Today was the final Broncos training camp practice, where they would practice against themselves. Tomorrow, the Arizona Cardinals will be in town to take part in the Broncos’ second joint practice of training camp before their week two preseason matchup on Saturday. Today’s practice was a run-heavy one where the media wasn’t close to the action, so we lack a lot of details for the practice session. It was also a second and third team heavy practice, and we saw Bo Nix only attempt a handful of passes in the practice. On top of that, Sean Payton did not meet with the media, and we heard from the coordinators, so there is not a ton to cover today.
With all that said, we have the Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton connection heating up, Jonathon Cooper having a strong camp, injury updates, news and notes, tweets from camp, notable quotes, and more!
Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton connection
One of the big reasons the Broncos re-signed Courtland Sutton was that he has built a strong connection with starting quarterback, Bo Nix. The two conencted a lot in key moments last season, and that conenction has continued throughout camp, including during today’s practice seassion.
The two connected multiple times today during Nix’s limited attempts, which included a two-point conversion/touchdown pass over Ja’Quan McMillain. They attempted that play earlier, but Pat Surtain II was in coverage, and he made the PBU.
Even though it was limited reps, it was nice to see Nix bounce back a little bit after not the greatest showing in the preseason opener and down practice yesterday. After today’s practice, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi told reporters that Nix is often harder on himself than the coaches are on him.
Nix will have a chance to silence the doubters again tomorrow in a joint practice vs. the Cardinals. Look for the first team offense to see a ton of reps, and how they do will likely determine how much they play in the preseason game on Saturday Night.
Jonathon Cooper stands out
While Pat Surtain II, Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, and others received attention throughout camp, and rightfully so, Jonathon Cooper may be having a better camp than all of them. He showed that again today when he blew past the Broncos right tackle for what would have been a quick sack of quarterback Bo Nix.
After practice, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph praised Cooper’s consistency and said he was the best player on defense when he rejoined the team as their defensive coach.
“Since I’ve been here, ‘Coop’ (OLB Jonathon Cooper) has been the same. No one’s noticed I guess, but I’ve said it 85 times about Cooper. (Laughs) He was our best guy when I first got here. He’s consistent. He’s the same guy every single day. He’s the fire starter for our defense. He’s physical. He’s a better rusher than people think he is. He’s a really good football player, and that’s the kind of guys we have on our team. He’s one of the guys that sets an example every single day.”
He would add that despite playing up front and that being physically taxing on your body, Cooper plays fast every single day. Joseph said, “He’s the same every single day, and for a coach, that’s a dream”.
“That’s hard, especially up front. It’s physically taxing to play that hard and play that fast every single day. He does it whether he’s feeling good or not. He’s the same every single day, and for a coach that’s a dream.”
Cooper is coming off a quiet 10-sack season and was overshadowed by Surtain, Bonitto, and Allen, and again, rightfully so. However, he might be one of the more underrated Broncos on the roster and is someone who will be very important to the success of this team this upcoming season.
