There are many sights and sounds at the Broncos’ training camp that can stimulate a grimace.
A linebacker’s pads on a receiver caught sneaking across the middle. A fumbled exchange between a quarterback and running back.
Sam Adams limping along on his burly frame.
So pronounced is Adams’ limp as he moves in and out of the Broncos’ defensive huddle, it appears he’s seriously hurt. He’s not.
Shortly after his 14-year NFL career began with the Seattle Seahawks, Adams discovered one of his legs is about 3 inches shorter than the other.
“I wear a heel lift,” Adams said. “In Seattle they videotaped me running on a treadmill. They said, ‘Man, something’s wrong with you.’ I said, ‘My momma always said I was fine.’ Come to find out I have one leg shorter than the other.”
Adams, 34, wears a brace on the right knee that was repaired through arthroscopic surgery in January, but he says that has nothing to do with his gimpy gait.
“A lot of the brace is preventative,” Adams said. “You get used to it and then you get scared to play without it, like I’m naked. How do I look when I’m out there?”
Once Adams is over the ball and the quarterback says “hut,” the Broncos’ new defensive tackle has moments when he’s able to push his way around Denver’s offensive linemen, who often give away up to 50 pounds against him.
At 350 pounds, Adams is tied for the league’s second heaviest defensive player. Only Ted Washington, Cleveland’s 365- pound nose tackle, puts more strain on a scale.
All that weight, strength and agility in one Adams body is usually good for taking on two, if not three, blockers a play. The idea behind coach Jim Bates’ defense is while Adams is stacking up blockers, middle linebacker D.J. Williams is freed up to have a Pro Bowl season.
“I don’t mind. That’s what I get paid to do,” said Adams, himself a three-time Pro Bowl selection. “And they’ve been paying me to keep guys off linebackers for a long time.”
Not yet
After Tuesday’s afternoon practice, Broncos receiver Rod Smith and tight end Tony Scheffler tested their injuries. Smith made two high-step runs of 50 yards, although he seemed to be favoring his surgically repaired hip.
Scheffler, who is recovering from a broken foot, ran and made cuts at about 70 percent speed. Smith, Scheffler and receiver Brandon Marshall, who has yet to participate in camp because of a pulled quad, are not expected back until next week at the earliest.
Previewing 3-4 defense
This can’t hurt Jay Cutler as he gets ready to play the San Diego Chargers twice this season. By preseason’s end, the Broncos’ offense will have spent almost as much time playing against three lineman-four linebacker defenses as practicing against their own 4-3 defense. After opening their preseason schedule at San Francisco, the Broncos will practice against Dallas’ 3-4 for three days before playing the Cowboys in an exhibition game. The Broncos’ final two preseason opponents, Cleveland and Arizona, also employ the 3-4. Besides the Chargers, two other AFC contenders, New England and Pittsburgh, will use the 3-4 defense this year.
