OFFENSIVE LINE: Louis Vasquez, RG
The first thing you notice about Louis Vasquez is his size. Guards aren’t supposed to be this big. He’s 6-foot-5, 335 pounds. He transfers his size into chilling strength. The former Texas Tech star bench-pressed 225 pounds 39 times at the NFL combine, helping convince the San Diego Chargers to select him in the third round of the 2009 draft. He was good in San Diego for four seasons. He blossomed into greatness during his first year in Denver a season ago. “He’s so strong when he gets ahold of you, it’s hard to get loose,” cornerback Chris Harris said. Cardinals linebacker Sam Acho explained that Vasquez plays with nastiness. He is mean and precise. He became the first Broncos guard to earn all-pro honors since the league merger in 1970. Beyond his power, his best ability is his reliability. Vasquez didn’t allow a sack last season, didn’t miss a snap in 1,207 and has started 70 consecutive games to begin his career. Said Broncos great Terrell Davis, now an NFL analyst: “He just never loses. What you see is a guy who’s technical, a tactician, and the other thing is — you have to have the demeanor of a defensive-minded person, you have to be a nasty dude. And I get that from him.”
LINEBACKERS: Nate Irving, MLB
There is no yellow brick road leading to Nate Irving’s locker. He finds himself an NFL starter because of patience and stubbornness. All Broncos linebackers are tough, and any could fill this space without much argument. Irving gets the nod. First off, Irving shouldn’t be here. He wrecked his sports utility vehicle June 28, 2009, and could easily have died. The car flipped, and the roof smashed just above his head. Rescuers didn’t find him for 90 minutes as he suffered a fractured left leg, a separated left shoulder, a cracked rib and a punctured lung. Irving returned to North Carolina State after a year’s absence and earned second-team All-America honors. Irving was nicknamed “Predator” in college, presumably because “Axe” or “T-Rex” was taken. He was so close to losing his life, Irving plays with a gratitude that’s tough to duplicate.
SECONDARY: T.J. Ward, S
He doesn’t have legs; he has trunks. The media guide insists he’s a strong safety, but when he wanders near the line of scrimmage it feels like a lie. “Maybe I am creating a hybrid position,” T.J. Ward said. He’s part linebacker, part strong safetyand all mayhem. The origins of Ward’s toughness can easily be traced — just follow the YouTube links. They begin in college, where Ward climbed his way from walk-on to Oregon’s defensive linchpin. As a junior, Ward separated Cal receiver Verran Tucker from the ball and his helmet. In coach Mike Bellotti’s last game, Ward crushed Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson in the head, leaving the former Chatfield High star woozy. “The sound of T.J.’s hits are just different. Teams feed off his physicality and energy,” Bellotti said. The Broncos signed Ward to be an enforcer, their version of Seattle’s Kam Chancellor. His nickname is “Boss,” a fitting man to lead the secondary. Ward sacked Russell Wilson in his first preseason game and smashed Colin Kaepernick, forcing an incompletion, in his second. In a league where fake tough guys talk about their prowess, Ward lets the groans of ball carriers provide his résumé.
RUNNING BACKS: Montee Ball
Before talking about Montee Ball’s toughness, let’s acknowledge he’s in a tough spot. His value this season will be linked to his blocking as much as his running. Keeping Peyton Manning’s jersey clean and his body safe from blitzers is grunt work. Ball revels in it. He never has shied away from rolling up his sleeves. Ball showed his strength and desire for the game by returning sooner than expected to practice during training camp after an appendectomy. It hurt to be away from the team because he loves football. He rushed for 184 touchdowns in high school and college. His time at Wisconsin offers a glimpse of what Broncos’ fans can expect this season. He carried the ball 924 times. No wonder his college coach thinks Ball can handle the rigors of 250 rushing attempts. “Yes, he can do it,” Bret Bielema, now the Arkansas coach, said. “There were a number of occasions in the third and fourth quarters of our games that no one wanted to tackle him. We had worn teams down, and you’d see players fall down in their alley or something like that. What that really was is that no one wanted to mess with Montee Ball.”
WIDE RECEIVERS: Demaryius Thomas
Demaryius Thomas wasn’t having any of it. Told that Yasiel Puig might be bigger and stronger than Bo Jackson, the man featured on the wide receiver’s shirt, Thomas balked. “There was no one like Bo,” Thomas said. Thomas conjures images of Jackson. He’s tough to cover — he’s taller than cornerbacks, just as fast and can adjust to the ball in the air — and even tougher to tackle. Thomas entered the conversation of elite receivers last season, when he led all NFL receivers with 704 yards after the catch. “Watching him on film, you know he’s fast. It was definitely a surprise how strong he is,” Tennessee Titans cornerback Jason McCourty said. Thomas runs routes sharpened by years of after-practice work, allowing him to catch passes in stride. He goes from D.T. to D-Train, chugging into and past overmatched defensive backs.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Terrance Knighton, DT
Only the media call him “Pot Roast.” It’s catchy and beefy, not unlike the man himself. Terrance Knighton earned the nickname from a teammate in Jacksonville based on his dinner order on a team flight. The other possibility was “Shrimp Alfredo,” so clearly he made the right choice. Knighton fits in the Broncos’ scheme better than he does his jersey. He weighs somewhere around 350 pounds. Unlike Gilbert Brown, who ate himself out of the league, Knighton is more like Sam Adams. You want tough? Try blocking him. He doesn’t tackle running backs, he eclipses them. Size is only part of his game. He possesses wicked strength to shed blockers and shove them aside to get a tackle or disrupt a running play. Ask former Pro Bowl defensive end Alfred Williams what makes a player tough — beyond playing through pain. “Someone who never quits. They keep coming at you,” Williams said. Knighton never stops. So confident is the tackle, the Broncos granted his wish to line up at wide receiver for a play in practice. All he did was catch a touchdown pass and strut back to the huddle. He’s tough and a tough act to follow.
Photos by John Leyba, The Denver Post
