June 11, 2013; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos defensive back Champ Bailey (24) during mini camp drills at the Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos have opened up their mandatory minicamp and some interesting storylines are already starting to develop.

The running back situation may be one of the most watched battles prior to the start of the regular season. Willis McGahee made his first appearance at Dove Valley yesterday after skipping voluntary workouts.

According to reports McGahee didn’t see much action with the first team yesterday, and he may be in for an uphill battle to regain his starting position.

“It feels good being around my teammates. Everybody is happy to see me and I’m happy to see them. I can’t complain,” McGahee said. “It is always going to be a heated competition because every year they are going to bring in a running back whether it’s a high draft [pick] or a low draft [pick]. Any given day, anybody can make plays at running back and you always have to stay on your toes.”

On why he skipped OTA’s, McGahee didn’t have much to say.

“I didn’t choose not to. I had a reason: family reasons,” he said.

Maybe so, but it probably put him behind the eight ball. The Broncos didn’t draft Montee Ball to hold a clipboard, and it might be his starting job to lose come training camp. Not to mention Knowshon Moreno is showing significant progress coming off his knee injury from last year.

Another interesting spot to keep an eye on is the secondary. There are a lot of new faces and moving pieces. Ex-Charger Quentin Jammer and special teams ace David Bruton are in the mix at safety. Youngsters Omar Bolden and Kayvon Webster are trying to earn some playing time, and newly acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is trying to get comfortable opposite of Champ Bailey.

When asked about Rodgers-Cromartie, Bailey gave a glowing endorsement.

“Well, we’re both good cover guys. I think we know when it’s all said and done, what we hung our hat on was covering everybody. I love having that on the opposite side of me. He prides himself on not getting beat. I just want to be able to work with him and help him as much as I can. He’s a guy—he knows what to do, but like I said, you don’t want to ever get complacent in this game,” Bailey said.

And of course, there is the progress of Peyton Manning. As hard as it is to believe, Manning could be even better in 2013 than he was during his inaugural season in Denver. He’s shown more strength on his throws and he’s much more comfortable than he was a year ago at this time.

“I feel better. I’ve certainly made strides when you talk about in comparison to this time in 2012. I feel better, I’ve made some improvements. I still have some improvements that I want to make. I think every player would probably tell you that and they have things that they want to improve on. I think this is the time that you certainly try to keep your strengths strong, but you work on your weaknesses as well and then try to improve those. There’s no question, because of the comfort in the offense, the more familiarity with the receivers. I just feel like after a year of the strength training with Luke and the work with [Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos], I certainly do feel better. It’s a better feeling than it was last year,” Manning said.

The holdout of tackle Ryan Clady will definitely be a story to follow. He was a no show yesterday but there were reports that he and the Broncos have begun talking about a long term contract.

Manning has a vested interest in Clady since he is protects his blind side, and he chimed in on the Clady contract situation.

“I think he will be here. We certainly hope that he’ll be here. I know there’s the business side of it. I’ve certainly kept in touch with Ryan [and know] that he wants to be here. I think that he wants to get that business part of it taken care of and there’s a process there that we’ll let occur, but there’s no question that we want Ryan to be here,” Manning said.

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Members of the Kansas City Chiefs sit on the bench during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos defeated the Chiefs 38-3. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

We’ve had some spies infiltrate PO this week.

The folks over at Fansided’s Kansas City Chiefs’ site, Arrowhead Addict, have been touring the rest of the AFC West in disguise to see what’s going on.

Arrowhead Addict believes that collectively, as fans, we may be over confident. They also say that the Broncos’ real area of concern when the Chiefs play them should be the secondary.

The secondary is our first target: Of the Broncos’ few holes, perhaps the biggest was their defensive secondary…

Barring injuries, the Broncos are going to be a great team once again. But the weak link in the chain remains their secondary. Rodgers-Cromartie was part of the trade that gave the Philadelphia Eagles the “Dream Team” misnomer two years ago. He has struggled with inconsistency. When the Chiefs play the Broncos, Champ Bailey will be on Dwayne Bowe. Can Rodgers-Cromartie keep up with either Donnie Avery or Jon Baldwin?

If the Chiefs are to beat the Broncos, this matchup may be the decisive factor in winning one against Denver this year. Addicts, what do you think?! Can the Chiefs split the series with the Broncos this year?! – Arrowhead Addict

Let’s dissect this little argument right now.

The first point about Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie’s consistency is unfair. Of course entering a new system, any player will struggle. In DRC’s first year with the Philadelphia Eagles, he had 28 tackles and no interceptions, but he was part of a 10th ranked defense in points allowed, not to mention a 10th ranked pass defense. I would take that over what he did in 2012 when he had 51 tackles and three picks, but played for a team that gave up 27.8 points per game, which was 30th in the league.

Defense is a team effort and when the unit doesn’t function well as a whole, players are exposed or don’t perform up to what they’re capable of. In DRC’s three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, he had at least 42 tackles and three interceptions in each season. With pressure coming up front from Von Miller, Shaun Phillips, and Derek Wolfe, expect DRC to excel in his new role opposite Bailey.

Can DRC keep up with Donnie Avery or Jon Baldwin? Is this the same Avery that had 60 catches for 781 yards and three touchdowns last year? Is this the same Baldwin that had 20 catches for 325 yards and a touchdown in 2012? Please.

If Chiefs fans believe that they can outscore a Peyton Manning-led offense that now houses Wes Welker by attacking the secondary, then they really must be living somewhere over Dwayne Bowe.

Case closed.

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Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (23) runs back his interception against the New York Giants during fourth quarter action at Lincoln Financial Field. (Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports)

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie went from the Arizona Cardinals to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011 when the Eagles were signing all the big names. It may appear to be deja-vu for Rodgers-Cromartie in Denver with guys like Peyton Manning, Von Miller, Champ Bailey, and Wes Welker on the same squad. However, the Eagles didn’t go 13-3 the year before Cromartie arrived.

“Basically they’re bringing in not [as many] guys as the Eagles did,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “The organization, the people that are here already believe in something, and that’s winning.”

DRC as many like to call him, enters a nearly perfect playing situation. He gets to start opposite Bailey, not to mention he’s playing on a squad that knows how to get to the quarterback. The Broncos were ranked first in sacks last season. That makes this the ideal situation for DRC to get his mojo back.

“When I came in, the one thing that stood out when talking to everybody, they didn’t really just talk about what I can do as a player, they pointed out my flaws and told me how they can help me get better,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “Just the guys they’ve got here, the coaching staff, I really bought into the system, to be honest.”

DRC had his best year, statistically speaking, in 2009 when he had 50 tackles and 6 interceptions. Things dropped off for him when he was with the Eagles.

“The main thing is just about the consistency and just being hungry again to go out there and play,” Rodgers-Cromartie said on what the Broncos mentioned about fixing his flaws.

This might not be a new start, but the beginning to a new ending.

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