In the off season Denver acquired what many feel is the best modern day safety in the history of the game of professional football. Brian Dawkins is the example for all other safety wannabe’s to follow. He is tough, athletic, full of character and a team leader. He has a team first mentality and is worthy of every accolade heaped upon him. In spite of all that he remains grounded and humble. He is a thirteen year veteran and is a seven time Pro-Bowl selection. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Dawkins reminds me a great deal of a safety we had years ago. His name was "Goose" Gonsoulin. Austin William "Goose" Gonsoulin (born June 7, 1938 in Port Arthur, Texas) was the original Denver Bronco, selected first in the 1960 season. At the end of his Bronco career, he was the all-time American Football League leader in interceptions with 40. He made the first interception ever in the American Football League, in the first AFL game against the Boston Patriots. He had seven interceptions in his first three games, and his 11 pickoffs in 1960 are still a Denver club record. He shares the team record for interceptions in a game with four, a feat he accomplished 18 September 1960 at Buffalo.

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As I typed the title to this post I realized that most of the readers of this site will not have a clue what I am talking about. They will probably think it has something to do with Brett Favre breaking the NFL record for the number of unretirements. Allow me to explain.

Long, long ago there were no CDs. Cassettes had not even been invented nor 8 track or reel to reel. Sounds were recorded on vinyl discs known as "records". The "record" was rotated on a device known as a turntable and the sound was reproduced through a device known as a "needle". If the record was scratched or cracked it was called broken. The needle would hit the scratch and bounce back and replay the last portion of sound. If someone repeated a phrase or sentence or theme they were said to sound like a broken record.

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Following is the letter I wrote to the Senior Committee members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  I publish this now just to keep Floyd's name and accomplishments on the radar of MHR members.

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In the afternoon of day two of training camp an event occurred which perhaps best defines the 2009 edition of the Denver Broncos. Coach McDaniel was supervising a one-on-one tackling drill. A running back would run directly at a linebacker or defensive lineman defender. The running back was allowed one "move". The defender’s assignment was simply to tackle him. Most defenders charged the running back with the anticipation of a last-second correction to complete the tackle and wrap up the running back.

After a few nifty moves by Buckhalter and Jordan, a spectacular spin by Torain and some pretty aggressive tackling, Hillis was lined up to go against Crowder. In the style we have become to expect from Hillis he carried the ball firmly with both hands and ran straight ahead. The two behemoths rushed toward each other at full speed. At the last second, rather than putting on an elusive move, Hillis merely dropped his shoulder and plowed directly into Crowder. The noise of the impact echoed through out the entire complex. Players on adjacent fields stopped to stare. Hillis flattened Crowder and ran over him. Hillis, while hit hard, was able to stumble forward for additional yardage. Crowder lay in a heap.

In defense of Crowder, who I think is doing a magnificent job of converting from DE to OLB, it must be pointed out that all of the other running backs had attempted to juke away from the tackle. Only Hillis tried to run over the defender. And this is my point. The 2009 edition of the Denver Broncos may not be flashy or flamboyant. They may not put up 35+ points a game. They may have some weaknesses on defense which will allow other teams to score. But I will predict right now that every Bronco will give 100% on every play. They will face the opposition head-on and deliver crushing blows. After playing the Broncos other teams will say "Damn, I’m glad that game is over." Our AFC West competitors, when faced with the second meeting will say "Oh crap, we have to face those guys again." I will further predict that the 3-41 blowout losses are behind us. This is a well-conditioned team that does not give up and will own the fourth quarter. This is a team steeped in fundamentals.  

I make these predictions only partially on the basis of the Hillis hit. It was typical of many plays I observed during the four days I watched camp. I make the predictions just as much on the basis of Crowder’s response. For you see, after getting some oxygen back in his lungs and lining up for the next rotation through the line, Crowder said, "He got me that time, we will see what happens next time". We are still early in training camp, but this is already a team we can be proud of.

GO BRONCOS!

I spotted papi at the afternoon practice but couldn't muscle my way through the crowd to connect with him so this will just be my observations.

The first players out for the afternoon practice were the three quarterbacks and Ben hamilton.

The practice began once agian with emphasis on special teams. This time KO returns.

During drills Simms collided with royal on an end-around. When they executed it later in 11 on 11 they did it perfectly.

Coach Mcdaniels spent a lot of time with the recievers while on cutting drills. Stokley is a master at cutting and Royal is not far behind. What a tandem!

Stretched to Peal Jam and Beat It! (Should have stayed with PJ)

Right after passing drills went right back to KO retyrn at 6:05

The Tight Ends had a football on a rope that would be jerked to make them hold on.

