A Second Helping of Jeremy Beal vs the Bears

My previous two looks at the Broncos' preseason-opening win over the Bears covered big plays from rookies Danny Trevathan and Steven Johnson. You could easily see how the design of each play facilitated their success - provided the linebackers were alert, quick, and effective enough. They were, and if those are the backups, it could be a fun year.

For our next analysis, I’d like to take on a similar play that was successful due to the pure effort of one player - defensive end Jeremy Beal.

A disappointing Combine dropped Jeremy to the seventh round of the 2011 Draft, and Denver's depth at the position relegated the former Sooner to the practice squad last year.

Of course, he's still stuck behind Elvis Dumervil and Robert Ayers, and Von Miller slides over to a DE function on most passing/nickel downs. Jason Hunter was threatening to think people into the corn fields until he tore his triceps, and now Derek Wolfe is at Hunter’s position - Beal’s task in making the squad isn’t easy, but just improved. 

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Hey Rooks, laundry’s done

No, not the most creative or cruel among rookie pranks, but definitely annoying. (via Twitter, H/T LBS)

The Wolfe Man starteth? Lard

Good Morning, Broncos fans! The injury to Jason Hunter, which will undoubtedly land him on IR (few players are good enough to waste a roster spot on for a majority of the season), opened a door at defensive end yesterday.

But it wasn't the most obvious man (Robert Ayers, last year's starting LDE) who received the opportunity. Rather, it was second-round pick Derek Wolfe, who has already been working with the top nickel unit at tackle; now he'll be doing double duty.

Meanwhile, the injury to Chris Kuper has Manny Ramirez filling in at right guard, and during yesterday's practice (video, more video, photos, more photos) Ramirez also worked some at center. In those instances, Orlando Franklin also shifted leftward, with Chris Clark taking his spot at right tackle.

Peyton Manning and Adam Weber each led two-minute-drill drives which ended with game-tying Matt Prater field goals during situational work.

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Double surgery Wednesday Lard

Good Evening, Broncos fans! DE Jason Hunter underwent surgery today on his torn triceps, and the timeline for his recovery is double the original prognosis of two months, meaning his season is likely already over.

Chris Kuper also had surgery to repair the broken forearm bone he suffered in Tuesday's disastrous practice. The starting right guard is expected to be out six weeks, which would cause him to miss the first three games of Denver's season.

The team shed the pads for Wednesday's practice and was also without Champ Bailey, Tracy Porter, Keith Brooking, Danny Trevathan, Ronnie Hillman, Tyler Grisham, and Ty Warren.

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D.J. Williams found guilty of DWAI

Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams was found guilty by a jury today of driving while ability impaired and without headlights during a November 2010 incident.

The ninth-year player is already facing a six-game suspension for submitting a non-human urine sample for PED testing, and is likely to receive further punishment for this latest conviction. Williams pleaded guilty to charges of DWAI in a 2005 case, and the NFL tends to issue lengthier bans to repeat offenders of the personal conduct policy.

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A Load of Bunk

As the preseason predictions abound, one point seems to come up repeatedly. Can Denver stop the run? Khaled Elsayed talked about it over at Pro Football Focus:

The unquestioned star of the Broncos defensive line (if you ask me anyway) in 2011 was Brodrick Bunkley. The wrecking ball of a defensive tackle has moved onto the Saints had our highest run defense grade of the year for any defensive tackle (+28.4) and he did it while being limited to base packages. With Bunkley now gone the lineup is going to consist of Ty Warren, Justin Bannan, Kevin Vickerson and Derek Wolfe, none of whom can do what Bunkley was able to do.

Take Warren, he’s a talented player but hasn’t played a snap since the 2009 season. Justin Bannan is a solid rotational player coming off a good year, but nowhere near as destructive as Bunkley. And, even if rookie Wolfe takes the league by storm he’s a different type of tackle, so it’s hard to see how Denver will replace that production. Considering it’s an area they need to improve, letting Bunkley go could prove costly.

This is an interesting question, and the answers won’t come before the season starts. There’s been a lot of talk about the potential problems for the Broncos in stopping the run due to the loss of Bunkley. I have a somewhat different perspective on this issue. Given the roster changes, I’m not sure that losing Bunkley is the tragedy that some have suggested.

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Bite-size Nuggets:  Paraphrasing MTC at Dove Valley

Happy Wednesday, friends.  Here I go for the third day in a row.  Yay!  I left work at 5pm yesterday, which is rare, because it was primary election day in Florida.  I live an hour from work, so in order to go vote, I had to get out on time, and hustle.

To my pleasant surprise, Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan of Sirius XM NFL Radio were at Dove Valley for Broncos training camp.  I always like when they talk to football people, because coaches and players tend to open up to them a lot more than they do with other media.  The difference is really clear with a guy like Bill Belichick, who obviously feels that telling regular idiot media anything of substance is a waste of time and breath, but that telling Tim & Pat some substantive things is worthwhile, because they know what he means.  It’s a very similar phenomenon with John Fox, who appears on Movin’ the Chains every Tuesday evening during the season.

Sirius isn’t so good about making a lot of audio available online, so Doug asked me to paraphrase some of the things I heard, which included some good insight, much of which tended to confirm our speculation.

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Hunter sidelined two months with triceps tear

Onlookers noted the Broncos' practice on Tuesday for its intensity, and unfortunately, the price of going hard when it doesn't yet count can sometimes come with a heavy price.

A day after longtime starting right guard Chris Kuper was lost to a broken bone in his forearm (four to six weeks), the news is worse on newly-minted starting defensive end Jason Hunter.

Hunter suffered a torn triceps that will cost him at least two months, and possibly the entire season; a similar injury forced DT Ty Warren to miss all of 2011.

Updated 11:32am ET

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Palmer gives mate Raiders-appropriate ‘do Lard

Good Morning, Broncos fans! The unraveling life and career of Chad Johnson was front and center yesterday.

Just 41 days into their marriage, and three days after Johnson was arrested and charged with domestic violence, Evelyn Lozada filed for divorce, calling the union "irretrievably broken."

To make matters worse, the publicity-seeking wideout's release from the Dolphins was broadcast and recorded for posterity as part of HBO's Hard Knocks. At least Johnson and coach Joe Philbin appeared to handle the whole thing well, for what that's worth.

Chad expressed contrition in a statement, but considering the circumstances, chose some unfortunate wording when he said about his soon-to-be ex-wife, "I truly love her to death."

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Elvis Dumervil Anger Matrix

Does Elvis Dumervil have a wee bit of a temper problem?

Things haven't gone as promisingly as one might hope.  First there was a little incident (allegedly) with a security guard at SAF (then known as Invesco).  Next came the road rage thingy (or not).  And today, Dumervil came to blows with Knowshon Moreno in practice.

It's good to be the king.  It's not so good to be the king of getting really pissed off.

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