View Full Version : Pryce is hungry to return
Atlas
03-26-2005, 03:00 AM
Pryce planning to finish with bang
By Bill Williamson
Denver Post Staff Writer
Post file
"I know I have another five years or so in me, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I don't want to have any regrets. I don't want to leave anything on the field." - Trevor Pryce, Broncos defensive end
Lightning in a bottle.
That's how Trevor Pryce, who says he is completely recovered from a back injury that kept him out almost all last season, describes the next phase of his NFL career. While Pryce says there is no question he will regain his superstar form, the lame duck defensive end wonders where he will get the chance to return to stardom as the Broncos continue to try to trade the four-time Pro Bowl player.
"The bottle is about to open up, and you better watch out, because it's going to be something else," Pryce said Thursday. "No matter if it's for the Denver Broncos or the Highlands Ranch Mustangs, I'm going to go off."
Pryce, who will turn 30 on Aug. 3, said his experience sitting out last season helped make him realize how much he loves football - and how much he wants to protect his legacy as he nears the final stages of his career.
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"I know I have another five years or so in me, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I don't want to have any regrets," Pryce said. "I don't want to leave anything on the field. I want to look back on my career and see a tape of my 12th, 13th year and say, 'I was just as good as I was in my fifth year.' That's going to happen."
Pryce said he has spent the offseason working as diligently as ever preparing for his comeback. He said he has not been in contact with any Broncos personnel other than strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten and that he has received the team's offseason workout program schedule.
The Broncos begin offseason workouts April 4. Pryce said he would attend the workouts at Dove Valley if that's what the team wants. The Broncos are trying to deal Pryce, who was informed of their plans nearly two months ago, to create salary cap room.
Denver wants a draft pick in return for Pryce and would likely be open to trading its No. 25 overall pick and Pryce to move up significantly in the first round, as it did last year in a trade with Cincinnati that included cornerback Deltha O'Neal. Dallas could land Pryce if it doesn't trade for New Orleans defensive end Darren Howard.
Coach Mike Shanahan said at the NFL owners meetings in Hawaii this week that Pryce could return. That would likely have to come with a restructuring of his contract, and that possibility hasn't been broached seriously.
Pryce said he believes Shanahan knows how much he is looking forward to playing in 2005.
"I really don't care about a trade," he said. "(If) I'm traded, I'll have no hard feelings at all. I just know I'll be back and have a huge year, wherever it is.
"The (injured) back isn't even an issue anymore or worth talking about. I will even be stronger this year than last year because I've been working out so much. People are going to see me this year and say, 'Holy cow!'
"There's no doubt I'll be a Pro Bowl player again. That's a given."
Pryce said he would like to "win another Super Bowl, wherever it may be."
Footnote
Cleveland defensive end Courtney Brown continues to weigh his options, which include signing with the Broncos. Brown was expected to announce his decision Thursday but continues to mull offers from the Broncos, Browns, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks.
watermock
03-26-2005, 03:45 AM
I have a feeling he's going to disappear just as fast as lightning in a bottle. More like the Great White Buffalo.
Atlas
03-26-2005, 03:55 AM
I have a feeling he's going to disappear just as fast as lightning in a bottle. More like the Great White Buffalo.
I doubt it. He is a great player and if he is dedicated he could have staying power.
Mr Chatterboodamn
03-26-2005, 09:11 PM
I doubt it. He is a great player and if he is dedicated he could have staying power.
i tend to agree -- he is in a rare situation where he has to play for face to justify his claim of 5 more years. he sounded re-dedicated last season, and some people respond to setbacks with more furor. i dont blame him for protecting his financial future since d-lineman's careers are most often like a buffalo's breath in the winter sky. i hope we keep him and see what we got, if next year's salary is too high and he plays well we have a bonafide commodity to trade or use.
i like the broncos strategy, we have solid rotational overachievers and if one or more of these big talents can stay healthy and step up their play, we'll be okay since this is the so called weak area of our d.
Like Griese, Pryce is not a football player at heart. He is focused on other things. Al Willson and Rod Smith are football players at heart. See the difference?
Tredici
03-26-2005, 09:50 PM
I don't know. But if Trevor Pryce is hungry I wouldn't want to be between him and the table...
