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This article concerns Lepsis's ongoing recovery. I sure hope he gets back to dominating form soon because we don't want Cutler killed during a preseason game:
(Note, I took the liberty of chaning the title since the article said "Moss's knee..." when it had basically nothing to do with Jarvis. Obviously the rookie's injury yesterday was in the back of Rasizer's mind when he wrote the aritcle. 
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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...661922,00.html
Lepsis's knee's good; now to get up to speed
Tackle Lepsis says he hopes to find form in time for opener
By Lee Rasizer
ENGLEWOOD - There's no feeling of nostalgia, no stop-and-smell-the-roses sentiments as Matt Lepsis returns at age 33 for another go-round in the trenches.
Sure, it's nice to be back after missing more than a half season after major surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage damage in his right knee. But camp is camp, sore is sore and work is work.
The only difference is summer No. 11 with the Broncos might lag on a bit longer before he regains a feeling of normalcy.
"My knee feels good. I haven't had any setbacks, but I'm just trying to get my leg back, you know?" he said. "It's not fully back to the speed of the game and still giving me a little trouble."
Lepsis, though, is quick to add that's nothing a few more weeks of practices and preseason games can't cure.
"I'm totally confident I'm going to be back to form by the end of camp," he said.
Lepsis hasn't experienced any pain or swelling, which is one reason for his optimism.
The issues relate more to being able to drop his hips and fend off a bull rush with power or to plant his leg quickly on an inside move with authority.
Things appeared to be on the upswing for Lepsis by the fourth day of camp but slowed again in two practices before the team's weekend break. But he was right back with the starters Monday morning.
"It takes some time," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said when asked about Lepsis' recovery. "You're not going to come back your first week of practice and feel like you did before you had the injury. Any time you have an injury like he has, that's common. But what he's been able to do is work through it. And he'll get better and better and more confident every day he practices. Our game plan is to get him ready for the first game."
The way Lepsis described his current state is feeling a "half-second off" in his movements.
"It's camp and kind of going from not doing a whole lot to really working hard," he said. "I've got confidence in the leg, but it's just not doing what my brain's telling it to do" at all times.
Lepsis' return is a pivotal piece to the Broncos' hopes of returning from their first nonplayoff year since 2002.
He has the ability to handle some of the league's top pass rushers one on one. But, equally important, it allows Erik Pears, who replaced Lepsis for the final 10-plus games, to move to his more natural right tackle spot and is one fewer change with two starters from last season - right tackle George Foster and right guard Cooper Carlisle - having departed.
Lepsis was injured Oct. 22 against Cleveland and had surgery two weeks later. Before his departure, Denver was 4-1; the Broncos were 5-6 afterward.
While it's too simplistic to call it entirely cause and effect, Shanahan noted during the offseason there was a trickle-down effect when the tackle left the lineup, saying the line failed to "play at the level we were capable of playing" in his absence.
Lepsis returned to the field in limited fashion during minicamp in May but wasn't used in full-team drills until a two-day team session in early July.
So far, between battling first-round pick Jarvis Moss and 2006 sacks leader Elvis Dumervil, Lepsis has been given the second half of two-a-day training camp practices off as a precaution.
"I don't think he looks any different at all," said Kenard Lang, another defensive end who has been matched against Lepsis during the past nine days. "He's still got those Master Locks for hands. And he's moving well, even though I'm sure it's an adjustment getting back into the groove of things."
The main evidence of Lepsis' surgery is the bulky knee brace he wears on his right leg. But it's by doctor's orders.
Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison suggested it will take Lepsis a game or two during the preseason to become fully acclimated. Otherwise, the veteran player is no different than any other offensive lineman in that he has areas that need addressing.
The responsibilities could be slightly different for Lepsis, too, considering the change from the bootleg- oriented passing game under Jake Plummer to a more pocket-based attack with Jay Cutler.
"It's going to be drop back, and you've got to hold on," Lepsis predicted, based on early camp practices.
But hanging on defines Lepsis' career.
He entered the league in 1997 as a tight end out of the University of Colorado coming off his first major knee injury - to the left leg that time. He remains one of the lone remnants from the Broncos' late 1990s double title runs.
When he does allow himself to reminisce, that's the kind of subject matter he considers most frequently.
"It's flown by," Lepsis said. "When I first got in here, I looked around at the guys in my position. I had never played tackle. They sent me to Europe, and I thought, 'Man, I've got no chance.' But things worked out, and I kind of got lucky and fell into a position that's kind of natural for me."
