OTA News

[cdumler7]

On the rookies so far...As I said Burse is impressing but so is Latimer.


Barrow is showing impressive range as the coaches have said he actually has the speed to not only stay with the TE's but also has been able to keep up with any receivers.


Another name to keep an eye on is Bryn Renner. He was the quarterback for North Carolina and actually played pretty decent in college and was much more accurate and aggressive than Dysert. Dysert so far in practices still is being captain check down even though the coaches want to see him challenge more down the field. At this point Renner has been the aggressor of the two.


Roby right now is being along slowly as he tries to learn the playbook and terminology for the position but the coaches are expecting once training camp kicks into gear to really turn it up and challenge the rookie and see if he is ready to start.


Hard to gauge much at OTA's as nobody is allowed to hit but so far promising news from many of the rookies on the team. Coaches seem to have raved more than usual about this class.


On another note from last year's draft there are many picking Sylvester Williams to be a surprise playmaker for the Broncos this year. I have read 2-3 articles predicting Williams to be big for the Broncos this upcoming season.

 

[MrDoc420]

Good stuff

Never heard of Brennan Clay. Gonna have to check him out....

 

[cdumler7]

I've watched a little on him. Biggest worry I have with him is that he is a Hillman clone. Quick guy that can make you miss in college but not sure he has the ability for that to transfer to the NFL. Hillman last year looked very good in the OTA's and non-padded practices. Speed guys always do. It is once the pads go on though that those speed guys can quickly disappear. We shall see. The one under the radar guy I am most interested in and I think has the best chance to make the team is Isaiah Burse. I have watched this guy in a few games and have left very impressed. He is not just a speed guy that can only help on special teams *cough Holiday cough*. He actually was a pretty darn good receiver for Fresno State. Now when I was playing football I was a receiver so that position automatically jumps out at me. There are certain things that you watch for in a guy to see his actual potential. One of the main things you have to look for in a good receiver is are they actually a natural receiver where it doesn't looked forced for them to catch the ball in their hands. For Burse he seems very comfortable using his hands and even though he is shorter knows how to high point a ball. This is why I hated the idea of us drafting a guy like Benjamin from FSU in he might be 6'5" but he is a body catcher most of the time and rarely high points the ball leading to higher drop rates and shorter corners still being able to cover him. He plays more like he is maybe 6'0" tall. Another part of Burse's game is he knows what to do with the ball in his hands once he gets it. He can turn a screen pass into a 40 yard gain because of his special teams ability. He also doesn't shy away from contact and a lot of his catches actually do happen over the middle. So that speed/quickness+decent hands+fearless over the middle makes him an ideal slot receiver. Not all quick short guys are great slot receivers because of their fear of being hit and being able to make contested catches.

 

[DownSetHutch]

Good stuff CD. Thanks for the updates and news.

This summer is gonna drag, so any news about the team is welcomed.

 

[MrDoc420]

Yessir.

I'm really starting to fiend for some football.

Yah cd.....I watched what I could find on Clay, and you're right - He does look alot like Hillman. Maybe he can hold the ball better though

I'm hoping Hillman can show up huge in camp and earn himself some PT this year. He surely has an uphill battle though....

 

[cdumler7]

Yessir.

I'm really starting to fiend for some football.

Yah cd.....I watched what I could find on Clay, and you're right - He does look alot like Hillman. Maybe he can hold the ball better though

I'm hoping Hillman can show up huge in camp and earn himself some PT this year. He surely has an uphill battle though....

I actually read some news on Hillman the other day. He is up to 205 in weight for this season and says he has a chip on his shoulder to prove that he should be on this team. Said he is not competing for the #2 RB position but is fighting for the starting spot. So I guess you could say he is saying all the right things but I remember at this time last year he was saying all of this as well and we all know how that ended. Him being up to 205 does intrigue me though as that is just a bit smaller than what Ball was at the start of last season so both guys have put on some weight. Time will tell whether it was good weight or not though.

 

[cdumler7]

Not really OTA related but thought it was cool. Rick Reilly is being inducted into the sportscaster HOF and asked John Elway to be the one who introduces him. When asked why he would ask John Elway of all people to do this he said "Because he's my favorite athlete ever...and I've never met anybody who treated fans better."


