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Holland blocks idea of backup plan

Former Saint has won starting guard job and vows he will keep it

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 29, 2007 at midnight

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ENGLEWOOD - Another game, another view from the bench.

Only when guard Montrae Holland wears a baseball cap on the sideline Thursday night for the Broncos' preseason finale, he'll do so with the knowledge he'll be returning to the starting lineup soon enough, when the games count Sept. 9, as the team's starting right guard.

"It's different circumstances for sure," said Holland, an unrestricted free-agent pickup in March.

Holland was the New Orleans Saints' top player at left guard last summer before a knee sprain derailed his training camp.

By the time he was healthy, Jamar Nesbit had moved from right tackle into his spot and wouldn't relinquish it.

Holland ended up as the top backup at both guard spots once the season began. And while New Orleans went on its storybook run to the NFC Championship Game, his situation made it difficult to enjoy the ride.

"It was a heartbreak because it was a big year for me," he said. "But the team is bigger than me. And I couldn't go all off and be disgruntled when we were on the move, winning games and going to playoffs. . . . So I played my role and did whatever the team wanted me to do."

But in the process, he learned a lesson.

"Coming into last year, I had the wrong mind-set, that I was going to get my spot back regardless. 'The coaches know I can play,' and this and that," he said. "But after awhile, when you're out, they're going to move on. So the main thing is to stay in there and don't give it up."

Holland has done just that with the Broncos.

Relegated to the second team behind Chris Kuper at right guard all offseason and during the beginning of training camp as well, he awaited his turn while learning the nuances of the Broncos' zone-blocking system that differs from the power-based schemes to which he'd been accustomed.

Holland's mind-set changed Aug. 6. Kuper had a rough practice, was removed from the first team, then was publicly criticized by coach Mike Shanahan for his tough day.

Holland since has stood his ground and won the job outright, using the experiences he had with the Saints to his advantage, only doing the replacing instead of being the one replaced.

"It's like any other position on this team," Broncos assistant head coach/offense Mike Heimerdinger said. "Mike fired Chris that day and put Montrae in. And if Montrae hadn't stepped up and done what he was supposed to do, Chris would have been back and Montrae would have been out. But Montrae's stepped up and hasn't given that position back. And I don't think he's going to."

Holland brings a different dimension to the Broncos' line. He's 320 pounds, but as his former Florida State teammate Milford Brown of the St. Louis Rams has reminded him, he looks 350 next to smaller linemates.

Holland already was used to pass protecting in a pocket-based attack. And it has shown this preseason.

"He's hard to get around," Heimerdinger said.

The movement skills and combination blocking of the Broncos have been a bigger adjustment.

"He's not there yet," Shanahan said. "But he does have quickness enough to run our scheme, and the more work he'll get, the better he'll be."

That Holland already has moved into the lineup hasn't surprised Doug Marrone, the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach for the Saints.

"Montrae is a big, strong player who actually has the quickness and ability to adjust to any system," Marrone said. "He has the athleticism and quick feet to move in space. . . . There's no question that Montrae is a starter, a player with that level of ability. He had to fight through some injuries heading into last season. But having him on our roster basically gave us a third player at guard who was of starting caliber."

Unlike Tom Nalen, Matt Lepsis, Ben Hamilton and others, Holland hasn't had the luxury of extensive time in the Broncos' zone-blocking system before starting full time.

Holland has tried to make up for the absence of that wait-and-see period by picking the brains of his new teammates and being diligent in his note-taking in meetings. Having Nalen, a 14-year veteran in Denver, beside him at center to identify different situations and make the proper line calls helps, too.

"It's a pretty thorough system, but once you get in there every day you pick up things as you go," he said. "You can't master it all in six months. So I go through learning different situations day by day."

One big plus is Holland, 27, does have previous experience playing against other defensive linemen to draw upon. He started 30 of 52 games during his four seasons with the Saints, including a career-high 13 in 2004.

Even so, he can't help but feel as if he's completely starting over. Being named the No. 1 right guard for the Broncos has "meant a lot." The team further has demonstrated its faith in Holland by signing him to a contract extension through the 2009 season.

He'll replace Cooper Carlisle, who departed in free agency.

"Last year was depressing to sit on the sidelines. Sometimes I wasn't even activated. And it hurt," Holland said. "To be given an even better opportunity to come into a great team, with great coaches, and get the chance to be able to put last year behind me and move forward, it's been great. I'm excited to come to work and just to live up to what the guys want me to be."