Notebook: Mantle Passes to Young Wideouts - The Orange Mane

Ratboy · 09-06-2005, 06:36 AM

By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Three weeks ago, Jerry Rice had ascended to the Broncos' No. 3 slot at wide receiver, surging past Darius Watts.

Now, Rice is gone, having first been bumped down to the No. 4 position, then accepting the option of retiring -- a choice he announced Monday, just six days before the Broncos open their regular season at Dolphins Stadium outside of Miami.

That leaves Watts, Charlie Adams and Todd Devoe representing all of the Broncos' depth at wide receiver behind starters Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie. Watts, Adams and Devoe have combined to haul in 31 regular-season passes as professionals -- all of them coming from Watts during his rookie campaign last fall.

The trio has played in a combined 20 regular-season games, 16 belonging on Watts' résumé. But all three arrive in the regular season with momentum; Watts grabbed two touchdown passes in Friday night's preseason win over Arizona, while Adams flourished on punt returns and Devoe amassed 200 yards on 10 catches with two scores in the four-game preseason slate, pacing the Broncos' wideouts.

"I feel very good (about the No. 3, 4 and 5 receivers)," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "At the start of camp, you're always trying to find your best 53 guys and I thought we were able to do that. I thought some guys grew through this training camp, which is part of the process.

"Some guys (have) got more growing to go. That's part of the season. But I thought we made some strides and hopefully it pays dividends."

But as Smith warns, getting to this point was the easy part for Devoe, Watts and Adams, who look to find the consistent NFL workload that they've never before known.

"It's hard to get in the NFL, but the thing they have to realize is (that) it's harder to stay," Smith said. "Jerry Rice is the poster child for how you stay in the NFL, with his work habits and things like that. I guarantee you it definitely impacted guys like Darius, Charlie, Todd, myself and Ash."

The finest lesson Rice imparted to the Broncos' young receivers was perhaps the simplest one.

"Just how to work," Adams said. "He's out there working every day. He never wants to come out of the game. You've got to pull him out of the game. If he's tired, he doesn't want to ever come out. It's little things that people don't notice, but that's why he's the player he is -- because he doesn't take the easy way, he always does the extra mile."

If Adams, Devoe and Watts do the same, their futures could be bright. For now, the focus is on the moment -- one that Devoe wasn't quite sure he was going to have in spite of his team-pacing pass-catching numbers.

When Saturday dawned, Devoe fretted, wondering whether he would get the dreaded phone call summoning him to team headquarters for a meeting with the head coach.

"(Shanahan) gave us a time limit (but I was) still nervous after the time limit," Devoe said. "I'm (thinking), 'Just wait it out, just wait it out.' The phone kept ringing, and I'm jumping to it."

"Finally, I got a ride from Charlie and he said, 'Come ride with me to Coach Shanahan's house (for a team gathering),' and I thought, 'It must mean I'm in,'" Devoe said. "It was a good feeling after that. A lot of relief."

For the moment, anyway. But quoth Crash Davis in Bull Durham, "The moment's over."

"You can't ever relax," Watts said. "You've got to keep fighting."

UP AND DOWN THE ROSTER: When asked about whether the team would add a third quarterback behind Jake Plummer and Bradlee Van Pelt, Shanahan said that the Broncos could expect to have one added to the organization -- but on the practice squad -- by Tuesday.

"We'll have somebody in here tomorrow on the practice squad," he said after Monday afternoon's practice. "Until we have him signed, I don't want to reveal that name, but we have an agreement, and someone will be here tomorrow that will be in our practice squad."

No such agreement has been made for the 53rd slot on the main roster, a vacancy created by Rice's retirement announcement.

"We haven't made a decision as to what direction we're going to go with the 53rd spot now that Jerry's not with us," Shanahan said. "We have not finalized another roster spot and I can't tell you when that will be for sure."

NUMBERS GAME: Defensive end Marco Coleman donned number 95 after wearing 92 since his 2004 arrival ...

... Safety Marques Anderson moved over to jersey number 23 after wearing 34 since his arrival 12 days ago ...

