“Don’t be cruel.” — Elvis
It would seem, under federal guidelines, cruel and unusual punishment.
The Broncos signed Elvis Dumervil to a $58.3 million contract extension July 23. Less than two weeks later, in an ostensibly harmless one-on-one drill, they probably lost him for the entire season.
The team’s top two running backs were hurt in the first training camp practice. Starter Knowshon Moreno wasn’t even touched when he pulled up lame, and oft-injured Correll Buckhalter is reinjured.
Lest we forget him, left tackle Ryan Clady will play who-knows-when after tearing his patella tendon in a late April pickup basketball game.
Two Pro Bowlers down, another (Brandon Marshall) gone.
Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins, the Broncos’ other representatives in last season’s Pro Bowl, thankfully survived the afternoon workout Thursday without incident.
An axiom in the NFL is that the three most important positions are quarterback, left tackle and pass-rushing specialist. Running back is fourth. The Broncos are about axiomed-out. Team doctor may be the most important position.
“We don’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Josh McDaniels said Thursday. The Chargers don’t feel sorry for them, either.
But the coach appeared to be suffering momentary self-pity Wednesday evening as he was told by trainer Steve Antonopulos that Dumervil was badly damaged. McDaniels looked shocked.
Dumervil’s raging-bull pass rush, 17 sacks, four forced fumbles and one recovery, 49 tackles, three passes broken up, attitude and leadership can’t be replaced, and McDaniels told me he won’t try to.
The coach figuratively and literally was up against the brick wall at Dove Valley when I asked what he intends to do.
“We’re not going to bring someone in because you can’t get anyone of Elvis’ capability,” McDaniels said. “We’ll go on with the players we have. We’re not going back to the 4-3 (defense) full time, but we’ve been working on it in camp, and we’ll use it more because of the depth and quality we have in the line. We’ve got versatility on defense.
“Mario Haggan played great on the outside (at linebacker) last year (before being moved inside this season), and we’ll probably put him back out there because we’ve got several good people inside.”
Jarvis Moss, a gigantic bust of a first-round draft pick in 2007, has “progressed well this offseason,” said McDaniels, “and Robert Ayers (a major disappointment as a first-round choice last year) has had a very good camp. All the defensive players have to take it upon themselves to step up and make up for Elvis not being here.”
The Broncos also placed receiver Kenny McKinley and defensive back Josh Barrett on (full-season) injured reserve with injuries. The hits just keep on coming.
Without bad luck, the Broncos wouldn’t have any at all. A white dove actually flew over the field last week, but a crow (a Baltimore raven?) must be hovering above now.
The Broncos are somewhat like Roy Sullivan, a U.S. park ranger who was struck by lightning . . . seven different times. Well, it can be said Sullivan did have some good luck because he survived all the bolts. But Sullivan then committed suicide.
Already, before camp began, from Las Vegas to New England, from Las Cruces to New York, the Broncos were deemed a trailer, not a tractor, in the league this year.
The whispers became yells: “The quarterback is a journeyman . . . the wide receivers aren’t special . . . there aren’t playmakers on offense . . . the offensive line will be uncertain and inexperienced . . . Tebow was a wasted first-round draft choice . . . the defense is composed of old parts gathered from junk yards around the league . . . the Broncos have run off their best players . . . McDaniels is an unproven, arrogant coach.”
After all that, the Broncos have serious injuries, and they drafted two wide receivers who had serious injuries.
But McDaniels — still with his back against that wall — twirls his whistle while, some say, the Broncos burn. McD — who is missing the main man on his D — remains ever-optimistic, as a man who has never been involved in his life with a losing football team. He came close last season.
“We’re facing adversity, but we’re going to be OK. We’ll get through this.”
The Broncos’ players claim they are keeping their chins lifted, their upper lips rigid and their noses to the millstone. Haggan said that for the team “to not have Knowshon, to not have Correll and now to lose Elvis and a couple of other guys we have down, obviously, it hurts our team’s preparation, but that’s why we pick up guys in free agency. That’s why we have a depth chart. That’s why we go through the draft. At that opportunity, one man’s loss should be another man’s gain.”
Yet, 2010 has been of misfortune for the Broncos, the Rockies and the Nuggets — losing a linebacker and a shortstop, a power forward and an offensive tackle, starting pitchers and running backs, a first baseman and a first-round draft choice.
Is this global warning for Denver?
It is definitely foreboding and cruel.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
