[OleBroncoFan]

Day 2 - Story of the day, Jarvis Moss:
http://www.orangemane.com/article_739.php

7/30 AM Report: Moss makes good progress

QUARTERBACKS- Cutler was pretty good today, although not as dominant as yesterday. He had a few mistakes, throwing some inaccurate balls on the sideline, with a few incompletions and

trying to force balls in with his rocket arm. Ironically, enough, both times he took the risk, it worked out, as he hit a TE who was very well covered by D.D. Lewis. The second occasion he launched a deep ball into double coverage that Brandon Stokley still came away with. Cutler’s best work was during 7 on 7 when he had about 6-8 really magnificent 15-20 yard throws on comebacks, corners and deep square in’s. He is getting very good at finding the windows in zone defenses and really drilling the ball in to the numbers. He continued to do a good job today vs. the blitz. I would give Jay a B+ today. Ramsey continues to be Ramsey, there is not much else to say. Parsons took a step backward. He had been the second best QB yesterday but today he was quite inaccurate.

RUNNING BACKS- Henry was the man today. He showed very good power and ran with authority. He continues to get more comfortable in this scheme. He also showed a bit more speed than he did yesterday. His highlight play was a cutback across the entire field and showed enough burst to beat most defenders to the opposite hash. In the goalline work, I paid particular attention to him and not only did he run with power but he could also find the (very small) holes on the goalline well. Khan remarked on this as he compared him to Sapp who is also powerful but is sort of just a reckless runner who doesnt quite see the goalline holes as well. Speaking of Sapp, he made a move up today, getting a lot of time with the second unit. He looked better and his move came at the expense of Mike Bell who really came down to earth today after looking very good yesterday. He dropped some passes too and Bobby Turner got on him. Selvin Young and Hall, however, remain at the bottom of the depth chart.

WIDE RECIEVERS AND TIGHT ENDS- Brandon Stokley was the best of the bunch today. He really is developing a nice chemistry with Jay Cutler. He had a beautiful sideline catch on a deep ball in the midst of two defenders. He also caught a number of nice intermediate routes from Cutler in 7 on 7s. Coach Shanahan really praised him in his post-practice press conference as well. Walker was kind of quiet today as was Hixon. Nate Jackson made a good showing catching a number of passes. I thought Daniel Graham struggled today a bit. He had some drops and was not much of a factor in the passing game. I did not get a good view of him in the 9 on 9s to see how well he did in blocking but I assume he did very well since the first team unit was successful in 9 on 9s.

OFFENSIVE LINE- Rookie Ryan Harris continues to struggle. Khan continued to be right on the mark in his analysis of Harris’s footwork problems. He just needs more work. Hamilton and Eslinger got overpowered in the 1 on 1s that I observed, although Nalen continues to be a crafty veteran in moving his body around to match the movements of the defender and also to regain leverage (this was Khan’s observation as he paid a great deal of attention to the DL vs. OL 1 on 1s). Chris Kuper did very well when I watched him, although Chris Myers had a down practice and was chewed out by the Coach once. I am not comfortable with the RT situation at all. Pears continues to have shaky performances and Meadows is not pushing him because he is really struggling out there. Both of them were taken advantage of by Jarvis Moss today.

DEFENSIVE LINE- Jarvis Moss really took a big step today, most notably in 1 on 1 drills. Khan observed much more of these drills than I did, but he was raving about Moss so much that I had to turn around (from the 7 on 7 passing drill) to get a looksie for about 10-12 plays and I was impressed. He showed good pad level/leverage (and was complimented as such by Coach Bates) in getting under Meadows and then by him. He repeatedly beat Meadows and Pears and Bates really became giddy with praise. Khan observed that Moss was doing a really fine job with his hands too, as even when he did not get past the OT (which did not happen often) he was trying to use different moves and continuing to give great effort. In the full 11 on 11 he did a nice job too in beating the OT and also pursued down the line well against the run. Moss did get winded out there and needs to be in better shape, as he had his hands on his hips and was struggling for air a few times, but he really took a big step forward today. Tim Crowder also did some good things. He was stoned quite often in the 11 on 11s as a pass rusher but his work in 1 on 1s against opposing lineman was solid, he beat fellow rookie Ryan Harris a couple times and was complimented at least once by Coach Bates, who was observing the 1 on 1s. Marcus Thomas seems to be working hard, but in the full 11 on 11s and 9 on 9s, he did not seem to be disruptive and sometimes gets tangled up with the lineman rather than shedding the block and getting to the ball carrier. When Khan was observing the 1 on 1s though he said that Thomas beat Hamilton like a drum. John Engelberger was singled out for praise by Coach Shanahan today in the redzone/goalline work in contain responsibilities. One on occasion he forced the back to cut inside and then also shed his block and made the tackle. Antwon Burton continues to be impressive (he did get owned by Kuper once though when I turned around to observe the 1 on 1 drills) and I believe he has moved up and gotten some significant reps with the 2nd team. I did not notice much of Warren, Ekuban or Lang though. People will be encouraged to know that Bates repeatedly was yelling out "Much better up front today....we’re doing much better guys". Coach Bates is really passionate and you can see that he was pleased with the progress of the youngsters, especially Moss.

