasn’t enough for the Broncos – filling in a need at linebacker depth, the club also signed Warrick Holdman and D.D. Lewis. Both have a knack for Special Teams, with Lewis reportedly being very impressive in that area in his years in Seattle. Then, perhaps the coup de grace, they picked up backup fullback Paul Smith from the Rams, who will make the teams on Special Teams alone. After stints in San Francisco, Detroit, and St. Louis, Smith will be expected to make the big blocks on Special Teams to help us get out of the gutter of field position.

Add the health of Domenik Hixon, our fourth round pick from last year, is definitely exciting as well. While the early, mid-season pickup of Quincy Morgan looked promising, it didn’t have the impact we were hoping it would. Give them a full training camp to compete with the likes of Brian Clark and David Kircus and we could see a real improvement in our return game.

Then, of course, there are the guys who kick the ball. Jason Elam is a future Ring of Famer, one of the best kickers in NFL history. He’s aging, but he’s still got it when it comes to field goals. Meanwhile, a camp battle is ensuing between Punters Paul Ernster and Todd Sauerbrun – many fans believe Sauerbrun has the edge, and this is probably true, but I wouldn’t count Ernster out. In the two games Sauerbrun kicked at the end of last year, Ernster actually did better in both gross and net yardage in his punts. I’m excited to see who wins out in Training Camp for starting punt duties.

A lot of moves were made this offseason in Special Teams, and hopefully the Broncos’ dreadful squad from last year will be all the better because of it.

Jump starting the training camp coverage, Andrew Mason has posted the full video of Mike Shanahan’s pre-camp press conference over on denverbroncos.com. He also has a break down of the conference on his blog over at Mason’s Morsels. Here’s a quick look at a few points of interest…

PUP (physically unable to preform) list includes Rod Smith, Tony Scheffler and… you guessed it, Brandon Marshall. Marshall is still recovering from his quad injury at mini-camp. And while ‘Baby TO’ has unbelievable talent and skills, he HAS to get on the field to get that #2 spot.

“It never helps you when you’re not practicing” — Mike Shanahan 7/29/07

The positive thing about this list is that Brandon Stokley is not on it. After he participated in drills at mini-camp, he has not had any set backs and is expected to take part in all of camp (although he will be among the veterans that are waved from two-a-days).

Mike mentioned that we have 11 guys at the WR position. And with 8-9 guys getting reps per session, he and the other coaches should get a good idea of who is progressing toward one of the final roster spots.

Leadership was mentioned in the wake of losing Plummer and Wilson (and with Rod still sidelined). Mike’s response was typical Shanahan:

“There is only one was to be a leader in the Nation Football League — and that’s you have to play well.”

— Mike Shanahan 7/29/07

Not that the team doesn’t have a slew of veteran leaders. Shanahan’s list started with John Lynch, which shouldn’t surprise anyone that watched Tampa Bay during the years leading up to the Super Bowl, when Lynch was the captain of the defense. Nick Ferguson and Champ Bailey were also noted as leaders by example. On the offensive side several O-linemen were mentioned (Matt Lepsis, Tom Nalen and Ben Hamlton).

And what of our new QB’s leadership?

“Jay Cutler will become a leader when he plays well… We’re all judged on Game Day — and he will be judged as well.”

— Mike Shanahan 7/29/07

Mike also had a few words for his former Super Bowl MVP, Terrell Davis, the day after it was announced he will be inducted into the Ring of Fame.

“A lot of people talk about ‘The System’ all the time. People don’t realize how great a back Terrell Davis was for this organization, and what type of person he was as well. To see him get into the Ring of Fame is really special.”

— Mike Shanahan 7/27/07

Have a good night sleep tonight… we’ll have photos, video and news to go over from the first day of Denver Bronco’s training camp 2007 tomorrow!

With plenty of time left, the Denver Broncos signed their first round pick Jarvis Moss to a five year deal valued at a max of $15 million (and including a $8 million in guaranteed money).

Jarvis Moss was considered one of the quickest pass rushers in college during his last two years, but the general concensus is that he will need to bulk up a bit before competing at the Pro level — he is listed as 6’7″ and 250 lbs. But his 4.70 time in the 40 makes him a definite outside threat.

