Broncos Training Camp Observations: Trouble in Paradise

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Just as you thought these training camp practices were starting to get monotonous, things got spicy.

Tempers flared on Monday, bringing a camp fight that isn’t your usual shoving match.

BSN Denver was on hand for all of the drama. Here’s what went down.

RECEIVER ON RECEIVER

The Broncos offense was off to a piping hot start when practice opened on Monday.

After three consecutive nice runs, including two from Phillip Lindsay and one from Royce Freeman, Joe Flacco delivered a strike to Emmanuel Sanders on the far sideline for a ncie gain.

Then, after two more effective runs, Flacco hit Courtland Sutton on a quick play action slant, leaving Sutton off to the races for what would have been a huge gain. On the next play, Emmanuel Sanders came in motion behind the line of scrimmage, and with all of the action moving to the right side, Flacco swung it back to Sanders on the left, leaving him a ton of open field. Finally, on the play after that, Flacco found Royce Freeman in the flat with a head of steam for yet another big gainer.

But not long after that offensive outburst, things went awry.

As Flacco got under center and prepared to snap the ball, the whistle blew. While the ref appeared to call offside on the defense, some of the offensive players seemed to believe it was a false start, and started yapping at the line to get their you know what together.

On the ensuing play, multiple members of the offensive line did false start, drawing another flag. This resulted in major frustration from players including Phillip Lindsay and Emmanuel Sanders.

While it’s still unclear exactly what sparked things, shortly after the derailed drive, Sanders and Sutton had to be forcibly separated after an extremely heated exchange that included punches thrown.

Then, after being pushed about 30 yards away from eachother, the two went back at it, this time with a water bottle being thrown in the direction of Sutton.

Eventually, Flacco diplayed nice leadership by having a personal conversation with each player, and tempers seemed to have cooled, but Vic Fangio called the team in for a huddle at midfield anyway.

“Obviously, it’s not good,” Fanigo said after practice. “Can’t happen, shouldn’t happen, but you have to be able to react to these things and handle them the right way.”

In the end, Fangio is right, pushing and shoving and even fighting can happen between the offense and defense, but throwing punches at someone in your own position group is unacceptable. Can you imagine if Emmanuel Sanders had to miss time because he took a right hook from Sutton? (More on that below).

“Hopefully it’s just a rare episode,” Fangio said. “If it continues then I think it’s a problem.”

For the Broncos sake, hopefully it doesn’t continue.

THE SANDERS BUMP

One of the reasons the Broncos simply can’t afford to have Emmanuel Sanders get injured in a fight is because he changes their offense entirely.

As Sanders has begun to take significant 11-on-11 reps with the first team, it has become abundantly clear just how important he is to this offense’s operation. As Sanders draws the top corner, a matchup he can win, he allows Courtland Sutton to take on the second corner, a matchup he can win, and so on.

“It definitely gives them another threat on the field,” Bradley Chubb said after confirming he can see a difference. “He’s definitely somebody that—we (pass rushers) have to get there faster so our DBs don’t have to cover that much. It’s a team effort on the defensive side of the ball. When the team has a good guy on the other side, everyone has to keep working together to make sure that that one guy doesn’t hurt you.”

When Sanders is out there, the early-camp woes for the offense feel like a distant memory. When he leaves, as he did for most of the second half of practice, they feel like just yesterday.

Anyone who had any question about his value as a 31-year-old coming off of an Achilles tear can put those questions to bed, Sanders is still far and away the best receiver on the team.

FULL PHIL

What if I told you that the Broncos didn’t get all of Phillip Lindsay last year?

That even in a season in which the former undrafted rookie went for over 1,000 yards on the ground, was invited to the Pro Bowl and established himself as one of the team’s most important players, Lindsay wasn’t able to give all he had?

It’s true.

You see, as an undrafted rookie, Phillip Lindsay had to stay in his lane. The boistrous leader that everyone who followed his career at the University of Colorado fell in love with had to quiet down a bit.

“I have to get in where I fit in, and right now that’s learning and listening and being quiet,” Lindsay said at the first day of his rookie minicamp. “That’s not my place right now. My place is to listen to the veterans and listen to the coaches, take what they want and establish it on the football field.”

Well, things changed.

As a second-year player and a star on the team, Phillip Lindsay can now release the fiery leader inside of him, and we got a taste of it on Monday.

Remember those “consecutive” penalties that threw the offense out of their rhythm from the first section?

Well, as the offense huddled after that play, Lindsay unleashed, letting his teammates know it was unacceptable with a few words we won’t repeat and finally a very loud, “Let’s go!”

Last year’s rookie class was full of leaders who were a bit muffled by their first-year status, and Lindsay may have been the best of the bunch, having him as a leader on the offense this year could make a difference.

OTHER NOTES

• Led by Lindsay, the running game, especially early in practice, looked as good as it has all camp.
• Theo Riddick’s prescence was felt yet again in the passing game, as he created two big plays, including a 30-yarder that very well could have been a touchdown in live action.
• Kareem Jackson had two interceptions of Joe Flacco on the day, both of which he took back to the house, and both of which in came coverage of running backs.
• Drew Lock recevied a few more second-team reps in the practice, Vic Fangio said afterward that he and his staff have not yet decided which QB will go with the second team on Thursday.
• Joe Flacco will play on Thursday.
• Josey Jewell “tweaked his side a little bit” early in practice and did not return.
• Fangio said tight end Jake Butt is “actually doing a little bit better,” but isn’t yet ready to return to practice.