Gerard Warren is still living in a Bay Area hotel during the second week of the season. The inconvenience is the only thing that bothers him as he tries to concentrate on the season after his sudden departure from the Broncos and arrival in Oakland.
Living out of a suitcase, Warren says he has no hard feelings toward the Broncos.
“I have nothing against the Broncos or Coach (Mike) Shana- han,” Warren said as he prepared to come back to Denver on Sunday as a member of the Raiders. “It was a business decision to get rid of me, and I understand it. I would have done the same thing. It was just business. I just wish it was done a little earlier so I could get used to being here faster.”
Warren says he still is fond of the Broncos and is upset he didn’t win a Super Bowl in Denver during his two seasons after coming over from the Cleveland Browns in 2005. Warren says the Broncos have a team capable of winning the Super Bowl, and he blames only himself for not being a part of it anymore.
He said he struggled getting used to the scheme of new defensive boss Jim Bates.
“They gave me a fair shake in that system,” Warren said. “I just wasn’t grasping it quickly enough. That’s on me. I tried, but I just wasn’t getting it quickly enough.”
Warren said the presence of newly signed veteran Sam Adams – whose abilities meshed better with Bates’ defense – and the emergence of young players made it apparent to him his days in Denver were nearing the end during training camp.
“I got a feeling that they may be making a move before anything happened,” Warren said. “Look, you have Sam Adams, and that guy is a perfect fit for Bates’ defense. People say Sam is old, but that sucker can still play, and then you have the youngsters. So the team probably figured that we’ll have Sam teach the young kids. The young kids were grasping the defense faster than I was, anyway.”
The Broncos informed Warren they were near a deal Aug. 12, just before the team left for the preseason opener at San Francisco. He was never with the team again. Denver dealt him to the Raiders for a fifth-round pick Aug. 20.
Warren said he kept hearing he was headed to Indianapolis or Washington, and was taken aback by being traded to the Raiders. It was the first deal between the bitter rivals in 14 years. But he likes it where he is even if he doesn’t have a home yet.
“I have a lot of homies in Denver and good memories, but I’m a Raider now and I’m trying to win a championship here,” Warren said. “I look forward to kick off on Sunday.”
Bills on the edge
The Buffalo Bills should be watched closely the next few weeks. The team is in the dumps after the frightening injury suffered by tight end Kevin Everett, along with serious injuries suffered by safety Ko Simpson, cornerback Jason Webster and linebacker Coy Wire. Simpson and Webster are out for the year, and Wire is out indefinitely.
The Bills played hard and showed a lot of heart in their last-second loss to the Broncos. All the injuries, in addition to the emotions coming from the Everett situation, could send this team into the tank – or somehow bind it together.
Then and now
Kind of funny how the first week of the season played out. The Dallas Cowboys’ defense gave up 35 points in a wild win over the New York Giants. The Broncos’ defense gave up seven points in a 15-14 victory over the Bills.
In the Broncos’ second preseason game, Aug. 18 at Dallas, the Cowboys’ starters completely outplayed the Broncos’ first-teamers. However, several in the Denver locker room, including safeties John Lynch and Nick Ferguson, noted the Cowboys showed a lot of different looks, including their blitz packages, while the Denver defense was “vanilla.”
After one week, which approach seems better?
Colorado connections
Several coaches on the Raiders’ staff with Colorado ties will be in town Sunday. New head coach Lane Kiffin, 32, was a graduate assistant at Colorado State. Rams coach Sonny Lubick is a close friend of Kiffin’s father, Monte, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator.
Oakland special-teams coach Brian Schneider was the special teams/tight ends coach at CSU when Kiffin was there. Assistant offensive line coach James Cregg also was at CSU. Offensive line coach Tom Cable was CU’s offensive line coach during the Rick Neuheisel days.
Frye’s world upside down
Charlie Frye faces quite an adjustment after being traded to the Seattle Seahawks from Cleveland this week. Last week, Frye was the starting quarterback for his hometown Browns and the center of attention leading up to the season opener against Pittsburgh. After performing poorly against the Steelers in a lopsided loss, the Browns dealt Frye to the Seahawks, where he will be the No. 3 quarterback.
Now Frye is an emergency quarterback in a strange place. This could be a good move for Frye. He will be working under Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, a noted developer of quarterbacks. The Seahawks pursued Frye because of his potential.
Around the league
Everett was a teammate of Thomas Herrion’s at Kilgore (Texas) College in 2001. Herrion died of a heart attack in 2005 after a preseason game at Denver. … Speculation at Tampa Bay is that coach Jon Gruden could be in trouble after this season. Gruden might save his job with a strong offensive performance, but it appears the Bucs have a long way to go after their opener. … Cowboys first-round pick Anthony Spencer, a linebacker the Broncos studied, looked like a monster in the opener against the Giants. Keep an eye on him as a candidate for defensive rookie of the year, along with San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis. As for early offensive rookie of the year candidates, stay focused on running backs Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) and Marshawn Lynch (Buffalo). … The Eagles talked to former CU player Jeremy Bloom about their kick-return job but did not re-sign him. The 2006 Eagles draft pick was cut last month. He worked out last week at Tampa Bay. … The Chicago Bears played Devin Hester at receiver for one play at San Diego. Since being moved from cornerback, it was expected Hester would get significant work at receiver, and the anemic Bears’ offense could use the explosiveness provided from the league’s premier return man.
Staff writer Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-954-1262 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
