SoCalBronco
09-22-2005, 12:51 AM
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/broncos/article/0,1299,DRMN_17_4099767,00.html
Brandon fuels his inner fire
Woes on, off field push Denver safety to kick it up a notch
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 22, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - It turned out to be a pretty simple choice for Denver Broncos safety Sam Brandon.
He could roll up his sleeves and try to keep himself in a Broncos uniform.
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Or not.
"I think it goes back to the off-season, you could see there was just a want, a big desire, to take the next step as a player," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "I think he knew he was battling for a roster spot. And then he earned his way onto the roster and now he's earned his way onto the field."
So much so that in their first two games, the Broncos already have turned to Brandon twice to help them over a rough spot. In the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Brandon was put in at cornerback, a position he had last played as a high school sophomore in Riverside, Calif., after Champ Bailey, Lenny Walls and Darrent Williams all left the game.
Bailey had dislocated his left shoulder, and Walls and Williams had suffered muscle cramps in the South Florida heat.
Then Sunday, the Broncos made him part of their defensive scheme, using him at times to help on San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates in a five-defensive-back look. Gates finished with six catches for 80 yards and did not score a touchdown.
Not bad for a guy who entered training camp sitting squarely on the edge of a post-Broncos life.
"I'm proud of him," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "I'm really happy to see him commit to our football team and to himself. He may be the most improved player on our squad based on a year ago. Not everybody could line up where he has, do what he's done, in the last couple weeks.
"A joy to be around. Now we're trying to look for things for him to do. He has just made his mind up to be a football player and he's busted his butt on the field and off the field."
Since making the former wide receiver and defensive back at Nevada-Las Vegas their fourth-round pick in the 2002 draft, the Broncos had waited for Brandon to blossom.
And waited. And waited. He started two games during his rookie season, 10 in 2003. But he experienced an uneven year in 2004, when he was used primarily on special teams. After also being arrested twice in a little more than a year, Brandon entered this year's training camp on shaky football ground.
The first arrest occurred June 2, 2004, on a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief and child abuse, and those charges later were dismissed. Then on July 4, 2005, he was arrested on charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief for causing $100 to $500 in damage after an argument with his girlfriend.
"With everything that's gone on, I'm just glad to have a chance to get it together," Brandon said. "I feel like it's coming into it's own right now. It's been a good turnaround for me.
"I'm glad they're giving me a chance, I don't want to disappoint them - coaches or my teammates or anybody."
And from an '04 when missed assignments and mental lapses had eroded the Broncos' confidence in him, Brandon blazed through training camp this year. At one point he had five interceptions in the team's first 13 practices.
Brandon credits Lynch, a 13-year veteran who has been named to six Pro Bowls in his career, with at least part of his progress. Brandon said he has tried to pay attention to what Lynch is paying attention to, both in meetings as well as video study.
"It's probably part maturing and John," Brandon said. "Watching what he does, looking at the notes he takes, just being a professional. I was telling someone the other day that you just never know much you can learn from this game, how much you have to study. When you're a little younger, maybe you don't think you have to watch as much film as they say you do, but you do.
"I sit with John and just ask, 'What games did you look at? What did you take from this, what did you get from that?' That's helped me out tremendously."
Brandon will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end - he signed a one-year tender offer before this season - so while he played his way onto the roster, he might be playing for his future the rest of the way.
"To me, I think you're always playing for your future," Brandon said. "Right now, they feel comfortable with me being out there, and that was the main object, to get back on the field, some way, somehow.
"So, to have that trust factor is great. As long as I keep performing, maybe the world will get bigger. But I want to contribute to a championship team, to be a part of something. Get that ring, you know."
Brandon fuels his inner fire
Woes on, off field push Denver safety to kick it up a notch
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 22, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - It turned out to be a pretty simple choice for Denver Broncos safety Sam Brandon.
He could roll up his sleeves and try to keep himself in a Broncos uniform.
Advertisement
Or not.
"I think it goes back to the off-season, you could see there was just a want, a big desire, to take the next step as a player," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "I think he knew he was battling for a roster spot. And then he earned his way onto the roster and now he's earned his way onto the field."
So much so that in their first two games, the Broncos already have turned to Brandon twice to help them over a rough spot. In the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Brandon was put in at cornerback, a position he had last played as a high school sophomore in Riverside, Calif., after Champ Bailey, Lenny Walls and Darrent Williams all left the game.
Bailey had dislocated his left shoulder, and Walls and Williams had suffered muscle cramps in the South Florida heat.
Then Sunday, the Broncos made him part of their defensive scheme, using him at times to help on San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates in a five-defensive-back look. Gates finished with six catches for 80 yards and did not score a touchdown.
Not bad for a guy who entered training camp sitting squarely on the edge of a post-Broncos life.
"I'm proud of him," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "I'm really happy to see him commit to our football team and to himself. He may be the most improved player on our squad based on a year ago. Not everybody could line up where he has, do what he's done, in the last couple weeks.
"A joy to be around. Now we're trying to look for things for him to do. He has just made his mind up to be a football player and he's busted his butt on the field and off the field."
Since making the former wide receiver and defensive back at Nevada-Las Vegas their fourth-round pick in the 2002 draft, the Broncos had waited for Brandon to blossom.
And waited. And waited. He started two games during his rookie season, 10 in 2003. But he experienced an uneven year in 2004, when he was used primarily on special teams. After also being arrested twice in a little more than a year, Brandon entered this year's training camp on shaky football ground.
The first arrest occurred June 2, 2004, on a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief and child abuse, and those charges later were dismissed. Then on July 4, 2005, he was arrested on charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief for causing $100 to $500 in damage after an argument with his girlfriend.
"With everything that's gone on, I'm just glad to have a chance to get it together," Brandon said. "I feel like it's coming into it's own right now. It's been a good turnaround for me.
"I'm glad they're giving me a chance, I don't want to disappoint them - coaches or my teammates or anybody."
And from an '04 when missed assignments and mental lapses had eroded the Broncos' confidence in him, Brandon blazed through training camp this year. At one point he had five interceptions in the team's first 13 practices.
Brandon credits Lynch, a 13-year veteran who has been named to six Pro Bowls in his career, with at least part of his progress. Brandon said he has tried to pay attention to what Lynch is paying attention to, both in meetings as well as video study.
"It's probably part maturing and John," Brandon said. "Watching what he does, looking at the notes he takes, just being a professional. I was telling someone the other day that you just never know much you can learn from this game, how much you have to study. When you're a little younger, maybe you don't think you have to watch as much film as they say you do, but you do.
"I sit with John and just ask, 'What games did you look at? What did you take from this, what did you get from that?' That's helped me out tremendously."
Brandon will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end - he signed a one-year tender offer before this season - so while he played his way onto the roster, he might be playing for his future the rest of the way.
"To me, I think you're always playing for your future," Brandon said. "Right now, they feel comfortable with me being out there, and that was the main object, to get back on the field, some way, somehow.
"So, to have that trust factor is great. As long as I keep performing, maybe the world will get bigger. But I want to contribute to a championship team, to be a part of something. Get that ring, you know."