-Slap-
03-26-2005, 10:27 PM
I would have to say the skidmarks alone have earned this fool his walking papers.
edit: kudos to the mod who squelched that loser so quickly.
I would like to see Trevor return, but Baja makes a good point about him. He's got outside interests that can earn him money so his desire is questionable. Maybe that's why he made a point of stating how hungry he is to play now.
Garcia Bronco
03-26-2005, 10:29 PM
I would have to say the skidmarks alone have earned this fool his walking papers.
He's done like dinner
-Slap-
03-26-2005, 10:32 PM
He's done like dinner
http://www.frickfilm.de/Leben/Pics/Terminator.jpeg
Garcia Bronco on patrol.
^5
Garcia Bronco
03-26-2005, 10:34 PM
http://www.frickfilm.de/Leben/Pics/Terminator.jpeg
Garcia Bronco on patrol.
^5
LOL
I mean Wtf though? That was some gross **** that person posted. He posted using racial slurs the other day too. We can't have that here.
Tredici
03-26-2005, 10:49 PM
Dang. I missed the good stuff.
-Slap-
03-26-2005, 10:51 PM
LOL
I mean Wtf though? That was some gross **** that person posted. He posted using racial slurs the other day too. We can't have that here.
Probably some loser who came on here, prattled some off the wall **** and got his ass handed to him by any number of Regulars. Pathetic measures of revenge via African-American beefcake photos and pics of stained undies were the best ideas that came to him.
Mr Chatterboodamn
03-27-2005, 04:02 AM
Like Griese, Pryce is not a football player at heart. He is focused on other things. Al Willson and Rod Smith are football players at heart. See the difference?
i do believe this argument has some validity. Please recall Rod Smith is also a unique individual, even league wide.... he's a rare fighter, scrapper, wife wont listen type of guy. You have to figure, having the physical teleogy of trevor -- 6'3 280-290, athletic, etc. you're going to find your niche in a game like football. so i think people with the god given physique sometimes get forced into football and sometimes they develop an independent love. trevor almost always played very hard and definitely caused disruption... he also modified his lifestyle to make himself a better football player by slimming down and taking better care of himself. i dont think love of sport and love of money are mutually exclusive by nature -- some of the all time great participants in history were both passionate about their craft and their compensation. i dont blame trevor for not restructuring a 6 mil year, the balloon payment the likes of which he will likely never see again at his age, especially with a very iffy injury. pryce definitely carries some bad vibe with him... but does rod smith ever look happy? will he ever be happy? dude probably has spent less than any other player in his salary range, probably least money spent per year for wide receiver ever*. (not adjusted for consumer price index cuz don hutson wore nor desired bling and fancy lamont clothes.
Atlas
03-27-2005, 01:19 PM
What he said
DivineLegion
03-27-2005, 01:24 PM
Am I reading that right...he said he dident want to leave anything on the field so that means hes just gonna be a waist of cap right...I think he ment to say I want to leave everything on the field...or did he????
Odysseus
03-27-2005, 02:47 PM
Am I reading that right...he said he dident want to leave anything on the field so that means hes just gonna be a waist of cap right...I think he ment to say I want to leave everything on the field...or did he????
---What he means is his back is really hurting him pretty badly. He doesn't want to be hurt permanently for the rest of his life so he wants more benchtime so that he doesn't have leave anything on the field including sweat. j/k
---The media wants hourly updates and have set up a webcam up Trevor's butt for coverage. There is also a webcam in Coach Shannikube's brain so that we are getting updates every five minutes. The website link is www.friggingoffseasonblues.com. We lost the webcam that was on Ted's head. Since we are not getting updates we are assuming it's up his butt.
j/k
(FYI: Big Guy: Where is the Easter bunny?)
Am I reading that right...he said he dident want to leave anything on the field so that means hes just gonna be a waist of cap right...I think he ment to say I want to leave everything on the field...or did he????
Ha ha I noticed that too and wondered if it might be a Freudian slip.
If we don't bring him back at this point in the free agency game I will always think there is more to this than cap space, injury and talent level. I have said for years that Pryce is a slacker especially late in the season. I caught a lot of shiit for it too. Now I see most of the board wants him gone. If Shanahan in fact believes Pryce will "bring it" this season he will be in a Bronco uniform this season.
