Khan's final report

[Kaylore]

http://www.orangemane.com/article_761.php

Kaylore's Final Camp Review
By Kaylore
Aug 11, 2007, 11:36

Email this article
Printer friendly page
Well training camp at Dove Valley is officially over. The Broncos will resume their camp in Dallas following the preseason game on Monday night, but future practices in Colorado will be closed to the public. For this final day, the offense stepped up and you began to see the glimmer of things to come with Scheffler, Graham, Henry, Walker and Cutler all making big plays and really challenging the defense together for the first time.

Given this is my last report, I’ll briefly mention some things that I noticed today and then do a final review of the team as a whole and my predictions here on out. I’ll try and wrap up where the team has grown and where I think they’ll need to get better.

The most noticeable thing of this last day for me was seeing the injured guys that have come back. It was fun to watch them start to get up to speed again. It was exciting to watch their confidence grow and seem them start to re-emerge as playmakers. Scheffler is steadily becoming faster and quicker and coming back to football shape. He still has some drops but is doing much better at catching and his separation is improving.

Marshall doesn’t look like he was hurt at all and is once again making the big plays that made him the star of camp last year. His size and power really are too much for some of the defensive backs to deal with. Some of the quarterbacks just try and throw in his area and he is able to box out the defenders and bring the ball down. Both he and Scheffler are much more built in their core and arms than they were last season

Jarvis Moss finished practice and had no knee protection on. Shanahan mentioned that if everything checks out he’ll be good to go in the Niners game. He is also showing the burst and speed that impressed me last week and he’s not favoring his leg during practice. Tim Crowder was very physical today. He is playing with more tenacity and really uses his hands well. I’m excited to see both he and Moss in action.

Marcus Thomas is probably the rookie that has progressed the least since camp began. Defensive tackle takes a long time to learn and adjust to the speed of the game from college to the pros. He has played well enough to be on the second team. I do think that his biggest growth will happen throughout the season.

Jay Cutler had some great throws today. He was throwing well and really doing a great job of finding the coverage he wants and scrambling when nothing was there. He needs to work on checking down more and being more patient with his reads. There are some he checks down too quickly and the guy will break open. Other times he tries to force balls into places he shouldn’t.

Brian Clark and Domenik Hixon also had great practices. Both of them made some fantastic catches and have really grown in the past weeks as players. Javon Walker is vocal and supportive when he’s out on the field. He really pushes Marshall and vocally challenges him to make big plays for the team. It’s definitely got a big-brother feel to it. Walker did have one drop where Jay through a perfect ball down the sideline. I was right over Walker’s shoulder and would have been a touchdown, except he dropped it. There were some great plays overall this last time, but especially on the offensive side of the ball. It was nice to see them win one for once.

So where are the Broncos now? Watching them in practice is hard because one player’s success is another’s failure. Strength in one area could mean weakness in another, so it’s tough to gauge. I’ll make an attempt though.

The defensive line is talented but the mix of very old and very young could be a concern. There are a lot of new pieces, and if just a couple pan out as regular starters, the defense could be set for some time. Can that be expected right away? It’s hard to say. There is a huge adjustment from preseason to the regular season. It’s one of the reasons that training camp hero rookies vanish in the regular season. The speed of the game is too fast for them to be able read and react. Sam Adams and Warren both look great and have played well. Kennedy is good against the pass, so there is a lot of depth and talent on the line. To expect the defensive line to be working as a cohesive unit right out the gates is a bit of reach, though.

The linebackers are in better shape than I thought they’d be. On paper it looks much weaker than last year’s group. However last year’s group didn’t play very well as they missed a lot of tackles and struggled against tight ends. I don’t think the linebacking corps is perfect, but I don’t see the huge drop-off I was expecting and they are playing much better than I anticipated.

The secondary is the best I’ve seen. The starters speak for themselves. Ferguson and Lynch look great despite the age and injury problems. The depth is where I’m really impressed. Between Foxworth, Shoate and Paymah, we have a secondary that will shut you down if you go three or four wide. Our personnel alone will probably dictate more runs than passes this year.

The offensive line is a bit of concern. They are still moving pieces around. Kuper gets work at tackle and guard now. Meadows is under whelming. Holland takes plays off. Hamilton and Lepsis are hurt, and so is Ryan Harris. It will be tough if one of them should not be able to come back from injury.

The receivers had me worried a bit and the depth still kind of does. In many ways they are like the defensive line: Lots of young guys will really old veterans. Only Walker is the in-between player. I think between Clark, Stokely, Hixon, and Marshall (and with Scheffler and Graham) we have a good enough set to run what we want. I love how big we are at receiver now. Just the size alone of the players should help our running game.

The Quarterbacks have really grown. Jay does not fumble the snaps from center and is understanding and settling into the offense very well. He is still very impressive and I expect some great, not just good, football from him this year.

More impressive was Patrick Ramsey. He isn’t as good as Jay, but to watch Patrick struggle, learn and then grow every day was really touching. He really should be proud of himself for how far he’s come in two weeks. I think he’ll surprise some people in the passing game. Preston Parsons is the same player he was last year. Darrell Hackney is fun to watch and a player that should make the team. He has all the physical tools except for size.

The running backs are set. Between Henry, Sapp, Bell and Andre Hall I think we have enough to work with all season and we have guys that will dish out a beating rather than take one like Tatum did. We are much better at that position than we were last year.

Special Teams remains a mystery. That is one area that we won’t know about for sure until the games begin. After talking with Scott O’Brien and watching how he runs his practices, I have a lot of confidence that the improvement in that area will be substantial and we could even be toward the top third of the league on special teams. I think Elam will fall off a bit because of the holder situation, but with Sauerbrun back we should see a great improvement in the punting game.

