This Bronco’s season looks to be promising. In the second year of the Peyton Manning era, the expectations are through the roof. Here’s my Training Camp Update.
Many fans, analysts, and experts will consider this season a fail if Denver doesn’t win its third Lombardi trophy in franchise history. With these high levels of expectations come high levels of excitement from the fan base, or what we call Broncos country. I arrived at Dove Valley approximately an hour before scheduled start of training camp. The traffic was out of control, and so was the line to get in. After waiting (not so patiently I might add) approximately 45 minutes to get into the gates, I found myself in the first row of the grass parked right behind the end zone, a great place to catch the action. Let’s take a closer look at what I observed through my eyes at Broncos camp thus far.
QB: This is the easiest prediction of the year, we all know 18 is starting at QB in the fall. He was as lively as ever, yelling out commands like APPLE, APPLE, followed by the patented HURRY HURRY right before the snap of the ball. In other news, Brock Osweiler showed good arm strength and solid footwork, but lacked accuracy in his mid to deep throws. The only interesting battle in this position is the fight for 3rd string, if Denver even carries one. Ryan Katz got more reps than 7th round pick Zac Dysert, who the Denver front office really liked coming out of college.
RB: The Broncos are extremely deep and talented at this position in 2013. Last years draft pick and recently bulked up Ronnie Hillman figures to be the starter after week one of camp. Montee Ball will factor into this mix and may even become the starter by the beginning of this season. There are clear growing pains with the Wisconsin product. In one of the handoff drills Manning called an audible, and when Ball moved sides Manning jumped all over him, yelling STAY THERE STAY THERE. The fans got a kick out of this, but I guarantee Ball wasn’t too happy. Knowshon Moreno figures to be in the mix as well. He may end up being the guy Denver staff trusts with the ball come September 12th when Denver hosts Baltimore in the season opener. For the 4th running back position Broncos will most likely keep wiley vet Jacob Hester. Hester thrives in short yardage situations and knows what he is doing on the field.
WR: Denver may have the best WR core in the NFL, right up there with the Atlanta Falcons and some would argue the San Fransisco 49ers. Figuring to round out 6 spots are the obvious, Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and newly acquired Wes Welker. For the other 3 spots, I figure rookie Tavarres King will make the squad as well as Andre Caldwell. For the last WR spot we may see specialty kick returner Trindon Holliday. There have been a few new signees getting reps in camp, but I don’t expect any of them to make the team.
Offensive line: For the 5 first team rep starters I figure on 4 of them being in the starting lineup come opening night. Orlando Franklin at right tackle Zane Beadles at left guard. Luis Vasquez at right gaurd and Dan Koppen at center. Filling in the other position was Chris Clark at LT (Newly signed Ryan Clady will start there.) The line looked really alive during Manning’s two minute drill and seemed to have a good feel for that pace of the scrimmage. This unit will need to be strong and stay healthy this season to keep 18 upright if they figure to make a deep playoff run.
DEFENSE
This was a much improved group last season. Going into their second season under defensive guru Jack Del Rio, along with the additions made to the roster, this unit figures to be even better in the upcoming season.
Defensive line: For first team reps, Derek Wolfe and Kevin Vickerson got the nod at defensive tackle, but I figure Wolfe will move back outside to defensive end when the season starts to make way for newly acquired Terrance Knighton and first round draft pick Sylvester Williams. At defensive end, I saw Robert Ayers on one side and former Charger Shaun Phillips on the other. Rookie Quanterus Smith will get a long look at defensive end, but he is taking less reps early in camp after suffering a torn ACL. Q is looking better, but still wears a knee brace to every activity.
LB: The Broncos are set at OLD for the start of the season (provided Von Miller gets around his 4 game suspension for violating league policy) Expect him to start opposite Wes Woodyard, Denver’s other stud outside linebacker. Middle linebacker, however, is probably biggest question mark on the whole team. Getting first look on first team was Danny Trevathan, next up was Steve Johnson, and followed by Stewart Bradley. Denver brass really likes Steve Johnson, a 2nd year guy from Kansas. I predict he will be the guy in the middle when the season begins.
Cornerback: This may be Denver’s strongest and deepest position on defense. Led by future hall of famer Champ Bailey, there figures to be many battles for positions every week. Following Champ and starting across from him will be veteran corner Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. When the Broncos ran 11 on 11 drills DRC blanketed Demaryius Thomas and even knocked a bomb from Peyton Manning out of his hands. The 3rd corner figures to be Chris Harris, a guy who has worked his way from undrafted to possibly the best slot corner in the NFL. Following Harris, Denver will likely keep Tony Carter, Omar Bolden, and rookie 3rd round pick Kayvon Webster. Denver wants to ease Webster in and let him learn from Champ, but bet on him getting some playing time as he is figured to be one of their corners of the future. Having too many good players is a nice problem to have. Although DRC and Champ are the 2 best corners, the Broncos could run any 2-3-4 of the 6 guys and feel pretty comfortable with them on the field.
Safety: Denver is also very solid at this position, figuring they may have to cut a pretty solid player by the end of camp. The likely two starters at the beginning of the season will be Mike Adams and Rahim Moore. Every broncos fan knows the mistake Moore made last year in the playoffs. Rahim said he is putting that behind him and trying to win over the fans again by being vocal and interacting with them at camp. Denver figures to keep 4 safeties on the roster, this is where it gets interesting. There are 3 guys fighting for the final 2 spots. David Bruton, Quinton Carter, and Quentin Jammer figure to be battling all training camp. In my opinion this is a battle for Jammer to lose. Denver just signed Bruton to a new contract, and he is a special teams animal, so he figures to have a spot. Bronco brass is also very high on hard hitting Quinton Carter, who started in 2011 but was forced to miss all of 2012 due to injury. I expect him to make the team as the 4th safety, and be next in line for a starting job again once veteran Mike Adams decides to hang ’em up.
This season figures to be a fun one, and training camp won’t disappoint with all of the players giving their all in these competitive position battles.
Spencer Smith
Spencer is a Golf Management Major at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He's a Denver Sports fan since birth. He started writing in Spring 2013. He made the top charts 3 months in a row on a sports blogging website. He writes about sports because he can’t imagine his life without them.
