Cecil Lammey
Footballguy
Back out at Dove Valley today as the 2nd week of OTAs kicked off for the Broncos. We got to see the entire practice today, and here are my observations.
Week One observations are here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=642228&view=findpost&p=14406576&hl=lammey&fromsearch=1
Passing drills started the practice after the team was done stretching. Throughout these practices the Broncos the team has had a certain swagger about them. Not arrogance....just incredible confidence.
Gerrell Robinson looked good today. Did a nice job of catching passes with arms extended away from his body. Looked good with Osweiler (of course) but caught nice passes from other QBs too. WR position is jam packed here, but I still think Robinson finds a way to the PS this year to develop.
Eric Decker had a nice one-handed grab early on in practice. Great hands, crisp routes are his trademark. However, failed to get separation from Champ Bailey on a pass play later in the day which resulted in pass getting knocked away. I like Decker when he can get a clean release off the line of scrimmage. He can get into his route quicker and gets proper separation.
Once again Demaryius Thomas was in beast mode. He seems most energized out of all the players in camp. He caught passes in stride, looked them in, arms extended away from the body. One of Manning's worst passes of the day was a throw over the middle that was just a touch behind Thomas. He reached back with one arm, caught it off his back hip and continued in stride after the catch. He also caught a nice back shoulder throw in red zone drills.
Greg Orton makes some nice plays on the ball when the pass is in front of him. He's the comeback king! Have him run a comeback and he can use his frame to box out defenders away from the ball. Orton does a nice job of squaring his shoulder to the LOS to give his QB the biggest possible target. Runs a nice square in route too.
Mark Dell had a drop early in practice where he tried to one-hand catch a Caleb Hanie pass. I like his ability to make difficult catches, but sometimes he just needs to snare passes with two hands. He's not a hot dog, and needs to be more technically sound.
D'Andre Goodwin hauled in Caleb Hanie's best pass of the day. A deep strike over the middle with CB Chris Harris being a step late. It's seems to me like Harris is feeling some pressure out there with the addition of Drayton Florence. Harris was instinctive last year, but now seems to be thinking about things too much and not reacting naturally. Later in practice Harris also held Stokley's jersey causing the pass to be incomplete. If he doesn't do that Stokley scores.
Matthew Willis was making some nice grabs. Will be interesting to see him and Bubba Caldwell compete for the slot WR job.
Brandon Stokley actually dropped an easy pass to the sideline. Manning didn't say anything too him, but he didn't looked thrilled.
Joel Dreesen was out of place once downfield on a pass. I felt he should have flattened his route out more, and Manning must've felt the same way because he put it where Dreesen wasn't. Instead of coming across Dreesen took his route deeper. This is what OTAs are all about. By the start of the season that chemistry should be better.
Jacob Tamme was in good form today. Routes, hands, timing not a problem with Peyton Manning. So far the two receivers with the best rapport with Manning seem to be Thomas and Tamme.
Willis McGahee was not in attendance today. A pre-scheduled obligation with his kid.
Xavier Omon showed a little more get up and go than I expected. Omon has always had the instincts, vision, and lower body strength. However, he's lacked the juice to get through holes quickly. He did a little of that today, still tough for him to find a spot on the roster.
Jeremiah Johnson was not in attendance today. Some felt that perhaps an injury (sore hamstring????) could have kept him out. No official word.
Knowshon Moreno is not cleared for team activities yet. He did individual drills and showed good straight line burst. When running sprints by himself he seemed to have a slight hitch in his giddyup.
Lance Ball did what Ball does today. Tried to bounce some runs to the corner (not his game) and was good inside staying low and changing direction. Also caught a TD pass at the pylon on a wheel route.
Mario Fannin runs WR like routes. Showed good hands (no surprise there) and gets to top speed in a hurry. Looks like he's fully recovered from the knee injury that cost him all of his rookie season. Fannin also doing a better job of getting 3 points of contact on the football when he runs. So far this offseason I haven't seen him fumble (BIG issues at Auburn). If he plays up to his potential it could bump Moreno off the roster. I expect the Broncos to only carry four RBs. Fannin is a space runner, something that I'm writing about in my ESPN Denver blog...will post here soon: http://denverssportsstation.com/cecillammey
Ronnie Hillman is getting a lot of attention. Even when it's not his rep RB coach Eric Studesville is in his ear. He's pointing out pass protection schemes, rushing lanes, everything. Hillman is going to be asked to do a lot with this team early if he's ready. These bounce cuts are something to behold. He does a great job of luring the defense in, then can explode/bounce outside or to a cutback lane. Best thing is he doesn't lose speed when he changes direction like this. Hillman worked as a punt returner but dropped one, then let one bounce in front of him. They've got other (better) options there.
