Back in the saddle

Griese's pain-free, but not without competition

This is the sixth in a series of postcards Sports Illustrated's Peter King will e-mail from his annual NFL training camp tour.

Monday, July 29

Team: Denver Broncos

At the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, longtime site of the Broncos' camp. No refuge from the sun here. The expansive and well-groomed practice fields are baked in blazing heat, with shade provided only by a few small trees and the huge video towers in either end zone. That's where I watched part of the afternoon special-teams practice, in 94-degree heat, with head coach Mike Shanahan. "Isn't this place perfect for training camp?" he said. "The fields, the environment, the dorms. Great place."

Greeley, 55 miles northeast of the new Denver airport, is a nice little college town. At a light on U.S. 85, I pulled up next to a semi full of 1,400-pound cows from Platteville, Colo., en route, I suppose, to their demise. One of them stuck his snout out of a side airhole. "Mooooo," I said, speaking cow. "Hey, good luck to you. Hope you don't die today."

Talking to cows. A sure sign of road hysteria.

1. I think Brian Griese -- how he is able to lift his game when his team is hurt or down or losing -- will be the key to this Denver season. He is throwing pain-free. Now he has to throw interception-free. After being plus-15 in touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2000, he was only plus-4 last year (minus-2 if you count only the final 14 games of 2001). "Too many times I forced things trying to make things happen," he told me. Common refrain from quarterbacks when they go bad. One thing interesting about this year, especially if Steve Beuerlein stays healthy (see below), is that Shanahan might turn into Captain Hook if Griese struggles early.

2. I think one of the longshots in camp to be an impact player this fall is former Seahawks sacker Michael Sinclair. He tells me that since he was diagnosed with diabetes last year he feels like a new man. His key? "I eat a lot better. Natural foods. Very little processed food. It makes all the difference," he said.

3. I think the Broncos will start looking at Willie Middlebrooks soon -- perhaps Tuesday -- at safety. He's a big cornerback, maybe not the best cover guy, but Denver needs help at safety. Defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes is excited about this prospect.

4. I think my new Montclair, N.J., neighbor -- former Jets and Cards wideout Rob Moore, who moved into town this offseason -- could be in a dogfight for a job, surprisingly. Right now, Ed McCaffery, Rod Smith and first-round pick Ashley Lelie look like locks for three of the five receiver spots, barring injury. (Which may be a factor, with McCaffery coming back, albeit fairly fluidly, from last year's grotesque broken leg, and with Lelie's hamstrings bugging him.) Then there's coach's favorite Kevin Kasper, a second-year bleached-blond fitness machine, and he looks pretty solid. After missing the 2001 season in Arizona with a knee injury, Moore says he's fit and ready to battle for the No. 3 job.

5. I think second-round pick Clinton Portis is this team's starting running back by Oct. 1.

Wide receiver Ashley Lelie. I've seen Shanahan excited about players before, but I'm not sure I've ever seen him as excited about a player, any player, as he is right now about Lelie, the big receiver from Hawaii. One problem: Lelie missed lots of offseason workout time because of a pulled hammy. And early in camp here he tweaked the other one, so he's been held out the past few days.

In the trainer's room. No contender has been hit harder by injuries over the past three years, with injuries ruining the 1999 and 2001 seasons. And wouldn't you know it? Receiver prospect Scottie Montgomery pinched a knee, maybe seriously, simply running down the sideline Monday in practice.

Defensive tackle Lional Dalton, who has the look of a cello, plays the cello.

I've always had a soft spot for Steve Beuerlein. No player in recent NFL history has been jobbed as undeservedly. In 1999 and 2000, he threw for more yards than Brett Favre. Twice he re-did his contract to help the Panthers out of their cap mess. He was the clear locker-room leader of the team. He constantly played hurt. In 1999, he made a lousy team a quasi-contender with 4,436 passing yards (11th-best in NFL history) and 36 TDs (sixth-most in a single season). The team showed its gratitude by firing him in March 2001.

Always a pleasant stop, the University of Northern Colorado training table. And no different Monday. Entree: Chicken fajitas, with just-right spicy chicken, medium-hot salsa, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes. A perfect lunch ... A Accompaniments: Slice of fresh herb bread. Spanish rice, not too dry ... B+ Vegetables: Tossed salad, and you might as well toss it right out the window. The iceberg lettuce mix was kept out on the salad bar two days too long. Gamey. Good cukes saved this greenery from downright flunking. House Italian dressing ... D Dessert: Bowl of four cantaloupe slices. Slightly hard ... B. (I also sampled the white chocolate low-fat frozen yogurt, but only got one bite in before Griese and Trevor Pryce came along. Then the whole cup proceeded to melt. Can you believe that? My yogurt melts while I'm actually able to TALK TO FOOTBALL PLAYERS! IT'S AN OUTRAGE! Overall grade: B+, carried by the fajita.

When Beuerlein recounted his late Carolina days, he followed it by doing something players are always too proud to do. You know how free agents leave a place after getting fired, and they're always too proud to admit it hurt?

Not Beuerlein. One of the reasons I like him so much is that he's so darn honest.

"You know," he told me on the field after the Broncos' morning practice, "I think I'm still getting over how it ended in Carolina. I'll be getting over it for a long time."

But here he is, at 37, early in camp, playing well. That's good, considering he had surgery to repair a torn medial collateral elbow ligament and a torn flexor tendon in February 2001, then had some touch-up work last October on the same elbow after partially re-tearing the same tendon. He showed off the scar on the underside of his right elbow, a fresh-looking five- to six-inch reminder of just how tenuous a life it is to be an NFL quarterback. "I'm not thinking about it, for the first time in a long time," he said, "so that's progress. But I know how these things go. I've just got to work every day, pay attention to it when it gets tired and give it some time. I do feel like I'm going to be healthy, though."

It's early, and the elbow could still go. He knows it, as do the Broncos. For what he's been through, though, he deserves one more shot at a healthy season.

Kansas City Chiefs, in River Falls, Wis.

Check back soon for more of Peter King's Postcards from Camp. Or visit the archive to catch up.

 

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