... Defensive tackle Michael Myers now dons 96 after wearing 76 since being acquired via trade in May ...

... International practice-squad player Patrice Majondo-Mwamba moved to number 71 after wearing 64 in training camp ...

... Pratice-squad additions Cedric Cobbs, Rob Hunt and Corey Jackson donned numbers 34, 63 and 90, respectively, at Monday's practice.

Odysseus · 09-06-2005, 07:11 AM

(edit)

"It's hard to get in the NFL, but the thing they have to realize is (that) it's harder to stay," Smith said. "Jerry Rice is the poster child for how you stay in the NFL, with his work habits and things like that. I guarantee you it definitely impacted guys like Darius, Charlie, Todd, myself and Ash."
The finest lesson Rice imparted to the Broncos' young receivers was perhaps the simplest one.

"Just how to work," Adams said. "He's out there working every day. He never wants to come out of the game. You've got to pull him out of the game. If he's tired, he doesn't want to ever come out. It's little things that people don't notice, but that's why he's the player he is -- because he doesn't take the easy way, he always does the extra mile."
If Adams, Devoe and Watts do the same, their futures could be bright. For now, the focus is on the moment -- one that Devoe wasn't quite sure he was going to have in spite of his team-pacing pass-catching numbers.

When Saturday dawned, Devoe fretted, wondering whether he would get the dreaded phone call summoning him to team headquarters for a meeting with the head coach.

"(Shanahan) gave us a time limit (but I was) still nervous after the time limit," Devoe said. "I'm (thinking), 'Just wait it out, just wait it out.' The phone kept ringing, and I'm jumping to it."

"Finally, I got a ride from Charlie and he said, 'Come ride with me to Coach Shanahan's house (for a team gathering),' and I thought, 'It must mean I'm in,'" Devoe said. "It was a good feeling after that. A lot of relief."

For the moment, anyway. But quoth Crash Davis in Bull Durham, "The moment's over."

"You can't ever relax," Watts said. "You've got to keep fighting." [/QUOTE]