Depth charts don't mean much now, but Hillman was with the first team when DEN started 11-on-11 drills.
Peyton Manning did not look as sharp today as he did last week. It's not saying that he looked bad, but he had some passes that were just off. Some of it was bad routes (Dreesen), some of it was drops (Stokley), some of it was him being off the mark. I like the way he sets up quickly, stays light on his feet, and has a quick delivery. Manning was still throwing with good touch, and showed good bucket accuracy when he went downfield. Read a blitz quickly in team drills and checked to hot read. Doing all the Manning little things you would expect. He's also taking the time to teach, showing WRs where to line up, and talking to Hillman as others take reps. Manning had a pass batted down by ILB Joe Mays as he tried to squeeze it into Dreesen.
Brock Osweiler has a strong/loud cadence. Regular listeners to the Audible will remember me complaining about John Beck's mouse quiet cadence at the 2007 Shrine Game. No worries about that here. A loud bark shows command and confidence, and I'm confident Osweiler's career will turn out much better than Beck's. He gets a lot of arch on his throws. With his new throwing motion it's going to be impossible for defenders to bat passes at the LOS. I'm not saying he's Jeff Blake, but man did he throw some rainbows today. Made a rookie mistake of not throwing the ball in a passing drill, instead opting to run. Timmy used to do this all the time, Brock will learn that he's not supposed to run in a drill designed for passing. After that play S Rafael Bush yelled "throw the ball man!" as the defense continued jawing at the rookie.
Caleb Hanie had one nice deep throw to D'Andre Goodwin who had burned CB Chris Harris. Other than that it was another poor performance. He held onto the ball too long and seemed to be reluctant to pull the trigger.
Adam Weber throws with nice velocity. threw several short passes today, but would like to see him uncork it downfield sometime. He was picked off by Tony Carter who returned it for 6. I still think he gets put on the PS in 2012.
Week One observations are here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=642228&view=findpost&p=14406576&hl=lammey&fromsearch=1
Passing drills started the practice after the team was done stretching. Throughout these practices the Broncos the team has had a certain swagger about them. Not arrogance....just incredible confidence.
Gerrell Robinson looked good today. Did a nice job of catching passes with arms extended away from his body. Looked good with Osweiler (of course) but caught nice passes from other QBs too. WR position is jam packed here, but I still think Robinson finds a way to the PS this year to develop.
Eric Decker had a nice one-handed grab early on in practice. Great hands, crisp routes are his trademark. However, failed to get separation from Champ Bailey on a pass play later in the day which resulted in pass getting knocked away. I like Decker when he can get a clean release off the line of scrimmage. He can get into his route quicker and gets proper separation.
Once again Demaryius Thomas was in beast mode. He seems most energized out of all the players in camp. He caught passes in stride, looked them in, arms extended away from the body. One of Manning's worst passes of the day was a throw over the middle that was just a touch behind Thomas. He reached back with one arm, caught it off his back hip and continued in stride after the catch. He also caught a nice back shoulder throw in red zone drills.
Greg Orton makes some nice plays on the ball when the pass is in front of him. He's the comeback king! Have him run a comeback and he can use his frame to box out defenders away from the ball. Orton does a nice job of squaring his shoulder to the LOS to give his QB the biggest possible target. Runs a nice square in route too.
Mark Dell had a drop early in practice where he tried to one-hand catch a Caleb Hanie pass. I like his ability to make difficult catches, but sometimes he just needs to snare passes with two hands. He's not a hot dog, and needs to be more technically sound.
D'Andre Goodwin hauled in Caleb Hanie's best pass of the day. A deep strike over the middle with CB Chris Harris being a step late. It's seems to me like Harris is feeling some pressure out there with the addition of Drayton Florence. Harris was instinctive last year, but now seems to be thinking about things too much and not reacting naturally. Later in practice Harris also held Stokley's jersey causing the pass to be incomplete. If he doesn't do that Stokley scores.
Matthew Willis was making some nice grabs. Will be interesting to see him and Bubba Caldwell compete for the slot WR job.
