Denver Broncos Training Camp: Day Two

Football is in the air today as was the name of a certain rookie QB. Tebow chants abound, Coach McDaniels’ whistle twirling around his wrist, and the sound of pads clashing all signal the start of training camp 2010. Today was my first and certainly not last day of attendance.

More players than necessary grace the field trying to earn a spot on the team’s 53 man roster or at least earn a place on the practice squad. This was just the third full squad practice with many left to go. As I release the details of practices over the next two weeks, keep in mind that one bad or one good practice by a particular player does not indicate much of anything except an “off” or an “on” day. We all have them and professional football players aren’t immune to them either. This is what training camp is all about. Finding out which players can withstand the mental and physical obstacles day in and day out on the most consistent basis will guarantee a roster spot for those players.

Keep in mind that training camp is long. The practices that are open to the public are only a glimpse of what the players go through on a daily basis. The players have been in team meetings, have hit the weight room and the training room, and have been studying playbooks surrounding the scheduled practice time. They are currently spending 10-12 hours a day on football.

It’s true that we know certain players who are going to make the cut, but for the less known names, training camp is the ultimate audition stage. For those guys, a dropped ball or a lackadaisical day can mean a dreaded call from the organization’s personnel saying “I’m sorry, but there isn’t room for you here.” The call can come day or night, just before or right after practice. There’s no “right” time to do it, and for the men who don’t make the team, there could be a place on someone else’s roster.

With that said, here are today’s sights and sounds from practice.

Seen And Heard    

• The team started strong today, but hit “the wall” later on in practice. In fact, Coach McDaniels made the entire offense take a lap for cumulative mental mistakes during 11-on-11 play. It wasn’t just the offense that made the errors. The defense faded as practice wound down too.
• Warm-up tunes included some old school rap such as Run-DMC.
• Champ Bailey was shaken out of his shorts by none other than Fast Eddie Royal. Brady Quinn threw a strike to Royal and Bailey was visibly upset that Royal got by him. My chances of seeing that happen again? 1 in a million.
• Pat Bowlen was on the sidelines in a pink polo shirt. No orange and blue for the owner? He better head to the team shop.
• Spencer Larson was “on” today. He broke through holes multiple times that would’ve gotten him 20-40 yard runs in a game situation. What do you expect from a guy who plays both offense and defense?
• Perrish Cox broke free on a kick return and would’ve scored 6. He’s the guy that can save Royal’s legs as a receiver.
• Multiple offensive linemen took solo laps around the field for mental mistakes. Included in that was vet Ryan Harris. See, it happens to the best of ’em.
•  Rookie receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker are big targets. Standing next to Royal, it was two Goliaths and one David. Could they be the Twin Towers of the Broncos roster?
• Tim Tebow was seen taking the direct snap and running in a lot of 3rd and short situations. The rook definitely juked some guys on defense. 
• All three QBs had solid arms today, but of them all, Kyle Orton’s arm stands out. He’s more polished than Quinn and Tebow and I can see why he went into camp as the starter.
• I missed seeing Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter out there. Both went down with injuries on day one.

Here are a few pictures from today:

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