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Defensive in Denver
Broncos high on frisky replacement parts
Posted: Wednesday August 01, 2001 4:19 PM
Updated: Thursday August 02, 2001 7:38 PM
After spending three days this week at the Broncos camp in Greeley, Colo., there's no question in my mind this team will be playing deep into January. Three big reasons:
That porous defense, 24th in the league last year, has legitimate and frisky reinforcements, particularly up the middle. Chester McGlockton, at right tackle, is working with the first unit, and Leon Lett, at left end, is slated to play about 25 plays a game. Mike Shanahan, correctly, is reserving judgment on the inconsistent 332-pound McGlockton. But one offensive lineman told me about Lett: "We haven't blocked him yet."
The Broncos, unlike almost every team in the game, have offensive depth. Steve Beuerlein, starting to throw hard after offseason elbow surgery, will be the best No. 2 quarterback in football. Denver has taken Mike Anderson -- the best-looking back in camp -- and Olandis Gary off the trading block for now, wisely, because they have no idea if Terrell Davis will be healthy for the year.
 Keep up with your favorite NFL team with CNNSI.com's training camps coverage, including Postcards from Training Camp by SI's Peter King, Burning Questions from SI's Don Banks and expert analysis from SI's Dr. Z and CNNSI.com's Pat Kirwan.
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And stunningly, after signing 26 of their own and other teams' free agents in the offseason, the Broncos have the most cap room of any team in football -- $6.55 million. So if they need something, they've got the money to go buy it.
One final note: Don't count on Shanahan to go after Deion Sanders before the trading deadline, though he'd have the room to do it. He doesn't trust Sanders to stay healthy, and he thinks he's already addressed his corner problems with recent No. 1 picks Willie Middlebrooks and Deltha O'Neal, plus free agent Denard Walker, signed from Tennessee.
Lions hear Mornhinweg roar
In Lions camp, lots of hubbub around Marty Mornhinweg bolting off the practice field and canceling practice after 30 minutes this week. "You guys are loafing!" he said as he stormed off.
Translation: The team doesn't know what kind of coach the rookie is. The rookie needed to show he's a tough guy, not the passive fellow he seems. The rookie made his point. Now, the rookie must show a consistent firm hand with his team so the players don't practice in a sluggish fashion again.
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And the rookie must learn he can't use this tactic more than once.
Odds 'n' ends
With the Bengals, Akili Smith has had a horrid start to his so-called season of redemption. You'd think the team would bend over backwards to make sure Smith succeeds, given its $10.8 million signing bonus investment in the quarterback two years ago. Not so. While Cincinnati won't cut Smith if, as expected, he fails to beat out Jon Kitna and Scott Mitchell for the starting job, the team is so down on him that club brass is already thinking of life without Smith in 2002.
Finally, look for the Titans, who signed rising-star corner Samari Rolle to a one-year deal last week, to make that a career contract soon. Rolle, who has Deion-like cover skills but hits harder, is close to a six-year deal with Tennessee, at more than $6 million a year.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and appears each Sunday on CNN's NFL Preview.
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