Training Camp Update Volume 6, Issue 1 8/3/10
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TE: Marques Branson continues to generate a buzz, especially for a player that spent last year on the practice squad emulating Antonio Gates in practices. Coach McDaniels said Branson was hard to cover. “He did a nice job for us in terms of showing our defense what we wanted him to do,” McDaniels said. “We’re excited about his progress.” His teammates rave about him, too. The Broncos have a void to fill with Tony Scheffler’s departure. Coach McDaniels thinks Branson can me that guy. “You didn’t see him last year, but we have very high expectations and high hopes for him.” He is competing with veteran starter Daniel Graham and Richard Quinn, a second round pick last year, for roster spots. “I’ve just got to come out and work as hard as I can, do everything they want me to do to the best of my ability,” said Branson, who caught 82 passes for 1,236 yards and 18 touchdowns in two seasons at Central Arkansas. “I can make that leap (to the active roster). But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication.” Defense: Elvis Dumervil signed a five-year contract extension worth a total of $61.6 million, with $43.1 million guaranteed as training camp opened. The NFL sack leader last year is under contract through 2015. The Broncos also acquired ILB Joe Mays from the Eagles for RB J.J. Arrington and a conditional pick in 2012. Mays will try to compete with veteran LB Mario Haggan, a converted OLB, who is currently slated to start at the “Ted” linebacker. Nate Jones and Alphonso Smith were expected to compete to be the team’s nickel corner, but Perrish Cox is now also in the mix. NT Jamal Williams began training camp on the PUP list, but the team thinks he’ll be ready within a week. Robert Ayers was running with the first team on the opening day of camp. He had been demoted in minicamps for disciplinary reasons. Special Teams: Heading into 2010, the Broncos had a question at only one of their specialist positions. They already knew that Lonie Paxton was their long snapper and that Matt Prater was their kicker. Heading into training camp, they have already presumably answered the punter question. Although he lost out on the punting job last preseason, Britton Colquitt was re-signed late in the year. In this year’s minicamps he competed with A.J. Trapasso (of 2009 first preseason TD and hitting the video screen fame). Trapasso has since been released. Colquitt has since noted, "I feel more confident, but at the same time, it's not about who you're going against. It's still you're going against yourself." Broncos Depth Chart QB: Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow, Brady Quinn RB: Knowshon Moreno (inj), Correll Buckhalter (inj), Kolby Smith, Bruce Hall,Lance Ball, Toney Baker FB: Spencer Larsen WR: Eddie Royal (PR/KR), Jabar Gaffney, Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Stokley,Brandon Lloyd, Eric Decker, Kenny McKinley, Matthew Willis, Lucas Taylor (inj),Alric Arnett, Patrick Honeycutt TE: Daniel Graham, Richard Quinn, Marquez Branson, Nathan Overbay, Riar Greer K: Matt Prater NT: Jamal Williams, Ronald Fields, Chris Baker DE: Jarvis Green, Justin Bannan, Ryan McBean (inj), LeKevin Smith, Marcus Thomas, Jeff Stehle, Ben Garland ILB: D.J. Williams (W), Mario Haggan, Akin Ayodele, Joe Mays, Wesley Woodyard,Nick Greisen, Devin Bishop OLB: Elvis Dumervil (DE/LB), Robert Ayers (DE/LB), Darrell Reid (DE/LB), Jarvis Moss, Baraka Atkins, Jammie Kirlew, Korey Bosworth, Kevin Alexander CB: Champ Bailey, Andre' Goodman, Nathan Jones, Perrish Cox, Alphonso Smith(PR/KR), Syd'quan Thompson, Tony Carter, Cassius Vaughn S: Brian Dawkins (SS), Renaldo Hill (FS) (inj), David Bruton (SS) (inj), Darcel McBath (FS) (inj), Josh Barrett, Kyle McCarthy Detroit Lions QB: The Lions opened training camp on Saturday and unlike last year's camp, Matthew Stafford is firmly entrenched as the Lions' starting QB. It was only the first practice, but Stafford's confidence, his command of the offense and the respect he has for and from his teammates was obvious. "Honestly, we held him back a little last year," Head Coach Jim Schwartz said. "We didn't have the pieces that we have now. But he was ready to take on a lot more than we gave him. You saw him today. He was at the line calling plays, changing plays. That's real important." The Lions made a move to shore up their backup QB spot by acquiring veteran Shaun Hill from the 49ers for a seventh-round draft pick. Over the last three seasons, Hill started 16 games, threw 23 TD passes against 11 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 87.3. QB Drew Stanton looked sharp during drills on Saturday. Stanton will be the Lions' third-string QB this year. RB: The Lions signed running back and first-round draft pick Jahvid Best to a five-year