On 7 on 7's Orton hit Kenny Mckinley with one of the prettiest passesIi have seen since # 7.

In 11 on 11's Jack Williams nearly intercepted the first play.

In 11 on 11's the offense seemed to 'win" more to me.

Quinn absolutely decked C.J. Jones. I think it knocked him silly.

At 7:00 we went back to Kick Offs.

At 7:09 we were back to 11 on 11. Daniel Graham flattened Wesley Woodyard. Eddie Royal got Jack williams turned around and blew by him like he was standing still. Simms delivered a nice pass.

This is going to be a very interesting year. We have returned to the hard-nosed brand of football that always symbolized the Denver Broncos. This group acts like they want to be on the field (with one exception)and wants to win a starting job. They all play with emotion but under controll. I really like what i have seen in one day of training Camp.  More tomorrow.

A dedicated group of MHR "reporters" met today at Dove Valley to watch the first practice of the McDaniels era.  Our consensus is that those who predict a 2-14 Denver record this year are dead wrong. Following are some of our observations:

• There is a big focus on special teams. Practice started at 8:45 with punting and punt returns. This was revisited at 10:00. Paxton made at least three bad snaps. Britton Colquitt looked pretty good as competition at punter.
• Spencer Larson wore the blue of Defense but lined up on offense on numerous occasions and then he called cadence and blocked on the punting team. The rumor that he also sold hot dogs is unfounded.
• Lamont Jordan startyed at RB but split carries with Torrain, who looked spectacular on several lays. It is this writers opinion that if Torrain stays healthy (he wore a big brace on his knee) he will be a huge asset for this team.
• Payton Hillis is everything he was last year. I would hate like hell to try to tackle that man.
• Brandon Marshall practiced and made some electrifying catches that got the whole crowd excited. He is a dominant wide receiver. I felt he was playing with a chip on his shoulder. He seemed arrogant to me.
• Defense front plays both 4-3 abd 3-4. Much of the 3-4 looks like a 5-2.
• Gaffney caught most of the passes
• In general - Our offensive line looked at mid-season form. They still zoneblock. Our defensive front seven is not as bad as we might have feared.

I have much more and will post later, but the overall consensus of our group, Papigrande, posternutbag, mike and myself, is that this team is going to cause problems this year for a lot of teams.

More Later.

Out

In 2007 the Broncos entered Training Camp with high hopes. We suffered through two-a-days and did well in our first two preseason games. Then we played Dallas. We trained with the Cowboys most of the week prior and were confident going into the game that we would get a good look at our new talent. We were physically manhandled. We were dominated on both sides of the ball in the trenches in that game. I knew right then and there we were in for a long season. There simply wasn’t enough magic in the Coach Shanahan’s wand to make up for the lack of size, speed and talent in the trenches. 

I really wanted to see what progress we had made last year. Denver was doing the same “play with the Cowboys” deal they had done the previous year except in Denver instead of Dallas.  I made the pilgrimage to Denver for Training Camp with the goal of watching the Broncos practice a few times and then watch Denver play the Cowboys at Invesco.  I was greatly impressed.  We won the game, but more importantly we were competitive in the trenches. It was obvious to me at that early point that Clady was the real deal. Nalen was out by then and Wiegmann was picking up our system very quickly. On defense we really hadn’t solidified yet, but we held our own at the point of attack. We were not being pushed off the line of scrimmage five yards as we had the year before.

I could have predicted all of this from the four practices I had viewed the week before the Dallas game.  I knew from those practices that Eddie Royal was something special. I got to see many of the things I had learned on the MHR from Hoosier Teacher and styg in action. I had no computer so I had to phone my reports in to Bronco Bear to post for me.

Last year’s experience was so fantastic that I have decided to do it again this year. I have my tickets and will be in Denver from July 23rd until August 3rd. I know that multiple sets of eyes will be more effective than mine alone. Is any one willing to join me at training camp during those days? My vision is to have at least seven of us at each practice. I would like to have one set of eyes on O Line, D Line, Linebackers, CB’s and Safeties, WR/TE’s, RB/FB’s, and QB’s.  We would watch drills as well as 7 on 7’s and 11 on 11’s while focusing on our assigned areas. If we are really lucky we can get styg to develop evaluation sheets for each group. I am fairly certain ht will give us help in what to watch for in terms of schemes, such as the TED blocking by our linebackers. This would be key things to watch for such as fluid hips in DB’s or one-cut ability in RB’s.  Are our QB’s effective at looking off a D Back?

