Hulamau
06-13-2010, 02:08 PM
June 13th, 2010 in Broncos, Daniel Graham, Jarvis Moss, Josh McDaniels, NFL
Minicamp Wrap: Like ‘Night and Day’ from ‘09
By Andrew Mason
Progress is often difficult to measure at organized team activities; the absence of pads, the limits on contact and the repetition of facing the same opposition daily can make analysis a challenge. But it wasn’t hard for Josh McDaniels to offer a stark comparison between where his Broncos stood last year in mid-June and where they sit as the team’s organized team activities concluded Sunday.
“Night and day from last year at this time,” McDaniels said. “This year, I think our guys really understand where they’re going with this stuff and they played it well.”
“It’s a lot better than last year,” added tight end Daniel Graham, who worked with McDaniels in New England before joining the Broncos in 2007. “Guys feel a lot more comfortable in the system.”
BEFITTING A TEAM THAT IS AHEAD OF ITS PREVIOUS PACE, the Broncos got in plenty of work with specific game-condition situations throughout Sunday’s work, peppered with the requisite share of ups and downs on each side of the scrimmage line.
“Since we’re on both sides of the situation, both sides aren’t going to be exactly happy with the result, but the thing we were trying to get across was the awareness of the situation and how to play it the right way.
‘I’m very pleased with our communication and the fact that we usually have 11 players on each side that understand how the situation plays out and what we’re trying to get done and win that play. In that regard, I think it was very productive.”
COMPETITONS ARE ALREADY FORMING, including one at an outside linebacker slot, where McDaniels said he plans to move Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss “in and out” when training camp arrives. Both have seen first-team work, with Moss serving as the focal point this weekend as Ayers did not see any defensive repetitions Friday and Saturday. (Click here for more on Ayers.)
“They are going to be competing,” McDaniels said. “We have multiple guys we can kind of move around at that position. Because of the things we will try to do in our nickel and dime and third-down packages, we may try to rest a guy here and there so they can play on third down, also.
“It will be interesting to see how they handle it, but I think both of them have improved because of that and we’re going to let that play out.”
Moss’s background is as a defensive end; he was projected by many as an outside linebacker before the Broncos drafted him into then-defensive coordinator Jim Bates’s 4-3 scheme in 2007. While there was a steep learning curve upon shifting to outside linebacker last year, Moss feels at ease now, knowing that one can argue he should have been at that spot all along.
“This is what I was supposed to do when I came to the NFL,” Moss said. “The more comfortable I get, the more I think about doing my own little twist, doing it the coaches’ way, but putting my own little twist on it. I feel comfortable. I’m athletic. I can run, move in space. There’s nothing I really can’t do at outside linebacker.”
But he still sees some work on the defensive line, as was briefly the case Sunday.
“That was in (a) dime (package),” McDaniels said. “We move a bunch of those guys (around).
“Flexibility is something that can be a strength of ours this year because we have smart players that are versatile and can do multiple things.”
ANOTHER INTRIGUING DUEL TO WATCH AT TRAINING CAMP will be at punter, where McDaniels said Britton Colquitt “has pulled ahead” of A.J. Trapasso.
PERRISH COX’S HECTIC WEEKEND continued Sunday when he fielded punts and kickoffs during the special-teams periods that were sprinkled throughout the two-hour session. However, McDaniels said that Eddie Royal remains the first-teamer at both return positions.
“Perrish is definitely going to help us, (but) he’s got a long way to go to be a dependable returner,” McDaniels said. “I would say that’s true of any rookie in the return game.
“There are a lot of days left for him to improve in that regard before we would stick him out there and trust him with the football at this point, but he really works hard every day after practice catching the ball and has really impressed since he got here.
“(Cox) is certainly a player who is capable of significantly helping us in the return game, but right now, I think Eddie has a strong hold on both of those (return positions).”
PRACTICE NOTES:
This was the last practice session of the Broncos’ offseason. The next time the team convenes for on-field work will be at training camp.
Matthew Willis continued to impress, making some nice catches, including a touchdown in one of the game-condition scenarios — an end-game, red-zone play. The scoring grab saw Willis cut in front of Renaldo Hill before diving for Kyle Orton’s pass just shy of the goal line; Willis, who was not tagged, did a half-roll into the end zone for the score. One play later, Eddie Royal grabbed a touchdown pass from Orton, hauling in a grab in front of Nate Jones and Andre Goodman.
One noticeable trend Sunday was the lack of interceptions. Only one pass all day was picked off — and that was on a tip drill, where an Orton pass skipped out of the hands of Daniel Graham and into Goodman’s grasp.
CU product Riar Geer had one of the most impressive grabs of the day, closing the final team period with a touchdown pass from Brady Quinn. Geer leapt between Kyle McCarthy and Devin Bishop in the back of the end zone for the score.