A position the Broncos don't want to imagine without him for a good long time.
Lepsis's knee's good; now to get up to speed
Tackle Lepsis says he hopes to find form in time for opener
By Lee Rasizer
ENGLEWOOD - There's no feeling of nostalgia, no stop-and-smell-the-roses sentiments as Matt Lepsis returns at age 33 for another go-round in the trenches.
Sure, it's nice to be back after missing more than a half season after major surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage damage in his right knee. But camp is camp, sore is sore and work is work.
The only difference is summer No. 11 with the Broncos might lag on a bit longer before he regains a feeling of normalcy.
"My knee feels good. I haven't had any setbacks, but I'm just trying to get my leg back, you know?" he said. "It's not fully back to the speed of the game and still giving me a little trouble."
Lepsis, though, is quick to add that's nothing a few more weeks of practices and preseason games can't cure.
"I'm totally confident I'm going to be back to form by the end of camp," he said.
Lepsis hasn't experienced any pain or swelling, which is one reason for his optimism.
The issues relate more to being able to drop his hips and fend off a bull rush with power or to plant his leg quickly on an inside move with authority.
Things appeared to be on the upswing for Lepsis by the fourth day of camp but slowed again in two practices before the team's weekend break. But he was right back with the starters Monday morning.
"It takes some time," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said when asked about Lepsis' recovery. "You're not going to come back your first week of practice and feel like you did before you had the injury. Any time you have an injury like he has, that's common. But what he's been able to do is work through it. And he'll get better and better and more confident every day he practices. Our game plan is to get him ready for the first game."
The way Lepsis described his current state is feeling a "half-second off" in his movements.
"It's camp and kind of going from not doing a whole lot to really working hard," he said. "I've got confidence in the leg, but it's just not doing what my brain's telling it to do" at all times.
Lepsis' return is a pivotal piece to the Broncos' hopes of returning from their first nonplayoff year since 2002.
He has the ability to handle some of the league's top pass rushers one on one. But, equally important, it allows Erik Pears, who replaced Lepsis for the final 10-plus games, to move to his more natural right tackle spot and is one fewer change with two starters from last season - right tackle George Foster and right guard Cooper Carlisle - having departed.
Lepsis was injured Oct. 22 against Cleveland and had surgery two weeks later. Before his departure, Denver was 4-1; the Broncos were 5-6 afterward.
While it's too simplistic to call it entirely cause and effect, Shanahan noted during the offseason there was a trickle-down effect when the tackle left the lineup, saying the line failed to "play at the level we were capable of playing" in his absence.
Lepsis returned to the field in limited fashion during minicamp in May but wasn't used in full-team drills until a two-day team session in early July.
So far, between battling first-round pick Jarvis Moss and 2006 sacks leader Elvis Dumervil, Lepsis has been given the second half of two-a-day training camp practices off as a precaution.
"I don't think he looks any different at all," said Kenard Lang, another defensive end who has been matched against Lepsis during the past nine days. "He's still got those Master Locks for hands. And he's moving well, even though I'm sure it's an adjustment getting back into the groove of things."
The main evidence of Lepsis' surgery is the bulky knee brace he wears on his right leg. But it's by doctor's orders.
Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison suggested it will take Lepsis a game or two during the preseason to become fully acclimated. Otherwise, the veteran player is no different than any other offensive lineman in that he has areas that need addressing.
The responsibilities could be slightly different for Lepsis, too, considering the change from the bootleg- oriented passing game under Jake Plummer to a more pocket-based attack with Jay Cutler.
"It's going to be drop back, and you've got to hold on," Lepsis predicted, based on early camp practices.
But hanging on defines Lepsis' career.
He entered the league in 1997 as a tight end out of the University of Colorado coming off his first major knee injury - to the left leg that time. He remains one of the lone remnants from the Broncos' late 1990s double title runs.
When he does allow himself to reminisce, that's the kind of subject matter he considers most frequently.
"It's flown by," Lepsis said. "When I first got in here, I looked around at the guys in my position. I had never played tackle. They sent me to Europe, and I thought, 'Man, I've got no chance.' But things worked out, and I kind of got lucky and fell into a position that's kind of natural for me."
A position the Broncos don't want to imagine without him for a good long time.
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) on the same page. I do wonder what they'll do if Lepsis goes down again or doesn't play up to par. Will they switch Pears back to LT or will they start the rook? 
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