Camp Report AM 8/1 - Orangemane Crew

[GuitarJ]

SoCalBronco Report

The weather was great today for the first time. Lynch actually asked me along the sideline who I was writing for and I said "Orangemane" and he said "ok, cool". I guess he still remembers us from when we donated to his foundation after the league fined him in the 2004 Indy game. D-Will was at practice today and he looks fine, dont worry about his injury. In fact, as you will see below, he showed very good closing speed today.

QUARTERBACKS

Plummer and Cutler remain very consistent. Plummer began practice with a nice strike to Walker who was in the back of the endzone on a red zone play. He fired a nice post in the red zone to Marshall out of the reach of Paymah. He's getting better at the fades too. He lofted one up for Rod, who lept for it and came down with it over D-Will. Jake did have two pretty inaccurate throws to Walker downfield though.

Cutler was very strong again today. His best play was near the end of practice, again on a rollout, not unlike the last couple days, right when he swung his head around a blitzing LB was in his face, and he quickly responded by floating a nice ball to the FB. Very nice touch. He connected with alot of different WRs today. I didnt see him force the ball like he did twice yesterday. There was one play where you could feel like he wanted to go a certain way, almost sorta pumped it there and then knew better and just dumped it off.

RUNNING BACKS

Mike Bell continues to be the best back there IMHO, although Tatum was solid today as well. Tatum had a sweet run on a counter pitch play, the defeense got sucked in and Tatum hit the opposite corner pretty fast. Mike Bell makes some nice cuts and he LOVES CONTACT, he bowls forward and keeps fighting. He has good acceleration through the hole, so he isnt one dimensional.

Mike Bell was outstanding when they were running the offense from the 10 to the goalline. There was a play where he had gotten through the pile and the only thing seperating him from the endzone was LB Cameron Vaughn. He just pushed Vaughn backwards into the end zone. He pounds forward and constantly breaks tackles.

They did a good deal of work from the 3 yd. line and he got into the endzone on his carries there all but once. He did a decent job picking up the blitz as well. Ron Dayne shows little burst and constantly runs into his blockers. Only FB that I really noticed was Miree who got blown up by Hollowell.

OFFENSIVE LINE

They continue to do a good job run blocking on inside runs but still struggle at times pass protecting. Khan observed Cornell Green getting beat a couple of times. The young DEs continue to give them trouble. They are not quite as good on outside runs, the D seems to get there before they do. I didnt see the number but one of the OL just flattened Chukwurah on a power play.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Elvis Dumervil had his best day. He has been a nice surprise. I was wrong about him. He's getting a good push even from the inside when he is lining up at DT with the first team nickel unit. Med and I both counted a couple of would be sacks for him. He surprises the guards with his first step and he is hard to react to. Corey Jackson was solid again today.

Finally, I saw one of the older guys do something in the pass rushing department. Ekuban had some nice moments. The line is a little weak in the middle though against the run. Courtney Brown was not as active today as I saw him earlier. He is getting pushed around a little bit more. Funny note: When they all came back to the sidelines for awhile, Warren was sitting on the cooler with a nail clipper, clipping his fingernails. I thought it looked odd given that it was the middle of practice.

LINEBACKERS

There were alot of linebackers I liked today. I think they all did a good job. T.J. Hollowell made some noise. He blew up Miree and had a pass defensed against Scheffler. I thought my boy DJ had his best practice. His best play was in the red zone defense, there was a play action rollout away from him and he didnt bite and dropped back into his zone in the opposite flat, when he saw that no one was in his area he attacked Plummer and forced him to throw a high and inaccurate ball in the endzone.

He also showed some very good speed in pass defense coming down quickly to the dumpoffs. Khan remarked that he read a screen play well to Dayne and got there pretty quickly. Big Al stuffed a few runs to the outside today. Ian had a would be sack as well. Ian was pretty funny today.

There was a play where it appeared that BVP drew the DL offsides but the D was saying it was a false start and the two sides were jawing at each other. Ian was on the sideline but he yelled "Shut the hell up Brad, get your ass back in the huddle". Cameron Vaughn did not appear to be as good this practice as he was before.

[The Hamburgler]

Mike Bell continues to be the best back there IMHO, although Tatum was solid today as well. Tatum had a sweet run on a counter pitch play, the defeense got sucked in and Tatum hit the opposite corner pretty fast. Mike Bell makes some nice cuts and he LOVES CONTACT, he bowls forward and keeps fighting. He has good acceleration through the hole, so he isnt one dimensional.

Your my boy Bell. I said Mike Bell would be good but no, you guys didnt believe me. Guess what, I was right and you were wrong.

[diesel51]

Thanks Guitar!!

However, for all your effort, I got my problem fixed and I was able to logon to OrangeMane.

Sorry.

But, hey I'm sure there are others out there like me who couldn't get there comps fixed.....

[GuitarJ]

Thanks Guitar!!

However, for all your effort, I got my problem fixed and I was able to logon to OrangeMane.

Sorry.

But, hey I'm sure there are others out there like me who couldn't get there comps fixed.....

Ya, it took me a couple of days to find that tiny register link

[Tatum_26]

Your my boy Bell. I said Mike Bell would be good but no, you guys didnt believe me. Guess what, I was right and you were wrong.

Hey, he hasnt proven anything yet in a game, so dont talk too soon.