Not only is Elway a hero and legend on the field but a class act off it. We are definitely spoiled to have such a great man running our team.

 

[cdumler7]

Couple other little things. Read a couple of sports reporters that said Webster has looked really good in the slot replacing Harris while he rehabs.


McCray has been the guy filling in for Von Miller at SLB so looks like he stands a very good chance of making the roster.


Winston Justice is getting a very good chance to compete for the RT spot. Looks like it will be a 4-horse race for the position with Clark, Justice, Schofield, and my dark horse favorite Painter.


Ryan Clady and DeMarcus Ware have both turned heads at camp with how well they have recovered and are moving around. Very excited news about Clady as that type of injury is one that has been known to really derail a career even early on.

 

[cdumler7]

Double bonus move by the Broncos! The Broncos have hired Rod Woodson to help coach the secondary this year. Nice slap to the face to the Raiders (who fired him) and a nice addition to the Broncos for a HOF to come help coach up our young secondary.

 

[MrDoc420]

Not really OTA related but thought it was cool. Rick Reilly is being inducted into the sportscaster HOF and asked John Elway to be the one who introduces him. When asked why he would ask John Elway of all people to do this he said "Because he's my favorite athlete ever...and I've never met anybody who treated fans better."


Not only is Elway a hero and legend on the field but a class act off it. We are definitely spoiled to have such a great man running our team.

That speaks huge volumes of how Elway has affected lives. Good stuff.

 

[cdumler7]

News from the first day of Mandatory Mini-Camp


Bradley Roby is the final rookie to be signed.


Kevin Vickerson finally returned to some practice after his season ending injury.


Ware said that he and Miller have set a goal of the two of them matching a whole team's sack total for the season. Last year the last place team had 31 sacks so the two of them combined should be able to get pretty close to that.


Scary moment at Mini-Camp with 2 of our new Bronco players in Sanders and Roby colliding on a play and taking a bit to get back up. Both ended up being fine as Sanders caught a pass just a few plays later and Roby was back in not long after that.


Speaking of those 2...After practice Sanders worked 1 on 1 with Manning on routes and timing while Roby worked out one on one against our 2nd round pick in Latimer. Really cool to see the rookies stepping up and putting in the extra time plus seeing Sanders realize the opportunity he has for his career here with Manning.


Osweiler has been very inconsistent throughout OTA's and first day of Mini-Camp. His footwork looks better but looks like he is trying to force too much and is just thinking more than he should on plays. Dysert is looking much improved from what I have read as well and was very aggressive going down the field today.


Roby's speed has impressed both coaches and media alike. On a few of the go routes stayed step for step with D. Thomas (not many corners can do that)


Gerrell Robinson has come to play this year. Making some nice grabs and could really push Tamme for that spot behind J. Thomas. I honestly could see the Broncos making a cap saving move here by releasing Tamme and giving Robinson a chance.


Now realize there is no contact again at this camp but the DL is looking even deeper than first thought. Going to be some tough decisions to be made of who to keep and who to let go.

 

[cdumler7]

Here are some cool stats for yah to get excited about Montee Ball being our running back this year.


In the final 6 games of the regular season Ball averaged an amazing 6.5 yards per carry. This was second only to Jamaal Charles.


He also finished in 1st in percentage of carries that went for 1st downs at 40.4%


In those final 6 games he also finished 1st in percentage of carries that went for over 10 yards at 20.1%


I would say with even more weapons for the offense this year (Emmanuel Sanders to me is a better weapons especially between the 20's than that of Decker) Ball should see a lot of 6 man fronts. No excuse for him not to have a great year. As great as Moreno was for us last year I honestly thought he should have ran better considering how many easy fronts he had to go against. Make one person miss and you have day light until the secondary realizes you broke free.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Here are some cool stats for yah to get excited about Montee Ball being our running back this year.


In the final 6 games of the regular season Ball averaged an amazing 6.5 yards per carry. This was second only to Jamaal Charles.


He also finished in 1st in percentage of carries that went for 1st downs at 40.4%


In those final 6 games he also finished 1st in percentage of carries that went for over 10 yards at 20.1%


I would say with even more weapons for the offense this year (Emmanuel Sanders to me is a better weapons especially between the 20's than that of Decker) Ball should see a lot of 6 man fronts. No excuse for him not to have a great year. As great as Moreno was for us last year I honestly thought he should have ran better considering how many easy fronts he had to go against. Make one person miss and you have day light until the secondary realizes you broke free.

