ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The dog days of August are already upon the Denver Broncos.
Coach Mike Shanahan had his team shed their shoulder pads Thursday and he also shortened practice because of his growing list of injured players that has reached 14.
“We’re banged up a little bit right now, but we still had a good practice,” Shanahan said. “We fought through it. You can get a lot done when you practice at game-day speed. Even when we don’t have pads on, we try to practice at game-day speed and these guys have been doing a good job. Hopefully, their bodies will heal a little bit and we can get some of the guys back on the field and get back at it tomorrow with some shoulder pads on.”
Thirteen players were sidelined at the start Thursday, including five wide receivers, and two more, safety John Lynch and tight end Nate Jackson, were excused to represent the Broncos at Bill Walsh’s funeral.
Safety Hamza Abdullah (right hamstring) also was out, so cornerback Domonique Foxworth moved over to safety.
On offense, guard Ben Hamilton (concussion) and tackle Matt Lepsis (groin) are ailing, along with receivers Rod Smith, Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Glenn Martinez and Marquay McDaniel.
Neither Lepsis nor Hamilton will play Monday night at San Francisco, Shanahan said.
Lepsis’ backup, rookie Ryan Harris, got hurt during a pass-blocking drill Thursday.
“I think he had a little tweak in his back. I’m not exactly sure how serious it is but enough not to practice the rest of practice. So hopefully it’s not too bad,” Shanahan said.
One player who is making progress in his return from injury is tight end Tony Scheffler, who is getting more work in every day since returning this week from a broken foot.
“The MRI was (negative), so we know there’s no chance for any structural damage and now he’s just got to get back in football shape and trust it,” Shanahan said. “I think we’re going to play him a little bit each day and he should be ready to go next week, at least practice, when we go against the Cowboys.”
The Broncos will practice in Dallas next week in preparation for their exhibition game there on Aug. 18.
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VERSATILE WALKER:@ With so many wide receivers hurt, Javon Walker has put in yeoman’s work at flanker and has made one or two highlight reel-type plays per practice.
On Thursday, he showed his versatility, grabbing the first-down marker and moving the chains for five minutes just for laughs.
“I did it to break the monotony,” Walker said.
“The more he can do,” coach Mike Shanahan cracked. “Just like coaches, you never know for sure how long you’re going to be here, the more you can do the better off you are.”
Walker has had a great camp so far. He continues to decline to discuss cornerback Darrent Williams’ death. Williams died in Walker’s arms in the back of a limousine that was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by shooting Jan. 1 that remains unsolved. Walker, however, is expected to discuss Williams in an HBO show airing next week.
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DALLAS-DENVER:@ The Broncos have worked in hot conditions for the last two weeks, but coach Mike Shanahan was taken aback when a television reporter asked him Thursday if the reason for the team’s dual workouts with the Cowboys next week was to capitalize on the Texas heat.
“Heat has nothing to do with it,” Shanahan said. “I just enjoy working with a different scheme. They’re a 3-4 defense—we see that a number of times during the season. Obviously with (Cowboys coach) Wade Phillips, the (former) defensive coordinator at San Diego, we’ll get a chance to work against a defense that we’ll see during the season.
“On top of that, about the third week of camp you get tired of hitting against each other and you want to see players go against people that they don’t know so you can evaluate some of the younger guys and get a little more spirited practice.”
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EXTRA POINTS:@ DE Kenard Lang said the one lineman he’s really been impressed with is T Amon Gordon, who picked off a pass Thursday and rumbled downfield. “Unhook the trailer? I was like, ‘Hit the ground like you’re on fire. Stop, drop and roll. Don’t you try to run that ball, big boy,'” Lang said. “But he’s making plays.” … Pass-rush specialist Elvis Dumervil said his goal this season is 12-15 sacks. … Rookie DE Tim Crowder, who signed a four-year contract that included a signing bonus of $1.371 million, has found a way to make a little extra cash this summer. “I charge these guys $8 for a haircut,” Crowder explained. “I charged $5 at Texas. The pro players make a little more money.”
