SoCalBronco
05-05-2005, 12:34 AM
Shanahan's shift takes minicamp out of May
By Patrick Saunders
Denver Post Staff Writer
File / Brian Brainerd
After 11 years, Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan called off the May mini-camp. Two-a-days begin July 6.
Something's amiss in Dove Valley.
There is no May minicamp.
For the first time in Mike Shanahan's 11 years as head coach, the team is not holding its traditional minicamp this month. Instead, the mandatory three-day session of two-a-day practices is July 6-8. That's three weeks prior to the players' reporting for training camp July 28.
While a number of NFL teams have pushed their minicamps into June, the Broncos are the only team holding a July minicamp. And quarterback Jake Plummer applauds the change.
"I kind of like it," Plummer said Tuesday. "We will have just gone through installing our offense, so it's going to be fresh, not just for me, but especially for the young guys."
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The Broncos' offseason conditioning program began April 4 and continues throughout the spring and summer. Between now and the July minicamp, the Broncos also will have 14 days of what the NFL terms "organized team activities." That means coaches are allowed to interact on the field with the players. The Broncos will divide their time between an eight-day quarterback camp beginning May 16 and a six-day team camp tentatively scheduled during the first two weeks of June.
Shanahan said he changed the minicamp dates for a variety of reasons. A few years ago, he conducted the minicamp a week after the late-April draft, but rain and snow accompanied the sessions. Then he moved the minicamps back two weeks after the draft. The weather was better, but the coach said the timing was not right.
"We started rethinking it," Shanahan said during last month's draft. "We always had to work with the (rookies') school schedules, and then we would bring them in and they would have to go back home on Mother's Day. So it was all very hectic. Now we are doing it a little bit later, and everybody will get used to our system."
Walls mending
A month into the Broncos' offseason program, cornerback Lenny Walls said he is feeling fit after missing most of the 2004 season with a separated right shoulder. Walls underwent surgery Dec. 1 to repair the shoulder.
"I feel great," Walls said. "The right shoulder is still a little bit sore, but it's actually stronger than my left when I'm lifting weights. My motion is almost totally back, too. I don't think it's going to be a problem again."
Walls said the doctors have assured him his shoulder will not be a chronic problem.
"They said there is only a 10 percent chance of it ever popping out again," he said. "I'm feeling very confident about it."
Walls is expected to join five- time Pro Bowl player Champ Bailey as Denver's starting cornerbacks.
By Patrick Saunders
Denver Post Staff Writer
File / Brian Brainerd
After 11 years, Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan called off the May mini-camp. Two-a-days begin July 6.
Something's amiss in Dove Valley.
There is no May minicamp.
For the first time in Mike Shanahan's 11 years as head coach, the team is not holding its traditional minicamp this month. Instead, the mandatory three-day session of two-a-day practices is July 6-8. That's three weeks prior to the players' reporting for training camp July 28.
While a number of NFL teams have pushed their minicamps into June, the Broncos are the only team holding a July minicamp. And quarterback Jake Plummer applauds the change.
"I kind of like it," Plummer said Tuesday. "We will have just gone through installing our offense, so it's going to be fresh, not just for me, but especially for the young guys."
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The Broncos' offseason conditioning program began April 4 and continues throughout the spring and summer. Between now and the July minicamp, the Broncos also will have 14 days of what the NFL terms "organized team activities." That means coaches are allowed to interact on the field with the players. The Broncos will divide their time between an eight-day quarterback camp beginning May 16 and a six-day team camp tentatively scheduled during the first two weeks of June.
Shanahan said he changed the minicamp dates for a variety of reasons. A few years ago, he conducted the minicamp a week after the late-April draft, but rain and snow accompanied the sessions. Then he moved the minicamps back two weeks after the draft. The weather was better, but the coach said the timing was not right.
"We started rethinking it," Shanahan said during last month's draft. "We always had to work with the (rookies') school schedules, and then we would bring them in and they would have to go back home on Mother's Day. So it was all very hectic. Now we are doing it a little bit later, and everybody will get used to our system."
Walls mending
A month into the Broncos' offseason program, cornerback Lenny Walls said he is feeling fit after missing most of the 2004 season with a separated right shoulder. Walls underwent surgery Dec. 1 to repair the shoulder.
"I feel great," Walls said. "The right shoulder is still a little bit sore, but it's actually stronger than my left when I'm lifting weights. My motion is almost totally back, too. I don't think it's going to be a problem again."
Walls said the doctors have assured him his shoulder will not be a chronic problem.
"They said there is only a 10 percent chance of it ever popping out again," he said. "I'm feeling very confident about it."
Walls is expected to join five- time Pro Bowl player Champ Bailey as Denver's starting cornerbacks.