SoCalBronco
07-14-2005, 12:38 AM
Taken from Andrew Mason's blog, entitled "Horse Sense" at the team board, his response to one question:
A Broncos fan in the armed forces has many questions about players ...
How did these players do in camp? There seems to be absolutely nothing on these guys. Has the team just already decided who will seriously compete for their respective positions? For instance, I've always thought that Dayne would flourish outside of New York (without Tiki) but somehow it seems as though he may be placed on the shelf again. And what about Wesley Duke? I didn't even see him on the roster when I looked at denverpost.com's listing. The players below are the ones I'm most curious about. I'm serving in the U.S. Navy and am about to come home and study at CU Boulder, so I'm sure I'll see more when I get there, but for now I'm relying heavily on you.
Chad Friehauf
Maurice Clarett
Ron Dayne
Brandon Miree
Dorsett Davis
Terry Pierce
Brandon Browner
Domonique Foxworth
Karl Paymah
Darrent Williams
Wesley Duke
Gabe Morris
Okay, Gabe, here goes ...
Friehauf is faring well, but he's got a huge jump from Division II to the NFL; General Manager Ted Sundquist compared his progress at this point to that of Bradlee Van Pelt and Matt Mauck from last year. Clarett and Dayne have been working together; Clarett spoke in May of how Dayne has helped him get adjusted to the NFL, and both are similar runners. With both, the training-camp practices in pads and the preseason games will tell quite a bit, but Dayne has mentioned how comfortable he is in the Broncos' running game because it closely resembles the one-cut style he used at Wisconsin from 1996-99. Miree worked at fullback at mini-camp, but will face a tough battle with incumbent Kyle Johnson and third-year back Cecil Sapp in the mix.
Davis remains in the scrum at defensive tackle, but faces the most important camp of his career. Yet even with all the veterans -- both from Cleveland and holdovers like Marco Coleman, Luther Elliss and Raylee Johnson -- the Broncos need some of the younger candidates like Davis, all-NFL Europe selection Aaron Hunt and Anton Palepoi to step up.
"When you're filled with some veteran guys, the reality of the game is that there are injuries," Sundquist said. "The older you get, the more susceptible you are to injury, and should one of those guys go down, you've got to be prepared and ready."
As for the rookie cornerbacks ... you can pretty much lump them together right now, in defensive coordinator Larry Coyer's eyes. None has separated from the pack as of yet.
"It's really hard because they've all had their days," Coyer said during mini-camp. "They've made some plays. Foxworth's been consistent. Paymah's going to develop. Darrent had a day where he had four picks in a single practice, so they've all had their days. What it comes down to is consistency."
We'll have more on the rookie corners later today, and will profile Browner on Friday. The most common phrase heard regarding Browner is a comparison to Walls -- except with the size and bulk to go stop the run, which in part led to his shift over to safety.
As for Duke, Sundquist specifically mentioned him as someone whose progress won't be accurately measured until he dons pads, especially considering that he hasn't played football since high school.
Hope that helps! May God bless you and bring you home safely. We look forward to having you back home in the Centennial State.
A Broncos fan in the armed forces has many questions about players ...
How did these players do in camp? There seems to be absolutely nothing on these guys. Has the team just already decided who will seriously compete for their respective positions? For instance, I've always thought that Dayne would flourish outside of New York (without Tiki) but somehow it seems as though he may be placed on the shelf again. And what about Wesley Duke? I didn't even see him on the roster when I looked at denverpost.com's listing. The players below are the ones I'm most curious about. I'm serving in the U.S. Navy and am about to come home and study at CU Boulder, so I'm sure I'll see more when I get there, but for now I'm relying heavily on you.
Chad Friehauf
Maurice Clarett
Ron Dayne
Brandon Miree
Dorsett Davis
Terry Pierce
Brandon Browner
Domonique Foxworth
Karl Paymah
Darrent Williams
Wesley Duke
Gabe Morris
Okay, Gabe, here goes ...
Friehauf is faring well, but he's got a huge jump from Division II to the NFL; General Manager Ted Sundquist compared his progress at this point to that of Bradlee Van Pelt and Matt Mauck from last year. Clarett and Dayne have been working together; Clarett spoke in May of how Dayne has helped him get adjusted to the NFL, and both are similar runners. With both, the training-camp practices in pads and the preseason games will tell quite a bit, but Dayne has mentioned how comfortable he is in the Broncos' running game because it closely resembles the one-cut style he used at Wisconsin from 1996-99. Miree worked at fullback at mini-camp, but will face a tough battle with incumbent Kyle Johnson and third-year back Cecil Sapp in the mix.
Davis remains in the scrum at defensive tackle, but faces the most important camp of his career. Yet even with all the veterans -- both from Cleveland and holdovers like Marco Coleman, Luther Elliss and Raylee Johnson -- the Broncos need some of the younger candidates like Davis, all-NFL Europe selection Aaron Hunt and Anton Palepoi to step up.
"When you're filled with some veteran guys, the reality of the game is that there are injuries," Sundquist said. "The older you get, the more susceptible you are to injury, and should one of those guys go down, you've got to be prepared and ready."
As for the rookie cornerbacks ... you can pretty much lump them together right now, in defensive coordinator Larry Coyer's eyes. None has separated from the pack as of yet.
"It's really hard because they've all had their days," Coyer said during mini-camp. "They've made some plays. Foxworth's been consistent. Paymah's going to develop. Darrent had a day where he had four picks in a single practice, so they've all had their days. What it comes down to is consistency."
We'll have more on the rookie corners later today, and will profile Browner on Friday. The most common phrase heard regarding Browner is a comparison to Walls -- except with the size and bulk to go stop the run, which in part led to his shift over to safety.
As for Duke, Sundquist specifically mentioned him as someone whose progress won't be accurately measured until he dons pads, especially considering that he hasn't played football since high school.
Hope that helps! May God bless you and bring you home safely. We look forward to having you back home in the Centennial State.