Horse Droppings: James Casey’s Baseball-Football Conversion

It’s time for the latest installment of Horse Droppings, and we’ve got a lot of crap you’ll want to know about the Denver Broncos today.

Buckle in.

TOM BRADY SUSPENDED

Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) smiles after beating the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL suspended Tom Brady four games, stripped the Patriots of two draft picks (including a 2016 first rounder), and fined them $1 million.

Broncos fans rejoice.

Before you ask, though, New England comes to Denver (who knew?!) week 12, so good old Tommy Boy will be back in uniform well before the duel with the Broncos and Peyton Manning. That’s fine, though, because it would be sweeter for the Broncos to be able to beat Brady rather than Jimmy Garoppolo, though beating the Patriots is simply the goal here.

In all reality, we can joke about Brady’s suspension all we want. All that really matters is that the Broncos find a way to get home field advantage in the playoffs and take the Patriots out of it as soon as they get a chance. Take care of business, beat who’s in front of you, and get to the Super Bowl again.

Obviously, easier said than done.

James Casey is Better at Football Than Baseball

But if not for baseball, Casey would not be where he’s at today.

In a fantastic piece by Troy Renck at the Denver Post, Casey’s journey to the NFL is documented thoroughly, including the story from Casey himself of how he was drafted to play baseball, wound up getting recruited to Rice to play defensive end, and ended up as a receiver and declaring for the NFL Draft after his sophomore season in which he caught 111 balls.

He then was drafted by Gary Kubiak and the crew with the Houston Texans in the 5th round, and became a tight end/fullback/special teams ace in the NFL before winding up in Denver this offseason.

He’s an excellent guy to have around for the wide number of roles he can play.

Also regarding Casey, here’s an excellent piece from our pal Chad Jensen at Mile High Huddle.

Meet the Broncos’ Analytics Guy

You like Moneyball? Like Jonah Hill? Do you like Trick Shot quarterbacks?

All of that rolled into one is former Monmouth QB Mitch Tanney, brother of trick shot QB Alex Tanney, who is now the Denver Broncos’ analytics guy. He did a Q&A with the team’s official site.

He didn’t reveal this information, but I would love to know what his formulas told him about what players were smart to draft and what ones were not. Did John Elway use that information or simply hear it?

It’s too bad he probably can’t answer those questions…

Broncos In the Market for Tight Ends?

Troy Renck of the Denver Post seems to think the Broncos are going to ‘stand pat’ with their current tight end situation, even after the Jeff Heuerman injury.

Jeff Legwold, via this post from Scotty Payne at Mile High Report, is not so sure of that.

Maybe John Elway will do the unthinkable and sign Colt Lyerla, the former Oregon star who left school with some serious personality issues. Lyerla spent last year’s camp with the Green Bay Packers and is currently looking for work in the NFL.

Here’s a great article on Lyerla and where he’s at presently. It sounds like he’s working really hard at being the best version of himself he can be. For those of you not in the know, Lyerla was a big time NFL Draft prospect at Oregon before quitting school and getting into legal trouble. Had he continued his playing career as was planned, he might have been a first round pick.

Now, he’s been blacklisted by a lot of NFL teams who don’t want to deal with the off-field stuff should it arise, but the time seems right for him to be put into a situation where he can succeed. The Jeff Heuerman injury may pave the way there. The Broncos could opt for a veteran option at the position, but with Owen Daniels, Virgil Green, and James Casey already on the roster, why not take a shot like this one?

The reward seems to be higher than the possible risk.

Maybe I’ll write a separate post on Lyerla…

Antonio Smith Guiding D-Linemen

I’ve already grown to really like Antonio Smith in his short time as a member of the Denver Broncos, and while I enjoy hearing him speak, I really enjoyed seeing Kenny Anunike making an impression both on the field and off the field to the new elder statesman of the Denver d-line.

Smith joined the Broncos after a year in Oakland, God bless him.

You’re safe now, Antonio. You’re safe now.

In all seriousness, it was great to see Anunike moving around again after spending last year on IR. He was a training camp standout and would have made the active roster were it not for his season ending injury. Antonio Smith talks in this video about how Anunike is hustling and sprinting around the practice field, picking up the intensity already.

Trevor Siemian Has Skills I spent (probably too much) time watching seventh round QB Trevor Siemian, who should be allowed a year on the practice squad to develop with the team.

I liked what I saw.

I won’t give away too much more, but check out this piece when you have the time. The hottest takes around, featuring Trevor Siemian.

Josh Furman An Intriguing Selection There was some serious digging done to get information about seventh round pick Josh Furman. He’s an elusive study. I finally found some game tape and got to see the kid play.

He’s not bad, and might just be an injury or two away from having his number called.

Jordan Norwood is Back On The Field

This is great, great news. Norwood would have made the 53-man roster last year as the punt returner and a backup WR if not for season-ending knee surgery.

Daily Dose of ‘Ben Garland Is Awesome’

Next: The State of the Broncos is Strong