A Closer Look At Broncos Camp 2007

A Closer Look at Broncos Camp 2007

Broncos Camp officially got started in Dove Valley with defensive coordinator Jim Bates patrolling the sidelines. Bates is usually always found in the press box and stands watching from a far. This year he said he wants to be up front where all the action is. After big Sam Adams forced a fumble, Bates verbally blasted the defense for not celebrating enough--Bates wants the Broncos defense pumped up and ready to go for 2007. That was very much evident on day one and two. Javon Walker made some terrific plays and the fans let him here it on numerous occasions. Walker is emerging as the Bronco fan favorite and leader due to Rod Smith continued absence.

Head coach Mike Shanahan slotted Andre Hall with the first team. The young running back, to the surprise of some of us in the media, got many reps prior to Travis Henry coming in and stealing his thunder with strong performances throughout the week.

The receiving situation is one of the main focal points thus far at Broncos Camp and so far we have not seen Smith or Brandon Marshall. Who are the Broncos second and third receivers going to be? Brandon Stokley has looked good when he is in there, but has not seen as many reps as he would like, as his Achilles is not fully healed. Domenik Hixon has been impressive, but had a small shoulder injury that had him missing some valuable reps. In the sixth day of camp, both Walker and Stokley came up lame with leg injuries and many of us immediately thought, when are Smith and Marshall going to be ready to go?

Warrick Holdman had to be carted off practice during the first week of camp with a spinal concussion, but is already expected to be back and in practice. It was a scare for the Bronco players, Bates and Shanahan, as this is the same type of injury that cut short the careers of John Mobley and Al Wilson. Shanahan said, "He went numb for about 30 or 40 seconds out there and he got his feeling back, which is a good sign." Rookie, Jarvis Moss also suffered a scare, but the entire Bronco family quickly became at ease after an MRI came back negative. Moss nursed the knee and came back to practice. Moss said, "Everything checked out. It kind of scared me for a minute. I felt like it was something real serious, but I'm fine. I'm going to go rehab tonight, and hopefully I'm ready to go in the morning." Moss was ready to go and Bronco Camp 2007 rolled along.

Ironically, on my last days covering Broncos Camp is when things started to really heat up just in time for their first preseason game. Marshall is back, officially off the physically unable-to-perform list and is already out of Shanahan's doghouse. Marshall enjoyed a full morning practice on August 10--let's see how he progresses and if his injury flares back up over the coming days. The issue with Marshall now is not if Marshall is healthy, it is if he can turn into the player the coaches envisioned this off-season--the Broncos need Marshall to be that go-to guy on jump balls and to make the tough catch in traffic. Stokley is better suited in the slot, look what he did in Indy, so if Marshall does not take the second spot back and double his numbers in 2007, it would be a huge disappointment. Still no sign of Smith, was 2006 the last time we see Rod with the Broncos?

Preseason Schedule:
• 8/13 at San Francisco
• 8/18 at Dallas
• 8/25 vs. Cleveland
• 8/30 vs. Arizona