contract reportedly worth $9.8 million on Friday. Best made one of those big plays in practice Sunday morning that made him a highlight-reel favorite of Jim Schwartz's. In a seven-on-seven drill, Best found himself in one-on-one coverage against linebacker Vinny Ciurciu and took off. Stafford hit Best, who would have gone into the end zone untouched. "We knew that was part of his skill set," Schwartz said. "We knew that was part of what he brought to the table. He's done nothing to dispel that right now." After suffering a serious knee injury last December and undergoing surgery, it was thought that Kevin Smith would begin camp on the PUP list. Smith, however, was cleared to play and practiced Saturday. "I didn't have any doubts, but I didn't worry about it because it wasn't my decision," said Smith. Veteran RB Maurice Morris returns and will be in the mix for playing time at RB. Second-year RB Aaron Brown likely will have to win a job on kick returns to earn a roster spot. WR: Calvin Johnson returns for his fourth season and says he feels much more comfortable than he did last year. “This is my fourth camp. Definitely everything is a lot slower to me. Since I know the whole offense, everything’s a lot easier – I know what to do on every play. I’m not thinking about everything, I’m playing fast." Veteran Nate Burleson signed a five-year contract in the offseason and will start opposite Johnson. During practice on Saturday, Burleson used a veteran move -- a not-so-gentle push-off – to get separation from cornerback Jonathan Wade and make a touchdown catch on a bomb down the left sideline. The addition of Burleson will move last year's starting WR, Bryant Johnson, into the slot. Dennis Northcutt and Derrick Williams are battling for playing time in four WR sets. Seventh-round draft pick Tim Toone will likely have to win a job as a kick returner to make the final roster. TE: Brandon Pettigrew was taken off the PUP list and took part in drills, from individuals to seven-on-seven, but didn't participate in the team drills. During those periods, Pettigrew did some conditioning on the sideline. "I did everything today up until the team period. For the most part, I feel good,'' Pettigrew said. The Lions acquired Tony Scheffler in an offseason trade and he is expected to be a big part of the passing game. Scheffler, who has scored 14 touchdowns in his career, has averaged 13.7 yards per catch during his career (28 starts). Will Heller began camp on the PUP list. His injury is not serious and Schwartz expects him to return soon. Defense: First-round draft pick Ndamukong Suh missed his fourth practice Monday morning and Lions coach Jim Schwartz is starting to grow impatient. "We have six practices in shoulder pads and six full-padded practices in training camp and we already finished two shoulder-pad practices," Schwartz said. "Those are opportunities that, once they are gone, they are gone forever.” With Suh not in camp, Sammie Lee Hill has been starting at DT along with Corey Williams. Veteran Kyle Vanden Bosch brings leadership, toughness, and intensity to the defense. Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek said, "He's the toughest player I've ever been around, and his focus is unbelievable from day to day." Veteran Jared DeVries, who missed all of last season with a torn Achilles, returns and will battle Cliff Avril and Jason Hunter for the starting DE spot opposite Vanden Bosch. LB DeAndre Levy missed the morning session on Monday with a back injury. Zack Follett has the inside track on the starting outside linebacker spot opposite veteran Julian Peterson. Louis Delmas began camp on the PUP list with a groin injury. With Delmas sidelined, cornerbacks Chris Houston and Jonathan Wade, safeties C.C. Brown and Marvin White, and nickel back Eric King were on the first team during the opening practice. Houston nearly picked off a pass from Stafford to Calvin Johnson. "When you have make-up speed, you can sometimes take some gambles on some things in front," Schwartz said of Houston. "He has that kind of speed." Veteran Dre Bly and rookie Amari Spievey will compete for playing time at CB. Special Teams: No direction is the focus of the Lions’ kicking game in camp. Directional kicking hurt Nick Harris’ punting numbers and Jason Hanson’s kickoff numbers last year. New special teams coordinator Danny Crossman will allegedly minimize the directional stuff. As head coach Jim Schwartz noted, “Jason's always been such a good kickoff guy. And then we've tweaked our kickoff a little bit; probably do a little less directional and just let him hammer the ball a little bit more." To ease the workload in camp, rookie kicker Aaron Pettrey was signed and is still on the roster. The Lions had briefly claimed kicker Justin Medlock off waivers, just long enough to thwart his return to Toronto. Don