Broncos coach Mike Shanahan always likes to throw something different at his players during practices, especially off-season practices. It keeps everybody — including coaches — on their toes.
Today, during the first day of a two-day mini-camp, the squad worked on time and yardage situations. Previously, the quarterback camp and team camp focused on fundamentals and learning the overall offense.
“We worked on the two-minute offense, the four-minute goal-line — situation football that we hadn’t gone over,” Shanahan said after the nearly 2½-hour practice. “This wasn’t just a review of our normal (stuff). That was some good work today.”
Shanahan spent much of his time watching Jay Cutler’s every move.
“He’s done a good job,” Shanahan said of the second-year quarterback. “He’s worked extremely hard since April. Hopefully, he can keep it going. It’s a process, a growing process. He’s mature. He’s been working extremely hard.”
Speaking of the offense, Shanahan is excited about the team’s off-season acquisitions, including tight end Daniel Graham, running back Travis Henry and Brandon Stokley, the former Indianapolis Colts’ wideout.
Stokley, coming off Achilles tendon surgery, made his first appearance in a Broncos uniform. He participated in individual workouts but sat out the live-action team drills.
“The important thing is that we give Jay a supporting cast, so there’s not so much on his shoulders,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got a running game, a play-action game, a drop-back game.
“The quarterback can’t do it all. Hopefully, we have the pieces to take some pressure off him.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