Would be interesting to see how the opposing rushing defenses ranked in those final 6 games of the regular season. In the Super Bowl, Ball averaged only 6 inches per carry. We will need Ball to be a back that can get the tough yards and 1st downs against the defenses we face in the NFC West.

 

[cdumler7]

Looked them up and in yards per carry (seems a more accurate measurement than actual yards per game as that can be affected by score more than yards per carry) and they ranged from 10th clear to like 25th or something. So about middle of the pack.


Now as for news today. Latimer is quickly impressing as his size/speed/strength combo was on display making leaping grabs over some of our Corners then just out running them for touchdowns. I think this guy sees the field a lot more than I first thought he would this season.


Another rookie is turning heads in Roby. His abilities in coverage are just leaving coaches in awe so far. Now again all of this is done in shorts so far but both are showing a lot of promise at least physically on the field.


Once again after practice Peyton was working with Emmanuel Sanders on timing routes while Latimer stood watching and asking Peyton and Sanders questions on what to do on certain routes.
Loving the extra work this team is putting in to be great this year!


CJ Anderson is looking bigger and stronger than last year.


Nate Irving is showing decent progress in his ability in coverage making a few plays today.


Osweiler yesterday finally had a nice practice and looked decent today. Has been struggling all off season with inconsistency but looks like he has shaken some of the rust off.

 

[cdumler7]

Broncos have put a 5-year deal on the table with D. Thomas. Looks like the Broncos are serious about getting this done in the next few weeks.

 

[cdumler7]

So final wrap up of the Mandatory Mini-Camp the Broncos just had. I think they have one more OTA session this next week then we go into the worst time of the off season where there is nothing with the players for about a month before training camp.


OL--Not much to report other than Franklin has looked pretty smooth playing at the guard position and it does look like the Broncos are changing up their blocking scheme a bit to fit this new look a bit better. There is going to be more of a power blocking scheme in the run game compared to last year with so many stunts. The other piece of information is that Winston Justice of all people has really impressed and has started practicing with the #1 unit some ahead of Clark.


TE--Virgil Green has impressed as a pass catcher. He already is a great blocker for this team and is probably our top guy at that from the position but him emerging as a pass catcher could mean even more weapons than we thought considering he actually is pretty darn fast for a guy his size.


WR--This position just seems like one that is going to keep the coaches up at night having to cut some of these guys. There are lots of players making some noise at the position so it just depends a little on how many the Broncos are going to keep and then what they can contribute then on special teams. My guess is 2-3 of the WR's on our roster right now are picked up by other teams.


RB--Probably going to be the most watched position once Training Camp rolls around. Bibbs has really impressed as a pass catcher while Brennan Clay has impressed with his speed and moves. Now all of this is without pads so we shall see.


DT--A guy that could turn some heads here real soon is that of Marvin Austin. The guy has always had talent. His problem has been health since he came into the league. So far though he has turned some heads with how quick he is and some of his moves have left coaches and the media impressed. Honestly I could see Unrein and Vickerson possibly on the bubble of whether they make the team or not. Love that we are so deep this year that players have to push hard just to make the roster.


DE--Q. Smith is another guy turning heads with his elite speed from the DE position. DeMarcus Ware though has been working with him quite a bit to show how to turn that speed then into a power move to the inside. We really could go from last year only having 1 player that could rush the passer with any consistency to possibly 5-6 players that can this year. Going from a weakness to a strength is what you like to hear.


LB--This is the one position that hasn't had a whole lot of wow factor at training camp. Irving and McCray have both made a few plays here and there but have been inconsistent. The rookies have looked like rookies so far. Probably our biggest weakness on the team right now.