So, is anyone interested in joining me? Let me know. My email address is on my profile page and I would love to hear from anyone who would like to go. We might even be successful in getting Diehard to join us at The South for a refreshing beverage and the opportunity to shake hands with Jerry Sturm.

BTW, please rec. this post to keep it active for a few days so everyone gets a chance to see it. There are so many great posts these days that they drop off the most recent list in a day! Thanks.

This week we look at the Defensive and Offensive lines of the San diego Chargers.

The Chargers line up in a 3-4 on defense. The Nose Tackle is Jamal Williams. He appears to be a prototypical  run-stuffing nose tackle. He is 6’3” and 348 lbs. He wears #76. He is in his 11th year (all with San Diego) out of OK St. We have a lot of film on this guy. He has 55 tackles thus far this year with 1.5 sacks. He is listed as questionable for this week with a foot injury. If he cannot play Sunday he is backed up by #97 Ryan Bingham. Bingham is 6’3” and 303. He is a Defensive End pressed into playing NT. Bingham is in his 4th year (all with San Diego) out of Nebraska. In a back-up role at Tackle and End he has 24 tackles this year and 1.5 sacks.

Igor Olshansky #99 normally starts at LDE. He is 6’6” and 309. He has 28 tackles this year and 2 sacks. He is in his fifth year (all with San Diego) out of Oregon.  He has missed practice this week with “illness” and his back-up is, you guessed it, Ryan Bingham. Even though he is listed as questionable I can’t help but think we will see Olshansky starting Sunday.

At RDE the Chargers start Louis Castillo. Castillo wears #93 and is 6’3” and 290. He is in his fourth season (all with San Diego) out of Northwestern. He has 38 tackles thus far in 2008

At LOLB the Chargers start Saun Phillips who wears #95. Phillips has 71 tackles and 7.5 sacks. At 6’3” and 262 lbs. Phillips is nearly a DE who lines up in a two point stance. He is in his fifth year (all with San Diego) out of Purdue.

The Left Inside Linebacker is #54 Stephen Cooper. Cooper is 6’4” and 245 lbs. He is in his sixth year (all with San Diego) out of Maine. Coopper leads the front seven with 92 tackles and 1.5 sacks.  The Right Inside Linebacker is Matt Wilhelm who wears #57. Wilhelm is 6’4” and 245. He is in his sixth year (all with San Diego) out of Ohio. He has 50 tackles.

Jyles Tucker #94 starts at Right Outside Linebacker in place of Shawn Merriman. Tucker has 36 tackles and is 6’3” and 258 lbs. He is in his second year (both with San Diego) out of Wake forest.

Another Linebacker we cannot omit is Tim Dobbins. I think he comes in on the weak side in the middle in their nickel packages. Dobbins is 6’1” and 246. He is in his third year (all with San Diego) out of Iowa St. He has 53 tackles, three Forced Fumbles and one Interception thus far in 2008. He sure would look good with a horse on his helmet.

San Diego’s offensive Line is anchored by their pro-Bowl Center Nick Hardwick. Hardwick is 6’4’ and 295 and wears #61. He was hurt in week 15 against Kansas City but is not listed on the injury report this week at all. Hardwick is in his 5th year (all with San Diego) out of Purdue. If he cannot go he is backed up by #62 Jeremy Newberry. Newberry is 6’5” and 315 and in his 11th year. He is in his first year with the Chargers but is credited with three starts.

Mike Goff who wears #61 starts at Right Guard. Goff is 6’5” and 311. He is in his 11th year (five  with San Diego). At Right Tackle is Jeromey Clary wearing 366. Clary is 6’6” and 306. He is in his third year (all with San Diego) out of Kansas St.

Kris Dielman starts at Left Guard. He wears # 68 and is 6’4” and 310 lbs. He is in his sixth season (all with San Diego) out of Indiana. The Left tackle is #73 Marcus McNeill who is 6’7’ and 336 lbs. He is in his third year (all with San Diego) out of Auburn.

The Tight End is Antonio Gates. Gates is 6’4’ and 260 lbs. He wears #86. He has 57 receptions for 655 yards. He is in his 6th year (all with San Diego) out of Kent State. The other Tight End (the one you don’t hear as much about) is Brandon Manumaleuna who wears #86. This guy is 6’2” and 288 lbs. He is an eight year veteran out of Arizona (three with San Diego). He has 13 receptions for 110 yards.

The San Diego front office has been criticized heavily and a good deal of it was rightfully deserved, but no one can deny that from three to six years ago when they had some pretty high draft choices the Chargers quietly built a very solid team in the trenches. This group of men has now played together in the same system and is formidable on both sides of the ball.  

