Broncos Training Camp Days 6-10 Recap
Day 6: Offense Continues To Impress
As day 6 of training camp fell upon us, the first team offense continued their role of shredding up their first team defense. The Broncos who depended heavily on their defense for the last few seasons, seem to be shifting into a offensive weapon. Case Keenum has yet to be picked-off coming in day 6 by his defensive counterparts this year. No one could have imagined the defense’s assignment would be a such a difficult one, considering they’ve been ranked near the top in the league over the last few seasons.
Observations
Not a troublesome task, some may say but that can’t be said for the Broncos and their QB1 as of right now.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods said at OTAs, ‘If this guy (Case Keenum) is comfortable being here. We gotta make his (posterior) uncomfortable,’
In the years past, the defense was a nightmare for the offense making the new QB’s year in and year out shake in their cleats.
Woods continued,”The running backs we’ve got are pretty good. The receivers we’ve got are pretty good. That tight-end room is getting pretty challenging. They’re running good routes, crisp routes, and there are a lot of guys there that are making us uncomfortable.”
But the defense stepped up to the challenge. Even though the production is low the enthusiasm remains the same. Will Parks was the first to step up. On Friday, he was able to pull off an interception from Keenum returning it for a touchdown. The defense and him celebrated like they won a game for just a monumental moment from camp.
Check out highlights here!
Day 7: Defense Finally Gets The Upper Hand
Entering day 7, the defense definitely lived up to the expectations that were placed on them at that beginning of the season. The Broncos were working on the nine-on-seven period, which typically focuses on the rough part of the game, running the football.
The run defense was able to stop runs at or behind the line of scrimmage on 6 of the 12 plays run against the first team. This initiated the rhythm that remained over the team for the rest of the practice. The whole team managed to block gaps and create pressure that would force the QBs out of the pocket. Making them rush throws for the remainder of practice.
“It’s definitely one of our best days of camp, coming off a day where we didn’t really start fast,” rookie linebacker Keishawn Bierria said. “That was the emphasis today, to come out here, have that urgency, start fast, play good defense, listen to the vets and just work.”
Observations
Keishawn played a hefty role in a majority of the stops. He was able to get over on the other pair of rookie RB’s Phillip Lindsay and David Williams on a span of three consecutive plays.
“When you put the pads on, really, for a linebacker like me, it’s ‘See ball, go get the ball,'” Bierria said. “You’re definitely supposed to be in position. What (the coaches) really want to see from me right now is to just be out there, play football and see what I can do.”
Bierria is mainly a special teams player, but he is racking up the snaps on the defensive side of the ball. If he keeps this type of performance don’t be surprised if he slides his way onto the 53-man roster.
On the offensive side of the ball, head coach Vance Joseph wants to pick up the pace.
“We’ve got to start faster, in my opinion,” Joseph said. “Today wasn’t good enough at the start offensively. Yesterday it was defense, so we can’t pick and choose our times to come out and be focused. That’s a problem. We don’t want to start games down 14-0 and claw our way back into the game. That starts out here and that hasn’t been good enough the last two days.”
Check out highlights here!
Day 8: Backups Take The Spotlight
The third team offense showed up day 8 ready to play in the annual summer scrimmage. After, Keenum and Paxton Lynch failed to reach the end zone, Chad Kelly kidnapped the show. He launched two long touchdowns to WRs Jordan Leslie and Mark Chapman in three swift plays.
“It was fast, but it was pretty intense. For the threes, that was really a football game for those guys,” Joseph said.
Observations
Leslie led with a 35-yard TD down to the left sideline while avoiding bulky coverage. The more impressive TD was followed up by his colleague Chapman, who had a 50-yard catch and run. His route fooled Brenden Langley who was in coverage, and Chapman breezed into the end zone for an easy six points.
“You don’t really just go out there on game day and be a playmaker. You’ve got to put in the work,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to work extremely hard out here. On the practice field and know what your job is, know what your role is, know where everybody is going to be. Because if you just get out there for a game and you don’t know anything, you might be struggling.”
Marquette King had a splendid day, adding in two punts. One went for 48 yards to the left sideline, and the other 49 yards, that went out of bounds.
Check out highlights here!
Day 9: It’s All About The Pressure
As the situation often appears, the team is lackadaisical to get back into true form after a scrimmage or pre-season game. The Broncos were not feeling their 100% form on day 9.
“I definitely felt it. I know a lot of people felt it,” inside linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “That’s on us, man. Even if it’s an off-day, we can’t come out here and be slow and sluggish.
Observations
Once the sluggish start, was concluded the practiced picked up with pass-rush pressure drills. This compelled the defense into attack mode and forced the offense into rapid decisions under pressure.
The intention of the drills were to see how fast the offense could react, when the defense was rushing. Players would run routes with only one receiver or tight end to be under pass protection.
“We want to have our offense have the ability to block pressure without maxing up all the time,” Joseph said. “We want to get four guys out (running routes). They can always block the back and tight end to get three guys out with three (wide receivers), or get two guys out with two backs and two (tight ends), but to be effective in the pass game, you want three and four guys out (running routes).”
Defense got the best of the day, but Keenum was able to keep himself under control while the pressure was applied. Last year, under pressure Case completed 67.3 percent of his passes while he was getting blitzed. While going up against the games best in Von Miller, Keenum was able to handle it well.
“That’s not even a glimpse of it. We didn’t even have all of (the pass rush) on the field at the same time, so I feel like when we’re all on the field at the same time it’s going to be special,” Miller said.
Check out highlights here!
Day 10: Depth Charts Were Released
Day 10 brought many surprises, as the first depth charts for the Broncos squad were released. The biggest surprise of the day is that Tim Patrick was revealed to be the number five receiver behind superstars Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and rising stars Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton.
“Baller,” Will Parks said. “He’s been making plays since we first started practice. I’m glad to see him out here and make a couple of plays and make everybody better.”
Observations
Other than the depth charts being released, the defense continued to roll. Keenum was picked off for the second time this training camp, by Bradley Roby. Despite the pick, Keenum was able to move up the ball up to the opponent’s 31-yard line. He also was able to work very well under pressure, adapting out of the pocket to move passes down the field.
“As a defense, you’re waiting for the quarterback to make the mistake, so you can just pounce on it, but nine times out of 10, Case is just doing an amazing job making the right reads, doing the job that he’s asked to do,” Justin Simmons explained.
Check out highlights here!
Conclusion
“That’s not even a glimpse of it. We didn’t even have all of (the pass rush) on the field at the same time, so I feel like when we’re all on the field at the same time it’s going to be special,” Miller said.
Saturday the Broncos will be taking on the Vikings in their first pre-season game. The team should feel confident in the way that they are performing right now. Expect Tim Patrick and DaeSean Hamilton to see a lot of playing time as they have impressed all around so far. The defense is going into this weekend’s game confident and healthy. Stops and pressure will definitely be a key factor in this game. The game kicks off at 7:00 PM on Saturday make sure you tune in!!