ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The Denver Broncos wrapped up the “Denver” portion of their training camp Saturday, but it didn’t feel like the end of the grind.
Following nearly two weeks of two-a-days, the Broncos will open their exhibition schedule Monday night at San Francisco, then fly to Dallas for two days of practices with the Cowboys before the teams play at Texas Stadium on Saturday night.
“I know from experience when you scrimmage another team, it becomes a three-week camp and not a two-week camp,” safety John Lynch said.
The Broncos’ first-round draft pick, defensive end Jarvis Moss, will make his debut against the 49ers despite a still-sore knee which he twisted earlier in the week in one of two big scares at camp. The other was a spinal cord concussion suffered by linebacker Warrick Holdman, who’s been cautioned not to play football for at least three months.
The Broncos selected Moss and two other defensive linemen, Tim Crowder and Marcus Thomas, to boost their pass rush. Moss signed a five-year deal that could be worth $18 million and has said his goal is to be defensive rookie of the year.
“Right now, he’s scheduled to play,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “He practiced today and looked pretty good. Unless there’s a setback, he should be ready to go.”
New defensive coordinator Jim Bates likes the progress his rookie linemen are making.
“Jarvis Moss had a setback with the knee, but I couldn’t be happier with their progress. I’ll get a better read on them after they finish the next four weeks,” he said.
None of the rookies will start but should get plenty of action as backups.
As usual, Shanahan will have his starters play 10-12 snaps in their first game, about double that in the second game, then 35 plays or until the middle of the third quarter for the third preseason game, which is against Cleveland at Invesco Field on Aug. 20.
Established starters won’t play in the fourth exhibition, against Arizona on Aug. 25.
Several players won’t suit up Monday night at San Francisco, including offensive linemen Matt Lepsis (groin) and Ben Hamilton (concussion).
Joining them on the sideline will be second-year receiver Brandon Marshall, who has just two practices under his belt since training camp started because of a pulled quadriceps muscle.
Marshall’s timing was off Saturday as he failed to catch some passes that were thrown his way. Still, Shanahan said his route-running looks fine.
“Brandon’s looked very good. The thing that Brandon did over the last couple weeks is he’s gotten in pretty good football shape. He’s worked with (strength and conditioning coach) Rich Tuten,” Shanahan said. “One of the reasons we had him work out as hard as we did, coming off a thigh bruise, was it takes a while to get back into football shape. A lot of times you come back too soon and you pull a groin or a hamstring or re-injure the quad.
“To work as hard as he’s worked the last couple weeks, I think has helped him over the last couple days and he’s looked pretty darn good.”
Shanahan said Marshall will practice next week “and he’ll probably get some playing time against Dallas.”
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CUTLER’S CAMP:@ Jay Cutler seemed to have extra zip on his fastball Saturday. He hit tight end Stephen Alexander with a rope of a pass for a 40-yard touchdown and found Quincy Morgan for a diving catch over the middle minutes later.
“He’s had a good camp,” passing coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. “You know, when you’re working off cards, it’s easy to look dialed in. Because you’re doing game planning. But he’s had a good camp. He’s getting better at his footwork in the pocket and sliding in the pocket and seeing it and not forcing the ball in and running when he’s got to.”
Cutler is showing no ill effects from tendinitis in his right wrist or the wrist brace he wears, covered up by long sleeves even in the 90-plus-degree heat.
“He covers it up all the time, so I haven’t seen it,” Heimerdinger said.
And he hasn’t seen it affect Cutler’s touch passes or zip, either.
“He’s throwing good deep balls and scrambling and made good passes when he’s had to run. I like what he’s done,” Heimerdinger said.
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MEANINGFUL GAMES:@ Veterans usually despise exhibition games, but young players shooting for a roster spot know they’re the best route to making the roster.
“That’s what it’s for, a chance to evaluate your players and that’s what they’ve been looking for, this opportunity to show what they can do in a game situation,” coach Mike Shanahan said.
“It’s hard to tell all the time when they’re just practicing against each other,” Shanahan said. “You get a feel, but some guys really step up when the lights go on and other guys go the other direction. You’re always hoping to find guys that enjoy the spotlight and enjoy the opportunity to prove themselves.”
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EXTRA POINTS:@ WR Brian Clark made two spectacular catches Saturday, one of them a deep pass for a touchdown and the other a nifty sideline catch. … At one time or another, a half dozen Broncos receivers joined Rod Smith (hip) on the sideline during the last two weeks. The only ones who haven’t been hurt are Clark and Javon Walker. “They’re like a MASH unit right now, so if they’ve stayed in there and taken snaps, they’ve all impressed me,” Heimerdinger said. “Because they’ve run and run and run and still answered the bell and came to practice and made plays.” … Heimerdinger said he thinks Walker is doing so well because “his knee is feeling good and he feels good about his knee.” A year ago, Walker was coming off knee surgery that wiped out almost all of his 2005 season in Green Bay. … The Broncos said more than 33,000 fans attended two-a-days, the largest total since the Broncos moved training camp from Greeley to their team headquarters at Dove Valley in 2003. Among those in attendance Saturday was NBA star Chauncey Billups, who used to play at Colorado.