Muhlbach remains the long snapper. Lions Depth Chart QB: Matthew Stafford, Shaun Hill, Drew Stanton RB: Jahvid Best, Kevin Smith (inj), Maurice Morris, Aaron Brown, DeDe Dorsey FB: Jerome Felton (SD), Jake Nordin, Matt Clapp WR: Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson (PR) (inj), Bryant Johnson, Derrick Williams (KR), Dennis Northcutt (KR), Brian Clark, Tim Toone (KR/PR), Eric Fowler,Contrevious Parks, Michael Moore TE: Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler, Will Heller, Dan Gronkowski, Richard Dickson K: Jason Hanson DT: Ndamukong Suh, Corey Williams, Sammie Lee Hill, Andre Fluellen (inj),Landon Cohen, Leger Douzable, Joe Cohen, Robert Callaway DE: Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cliff Avril, Jared DeVries, Jason Hunter, Turk McBride,Willie Young, Chima Ihekwoaba, Copeland Bryan (IR) MLB: Deandre Levy (W/M), Vinny Ciurciu OLB: Julian Peterson (S), Zack Follett (W), Jordon Dizon (W), Landon Johnson,Caleb Campbell (W), Ashlee Palmer, Isaiah Ekejiuba, Lee Campbell CB: Chris Houston, Jonathan Wade, Dre Bly, Amari Spievey, Dante Wesley, Eric King (inj), DeMarcus Faggins, Aaron Berry, Jonathan Hefney, Jack Williams S: Louis Delmas (FS), C.C. Brown (SS), Marquand Manuel (SS), Marvin White (SS), Ko Simpson (FS), Randy Phillips Green Bay Packers QB: The first two days of practice produced plenty of noteworthy plays for Aaron Rodgers. On Saturday, he hooked up with a pair of deep passes in team drills as Jordy Nelson and James Jones each got behind the defense. The pass to Nelson traveled around 65 yards in the air. Rodgers was also picked off by Charles Woodson for what would have been a pick-six. On Sunday, Rodgers squeezed a throw into Donald Driver on a crossing route with rookie S Morgan Burnett in tight coverage. Rodgers later beat Pat Lee on a blitz finding Nelson on a short seam route. Graham Harrell completed a similar pass to rookie TE Andrew Quarless a little while later. Rodgers was nearly picked off by Burnett for a second time, then later he found Jones on a deep ball. RB: In the first days of practice, Ryan Grant didn’t have much to work with while Brandon Jackson was impressive in Sunday’s practice. Jackson didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure in blitz protection last season. He will get some competition in camp this year from rookie James Starks. At least one AFC personnel director thinks that Starks "could end up being a good hit" for the Packers. "You have to wait and see how fast he comes back into full stride… He was one of the true third-down backs in the (draft) class. Really good hands. He's a good, productive, hard-running back." Starks began camp on the active/PUP list with a hamstring injury that has lingered since spring. WR: In Sunday’s practice, Greg Jennings gave everyone a brief scare when he appeared slow after taking a shot to the knee. Donald Driver (knee surgeries) returned to full contact practice on Saturday for the first time since last season. "[Both knees] felt fine," Driver said. "I didn't have any problems cutting today." Jordy Nelson and James Jones continue to battle for the team’s third receiver spot. Driver sat out OTAs giving both players extra snaps. Receivers coach, Jimmy Robinson, was asked about Donald Driver slowing down: “Common sense tells you eventually it will (catch up to him).. I’m not sure it has, I’m anxious to see with training camp. He’s not running around right now, but I think we’re going to see a new and improved Donald, he’s feeling better right now than he has in a long time with his knees.” TE: The early reports out of camp continue to shower Jermichael Finley with praise. In Sunday’s practice, Finley was catching everything. He made a couple of moves to get open that left defenders with broken ankles during one-on-ones with safeties. Coaches are happy with Finley’s increased maturity during the offseason. “He’s really taken ownership of the offense from a knowledge standpoint,” said Ben McAdoo, the Packers’ tight ends coach. “We’re working on the fundamentals and the details now, we don’t spend much time talking about assignments. That’s exciting because when you have a chance to polish up the way you play the game, that’s when you really make strides.” Donald Lee, Spencer Havner and Andrew Quarless will vie for the last roster spot or two. Quarless will be hard to cut as a fifth-rounder with solid potential. Defense: In Saturday’s practice, Morgan Burnett was opposite Nick Collins at safety with the first team. In the nickel package, Brandon Chillar and Nick Burnett were the inside backers. B.J. Raji and Cullen Jenkins were the defensive tackles and Brandon Underwood the third corner. Woodson picked Rodgers for a pick-six and rookie Sam Shields cut in front of WR Chastin West to pick off Matt Flynn. By all accounts, Burnett appears to be in the