[tnedator]

Your my boy Bell. I said Mike Bell would be good but no, you guys didnt believe me. Guess what, I was right and you were wrong.

Ok, that's probably about the fifth time in the last couple days you have posted something to this exten.

First, Bell hasn't won the job.

Second, what do you hope to accomplish be continuously saying "I told you so"?

[LDB]

Another from the Mane...

Broncos Training Camp Report
By Cecil Lammey
8/1/06

The weather was very nice today. Overcast skies kept the temperatures cool, and the players were happy to get a break from the heat. Bob Stoops and the OU coaching staff was here today. College coaches frequently come to pro camps to watch and learn. It’s just usually teams from in the immediate area. Coach Shanahan had this to say about Stoops & co., “I spent a couple years at Oklahoma, and of course I followed Bob at Florida. He’s a heck of a head coach, and it was good to spend a little time with him last night.” Let’s get right to it…

Jake Plummer continues to make good reads. He goes through his progressions, and has done a good job of putting the ball where his receiver can get it, and the defense can’t. CB Darrent Williams likes the way the offense is looking, “They look good. I think they’re probably one of the best offenses, top five for sure in this league. They make us look better and we feel like we’re one of the best defenses like we were last year. We feel like we’re better this year, and they feel like they have to start making plays against us. We kind of see what kind of offense we have and they are going to be one of the best offenses in the league this year.”

Jay Cutler has a great arm. He led the offense down the field again, although this time it didn’t result in a TD, just a FG. He can stand in the pocket, deliver the throw, take a beating, and get back up and do it again. He threw one to Charlie Adams where he got hit as he threw, yet calmly delivered the ball on target. He also can read the blitz and go to the hot route with good consistency. He seems to be learning more each day, and is taking the kind of strides that you wouldn’t normally expect from a rookie. Although Sal Palontonio said, “He’s no Kellen Clemens.”

Bradlee Van Pelt keeps getting his WR’s in trouble with his errant throws. Too often his receivers have to overextend to catch a pass, thereby making them vulnerable to the big hit. If it happens once in a great while then WR’s won’t complain. When your M.O. is to throw bad passes, your WR’s will turn on you quick. He makes some nice (dump off) throws here and there, but I don’t believe he’ll hold onto his #2 job much longer.

Ron Dayne is back to dancing behind the line of scrimmage. It will be a total waste if he blows this incredible opportunity to be “the man” in Denver. He did not run with much decisiveness, and the determination that was seen earlier in camp is gone. I don’t know if the 2-a-days are catching up with him, but this makes a couple of practices in a row that he’s been outdone by the other backs.

Tatum Bell is making a push for the full-time #1 RB spot in Denver. He is running through trash at the line of scrimmage better than he ever has. I like his balance when he runs, although his instinct is to still break everything outside. When he sets up the defense correctly, and cuts back correctly, his speed and burst are devastating. He showed good hands again today in drills. I’m anxious to see if he can translate this type of performance to Sundays.

Mike Bell runs with good power. He is the short yardage and power back that the Broncos need to convert the 3rd and shorts, and in goalline situations. He did fumble at the goalline today, which did not sit well with the coaching staff.

Cedric Cobbs had a very good day at camp. Well, good day for him at least. He seemed more focused, which is good for him if he has any desire to make this team.

Marty Johnson caught a nice pass from Cutler that went for about 15 yards. He had a decent day.

Rod Smith is Rod Smith. ‘nuff said.

Javon Walker had another standout day at camp. He caught several nice deep passes from Plummer, and it seems that the two of them are building a nice rapport. He seems to be really benefiting from playing against Champ Bailey. I love watching those two battle.

Brandon Marshall had some concentration problems today. Ian Gold made the hustle play of the day, running down Marshall from behind and stripping the ball away from him. It was the 2nd time that has happened to Brandon. He had this to say after the morning session, "I thought the play was over, and that was the second time it happened to me in camp but that won't happen to me any more." Mike Shanahan was asked about the hustle play after practice, “That’s why we practice that. We do it all the time. We stress turnovers. During a game, that’s usually when it occurs. We’ve had about three or four so far this year. Hopefully you practice it enough that during the game, people tuck it away. That’s the nature of this business. You have to practice at the same level that you’re going to play. Usually, guys will be downfield, and they’ll give up on the 10 or 15 yard line. That’s a good teaching aid that these players have been working on.” Brandon also seemed frustrated with Bradlee Van Pelt’s poorly thrown passes during drills.

Darius Watts is looking like the Watts we all know. Amazing quickness and hands made of stone. He can get open seemingly at will, yet will drop the most perfectly thrown pass.

David Terrell had a couple of nice catches today. His hands are more consistent than they were early in camp.

David Kircus needs to improve his footwork when running routes. During drills the WR’s were running “Z-outs” to the corner of the endzone. Watching Kircus was frustrating because he would take 3 or 4 steps to make a cut that Rod, Javon, and Brandon would make in one. His concentration was off today as well.

Brian Clark, the undrafted rookie from NC State will actually get a mention here today. His hands looked good today, and his route running is improving.

Tony Scheffler actually dropped a pass today. He also fumbled the ball after a catch, so it wasn’t a good day for Tony in the receiving department. He did have a very good day blocking and is really making himself into a very well rounded player.

Nate Jackson did not practice today.