Case Keenum lights it up on second day of practice
Spoiler!
The passes served as catalyst for optimism and an indictment of the past.
Broncos starter Case Keenum reeled off a stretch of plays Sunday not seen since Peyton Manning retired. In a sequence that turned heads, Keenum connected with rookie DaeSean Hamilton, Demaryius Thomas and finally to Emmanuel Sanders on a one-handed touchdown grab.
No longer is the first-team defense treating the offense like a chew toy. Things are different at UCHealth Center in training camp. And by different, I mean better.
"We have a quarterback. That’s one question that we can check off. We have a quarterback," Sanders said Sunday. "I have seen Case do this since he was at (the University of) Houston. I know what he can be if he taps into his greatness. Right now, he’s tapping into his greatness.”
Completions don't move the needle. But Keenum's did because of their difficulty. Keenum lofted passes with the accuracy of a DNA test down the left sideline. It speaks to how clumsy things were at times last season that watching targets race under a ball in stride demanded attention.
"He's got a great arm," coach Vance Joseph said, leaving impressed with the offense's hurry-up work during drills. "He's a pure passer."
Keenum brings questions about his resume. He delivered one great season a year ago, leading Minnesota to the playoffs. General manager John Elway signed him to a two-year deal with $25 million guaranteed, believing he's "just now hitting his stride." While Keenum remains unproven, his accuracy is deep-rooted. Only future Hall of Famer Drew Brees completed a higher percentage of passes last season than Keenum. Keenum was at his best when it mattered most, delivering 17 red zone touchdowns with no picks.
The Broncos, meanwhile, ranked dead last in red zone passing. It's no wonder Keenum's early showing is drawing rave reviews as the Broncos prepare to go full pads on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I think the first thing I saw from Case was that he knows—I can't say every quarterback knows this—but he just knows where to go with the ball. He reads the coverage so fast, so he knows who he needs to be on and who not to be on," Thomas said. "That is one of the biggest things, and he'll extend the play for us. He has a very catchable ball, so I look forward to it getting better and better."
Mahomes made a big mistake in the red zone to end the drive. He threw to a covered receiver and the ball tipped in the air. The windows get tighter closer to the end zone, and his decision making there will be critical to his success this year.
Dinking and dunking:
Both Conley and Kelce were primarily working on short, underneath routes.
Seems to be a recurring theme:
Tanoh Kpassagnon had the best day of anyone. He had an early sack in team drills coming off the edge and later intercepted Mahomes dropping into coverage in the middle of the field. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Quesadilla Joe: Case Keenum lights it up on second day of practice
Spoiler!
The passes served as catalyst for optimism and an indictment of the past.
Broncos starter Case Keenum reeled off a stretch of plays Sunday not seen since Peyton Manning retired. In a sequence that turned heads, Keenum connected with rookie DaeSean Hamilton, Demaryius Thomas and finally to Emmanuel Sanders on a one-handed touchdown grab.
No longer is the first-team defense treating the offense like a chew toy. Things are different at UCHealth Center in training camp. And by different, I mean better.
"We have a quarterback. That’s one question that we can check off. We have a quarterback," Sanders said Sunday. "I have seen Case do this since he was at (the University of) Houston. I know what he can be if he taps into his greatness. Right now, he’s tapping into his greatness.”
Completions don't move the needle. But Keenum's did because of their difficulty. Keenum lofted passes with the accuracy of a DNA test down the left sideline. It speaks to how clumsy things were at times last season that watching targets race under a ball in stride demanded attention.
"He's got a great arm," coach Vance Joseph said, leaving impressed with the offense's hurry-up work during drills. "He's a pure passer."
Keenum brings questions about his resume. He delivered one great season a year ago, leading Minnesota to the playoffs. General manager John Elway signed him to a two-year deal with $25 million guaranteed, believing he's "just now hitting his stride." While Keenum remains unproven, his accuracy is deep-rooted. Only future Hall of Famer Drew Brees completed a higher percentage of passes last season than Keenum. Keenum was at his best when it mattered most, delivering 17 red zone touchdowns with no picks.
The Broncos, meanwhile, ranked dead last in red zone passing. It's no wonder Keenum's early showing is drawing rave reviews as the Broncos prepare to go full pads on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I think the first thing I saw from Case was that he knows—I can't say every quarterback knows this—but he just knows where to go with the ball. He reads the coverage so fast, so he knows who he needs to be on and who not to be on," Thomas said. "That is one of the biggest things, and he'll extend the play for us. He has a very catchable ball, so I look forward to it getting better and better."
"He's got a great arm," coach Vance Joseph said, leaving impressed with the offense's hurry-up work during drills. "He's a pure passer."
Umm...no, he doesn't.
Vikings staff member was quoted as saying it was one of his weaknesses....rated him as a top quality back-up. Anyone with eyeballs can see how much air he has to put on throws over 20 yards.