DB--Probably the position getting talked about the 2nd most behind WR has been that of the defensive backfield. Funny how the receivers are making plays all over the field yet we keep hearing about how the secondary is as well. Not sure how that works but loving the battle that all of these guys are going through.
Roby is probably the player behind Ware that I am most excited to see on the field this season for the Broncos. Keep hearing that he is holding his own even with the likes of D. Thomas.
Q. Carter from all accounts has been wowing on the field as well. Looks like his knee is finally healed up and honestly wouldn't surprise me if we try quite a few 3 safety looks with Ward going down and playing linebacker.
Webster has been looking a lot more comfortable this year as well. He is finally showing his elite speed on the field making plays.
From what Manning, coaches, and others have said the secondary has made a major emphasis on not allowing big plays to happen against them as we were one of the worst in the NFL last season in that category. So far Manning has said the windows to throw into have been much smaller this season and he is struggling to connect on the deep throws because the defense just doesn't get caught out of position very often.


On paper and from all accounts the defense is looking like they are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

 

[cdumler7]

So final week of OTA's then we go dark for a month before Training Camp. Just a few little things from yesterday's practice...


Bradley Roby continues his impressive work picking off Peyton Manning while covering Emmanuel Sanders. I think one of my favorite things about Roby is that he can cover receivers of all different sizes and speeds. He is big enough to match up with DT yet fast enough to keep up with Sanders. Don't find those kind of guys everyday.


Osweiler has been slowly improving as the practices have gone on. He had some very impressive throws on Monday and didn't make a lot of mistakes. Still not sure what his future is with the Broncos as I think Manning plays longer than Osweiler's contract but we shall see.


Winston Justice is quickly making a name for himself at Right Tackle. We shall see what happens once they put the pads on but right now he is quickly getting some consideration for the RT spot.


An option I never quite thought about but one that I think could be considered for the Nickel Backer alongside Trevathon is McCray. So far he has looked the best other than Trevathon in coverage of all the linebackers.

 

[randymon]

Surprised I haven`t heard Baretts name in discussion. From what I`ve been reading/hearing their quite impressed with the Lb....quick read, game is not to fast for him, turning heads etc. My buy/sell is he ends up taking some good playing time away from Irving by mid season and next yr is Denvers starting middle Lb and makes pro-bowl!!!!

 

[cdumler7]

Sorry Randymon that I haven't mentioned him much. I have heard some decent things about him. The UDFA rookies don't usually get a lot of discussion unless they are the sexy positions like that of RB or WR. Like you said he has shown some decent skills so far. His best days though are ahead of him when they put on the pads and he can show that aggressive side he has. Now as for him moving to MLB we shall see. If I remember right he never played the position in college as they liked him on the outside having some freedom to do whatever he wanted. I could be wrong though as I didn't watch a ton of CSU football this year. I will say his fellow teammate Bibbs is getting hyped up big time at camp and wouldn't surprise me to see our UDFA rookie streak continue.


So we have made it to the worst time of the football year in complete black out for the next month. OTA's and Mini-Camps are over and the Broncos have nothing until Training Camp starts in July. We made it through the first big wave of suspensions with nobody getting suspended so this next month will be critical for the team to stay focused. Coaches and media alike have commented that this team does seem more focused than last year's at this time so hopefully that holds true.


Few last notes...Rookies have looked pretty decent. Even some of the UDFA rookies have shined with quite a few standing a decent chance of making the team.


The Right Tackle spot looks like a 3-way race at this time between Clark, Justice, and Schofield. The first 2 have gotten lots of reps with the 1st team offense so we shall see what happens once they strap on the pads in a month.


Franklin has looked good switching to guard and should give us a bigger, stronger, and better presence inside to help out with the run game.


The Broncos had 100% participation in all volunteer camps this summer so kudos to the coaching staff and FO as they seem to have done a good job of keeping everybody happy on the team.


Sanders as I have talked about a few times is showing just what this FO does in finding players that fit their scheme more than anything else. It is a big reason players who seem to come here flourish. They did the same with Vasquez last year of seeing he fit their blocking scheme better than any other Guard in FA and obviously we know how well that ended for us.


Anyway not really much else to report that hasn't already been said. Going to be a long month so stay strong my fellow Bronco Family.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Lots of promise in the OTA news here. Thanks for posting.

One little tidbit that I think could be more significant than it might seem is the potential emergence of Vigil Green as complete TE. As great a year as Thomas had as a receiving TE, I thought that his blocking was often poor (perhaps that will improve). And I think that, other than staying healthy, the biggest key to success this season is becoming a more physical team on both sides of the ball.