If it was possible for the weather to be nastier than it was Saturday, it happened. The temperature was slightly warmer, but the rain was more persistent, beginning with a drizzle at the start of practicing and increasing to a steady downpour midway through the session before tapering off later.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Minicamp Wrap: Like ‘Night and Day’ from ‘09
By Andrew Mason
Progress is often difficult to measure at organized team activities; the absence of pads, the limits on contact and the repetition of facing the same opposition daily can make analysis a challenge. But it wasn’t hard for Josh McDaniels to offer a stark comparison between where his Broncos stood last year in mid-June and where they sit as the team’s organized team activities concluded Sunday.
“Night and day from last year at this time,” McDaniels said. “This year, I think our guys really understand where they’re going with this stuff and they played it well.”
“It’s a lot better than last year,” added tight end Daniel Graham, who worked with McDaniels in New England before joining the Broncos in 2007. “Guys feel a lot more comfortable in the system.”
BEFITTING A TEAM THAT IS AHEAD OF ITS PREVIOUS PACE, the Broncos got in plenty of work with specific game-condition situations throughout Sunday’s work, peppered with the requisite share of ups and downs on each side of the scrimmage line.
“Since we’re on both sides of the situation, both sides aren’t going to be exactly happy with the result, but the thing we were trying to get across was the awareness of the situation and how to play it the right way.
‘I’m very pleased with our communication and the fact that we usually have 11 players on each side that understand how the situation plays out and what we’re trying to get done and win that play. In that regard, I think it was very productive.”
COMPETITONS ARE ALREADY FORMING, including one at an outside linebacker slot, where McDaniels said he plans to move Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss “in and out” when training camp arrives. Both have seen first-team work, with Moss serving as the focal point this weekend as Ayers did not see any defensive repetitions Friday and Saturday. (Click here for more on Ayers.)
“They are going to be competing,” McDaniels said. “We have multiple guys we can kind of move around at that position. Because of the things we will try to do in our nickel and dime and third-down packages, we may try to rest a guy here and there so they can play on third down, also.
“It will be interesting to see how they handle it, but I think both of them have improved because of that and we’re going to let that play out.”
Moss’s background is as a defensive end; he was projected by many as an outside linebacker before the Broncos drafted him into then-defensive coordinator Jim Bates’s 4-3 scheme in 2007. While there was a steep learning curve upon shifting to outside linebacker last year, Moss feels at ease now, knowing that one can argue he should have been at that spot all along.
“This is what I was supposed to do when I came to the NFL,” Moss said. “The more comfortable I get, the more I think about doing my own little twist, doing it the coaches’ way, but putting my own little twist on it. I feel comfortable. I’m athletic. I can run, move in space. There’s nothing I really can’t do at outside linebacker.”
But he still sees some work on the defensive line, as was briefly the case Sunday.
“That was in (a) dime (package),” McDaniels said. “We move a bunch of those guys (around).
“Flexibility is something that can be a strength of ours this year because we have smart players that are versatile and can do multiple things.”
ANOTHER INTRIGUING DUEL TO WATCH AT TRAINING CAMP will be at punter, where McDaniels said Britton Colquitt “has pulled ahead” of A.J. Trapasso.
PERRISH COX’S HECTIC WEEKEND continued Sunday when he fielded punts and kickoffs during the special-teams periods that were sprinkled throughout the two-hour session. However, McDaniels said that Eddie Royal remains the first-teamer at both return positions.
“Perrish is definitely going to help us, (but) he’s got a long way to go to be a dependable returner,” McDaniels said. “I would say that’s true of any rookie in the return game.
“There are a lot of days left for him to improve in that regard before we would stick him out there and trust him with the football at this point, but he really works hard every day after practice catching the ball and has really impressed since he got here.
“(Cox) is certainly a player who is capable of significantly helping us in the return game, but right now, I think Eddie has a strong hold on both of those (return positions).”
PRACTICE NOTES:
This was the last practice session of the Broncos’ offseason. The next time the team convenes for on-field work will be at training camp.
Matthew Willis continued to impress, making some nice catches, including a touchdown in one of the game-condition scenarios — an end-game, red-zone play. The scoring grab saw Willis cut in front of Renaldo Hill before diving for Kyle Orton’s pass just shy of the goal line; Willis, who was not tagged, did a half-roll into the end zone for the score. One play later, Eddie Royal grabbed a touchdown pass from Orton, hauling in a grab in front of Nate Jones and Andre Goodman.
One noticeable trend Sunday was the lack of interceptions. Only one pass all day was picked off — and that was on a tip drill, where an Orton pass skipped out of the hands of Daniel Graham and into Goodman’s grasp.
CU product Riar Geer had one of the most impressive grabs of the day, closing the final team period with a touchdown pass from Brady Quinn. Geer leapt between Kyle McCarthy and Devin Bishop in the back of the end zone for the score.
If it was possible for the weather to be nastier than it was Saturday, it happened. The temperature was slightly warmer, but the rain was more persistent, beginning with a drizzle at the start of practicing and increasing to a steady downpour midway through the session before tapering off later.
Popularity: 3% [?]