driver's seat at strong safety. Atari Bigby injured his ankle during the conditioning test on Friday and it will keep him sidelined for another week or so. Bigby and CB Al Harris (knee) began camp on the active/PUP list. Harris is a candidate for the regular season PUP list. LB Clay Matthews was all over the field in Saturday’s practice pursuing plays away from him with vigor. LBs coach Kevin Greene called Matthews, "the most complete outside linebacker that I have seen." Brad Jones has been annointed as Aaron Kampman’s successor, but he dropped out of Saturday’s practice early and didn’t practice on Sunday. He had four sacks in his final three games last season.Veteran Brady Poppinga worked with the starters in Jones‘ place. Special Teams: After missing a fair number of kicks last year, some fans and media feel that Mason Crosby should have competition for the kicking job this year; however the Packers’ coaches do not. Crosby enters camp as the only kicker on the roster. Brett Goode is the only long snapper on the roster, although nobody is questioning that. The specialist competition to watch during August is for the punting job. The contenders are Chris Bryan, former Australian Rules Football player, and Tim Masthay, who was in the Colts training camp last year. In addition to punting, they’re also working on holding on kicks, which could factor into the final decision. After OTAs, coach Mike McCarthy noted, "I would say it is still a dead heat. Frankly, I want to see both Tim and Chris punt in games…. I definitely like the talent level of both the punters and we'll definitely go into training camp and let these guys slug it out." Packers Depth Chart QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Noah Shephard, Graham Harrell RB: Ryan Grant, Brandon Jackson (3RB), James Starks (inj), Kregg Lumpkin FB: Korey Hall, Quinn Johnson, John Kuhn WR: Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Patrick Williams,Brett Swain (inj), Charles Dillon TE: Jermichael Finley, Donald Lee, Andrew Quarless, Spencer Havner (TE/LB),Tom Crabtree K: Mason Crosby NT: B.J. Raji, Anthony Toribio DE: Ryan Pickett (UFA-F), Cullen Jenkins, Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson, Jarius Wynn (inj), Justin Harrell (inj), Ronald Talley, Johnny Jolly (susp) ILB: Nick Barnett (inj), A.J. Hawk (M), Brandon Chillar (M), Desmond Bishop OLB: Clay Matthews, Brad Jones, Brady Poppinga, Cyril Obiozor, Robert Francois CB: Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams, Brandon Underwood, Pat Lee, Will Blackmon (KR/PR), Sam Shields, D.J. Clark, Josh Bell, Trevor Ford, Al Harris (inj) S: Nick Collins (FS), Morgan Burnett (SS), Atari Bigby (SS) (inj), Jarrett Bush (FS/CB), Charlie Peprah, Khalil Jones, Derrick Martin (SS) Houston Texans QB: It didn’t take Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson long to hook up. On the first day of practice, during 11-on-11s with the first team, they connected for a long touchdown up the right side of the field as Johnson left a couple of defenders behind. In the team’s third practice, Schaub found Andre Davis deep over the middle after he got behind the defense for the play of the day. Johnson drew some cheers from the crowd when he caught a pass right in front of the bleachers. All three QBs – Schaub, Dan Orlovsky and even John David Booty – threw the ball with good accuracy in the morning practice. RB: As expected, second-year back Arian Foster opened camp with the first team, but he will have a fierce competition to keep the job with a healthy Steve Slaton taking aim along with rookie Ben Tate, now that his hamstring injury is behind him. Head Coach Gary Kubiak said that he would split reps “right down the middle”. Chris Henry and Jeremiah Johnson are also competing for spots. In Saturday morning’s practice, Foster got the starter’s reps and looked good. On one run where he showed good vision and burst to make a cut back, Kubiak yelled out "good job, Arian.... I like it". Foster is clearly leading the way so far, while Slaton looks quick and Johnson has shown a good feel for the zone scheme. It might be a little while before Tate gets the reps that most expected him to get, but he has some catching up to do. For his part, Foster isn’t conceding a thing. “I wasn’t up at 5:30 this offseason for nothing, so my mentality isn’t, 'This spot is mine,' ” Foster said. “My mentality is, 'This spot is going to get taken. I am going to take it.' That’s my mentality and it’s not cocky, I just put in the work, so I feel like I deserve it.” Kubiak on Foster: "He is a totally different young man. He's a professional about what does. It's exciting to see where he could go with this thing.. (on his progress). He's grown up. He's just a totally different young man. We're not having to battle Arian for how he practices or his effort or how he meets or those