Brandon Stokley actually dropped an easy pass to the sideline. Manning didn't say anything too him, but he didn't looked thrilled.
Joel Dreesen was out of place once downfield on a pass. I felt he should have flattened his route out more, and Manning must've felt the same way because he put it where Dreesen wasn't. Instead of coming across Dreesen took his route deeper. This is what OTAs are all about. By the start of the season that chemistry should be better.
Jacob Tamme was in good form today. Routes, hands, timing not a problem with Peyton Manning. So far the two receivers with the best rapport with Manning seem to be Thomas and Tamme.
Willis McGahee was not in attendance today. A pre-scheduled obligation with his kid.
Xavier Omon showed a little more get up and go than I expected. Omon has always had the instincts, vision, and lower body strength. However, he's lacked the juice to get through holes quickly. He did a little of that today, still tough for him to find a spot on the roster.
Jeremiah Johnson was not in attendance today. Some felt that perhaps an injury (sore hamstring????) could have kept him out. No official word.
Knowshon Moreno is not cleared for team activities yet. He did individual drills and showed good straight line burst. When running sprints by himself he seemed to have a slight hitch in his giddyup.
Lance Ball did what Ball does today. Tried to bounce some runs to the corner (not his game) and was good inside staying low and changing direction. Also caught a TD pass at the pylon on a wheel route.
Mario Fannin runs WR like routes. Showed good hands (no surprise there) and gets to top speed in a hurry. Looks like he's fully recovered from the knee injury that cost him all of his rookie season. Fannin also doing a better job of getting 3 points of contact on the football when he runs. So far this offseason I haven't seen him fumble (BIG issues at Auburn). If he plays up to his potential it could bump Moreno off the roster. I expect the Broncos to only carry four RBs. Fannin is a space runner, something that I'm writing about in my ESPN Denver blog...will post here soon: http://denverssportsstation.com/cecillammey
Ronnie Hillman is getting a lot of attention. Even when it's not his rep RB coach Eric Studesville is in his ear. He's pointing out pass protection schemes, rushing lanes, everything. Hillman is going to be asked to do a lot with this team early if he's ready. These bounce cuts are something to behold. He does a great job of luring the defense in, then can explode/bounce outside or to a cutback lane. Best thing is he doesn't lose speed when he changes direction like this. Hillman worked as a punt returner but dropped one, then let one bounce in front of him. They've got other (better) options there.
Depth charts don't mean much now, but Hillman was with the first team when DEN started 11-on-11 drills.
Peyton Manning did not look as sharp today as he did last week. It's not saying that he looked bad, but he had some passes that were just off. Some of it was bad routes (Dreesen), some of it was drops (Stokley), some of it was him being off the mark. I like the way he sets up quickly, stays light on his feet, and has a quick delivery. Manning was still throwing with good touch, and showed good bucket accuracy when he went downfield. Read a blitz quickly in team drills and checked to hot read. Doing all the Manning little things you would expect. He's also taking the time to teach, showing WRs where to line up, and talking to Hillman as others take reps. Manning had a pass batted down by ILB Joe Mays as he tried to squeeze it into Dreesen.
Brock Osweiler has a strong/loud cadence. Regular listeners to the Audible will remember me complaining about John Beck's mouse quiet cadence at the 2007 Shrine Game. No worries about that here. A loud bark shows command and confidence, and I'm confident Osweiler's career will turn out much better than Beck's. He gets a lot of arch on his throws. With his new throwing motion it's going to be impossible for defenders to bat passes at the LOS. I'm not saying he's Jeff Blake, but man did he throw some rainbows today. Made a rookie mistake of not throwing the ball in a passing drill, instead opting to run. Timmy used to do this all the time, Brock will learn that he's not supposed to run in a drill designed for passing. After that play S Rafael Bush yelled "throw the ball man!" as the defense continued jawing at the rookie.
Caleb Hanie had one nice deep throw to D'Andre Goodwin who had burned CB Chris Harris. Other than that it was another poor performance. He held onto the ball too long and seemed to be reluctant to pull the trigger.
Adam Weber throws with nice velocity. threw several short passes today, but would like to see him uncork it downfield sometime. He was picked off by Tony Carter who returned it for 6. I still think he gets put on the PS in 2012.
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Between this and FBG-TV, Cecil is earning his keep. Good work, sir! 