LINEBACKERS

I really liked the linebacking group today. I felt that DJ had his finest practice yet. He intercepted a pass that Bly had deflected and took it back to the endzone and also ran with Javon Walker and deflected a pass away from him. He did get beat by some running backs in the passing game a few times, but I felt the best thing he did out there was rush the passer, which is strange because outside of his senior year at Miami, he has never been a good pass rusher. Today, by my count he had 2 would be sacks and 1 hurry which forced Ramsey to get off an inaccurate pass. He still sometimes gets caught up in the wash though, like yesterday. I was extremely pleased overall, however. LB D.D. Lewis also had a superb practice and got a lot of time near the end of practice as the first team Sam backer. He had two TFL, while Nate Webster had a huge hit for a tackle for a loss as well. I thought Gold was solid and in the first play of practice he was complimented by Coach Bates for his pass coverage on a play. Former Nebraska Cornhusker was complimented by Coach Bates as well for the third straight practice, but he does not seem to have that extra burst in space. On one play he got where he needed to be to tackle the runner (I thought it was either Young or Hall) but didnt close on him well enough and let him get to the corner. Warrick Holdman did a good job taking on lead blocks but he is not very mobile and does not make many plays. Overall, I was very, very happy with this group.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Dre Bly was the Broncos finest defender today. He was smothering people, he had several deflected passes in the red zone and after DJ intercepted the pass that he had deflected, Khan pointed out that he was down there ready to block for the interception return. He had some near interceptions too. He was truly fabulous, as was ofcourse Champ, who did really well in closing in on recievers today. Kircus caught a hitch about 10 yards in front of him and he got about two YAC before Bailey was right there. Karl Paymah continues to impress. He’s big, he’s physical and he fits the scheme well. When Khan observed the 1 on 1 WR/CB drills he said that Paymah did really well and I felt the same way when I watched him in 11 on 11 and 7 on 7s. He was tested deep today and passed the test. Foxworth continues to have a very quiet camp and has been beaten a few times. I thought Cox and some of the other members of the secondary were kind of shaky though. Lynch made his presence known today by forcing a fumble and also tackling and hitting people even when it wasn’t allowed. I have not really noticed Nick Ferguson much in this camp and that is troubling. Steve Cargile had a nice showing though, displaying good range in breaking up at least one pass and rookie Roderick Rogers does a good job in run force from the safety position, he comes down and fills the hole well.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The team also worked on end of game FG situations and timed the special teams unit to see whether they could get on the field and ready in under 24 seconds. Jason Elam converted on all attempts (all but one were only 32 yards, however) and protection was generally good although Foxworth got in close to a block on one occasion.[/b]

[OleBroncoFan]

http://www.orangemane.com/article_741.php

The second day of training camp is under way and players are beginning to get more settled. The feel of pads, the running, the hitting – it’s starting to feel familiar again and this was reflected in the comfort level on the field today. The best part of the second day is the growth you start to see in players as they settle into their roles and begin to learn having now had a couple of film sessions and coaching work.

The camp went pretty much like yesterday except there was some variance this time around on the scrimmages and drills they worked on as entire units, and offense versus defense. Shanahan had everyone work some game situations.

The first was a move the ball drill where we needed to get into field goal range with a minute and a half on the clock and two timeouts. This involved the first team offense versus the first team defense. Cutler was particularly sharp during this, as was Travis Henry.

After that they did some special teams work with field goals. Shanahan wanted to see if the unit could set up and kick a field goal with twenty four seconds on the clock after the ball had been downed in play (so the clock’s moving). Elam was perfect on all his kicks and showcased his still impressive range when he booted a couple of balls into the sky crane that has the cameramen recording practice that day.