I can't wait for the regular season. These idiot Donk homers are going to be eating crow long before midseason. I can't wait until Mahomes embarasses their starters again. Then they can put away their bullshit narrative that week 17 was a glorified preseason game. Also, they will have learned by then that their int nicknames were as poor thought through as an ElFraud draft pick. [Reply]
Here is todays Bronco camp report from a poster at the OM. Notice the lack of INT;s unlike in chef camp.:
Offense: The offense started out quick on the first scrimmage. Later I found out on local radio that VJ want to start up temp with 2 minute offense. The offense looks coordinated and effective. Offense featured a lot of motion from the WR's and TE's, also RB shifting in the back field. 1st, 2nd and 3rd team offenses looked good. OC Bill Mustgrave has a background in the West Coast offense. Radio commentator Tyler Pomlumbus says that the "West Coast" offense is a progression offense. So routes build off each other. Example would be a WR running slants for the majority of the day the run a Slug-o = Slant and go.
QB's:
#4 Case Keenum: Had a really good day. Was sharp on almost every pass. no batted balls. Ball placement was like throwing darts out there. Today Case seemed to look to #88 Thomas more and connected on so deep throws. During the first scrimmage Case connected with Thomas on a post that would have been inside the 10 yard line. Also made another connection the Thomas on a corner route inside the 5 yard line. However Cases's favorite WR seems to be Sanders. The best route that the 2 connected on was a beautifully run "Dino" (Dino = corner, post, corner route) route by Sanders that was caught inside the 5 yard line.
#12 Paxton Lynch: Had a better day. No INT's. However still had 2 batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Did start off shaky with a few contested balls. Still late with decision making that makes him late to deliver the ball to his target. Best pass was a back shoulder fade to #14 Courtland Sutton. It would have drawn a PI as well when the DB grabbed Sutton by the waist.
#6 Chad Kelly: Had a little bit of a worse day compared to Paxton. Threw a INT to #69 Antonio Simmons. His best pass was a deep post to #19 Jordan Leslie to about the 25 yard line.
RB:
#37 Royce Freeman: I personally think Freeman is going to be something special. He is fast for a man of his size (6'0" 230lbs.) Today he made a little jump cut inside for a good gain and untouched for until 10 yards down the field. Also, he lined up outside and ran 1 passing route, a hitch which Case threw to him. Its going to be a fight between him and Booker for the starting roll.
#2 Phillip Lindsay: He making the most of his opportunities in practice going fast and going hard. Caught many "wheel" and "Angle" routes out of the back field. I think he's got a shot against D. Henderson.
TE's: Everybody caught a lot of short passes. Longest play was during a waggle play to #82 Jeff Heuerman from Case.
O-line: There were 2 things of note from this group today. 1.) I like how the coaches have organized this group during the special teams period of practice. Its already bad enough that the CBA has taken a lot of contact out of practice. So during the special teams period all the O-linemen go to the other field and do through pass blocking and run blocking drills. Many of the drills are light and concentrate on hand placement and Technic. 2.) Bolles has matured a lot. To the point that he is coaching up rookies such as #49 Marcus Rush on how to pass rush. And He's talking to Von Miller Constantly on how he can improve his own pass protection.
Originally Posted by jjchieffan:
I can't wait for the regular season. These idiot Donk homers are going to be eating crow long before midseason. I can't wait until Mahomes embarasses their starters again. Then they can put away their bullshit narrative that week 17 was a glorified preseason game. Also, they will have learned by then that their int nicknames were as poor thought through as an ElFraud draft pick.
Who's looking to the past now?
At least I have memories of a great SB win, not a rook throwing against PS players and 3rd stringers in the secondary. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KranzDictum:
Who's looking to the past now?
At least I have memories of a great SB win,
Without the advent of HGH and an unethical desire to covertly use it for a competitive advantage...those memories never happen.
Your memories are fake projections of grandeur...
We all saw what happened the moment he stopped taking it...and would have been forced to retire before ever joining in on Horseface's little scheme. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Jesus, poor kranz must lead a miserable life. Spending his whole Sunday on here trolling in the offseason?
Sitting in my back yard watching my kid play while listening to music and enjoying the great summer weather while on my laptop is pretty sweet. Reading about the struggles of PMINT only make it that much more fun. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KranzDictum:
Sitting in my back yard watching my kid play while listening to music and enjoying the great summer weather while on my laptop is pretty sweet. Reading about the struggles of PMINT only make it that much more fun.
Wow. You'd rather sit on your ass and troll than enjoy the weather playing with your kids? You really are pathetic. [Reply]
You should also probably learn more about your own team, Kranz. Marcus Rush is far from a rookie. In fact, he was actually on your team last year :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by KranzDictum:
You should see Clay pimping guys like Fuller and Hitchens over at the Mange. Talk about no names. You guys traded for them right?
Fuller was the number 1 slot corner in the NFL last year :-)
He graded out higher than your boy Chris Harris. [Reply]