Firstfan’s thoughts: For the second week in a row I think we can win in the trenches but only if we play our best game. I think our O-Line can open holes and lanes for our Running Backs, particularly if Williams is slowed and/or if Olshansky is hampered. If we can get Phillips, Cooper and Dobbins to be making tackles six and eight yards from the LOS, then I see us dominating TOP. On the other hand if we throw too many incomplete passes and go three and out too many times I see San Diego jumping to a lead and holding on. Hoosierteacher and Ted Bartlett will have more on the “skilled” positions on other posts but this serves to give us a look at the warriers we face in the real battle ground. This will be a great match up and the victor will be decided In the Trenches.

GO BRONCOS!

The Bill’s defensive front seven is somewhat similar to our own. They are on the small side. They have no fat guys. They have been less than stellar at getting to the opposing quarterback. They seem to have a lot of heart, but the front seven is not the strength of the Bill’s team. They are trying to grow their own through the draft as much as possible. They line up in a standard 4-3 and play a base Cover 2.

The starter at Left Defensive End is #90 Christopher Kelsay who is 6’4” and 261. He was drafted out of Nebraska in 2003. His backup is Ryan Denney who hails from Brighton CO. Denny is a tall 6’7” and 264 lbs. He was drafted by Buffalo in 2002 from BYU and wears #92.

The Left Defensive Tackle is #99 Marcus Stroud. Stroud is 6’6” and 310 lbs. He is perhaps the most recognizable name on the Bill’s front seven. He is in his eighth year in the NFL and spent the first seven with Jacksonville. His backup is Spencer Johnson who is 6’3” and 286 and wears #91.

Kyle Williams starts at Right Defensive Tackle. Williams is 6’1” and 306.He was drafted by Buffalo in 2006 out of LSU and wears #95.

The Left Defensive End is Copeland Bryan who is in his second year out of Arizona. He is 6’4” and 253 and wears #96. Bryan replaces Aaron Schobel who hasn’t played since week five and was finally placed on the IR last week. The other DE the Bills have is rookie Chris Ellis who is 6’4” and 261 and wears #93.

The Weak Side Linebacker is 6’1” 253 lb. Kawika Mitchell. He wears #59 and we are very familiar with Mr. Mitchell from his four years with the chefs. He is in his second year with Buffalo.

Paul Posluszny wearing #51 starts at Middle Linebacker. He is 6’1” and 238 lbs. He is in his second year out of Penn State.

The Strong Side Linebacker is Keith Ellison. Ellison is 6’ even and 229. He wears #56 and was drafted out of Oregon in 2006.

The offensive line is a different story. These guys are huge and will definitely give our D-Line and Linebackers a handful.

Starting at Right tackle is Langston Walker, #68. Walker is 6’6” and 366. We recognize Walker from the five years he played for the raiders. This is his second year with Buffalo. His backup is Kirk Chambers #73 who is 6’7” and 315. He is a four year veteran of the NFL and in his second year with Buffalo.

The Center is the smallest man on the line at 6’3” and 310 lbs. Melvin Fowler wears #67 and is in his third year with Buffalo. Brian Galliford from the Buffalo Rumblings site didn’t seem to keen on Fowler and if they take him out his replacement is Duke Preston. Preston wears #75 and is 6’5” and weighs 326. Preston was drafted by Buffalo in 2005 from Illinois.

The Left Guard is Derrick Dockery #66. Dockery is 6’6” and 330. He is in his third year with Buffalo.

The Left Tackle is Jason Peters. Peters is 6’4” and 340. He is in his fifth year, all with Buffalo. He wears #71. Peters was named to the pro-bowl over our Ryan Clady, much to the dismay of the MHR faithful. Even if we feel Clady was overlooked, we still must recognize a formidable opponent this week.

Buffalo has three Tight Ends on the roster. Robert Royal is 6’4” and 255lbs. He is a seven year veteran, the last four with Buffalo. #84 has 30 receptions for 313 yards. Ryan Clady might get a chance to reacquaint himself with an old teammate from Boise State, Derek Schouman. Schouman is 6’2” and 223 and in his second year, both with Buffalo. He has 13 receptions so far this year for 147 yards. Look for #80. The third Tight End is rookie Derek Fine. Fine is 6’3” and 247. He wears #86 and has caught eight passes this year for 86 yards.