Overall the team looks to be good. Is it great? No. It’s too early for that. I will need to watch them in preseason and then see what the final roster looks like. My gut says we are still a few pieces away. I feel this is a nine to eleven win team, but I also feel this will be a team that will be really fun to watch this year. It might be like the opposite of last year where things are really exciting but there are games we have trouble getting it all synced up.

Until then I, like the rest of you, look forward to preseason games, where you can finally see for yourself and form your own opinions. Thanks for reading.

[dragondawg]

great report, too bad that was the last practice open to the public

[MABroncoFan]

Great report as always.

Kaylore - could you take a stab at what the 53 man roster will be as you see it right now?

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by MABroncoFan

Great report as always.

Kaylore - could you take a stab at what the 53 man roster will be as you see it right now?

Maybe later.

[smalltowngrll]

Thanks, Kaylore for allll of the great reporting! I am looking forward to Monday's so I can see all of what you've seen for myself!!

The big question...do I sit at home and watch it with my full attention, or go to the sports bar and deal with all the 49er fans here!? Yeah, the bar!

[SoCalBronco]

Great report, thanks Khan.

[DukeWoody]

Thanks Khan, great evaluation, and you've been the SUPER REPORTER of this community...If i knew how, i would give you a cookie, hell even two...

[CHANGSTER]

Thanks for all the reports man. Real fine job.

[Pezman]

Gracias Mi amigo! Viva Los Broncos!

[DenverDuo]

Thank you so much for the amazing reports. They've been my only Broncos fix while I've been on vacation.

[cambrad8085]

What kind of Bronco fan are you to not predict a 16 win season?

Khannnnnnnnn!
Khannnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!
Khhhhaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!

[Jackson's *Mom*]

Thank you Khan & SoCalBronco!! Your reports were greatly appreciated. Your reports were the highlight of my day the last two weeks. Again thank you and I look forward to watching the players you two have pegged over the last two weeks. Go Broncos!!!

[cutthemdown]

Hey Kaylore does Troy Fleming have any chance to make team? If not him will we even keep a backup FB. Will it be Paul Smith?

[doonwise]

Kaylore: another year, another fantastic job. I greatly appreciate the work you put in. 5 stars!

[doonwise]

SoCal: A big "thanks!" to you as well. Great reports and great info. They really are an annual highlight and your effort is also much appreciated.

[SonOfLe-loLang]

I bet if this was high school, this would get you laid

[alpine]

Kaylore (and SoCal) just wanted to say a massive thanks to you for your reporting. Being in Europe, we miss the flavor of this time of the year with the media coverage and the hopes and setbacks and little stories, so you really helped bring it over for us.

[Paladin]

Thanks Kaylore and SoCal for your reports. I hope you're a bit short on your prediction of 9 to 11 wins. I know most of the people hear are willing to take whatever can be had for this year as experience for Cutler builds and also the other rookies....

I am pumped to get to the game on Monday, and we shall see what the D will do then. I expect Thomas to get a lot of work and Moss and Crowder. The really big boys, not so much.

From what I read of your comments, it sounds like the old Hixon jokes may come back to haunt the purveyors of such nonsense. I hope he does do well Monday, and that would give the Broncos four WRs for sure, and maybe a fifth in Clark or Kircus. If so, might there be a trade out there that could be of benefit, particularly if a Lang is added to the mix?

It is great to have the season started.

Thanks again.

[Paladin]

While I was on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria Island, a lady came up to me and remarked about my Broncos cap. She was so excited to see the season getting started, and she said that she gets the NFL Game packages, and see the Broncos nearly every week. She follows the Broncos on a couple of sites and I mentioned the Orangemane. Her favorite player? Cutler, of course. She was an Elway fan like the rest of us. Made the trip to the Island very short.

I gave her the cap. Nice lady.

By the way, my family and I caught 8 Chinooks (can only have two each) and a bunch of Coho and a few other things, including a mud shark. We will get 86 pounds of salmon in a week or ten days.

A great experience to end the LOOOOOOOONG off season.....

[SoCalBronco]

Thanks folks. I would also like to give a shout out to BroncoBuff and Taco John. It might not be apparent, as people just see our reports as the final product, but they really helped alot in putting this thing together and made many things much easier for us. They definitely deserve a hand and the community's appreciation.

Props to BroncoBuff, TJ and ofcourse my boy, Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan (who is a beast and great to work with).

[BMF Bronco]

Great Reporting once again K!

Bartender, get this man a tonic water!

[Domostick]

Football outsiders 2007 projection system places us with 8.7 wins, more than likely we will come out with 9 - 10. The good thing is they place San Diego with 8.6 wins. Either way we should win the division or be a playoff team.

[summerdenver]

Kudos to Khan and socal for a great job!!! I am looking forward to seeing them in action myself.

I also agree with Khan's assessment that we are a 9 to 11 wins assuming good to average luck with injuries. One thing that worries me is that in the past we did not do well against no huddle offenses. I think part of it is due to personnel. Typically we will be playing our nickel package and also can't sub in this situation. It looks like most of our D-line plays either run or pass well but not both. I also think that sam adams will be negated in this situation. However, I feel that offensively we will be much better and we will also improve on special teams. This should be good enough to push us to 11 wins.

[Seamus]

Great report Kaylor! Thanks for taking the time to put your observations into a coherent logical order for those of us who use computers to figure out “where are we this season”. You don’t get too much info from the “official” sites.

The note about special teams has me kind of mixed. I thought it was a great move to bring back Sauerbrun, for some reason Ernster punts better when he is around! I also hope we have a better more consistent punt / kickoff return this year.

With more experience (1 year couple months) under center, I am looking forward to a more balanced offense also and hope this opens up everything!

[epicSocialism4tw]

Thanks for the work, fellas.

Bravo.