After that they ran some drills in the redzone. Travis Henry really did well here, but some of the defenders made some nice plays like Dre Bly and D.D. Lewis.

They ran seven on seven drills and then had the offensive line go against the defensive line again. I watched the lines and am excited to report on the progress on that end.

In fact let’s just get started. As usual I only post on the players that stood out to me so naturally my eyes were drawn toward the rookies, starters and other players of interest.

Defensive Line – I had a very close look at the D-line. The line showed some improvement generating a pass rush and you can see the coaching starting to manifest itself in a variety of ways. The new schemes for the front line are simplified, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t practiced to perfection. The stance, spacing, angles and hand placements are drilled over and over.

Jarvis Moss: Moss had an amazing practice. It was the first time I felt like he was really worth the first round grade. He is very good at using his hands. He slaps at the wrist and does a good a job of getting his shoulder around the offensive linemen. He’s developed some moves for different players and has good instincts depending on what he sees. During the drills against the offensive line he had a streak where he beat his guy four times before Meadows finally shut him down.

On one play during the scrimmage he went outside, but the tackle cheated out that way so he spun back to the inside and put his hand up in the passing lane. It wasn’t a sack, but showed an understanding of what needs to be done.

Moss’ conditioning is the only question. During practice he was sucking air and had his hands on his hips quite a bit. Despite this, he’s very competitive and drives very hard every snap he’s out there. I didn’t see him take any plays off even when exhausted. We even saw him wash down the line and tackle the running back so he’s trying to make plays both ways. During the line drills Bates was hugging and high-fiving him because of the success he was having. He’s getting work on the first team now.

Tim Crowder: Tim showed some improvement. He seems to be working on his first step. After struggling to get pressure during the drills, Johnson talked to him on the side and then in his next attempt he got by his man (Washburn) and drew praise from Bates on his leverage. He wasn’t bad but just wasn’t flashy. He still needs to work on his burst out of his stance.

Marcus Thomas: Thomas showed some flashes here and there. There were a few plays where he would burst up into the inside and make some things happen, but overall he’s still trying to have things slow down for him. I think adjustments for defensive tackles is difficult in the first year.

Ebenezer Ekuban: Ekuban is having to adjust to playing out so wide. He’s getting better at getting his pad level to where it needs to be in his attack and his combination of power and quickness is pretty impressive. He had Lepsis in a back-peddle at one point. I’d say he’s still showed the most consistency of the ends and that he is the starter is understandable.

John Engelberger: He has good quickness and burst but it doesn’t sustain and he is a real hit or miss type. Nothing amazing, but he is more productive in the new scheme than he was last year. My suspicion is that he’ll be supplanted on the depth chart sometime.

Gerard Warren: He’s really just eating blockers anymore and they use him that way. Not a lot of big plays but he’s better about not getting pushed off the line and pushing in on it during pass plays.

Elvis Dumervil: Dumervil is a hit miss guy. When he beats his guy, he beats him very quickly and he’s there. If a guy gets his hands on him, it’s over. On one drill Lepsis literally picked him up and threw him on the ground. Dumervil took some ripping and looked embarrassed. He still has a good motor and tries every play, though.

Sam Adams: Adams had some nice moves and still shows that burst and penetration. He wears down and needs frequent rests to keep his intensity, though. He has lost a little weight, which appears to have helped his agility. He’s still very disruptive.

Jimmy Kennedy: Kennedy got some work filling in for Sam Adams and from what I saw he was alright. Some have criticized him as being too soft and not very good against the run. I didn’t mind what I saw, and while he is a far cry from his first round grade where he was drafted, he seemed good enough to fill in at spots and contribute.

Offensive Line – The O-line was pretty good today. They seemed to be better at handling the edge rushers and using their hands to keep the plays inside. Here’s some general things I saw.

Tom Nalen: Nalen is still very good at what he does. There was a time when he was being bull-rushed and he’s always able to use his core strength and athleticism to redirect the attacker into a position where their power is moving somewhere other than where it should be. I think Demetrin Veal attacked Nalen lifted and pushed him up out of the attack posture while bending his back pretty far to neutralize the rush. It was very impressive. Compare that with…

Ben Hamilton: Hamilton does a good job keeping his feet but he still gets blown off the ball in straight bull rush attacks. He just gives up too much ground. He’s always good at getting his hands on his guy and keeping the play in front of him and in the rushing attack he’s quick and explosive but he doesn’t anchor well in the passing game.

