Mediator12
08-29-2005, 08:02 AM
OPINION
MILO F. BRYANT
Gazette Sports columnist
DENVER c With the offseason talk focused on the defensive linemen who the Denver Broncos brought in, Trevor Pryce, the homegrown talent and most important part of the line, seemed to go unnoticed. But make no mistake — the defensive line still belongs to the Broncos’ nineyear veteran.
A herniated disk in his lower back limited Pryce to two games last season. The injury, notknowing how Pryce would recover from it and probably a bit of Pryce’s easy-going, almost nonchalant attitude prompted coach Mike Shanahan to try to trade Pryce during the offseason. But the Broncos failed to complete a deal, instead agreeing to a restructured contract with
Pryce. That failure will prove to be the Broncos’ most fortunate event of the offseason.
Pryce earned two sacks and several quarterback pressures in the preseason game against San Francisco. In Saturday’s 37-24 preseason victory over Indianapolis, Pryce had a sack and caused two others. He added several pressures, a pass defense and generally looked like the team’s most spectacular lineman.
“It does feel good to finally go out there and shake it loose a little bit,” Pryce said. “My thing has always been to go out there and get back to where I was. And I feel like I’m getting there. I was more there (Saturday) than I have been in any other game. “I kind of felt like myself rushing the quarterback. I was pretty ecstatic about that. Now I’ll watch the film, and I’ll get cursed out for doing something wrong that you all didn’t see.”
Don’t take that last sentence too lightly. Pryce and the coaches have a weird relationship. Shanahan liberally praised running back Mike Anderson after the game. He did the same to cornerback Darrent Williams. When asked if Pryce was returning to form, Shanahan was indifferent, almost cold. "I don’t know, to be honest with you,” Shanahan said. “There’s so much more than watching a guy sack the quarterback. What does he do in the run game? How does he play the defense? I really have a hard time telling how a defensive lineman plays until I look at the film. The obvious is sacks, and Trevor had two last week. I hope he played accordingly today.”
Run game? How about shucking an offensive lineman, trailing the play — that was going opposite Pryce — and tackling Colts running back Edgerrin James from behind? Defense? How about bull rushing another offensive lineman, almost pushing him into Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, then tossing the player aside, lunging for Manning and getting enough of Manning’s legs that fellow lineman Ebenezer Ekuban easily sacked Manning?
NOTE: Link is broken because the Gazette is a subscription service.
MILO F. BRYANT
Gazette Sports columnist
DENVER c With the offseason talk focused on the defensive linemen who the Denver Broncos brought in, Trevor Pryce, the homegrown talent and most important part of the line, seemed to go unnoticed. But make no mistake — the defensive line still belongs to the Broncos’ nineyear veteran.
A herniated disk in his lower back limited Pryce to two games last season. The injury, notknowing how Pryce would recover from it and probably a bit of Pryce’s easy-going, almost nonchalant attitude prompted coach Mike Shanahan to try to trade Pryce during the offseason. But the Broncos failed to complete a deal, instead agreeing to a restructured contract with
Pryce. That failure will prove to be the Broncos’ most fortunate event of the offseason.
Pryce earned two sacks and several quarterback pressures in the preseason game against San Francisco. In Saturday’s 37-24 preseason victory over Indianapolis, Pryce had a sack and caused two others. He added several pressures, a pass defense and generally looked like the team’s most spectacular lineman.
“It does feel good to finally go out there and shake it loose a little bit,” Pryce said. “My thing has always been to go out there and get back to where I was. And I feel like I’m getting there. I was more there (Saturday) than I have been in any other game. “I kind of felt like myself rushing the quarterback. I was pretty ecstatic about that. Now I’ll watch the film, and I’ll get cursed out for doing something wrong that you all didn’t see.”
Don’t take that last sentence too lightly. Pryce and the coaches have a weird relationship. Shanahan liberally praised running back Mike Anderson after the game. He did the same to cornerback Darrent Williams. When asked if Pryce was returning to form, Shanahan was indifferent, almost cold. "I don’t know, to be honest with you,” Shanahan said. “There’s so much more than watching a guy sack the quarterback. What does he do in the run game? How does he play the defense? I really have a hard time telling how a defensive lineman plays until I look at the film. The obvious is sacks, and Trevor had two last week. I hope he played accordingly today.”
Run game? How about shucking an offensive lineman, trailing the play — that was going opposite Pryce — and tackling Colts running back Edgerrin James from behind? Defense? How about bull rushing another offensive lineman, almost pushing him into Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, then tossing the player aside, lunging for Manning and getting enough of Manning’s legs that fellow lineman Ebenezer Ekuban easily sacked Manning?
NOTE: Link is broken because the Gazette is a subscription service.