Denver Broncos - TeamReport

July 31, 2013|Reuters

NFL Team Report - Denver Broncos - INSIDE SLANT

Crown a team in the summer, and watch it crumble by the fall.

Now, no one's saying that the Broncos, a consensus favorite to win the AFC, are about to fall apart after a tumultuous month of off-field indiscretions and on-field injuries. But as they emerged from the first weekend of training camp, their personnel department was minus suspended executives Matt Russell and Tom Heckert, their center corps had lost Dan Koppen for the season to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and their defense faced a potential four-game substance-abuse suspension for All-Pro linebacker Von Miller.

The loss of Koppen dealt another uppercut to a crucial position along the offensive line. A month earlier, projected starter J.D. Walton underwent a second surgery to repair the ankle he fractured last Sept. 30 against the Raiders. Walton, who started 36 consecutive regular-season games before the injury was placed on the physically unable to perform list as training camp began and won't be available to practice until late October, at the earliest.

Denver re-signed Koppen after Walton's surgery, asking the former Patriots center to repeat his task of last year, when he replaced Walton in the starting lineup and stabilized the young offensive line quintet. But when he couldn't arise from a pile-up during a 9-on-7 period July 28, his season hit an early end, much to the dismay of his coaches and teammates.

"You get punched in the gut any time a player gets hurt," said head coach John Fox, "but we'll be all right."

The burden now falls to Manny Ramirez, who worked as the first-team center throughout organized team activities and minicamp this offseason. At the time, the Broncos expected that he would hold down the spot until Walton's return. They thought Walton would be ready for training camp, but his recovery hit a snag, and his only appearances at training camp have been on the sideline, with his ankle and foot in a boot and supported by a rolling crutch caddy that allows him to get around.

Although Ramirez worked as the first-team center during training camp, he has never started an NFL game at the position.

"It has a little different technique and a little different balance in your sets and all that, but ita's something that I've always been as a backup even throughout high school and college, to the beginning of my career," Ramirez said. "So it's just something I have to do more often now."

But he'll have to do it at the highest possible level when it comes to the cerebral aspects of the game. Peyton Manning provides more challenges in terms of checks and calls for a center than most quarterbacks, so Ramirez will have to study and absorb fast. During their work together July 29, there was a fumbled snap when Manning was under center, but no other major issues otherwise.

"I think we have a pretty good understanding (of each other)," Ramirez said. "We communicate; as you all know, he loves to communicate a lot."

Manning's continued presence ensures the Broncos are still the favorites to emerge from a mediocre conference and play in Super Bowl XLVIII. But with their regular-season opener still five weeks away, their road to MetLife Stadium is already peppered with potholes.

"We feel decent where we are," Fox said. "We always hate losing people for the season, but we'll march on."


NFL Team Report - Denver Broncos - NOTES, QUOTES

--Manny Ramirez will be backed up by Steve Vallos, a journeyman who agreed to terms with the Broncos less than an hour after they learned the results of Dan Koppen's MRI examination.

Vallos spent much of the offseason biding his time, waiting for a call after starting the regular-season finale for the Jaguars last season against the New England Patriots. After the most frenetic part of free agency passed without a contract, he knew that he'd likely be left waiting until someone was injured in a training camp.

"Guys get hurt," said Vallos, who was issued jersey No. 51. "It's unbelievable how fast guys get hurt. I was in similar situations last year; guys get hurt and I got to come in and learn stuff. There are great coaches, great players here and I'm just trying to fit in."

One change for Vallos is being on a team expected to win, and win big. In five previous seasons with the Seahawks, Browns, Eagles and Jaguars, Vallos has never played a regular-season down for a team that finished better than 5-11.

"It's exciting to come to a team that was so successful last year and has a good core group of players," Vallos said. "They have high expectations here."

--Linebacker Von Miller is appealing his four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, but he doesn't want to talk about it, repeatedly citing "confidentiality" as the reason why he sidestepped numerous questions at a press conference when training camp began.