Chris Kuper: Kuper had an impressive practice. He’s still really hard to move and generally just plows guys off the ball. His feet are always in good position and once he anchors he explodes back into the attacker and they just can’t win. I maintain that he’s going to be a pro bowl player for us.

Adam Meadows: Meadows was beat like a drum all day. He seemed to really be struggling with the speed and quickness on the outside that we’re starting to see. He did recover on one play after he was beat to the outside.

Erik Pears: Pears looked better but still seems to be in an adjustment phase. When he’s on, he’s on but for whatever reason he makes mental lapses and struggles with some of the angles he’s attacked on. He is getting better, though.

Ryan Harris: Thomas is good in a lot of the things he does but he’s struggled the last few days with his footwork. On the edge rush he needs to be better about kicking out, planting his outside foot and then accelerating into his block. He’s not planting his feet right and he’s not accelerating into the block. I think the speed of the defenders is giving him some troubles.

Matt Lepsis: He had an off an on practice, but more was on than off. Moss gave him some trouble, but he overall was doing ok. He was beat on one but recovered and pushed the guy out of the play.

Quarterbacks – The quarterbacks from a depth perspective are disappointing. Maybe it’s just that Cutler looks really good but my thoughts are more grim based on what I see.

Jay Cutler: Cutler continued to impress. There were a couple throws he forced, but he completed them and I have yet to see him get intercepted. He does a good job of not staring down his receivers and I also haven’t seen him fumble to ball during the exchange yet. He is still extremely accurate, composed and has taken the leadership role well.

Patrick Ramsey: He is not very accurate. He holds onto the ball too long and pumps too much. His passes are very strong, but also very inaccurate. It’s frustrating because he hasn’t made a whole lot of progress.

Darrell Hackney: He has a very strong arm and is light footed for a guy built like a bowling ball. He’s tiny, so he can barely see over the line, but my thoughts are that he could be a good practice squad guy.

Preston Parsons: Parsons is the most accurate of our QB’s and has a decent feel for timing and rhythm. I would say that he’s the best backup we have in terms of understanding the system, making the right reads and so on.[/b]

[OleBroncoFan]

Receivers – The Receivers actually had a good practice today. All of them made some plays and did well in the passing game.

Brandon Stokely: Stokely had a great practice. He is way ahead of schedule and is cutting and running full speed. He made some really impressive catches and his routes are crisp. He also is the best at adjusting his route to a blitz. His only knock is he isn’t the blazer that Hixon is.

Domenik Hixon: Hixon had a decent practice. He is still raw in his routes and adjustments but that will just come with time. He did have one drop I saw. I’m going to watch him more closely on special teams.

Well the rest should have been covered by SoCal. Sorry this one took so long to get up, but it was more extensive than the others have been. Enjoy![/b]

[MileHighSalute]

good to hear moss is doing good.. hopefully he can perform on gameday

[LudeDude98]

saw this figured I'd post it in the training camp thread, sucks for holdman being an exbear and everything.

Holdman taken to hospital with spinal cord concussion

Associated Press

Updated: August 2, 2007, 4:15 PM ET

* Comment
* Email
* Print

Warrick Holdman

Holdman

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos linebacker Warrick Holdman was hospitalized with a spinal cord concussion following a collision with a teammate at training camp Thursday.

Holdman was carted off the field strapped to a backboard and taken by ambulance to Sky Ridge Medical Center, where he was being kept overnight for observation, team spokesman Jim Saccomano said.

Holdman temporarily lost feeling in his extremities but had movement in his arms and legs by the time he was taken off the field.

"He went numb for about 30, 40 seconds out there. He got his feeling back, which is a good sign," coach Mike Shanahan said. "... It was a good sign when he could move his fingers, move his toes and was able to sit up. We'll keep our fingers crossed."

Holdman appeared to hit the crown of his helmet on another player's helmet and crumpled to the grass midway through the morning workout. He was rolled over onto his back after a minute, but stayed down for eight minutes.

His teammates gathered around as medical staff secured Holdman to the backboard.

"That's the one thing you don't want to see whether it's a teammate or whether it's an opponent," cornerback Dre' Bly said. "We don't play this game to get injured, we play this game to entertain and have fun. So, whenever you see a guy go down, especially injuries like that when you're not moving and stuff like that, everyone immediately goes down and prays."

Holdman is a ninth-year pro in his first season in Denver after spending the last two years in Washington. He was working with the starters at strong side linebacker Thursday. Holdman, D.D. Lewis and Nate Webster are among a handful of players vying for the position in one of the most heated competitions at camp.