Atlas
03-27-2005, 09:50 PM
Ha ha I noticed that too and wondered if it might be a Freudian slip.
If we don't bring him back at this point in the free agency game I will always think there is more to this than cap space, injury and talent level. I have said for years that Pryce is a slacker especially late in the season. I caught a lot of shiit for it too. Now I see most of the board wants him gone. If Shanahan in fact believes Pryce will "bring it" this season he will be in a Bronco uniform this season.
I think you could have said that his first two or three years because he was so into his music. The last three years he seems to have rededicated himself. He came into camp in better shape and has played at an alpro level.
I do agree with you to a certain point but there is no one Denver can get for this season that will be better than Pryce. Keep him, play him and if at the end of next season you want to cut him or trade him go ahead.
The goal is always the Superbowl, Denver has a better chance for this to happen with Pryce playing DE.
Great he is Hungry... Just don't go to IHOP at 3:00am to fill that hunger. What do you expect him to say for over 9 million a season?
SoCalBronco
03-27-2005, 09:58 PM
Its a risk. Its all about evaluation of risk here. What surprises me from that Trevor article is that he hasnt had much if any contact with the organization himself. If that is true, this is very surprising, i would think the team would want its doctors throughout the offseason, even well before offseason workouts in early april, to poke and prod at him and put him through drills from Jan to March to monitor his leg explosion for themselves..perhaps on a weekly basis or something. This would have given us alot more knowledge about his true state of affairs. If it was looking good, it would probably make sense to keep him and not trade him away even with that number. If it was going poorly, i still would expect a deal to be done by now because Denver could keep lowering its asking price so long as they got something. I think if we had asked for something like a 6th or 5th we would have gotten a deal done by now. Or in the alternative, if it looked bad, they could have cut him outright from the word go so they would have that cap flexibility UP FRONT at the start of FA without the worry that he is going to bite us in the ass. That is what they should have done, if what Trevor is saying is to be believed, they should have done intensive monitoring from Jan to March.
I think you could have said that his first two or three years because he was so into his music. The last three years he seems to have rededicated himself. He came into camp in better shape and has played at an alpro level.
I do agree with you to a certain point but there is no one Denver can get for this season that will be better than Pryce. Keep him, play him and if at the end of next season you want to cut him or trade him go ahead.
The goal is always the Superbowl, Denver has a better chance for this to happen with Pryce playing DE.
Oh I do agree. Pryce at half speed is still better than what is out there now and I do think he was ready to play last season, rather or not he will be of the same mind set this season remains to be seen.
SoCalBronco
03-27-2005, 10:01 PM
oops, i now see he has been in contact with Rich Tuten. That kind of messes up my argument. I still think there would have been value having doctors there to monitor the burst and explosion as well as the strength coach.
~Crash~
03-27-2005, 10:05 PM
Pryce needs to help out the team and then yes .
wabbit
03-27-2005, 10:44 PM
The real test of dedication will arrive very soon.
The off-season program begins in a little over a week from now.
We'll see if Trevor joins in.
Right now, he's pursuing his music enterprises...and doing quite well I understand...learning music production techniques & what not in California & South Carolina.
I'm not sure if a stop in Denver on the agenda, but you never know.
Atlas
03-28-2005, 04:05 PM
The real test of dedication will arrive very soon.
The off-season program begins in a little over a week from now.
We'll see if Trevor joins in.
Right now, he's pursuing his music enterprises...and doing quite well I understand...learning music production techniques & what not in California & South Carolina.
I'm not sure if a stop in Denver on the agenda, but you never know.
Pryce will definatly be there at the workout IF Denver wants him there. I guess Shanny might just tell him not to show up..
SHANNY please keep Pryce!! I like the defense just as it is right now!! Bring back Trevor and let's go into the draft and get some more talent.
Rock Chalk
03-28-2005, 04:08 PM
Pryce will definatly be there at the workout IF Denver wants him there. I guess Shanny might just tell him not to show up..
SHANNY please keep Pryce!! I like the defense just as it is right now!! Bring back Trevor and let's go into the draft and get some more talent.
I dont like the defense at all.
I want four starting D-linemen, right now we have zero for certain.