09-06-2005, 06:36 AM	#1
Ratboy It's all over... ಠ_ಠ Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 13,276	Notebook: Mantle Passes to Young Wideouts By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Three weeks ago, Jerry Rice had ascended to the Broncos' No. 3 slot at wide receiver, surging past Darius Watts. Now, Rice is gone, having first been bumped down to the No. 4 position, then accepting the option of retiring -- a choice he announced Monday, just six days before the Broncos open their regular season at Dolphins Stadium outside of Miami. That leaves Watts, Charlie Adams and Todd Devoe representing all of the Broncos' depth at wide receiver behind starters Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie. Watts, Adams and Devoe have combined to haul in 31 regular-season passes as professionals -- all of them coming from Watts during his rookie campaign last fall. The trio has played in a combined 20 regular-season games, 16 belonging on Watts' résumé. But all three arrive in the regular season with momentum; Watts grabbed two touchdown passes in Friday night's preseason win over Arizona, while Adams flourished on punt returns and Devoe amassed 200 yards on 10 catches with two scores in the four-game preseason slate, pacing the Broncos' wideouts. "I feel very good (about the No. 3, 4 and 5 receivers)," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "At the start of camp, you're always trying to find your best 53 guys and I thought we were able to do that. I thought some guys grew through this training camp, which is part of the process. "Some guys (have) got more growing to go. That's part of the season. But I thought we made some strides and hopefully it pays dividends." But as Smith warns, getting to this point was the easy part for Devoe, Watts and Adams, who look to find the consistent NFL workload that they've never before known. "It's hard to get in the NFL, but the thing they have to realize is (that) it's harder to stay," Smith said. "Jerry Rice is the poster child for how you stay in the NFL, with his work habits and things like that. I guarantee you it definitely impacted guys like Darius, Charlie, Todd, myself and Ash." The finest lesson Rice imparted to the Broncos' young receivers was perhaps the simplest one. "Just how to work," Adams said. "He's out there working every day. He never wants to come out of the game. You've got to pull him out of the game. If he's tired, he doesn't want to ever come out. It's little things that people don't notice, but that's why he's the player he is -- because he doesn't take the easy way, he always does the extra mile." If Adams, Devoe and Watts do the same, their futures could be bright. For now, the focus is on the moment -- one that Devoe wasn't quite sure he was going to have in spite of his team-pacing pass-catching numbers. When Saturday dawned, Devoe fretted, wondering whether he would get the dreaded phone call summoning him to team headquarters for a meeting with the head coach. "(Shanahan) gave us a time limit (but I was) still nervous after the time limit," Devoe said. "I'm (thinking), 'Just wait it out, just wait it out.' The phone kept ringing, and I'm jumping to it." "Finally, I got a ride from Charlie and he said, 'Come ride with me to Coach Shanahan's house (for a team gathering),' and I thought, 'It must mean I'm in,'" Devoe said. "It was a good feeling after that. A lot of relief." For the moment, anyway. But quoth Crash Davis in Bull Durham, "The moment's over." "You can't ever relax," Watts said. "You've got to keep fighting." UP AND DOWN THE ROSTER: When asked about whether the team would add a third quarterback behind Jake Plummer and Bradlee Van Pelt, Shanahan said that the Broncos could expect to have one added to the organization -- but on the practice squad -- by Tuesday. "We'll have somebody in here tomorrow on the practice squad," he said after Monday afternoon's practice. "Until we have him signed, I don't want to reveal that name, but we have an agreement, and someone will be here tomorrow that will be in our practice squad." No such agreement has been made for the 53rd slot on the main roster, a vacancy created by Rice's retirement announcement. "We haven't made a decision as to what direction we're going to go with the 53rd spot now that Jerry's not with us," Shanahan said. "We have not finalized another roster spot and I can't tell you when that will be for sure." NUMBERS GAME: Defensive end Marco Coleman donned number 95 after wearing 92 since his 2004 arrival ... ... Safety Marques Anderson moved over to jersey number 23 after wearing 34 since his arrival 12 days ago ... ... Defensive tackle Michael Myers now dons 96 after wearing 76 since being acquired via trade in May ... ... International practice-squad player Patrice Majondo-Mwamba moved to number 71 after wearing 64 in training camp ... ... Pratice-squad additions Cedric Cobbs, Rob Hunt and Corey Jackson donned numbers 34, 63 and 90, respectively, at Monday's practice.

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09-06-2005, 07:11 AM	#2
Odysseus Fan of the home team Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Durango, Colorado Posts: 12,107 Adopt-a-Bronco: Mark Schlereth	(edit) "It's hard to get in the NFL, but the thing they have to realize is (that) it's harder to stay," Smith said. "Jerry Rice is the poster child for how you stay in the NFL, with his work habits and things like that. I guarantee you it definitely impacted guys like Darius, Charlie, Todd, myself and Ash." The finest lesson Rice imparted to the Broncos' young receivers was perhaps the simplest one. "Just how to work," Adams said. "He's out there working every day. He never wants to come out of the game. You've got to pull him out of the game. If he's tired, he doesn't want to ever come out. It's little things that people don't notice, but that's why he's the player he is -- because he doesn't take the easy way, he always does the extra mile." If Adams, Devoe and Watts do the same, their futures could be bright. For now, the focus is on the moment -- one that Devoe wasn't quite sure he was going to have in spite of his team-pacing pass-catching numbers. When Saturday dawned, Devoe fretted, wondering whether he would get the dreaded phone call summoning him to team headquarters for a meeting with the head coach. "(Shanahan) gave us a time limit (but I was) still nervous after the time limit," Devoe said. "I'm (thinking), 'Just wait it out, just wait it out.' The phone kept ringing, and I'm jumping to it." "Finally, I got a ride from Charlie and he said, 'Come ride with me to Coach Shanahan's house (for a team gathering),' and I thought, 'It must mean I'm in,'" Devoe said. "It was a good feeling after that. A lot of relief." For the moment, anyway. But quoth Crash Davis in Bull Durham, "The moment's over." "You can't ever relax," Watts said. "You've got to keep fighting." [/QUOTE]