Shanahan said Holdman was playing "pretty good. We've got a lot of guys in the thick of things competing for that third spot. To be honest with you, I can't tell you who is ahead right now. That changes day by day, and that's a good sign."

D.J. Williams was the "Sam" linebacker last season, but moved to the middle when team captain Al Wilson, the team's leading tackler a year ago, was waived for health and salary cap concerns.

Wilson injured his neck in a game against Seattle last December and failed a physical this spring that nixed a trade to the New York Giants before his release.

Holdman's injury brought flashbacks of Wilson getting hurt and carted off the field on Dec. 3 -- especially with Holdman wearing Wilson's old No. 56.

"You never want to see one of your teammates down," safety John Lynch said. "It brings back memories of Al Wilson. It's the worst thing about football. I thought about Al when he was down.

"It was a somber mood after it happened and we managed to get through the practice."

About 15 minutes after Holdman was injured, defensive lineman Demetrin Veal went down for a minute after getting poked in the eye. He said he was fine and wouldn't resort to wearing a visor.

The Broncos began the practice with eight players out of pads: defensive tackles Sam Adams (knee) and Marcus Thomas (calf); wide receivers Rod Smith (hip), Brandon Marshall (thigh), Glenn Martinez (thigh) and Marquay McDaniel (hamstring); and tight ends Tony Scheffler (foot) and Chad Mustard (hamstring).

With so many players banged up and another unseasonably hot day on hand, players welcomed the news that Shanahan had canceled the afternoon workout.

[OleBroncoFan]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LudeDude98 @ Aug 2nd ) [snapback]2062826[/snapback]</div>

saw this figured I'd post it in the training camp thread, sucks for holdman being an exbear and everything.

Holdman taken to hospital with spinal cord concussion

Associated Press

Updated: August 2, 2007, 4:15 PM ET

* Comment
* Email
* Print

Warrick Holdman

Holdman

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos linebacker Warrick Holdman was hospitalized with a spinal cord concussion following a collision with a teammate at training camp Thursday.

Holdman was carted off the field strapped to a backboard and taken by ambulance to Sky Ridge Medical Center, where he was being kept overnight for observation, team spokesman Jim Saccomano said.

Holdman temporarily lost feeling in his extremities but had movement in his arms and legs by the time he was taken off the field.

"He went numb for about 30, 40 seconds out there. He got his feeling back, which is a good sign," coach Mike Shanahan said. "... It was a good sign when he could move his fingers, move his toes and was able to sit up. We'll keep our fingers crossed."

Holdman appeared to hit the crown of his helmet on another player's helmet and crumpled to the grass midway through the morning workout. He was rolled over onto his back after a minute, but stayed down for eight minutes.

His teammates gathered around as medical staff secured Holdman to the backboard.

"That's the one thing you don't want to see whether it's a teammate or whether it's an opponent," cornerback Dre' Bly said. "We don't play this game to get injured, we play this game to entertain and have fun. So, whenever you see a guy go down, especially injuries like that when you're not moving and stuff like that, everyone immediately goes down and prays."

Holdman is a ninth-year pro in his first season in Denver after spending the last two years in Washington. He was working with the starters at strong side linebacker Thursday. Holdman, D.D. Lewis and Nate Webster are among a handful of players vying for the position in one of the most heated competitions at camp.

Shanahan said Holdman was playing "pretty good. We've got a lot of guys in the thick of things competing for that third spot. To be honest with you, I can't tell you who is ahead right now. That changes day by day, and that's a good sign."

D.J. Williams was the "Sam" linebacker last season, but moved to the middle when team captain Al Wilson, the team's leading tackler a year ago, was waived for health and salary cap concerns.

Wilson injured his neck in a game against Seattle last December and failed a physical this spring that nixed a trade to the New York Giants before his release.

Holdman's injury brought flashbacks of Wilson getting hurt and carted off the field on Dec. 3 -- especially with Holdman wearing Wilson's old No. 56.

"You never want to see one of your teammates down," safety John Lynch said. "It brings back memories of Al Wilson. It's the worst thing about football. I thought about Al when he was down.

"It was a somber mood after it happened and we managed to get through the practice."

About 15 minutes after Holdman was injured, defensive lineman Demetrin Veal went down for a minute after getting poked in the eye. He said he was fine and wouldn't resort to wearing a visor.

The Broncos began the practice with eight players out of pads: defensive tackles Sam Adams (knee) and Marcus Thomas (calf); wide receivers Rod Smith (hip), Brandon Marshall (thigh), Glenn Martinez (thigh) and Marquay McDaniel (hamstring); and tight ends Tony Scheffler (foot) and Chad Mustard (hamstring).