things. That's over. It's all about football with him. He's got a chance. He's got a chance to be a fine player, but I think we're all excited to see what he's doing right now, including his teammates." On if he still has confidence in Slaton: "No doubt, I think he's had as good an offseason as anybody we've had. He's healthy and focused. You've got to go through that. When it's time to bounce back, I'm pretty sure he will." On Sunday, Tate had his best run so far in camp, breaking a tackle and changing direction for a long run in the morning session. On another run, he lowered his pads before engaging OLB Brian Cushing and staying on his feet. WR: Concern over Andre Johnson holding out of camp was quashed when he reported to practice with no signs of unhappiness. Owner Bob McNair showed his support, indicating that they plan to rework his contract that has five years left to make him a happy camper. “I’ve always wanted to be here,” Johnson said. “I’ve never thought about holding out. I think that me missing the first few days of OTAs got a little blown out of proportion. I came in. I’m here now. That’s all that matters.” Kevin Walter is battling Jacoby Jones for the number two job. Kubiak commented on Jones camp so far: “He's in better shape than he's ever been. He's battling Kevin head-to-head every day. It's a great competition. He's played big for us and we need his consistency. He has a chance to help this team big-time. We will give him a chance to do that." In the first days of practice, rookie WR and return specialist Trindon Holliday struggled as a receiver. The Texans don’t expect to keep a return specialist, where he has excelled, prompting Kubiak to say: “We got to have some patience here and be willing to get him those reps and see how far he comes from that standpoint. In the NFL you suit 45 (players) and you got to go do other things. We got to get him better at that spot as a receiver. He really worked as a running back at LSU more than anything. So, it’s a whole new world for him and we knew we were in for that. He’s working hard at it.” TE: On Saturday, Kubiak said that Owen Daniels had a setback in his rehab from ACL surgery. On Sunday, Daniels confirmed as much before saying that he will be ready in September. "I think we’re just getting everything right to be ready for Week 1," he said. "That’s been the plan all along. ... I’ll be out here running next week; just doing the bike for now and working back into things. But I feel really good. I feel really good." Coach Gary Kubiak says he'll, "know a lot more about Owen in the next two weeks," but added that the Texans, "will be smart with him." While Joel Dreessen is currently listed as the team’s starter with Daniels sidelined; he’ll compete with James Casey for the job. Defense: First round pick CB Kareem Jackson was signed just in time for camp. He opened with the first team after missing the morning practice, and matched up with Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and Andre Davis. SS Bernard Pollard has become more vocal in the offseason, and he picked up where he left off during OTAs getting physical with the blocking sled. Corner Mark Parson picked off a pair of passes during 11-on-11s. In 1-on-1s with receivers, Glover Quin made a nice play in coverage against Andre Johnson when he swatted away a pass. In the third practice, Brice McCain made a nice play during 7-on-7s, knocking a Dan Orlovsky pass away. LB Brian Cushing, who will miss four games due to suspension, ran with the first team at strong-side linebacker. Xavier Adibi and Danny Clark will help fill the void while he’s suspended. Mario Williams beat Duane Brown twice during 1-on-1 drills with inside charges. Later, Williams beat Eric Winston with an inside/outside move. Winston stuffed Williams the second time around. DT Amobi Okoye lost 15 pounds before OTAs, but he put on several pounds of muscle and looked good at the start of camp. Special Teams: “They're both fine kickers, and it's going to be a great competition. One of them is going to kick for us and the other one is going to be kicking somewhere else. They're two quality kickers, and we're lucky to have that type of competition in our camp," said head coach Gary Kubiak of the competition between veteran kickers incumbent Kris Brown and challenger Neil Rackers. Less straight forward is the camp competition for the long snapping job, as it may depend on the overall roster and the tight end position and Owen Daniels’ status in particular. Jon Weeks is solely a long snapper. The other two candidates, Joel Dreessen and James Casey, also play as tight ends. The simplest specialist scenario for the Texans is at punter. That job belongs to Matt Turk. Texans Depth Chart QB: Matt Schaub, Dan Orlovsky, John David Booty Download 0.59 Mb. 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