- LB Drew Sanders will be sidelined through the start of the regular season after undergoing foot surgery
- EDGE Nik Bonitto is nursing a minor foot injury and sat out his second straight practice today – Source
- CB Reese Taylor is dealing with a hamstring injury and missed another practice – Source
- TE Nate Adkins missed another practice and is dealing with an undisclosed injury – Source
- WR A.T. Perry practiced again after being activated off the PUP list – Source
- LB Dre Greenlaw was out there in pads today and participated in practice – Source
- CB Damarri Mathis left practice with a trainer – Source
- CB Jahdae Barron made a nice PBU on rookie WR Joaquin Davis – Source
- RB Blake Watson had a fumble and a botched handoff on back-to-back plays – Source
- S P.J. Locke had an INT off QB Jarrett Stidham – Source
- Rookie WR Pat Bryant had an over-the-shoulder TD from QB Jarrett Stidham – Source
- EDGE rushers Dondrea Tillman and rookie Que Robinson had would-be sacks today – Source
- LB Levelle Bailey and CBs Joshua Pickett and Quinton Newsome had PBU’s today – Source
- It was a run-heavy practice that saw the 2nd and 3rd team take more reps than the 1st team
- It was their last training camp practice where they practice against themselves since theres a joint practice with the Cardinals tomorrow
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph on his thoughts on the first preseason game
“I liked the effort obviously. I liked the young kids going in and playing at a high standard. The first group gave a touchdown up—one third-down play—but I was like that a little bit. That’s what training camp is for, to see if we can bounce back from adversity. In this league, playing great defense is slippery. It’s a missed tackle, it’s one blown coverage [or] t’s someone falling down. So you have to experience those things in preseason to kind of get used to them in the fall. I was hoping for some adversity in that game on Saturday. Obviously we had a good practice against those guys on Thursday. That was good work, but you can’t simulate games. It’s what I said last week about the running game. You don’t know if he’s tackled or not because no one’s tackling live. So the game is a true indication of how you’ve got to be detailed in your assignments, [your] tackling and everything around you to be a dominant defense. It’s so slippery. One play can break it.”
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph on what he wants to see in the second joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals
“I want improvement. I’m doing some things in practice that I won’t do in games that I’m testing for the season. I want our guys to obviously play at a high standard. I want finish, I want great coverage, I want great rush and I want good football. This team coming in tomorrow, they ran the ball well last year and [last] week against Kansas City. Again it’s going to be a great test for our front and our backs covering. It’s a quarterback who can run, so testing our rush lanes is going to be good against [Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray]. It’s the next test, and I appreciate that.”
Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi on the importance of pass protection for running backs
“It’s important. You have to make sure you have at least a couple guys that are good at it, and we think we have more than that. The younger guys, there’s a physical ability to being able to do it, and then there’s the mental [ability] of, ‘All right, when we get this look, this is where your eyes are. You have to pay attention to who the offensive line’s blocking. You have to check these guys.’ So, there’s a lot of mental work that goes into it and that’s where some of the younger guys—you know they have the physical ability to hold up and block people. You just want to make sure their eyes are right and they’re getting to the right spot and blocking the right people. Then you have some veterans that are used to it, and you have a little more confidence that they’re already there. It’s an important thing. I think you get a couple of guys in the boat that are good at it, and once you do that then the rest of them are kind of competing with how they run the ball and catch the ball and whether they’re making progress in the protection.”
Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi on seeing WR Trent Sherfield Sr. excel on offense
“Not surprised. [WR] Trent [Sherfield Sr.] is a mature veteran. [I] love the fact that he kind of knows his role and knows his place on the team. He’s provided tremendous veteran leadership for our younger [players]—we have a number of younger receivers. And not just that, but even some of the younger special teams guys. He’s such a great role model because you see him come out here, and he’s such a well-rounded player. He takes everything that we do very, very seriously. Whether it’s blocking on offense, receiving on offense, blocking on special teams, tackling, gunner reps. He’s a do-it-all player, which is one of the reasons we really loved him in free agency. He has shown throughout his career to be a team guy. That’s what you see on Saturday night, right? He gets a touchdown catch, he’s out there on special teams, he’s blocking in the run game and he’s helping the young guys. So, just to me—I know I’m new around here too, but I would tell you that he’s a wonderful addition to this locker room.”
Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi on what S JL Skinner brings to special teams
“I’m going to go back a little bit. When I was at the Saints and [S] JL [Skinner] was coming out of college, I remember watching his college tape and him jumping off on the film and being like, ‘Wow, I think this guy’s going to be a special player.’ So coming here, getting a chance to coach JL, it’s really all that I expected. He flies around, and he brings energy every day. We put him into some new positions that he didn’t play in the past. He’s welcomed that. He’s really taken on that challenge, and I’m really excited that we have him. He’s another guy that I think can really be a difference maker for us in the core part of it.”
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