With so many players banged up and another unseasonably hot day on hand, players welcomed the news that Shanahan had canceled the afternoon workout.
[/b]

We have A LOT of players banged up. Sucks. But I'd rather get our shares of injuries out of the way now rather than in the middle of the year when we need them most like we did last year.

From a football standpoint, we probably won't need Holdman that much. But I hope he gets better, sucks when **** like this happens in PRACTICE.

[URL54MVP]

Not exactly training camp related but....

Javon Walker breaks silence, tells HBO about Darrent Williams dying in his arms
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
August 11, 2007

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Denver Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker says he still has the bloodied shirt from the night teammate Darrent Williams died in his arms after a drive-by shooting on New Year's Day.

In his first public comments about Williams' unsolved death, Walker tells HBO's "Real Sports" in a segment to be aired Tuesday night that he keeps the unlaundered shirt as a reminder of his friend and of the fragility of life.

Interviewer Andrea Kremer asks Walker about showing up to Broncos headquarters about 10 hours after Williams' slaying while still wearing his bloodstained clothes.

"I still have those clothes," Walker replied.

Asked why he hadn't washed them, he said, "It's just something that reminds me every day of what could happen and this is what happened to my friend. And this is like ... what's left of him is on my clothes."

Walker told The Associated Press on Saturday that the interview with Kremer was the only time he planned on talking publicly about the Williams' slaying.

Williams was a rising 24-year-old star who had just completed his second season in the NFL when the stretch limousine he was riding in was sprayed with bullets after leaving a nightclub in downtown Denver where there had been an altercation between people in Williams' group and suspected gang members.

No charges have been filed in the case, although police believe several men in custody on federal drug charges have information about Williams' slaying.

"Real Sports" said another Broncos receiver, Brandon Marshall, and his cousin were partying with Williams' group that night and began spraying champagne around, "some of which hit a club patron and his friend, who confronted Williams and his entourage."

Those men flashed gang signs and were escorted out of the club, said members of a rap group from Williams' hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, who were with him that night.

Walker said he didn't see the encounter inside the club but saw trouble brewing when he left at closing time. Marshall and his cousin were exchanging heated words with two men, he said. The rappers said it was the same men who had been kicked out of the club earlier that night.

After Williams and Walker both tried to intervene, Williams told Walker to ride with him in his Hummer limousine, and they drove off into the night, Walker said.

Less than a mile away, Walker said he was turning up the music when Williams suddenly fell into his lap.

Walker said he pushed Williams away and told him to quit messing around -- and that's when he saw blood spurting from Williams' neck and heard the other gunshots.

Walker said he held Williams close and tried to stop the bleeding.

"All I remember at that point in time was he was just looking up at me and I was just like, 'I got you, Dee, I got you, Dee. I got you, Dee,"' Walker recounted. "So, the limo went off the road into the side of the snow. I just remember grabbing him, pulling him out the limo."

Walker said he didn't know if he should run with Williams and worried if "these dudes were going to try to finish us off?"

"You don't know what to think," Walker said, "to have somebody die in your arms and you know you're the last person he hugged."

Walker said he didn't attend Williams' funeral in Fort Worth with the rest of the Broncos "because all it was going to do was just bring back memories of something I didn't want to feel again."

He said it had been hard enough when the Broncos held a private memorial service at team headquarters and he didn't know what to tell Williams' mother, Rosalind Williams, as she hugged him.

Instead, Walker went to Las Vegas, fearful, he said, for his own life in case the shooter wanted to "finish everyone off" who was in the limo.

Walker, who joined the Broncos in a draft day trade from Green Bay last year, said at first he didn't want to keep playing in Denver.

He said he doesn't need any grief counseling, but acknowledged he'll probably never put the tragedy behind him: "Maybe when I see him in heaven, I can ask him, maybe put it behind me then."

Coming off a torn knee ligament that wiped out most of his 2005 season, Walker piled up 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns on 69 catches last year.

He's had a stellar training camp and has steadfastly refused to talk about anything other than football. He told The AP on Saturday that last year was just of glimpse of what he can do on the field.

"Obviously, last year I was coming in and trying to rehab and learn the offense and get familiar with my teammates. This year, is just boom, full-speed, all-go ahead," he said. "I feel good. I'm healthy. Nothing's wrong. And I'm ready to take off from a fast start."