In the spring of 2007, University of Iowa junior Shonn Greene lost his academic eligibility and football scholarship. Uncertain of his life’s direction, he left school, enrolled in Kirkwood Community College (which doesn’t even have a football team) and worked just down the road from the University of Iowa at a furniture store, moving crates and tables, mattresses, beds and dressers.
That experience lasted until 2008, when he was able to return to college as a junior. He even missed spring football practice that year, but in the fall, he was back on the field with a very different attitude.
Up to that point, he’d had a couple of poor years as a running back, with just 37 carries for 173 yards his freshman year. As a sophomore, he still produced only 32 carries for 205 yards and one score. The realities of getting an hourly paycheck for long days of work, and nights of study, with the attendant backaches from moving furniture, provided a powerful force in his life. He knew things had to change.
Continue reading "Sylvester Williams and the value of hard work"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! In his latest mailbag, Mike Klis thankfully eschews assigning a grade to Denver's recent draft.
Of course, that didn't stop his colleague Jeff Legwold from doing so, but one out of two ain't so terrible, right?
Back to Klis, he says the selection of QB Zac Dysert (which we predicted in Kreskin-like fashion) is about prodding Brock Osweiler's development along, but not about providing him real competition. Obviously, that could be the outcome, but it's not the intent. Where each player was selected should speak volumes about what Denver thinks of them, were it not already clear.
As for the matchup safety Ted's been begging for, Klis says the team was enamored with LSU's Eric Reid, and he suggests that an impressive showing from Kayvon Webster could push either Champ Bailey or Chris Harris to safety.
Continue reading "Dysert is third string, end of story Lard"
Happy Tuesday, friends. I’ve had a few days to digest the 2013 Draft, and I have some thoughts on the class of players that the Broncos took. It’s not going to be like a grading exercise, or anything like that, because you can get that crap around the internet from any fool who has a keyboard, just like you can get mock drafts. For the most part, those grading exercises are worth about as much as the mocks are.
What we should be concerned with is how this group of players fits into this roster. The time to be worried about reaches and relative draft value is over; it doesn’t matter if you think that some other player who was picked in the fourth round was better than the guy the Broncos took in the third. Sunk costs are irrelevant to the team’s affairs and decisions of today. People who dwell on them are morons.
What is relevant is how these players can help the team, both now and in the future. That’s the topic of today’s article – how does it all fit together?
In the murky hours following the completion of the draft on Saturday, it was reported that Denver had signed 16 undrafted rookies. But when the dust settled, there were only 15 signees.
Turns out there was a 16th player added - it just took a couple of days to get there. According to Mike Klis, the team has agreed with former BYU nose tackle Romney Fuga, a 6-2, 320-pounder from Huntington Beach.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! According to Jeff Legwold, Denver expects Sly Williams to be an instant starter, next to Terrance Knighton.
Meanwhile, after months of beating the running back drum, he now hedges his bet by hilariously calling the Montee Ball selection a "luxury" pick that eschewed a greater need.
Leggy goes on to display some even poorer logic by suggesting the decisions facing good teams amidst the draft are somehow different than what the bad ones deal with:
But teams such as the Broncos, coming off a playoff season, always have to make a choice as they pick at the bottom of each round. Do they want to jump a little early to get the player they want, or wait and hope the player will still be there when they pick at the bottom of the next round?
So, did anyone know that the 32-pick wait for good teams is more long and painful than it is for bad teams? Surely, I did not.
Even if we know it's not Jay, isn't it hard to think it's not him, while watching this?
Thirteen months and eight days after sending Denver a fourth-rounder (Philip Blake), a sixth-rounder (Danny Trevathan), and $2.53M in cash (of which $1,531,875 will be paid Denver this year) in exchange for Tim Tebow and a seventh-rounder (later sent to Seattle), the LOLJets have waived their former third-string quarterback/punt protector.
Over the weekend, and prior to the completion of the draft, New Jersey put out word that the UT™ had dropped fifteen pounds, gotten faster, improved his throwing motion, and won over members of the organization.
Updated 4:00pm ET
Good Morning, Broncos fans! When asked why a team chose to draft or sign one player over another, it's not often that an executive gives a reason beyond we liked him better, or he was the top guy on our board.
There's a dual purpose served there - of covering one's ass, while also not wanting to malign the unsigned/unchosen player, especially since one might want to sign him at a later point.
So although we didn't think much of it earlier, John Elway's public statement that Denver preferred Montee Ball over Eddie Lacy due to medical reports was actually somewhat notable.
This is especially true as more information begins to leak out regarding Lacy.
According to Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette, the Steelers and several other teams passed on the Alabama running back because what had been termed turf toe in the past is actually a fused toe in Lacy's case.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Ever since the Dumervil departure debacle, fans and writers had been clamoring/predicting for Denver to land a pass rusher either via veteran free agency for big bucks, or highly in the draft.
Denver didn't have to replace Elvis with one player, though, and will instead do so with Robert Ayers, new signee Shaun Phillips, and possibly fifth-rounder Quanterus Smith, who led the nation in sacks per game in 2012.
It's easy to like the signing of Phillips on its surface, and from a pure football standpoint. But when it comes to the financial aspect, the move appears a stroke of brilliance.
Originally reported as a $3M deal, Phillips actually got just a $1M salary for 2013, plus incentives that could push his total compensation to that $3M figure. According to Mike Klis, those incentives don't kick in until he reaches the eight-sack plateau, a level he's achieved four times in his nine seasons.
No, Chris Mortensen, Zac Dysert is not like John Elway. Let's just calm the hell down.
Zac Dysert is a seventh-round draft pick for a reason. Sure, the kid has a good arm and a quick release. Sure, he's mobile and throws well on the run. I'll even grant you that Dysert should have been drafted two or three rounds earlier. In fact, the Broncos got a lot of value right here.
But he's got a long way to go before he's reading pro defenses and playing from under center. Hell, he's still got to go through Brock Osweiler.
Continue reading "Gut Reaction: Broncos draft Zac Dysert with pick #234"