Firstfan’s conclusions: We should be able to move the ball. Our O-Line should be able to give Cutler plenty of time and they should be able to open some cutback lanes for our (could it be seventh?) string running back, whoever that might be. On the other side of the ball things could be different. The Buffalo offensive line matches up well against our defense front seven. These guys could give Edwards or Losman time to exploit weaknesses in our secondary exposed last week by Carolina. In addition, this huge line could open plenty of holes for Marshawn Lynch to blast through. This unit does zone block, but they have the size and strength to pound the line man on man if they need to. In goal line situations we can look for the push to come over Peters and Dockery. We do not want to give these guys a huge TOP advantage. It is really tough for Cutler and Co. to score when they are riding the pine. I am certain that later in the week HT and TedBartlett will give much more in-depth analysis and will include the “skill” positions, but at least this gives us a glimpse at the cast of characters we will face on the lines. I think we can beat the Bills, but not if we don’t come with our “A” game, In the Trenches.

GO BRONCOS!!

We have a unique challenge facing us this week. I know of no other team that has as much experience together in the same system as the Carolina Panthers in the trenches.

Carolina O-Line:

At Left Tackle the Panthers start #69 Jordan Gross. Gross is 6’4” and 305. He is in his sixth year, all with Carolina. Gross is backed up by #76 Frank Omiyale who is 6’4” and 310. He is in his fourth season, two with Carolina.

Travelle Wharton wears #70 and starts at Left Guard. He is 6’4” and 312. He is in his fifth year out of South Carolina, all with Carolina. His back-up is Jeremy Bridges who is 6’4” and 326 lbs. He wears #73 and is in his sixth season, three with Carolina.

The starting Center is Ryan Kalil #67 who is 6’4” and weighs in at 295 lbs. He is out of USC and in his second season, both with Carolina. The back up at Center is Geoff Hangartner #63 who is 6’5” and 303. He is in his fourth season out of Tex. A&M, all with Carolina.

The Right Guard is Keydrick Vincent who sport #68. Vincent is 6’5” and 325. He is an eight year veteran from Mississippi and in his second year with Carolina.

The Right tackle is 6’6’ 330 Lb. rookie draft choice Jeff Otah. Otah is sort of the Panther’s version of Clady and wears #79.

The Tight Ends are #47 Jeff King (no, he is not the famous Iditarod dog musher) who is a mammoth 6’3” and 260 lbs. and Dante Rosario who is also large at 6’4” and 250 lbs. King is in his third season, all with Carolina. Rosario is in his second season, both with Carolina. 

The Offensive Line Coach is David Magazu. Some on the MHR might remember him from his stint at CSU from 92-94. He has been with Carolina since 2003.

This unit is big, fast and strong. They have all come up through the Carolina system or have been with the team for a minimum of two years. They Zone Block primarily but will deviate when necessary. There is consistency in coaching and this unit plays together as a unit as well as any in the NFL. The O-Line is the heart of the Carolina offense.

Carolina Front Seven:

At Left End Carolina starts #95, Charles Johnson. Johnson is 6’2” and 275. He was drafted by Carolina two years ago. He is backed up by a familiar face. Tyler Brayton, who wears #96, is from Colorado and spent five years in oakland.

The Left tackle is Maake Kenoeatu wearing #99. He is 6’5” and 354lbs. He is a seven year veteran out of Utah, three with Carolina. He is their primary run stuffer.

Damione Lewis is the Right tackle. He is 6’2” and 302 and is in his eighth year out of Miami. He has three years with the Panthers.

Perhaps the most recognizable name on the Carolina front seven is Right End Julius Peppers. Peppers is 6’7” and 283 lbs. He was drafted by Carolina seven years ago out of North Carolina. He wears #90 and has 44 tackles thus far this year and is tied for fourth in sacks in the NFL with 12 ½.

At Weak Side Linebacker Carolina starts Na’il Diggs who is 6’4” and 240 lbs. He is in his ninth year out of Ohio State and has spent the last three years with Carolina.

Jon Beason #52 starts at Middle Linebacker. He is 6’0” and 237. He was drafted by Carolina two years ago out of Miami. He consistently averages between nine and ten tackles a game.

The Strong Side Linebacker is Thomas Davis who wears #58. He is 6’0” and 240. He was drafted four years ago out of Georgia.

Two other Linebackers who might see action are #50 James Anderson who is 6’3” and 235 who was drafted three years ago out of Va. Tech. and Dan Conner #57 a 6’2” 231 lb. rookie out of Penn St.

Carolina plays a standard 4-3 and a Cover 2. This unit is also steeped in the Carolina Defensive system. They have all either come up through the ranks at Carolina or have spent at least two years wearing a Panther jersey.

In summary, the Carolina trenches are manned by experienced players who have played together for a minimum of two years. They are big and strong and very physical. We have our work cut out for us this week for sure, in the trenches.