He will join the rest of his teammates tomorrow morning as the Broncos begin Training Camp (check-in is to today).

ESPN Article: FULL STORY

Mason’s Morsels, the official Denver Broncos blog of Andrew Mason, is posting continuous coverage of the training camp press conference. Be sure to check it out with the link above, but here are some of the breaking news tidbits:

• Shanahan said the usual: he jokingly said we were the worst in the AFC West, and he glowed about T.D. making the Ring. He also talked about the loss of leadership in Al Wilson and Rod Smith, and how he hopes the younger, talented players can work as hard as they did.
• BIG NEWS – Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith and Tony Scheffler have been placed on the Physically Unable to Perforom List (or PUP list). This means they will not participate in active practices. They could be reactivated when healthy during camp.  I’ll have more on this later…
• Owner Pat Bowlen said the decision for Davis had been truly made months ago, and it only took a few moments in the “official” voting to get him inducted into the Ring.
• Jim Bates has had the juicy info so far. “We’re as far ahead as I’ve ever been at this time with a new team, so I feel very comfortable going into camp.”
• Domonique Foxworth fill see work at Safety, where he filled in last year due to injury. Bates said he is “one of the finest nickelbacks I’ve ever seen.”
• Eddie Moore, one of the linebackers I expected to compete at strongside, will be placed on the PUP while he continues to attend to his knee.

Stay locked in to Mason’s blog for any additional updates from the presser.

With the signing of first round pick Jarvis Moss late this afternoon, the Broncos have signed all four of their draft picks and come into Training Camp this weekend with every player under contract.

Terms of the 5-year deal were not disclosed. Full Story – Denver Post.

Training Camp practices begin tomorrow, and Broncos fans can rest assured that there won’t be any holdouts this year. LET’S GO WIN A SUPER BOWL!

The Denver Broncos have completed one of their last two remaining draft pick contracts.  DE Tim Crowder, our second-round pick signed a four year deal (including a signing bonus of $1.37 million) late Friday night.

“I’m officially a Bronco.  I’m ready to go and get this all started.”

— Tim Crowder 7/27/07

This leaves only Jarvis Moss, our first round pick, left to sign.  The Broncos met with Moss’ agent Friday night and all signs point to the team making this happen by the time practices start on Sunday.

The Denver Post reports that the Broncos have come to terms with second round pick Tim Crowder, or T-Crow as I like to call him (left), in a four year deal that includes a $1.371 million signing bonus.

This leaves only first round pick Jarvis Moss unsigned as the Broncos approach their first training camp meeting on Saturday and their first practice on Sunday.

It’s only a matter of time before we get Moss under the fold as well… I’m really excited about the prospect of T-Crow as an immediate impact player, and the potential of Moss in the long term.

No, Terrell, it’s we who should be saluting you. Photo Courtesy

A Mile High Salute to the man who invented it – Terrell Davis will be inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame on September 23. Holder of 12 team records, not to mention THE reason we finally won a Lombardi Trophy, Davis’ honor is well-deserved in his first year of eligibility. The ceremony will take place in Week 3, when the Broncos host the Jaguars and hold their annual Alumni Reunion/Ring of Fame weekend.

Andrew Mason, DenverBroncos.com’s official head blogger, has posted his brief thoughts on the subject. But I really loved how he dug up the article he wrote in 2002 when Davis walked off the field the last time – as it still gives Broncos goosebumps this many years down the road, it’s one story you can truly call “timeless.” Here’s a caption:

It really is remarkable, what Davis accomplished in those playoff games. It’s a testament to the drive of Davis, as well as the awesome firepower that can be displayed when an offense is completely in sync with one another.

I could go on forever about everything that Davis meant to the Broncos – without him, there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have been able to win either of those Super Bowls. I could wax poetic for hours on the great plays and dominance that he showed out on the field. Without #30, the Broncos would still be considered one of the biggest Super Bowl losers in history…

In celebration of Davis’ induction, BroncoTalk will feature the Top 10 Games in Davis’ Career, (in my humble opinion) on the Tuesday leading up to his Induction in September.

And on behalf of all the readers and Broncos fans everywhere, a Mile High Salute to our first Super Bowl MVP.