Broncos report, September 4

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

What's it mean for Moss, Dumervil?

• Playing his college ball at the University of Florida, Jarvis Moss got a four-year look at one of the NFL's top sack masters in Tampa Bay.

Moss will get an even closer inspection of fellow defensive end Simeon Rice now that the unrestricted free agent, late of the Buccaneers, has signed a one-year deal with the Broncos.

"He's a great player, a dominant player," Moss said Monday.

But the trickle-down effect that adding Rice brings might come in the amount of playing time afforded to Moss and Elvis Dumervil, the current starter at right end.

Rice has run with the first team in at least 15 games during nine of his 11 pro seasons. Furthermore, the three-time Pro Bowl pick made it clear Monday he refused to be pigeonholed solely as a pass-rush specialist with the Broncos.

So, perhaps, something - or someone - has got to give.

"He's an All-Pro, a good veteran player," Dumervil said about Rice's addition. "But I'm not going to get discouraged. I'm going to go out there and do what I always do, which is continue to make plays."

Said Moss: "For me to get to learn from him some of the things he knows about the NFL and about pass rushing, and have the opportunity to get to know him, it's a chance to learn from a Hall of Fame defensive end."

Paymah feeling lucky

• There are few moments in football worse than getting strapped to a backboard with a head and neck injury, as cornerback Karl Paymah was during the Broncos' preseason finale Thursday.

Given that backdrop, Paymah didn't practice Monday, but he wasn't about to complain.

He was in uniform. Better yet, he was showing few ill effects from a headfirst tackle that left him unconscious against the Arizona Cardinals.

"After what happened, it's a blessing to be feeling like this, because you hear a lot of horror stories," said Paymah, who was released from the hospital Friday after a spending the night for observation and testing.

Paymah remembered the running play in which he was injured unfolding, as well as the aftermath. But there was that gap in between when he was knocked out that's a giant void.

"When I came to, it was confusing. But I felt fine. I didn't know what was going on. I moved my limbs and everything felt cool. I wasn't in any pain. That's what was so confusing."

Hamilton still not ready

• Ben Hamilton's return to the lineup is even more of a wait-and-see proposition after the veteran guard was put through a battery of tests by a concussion specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center last week. But one thing's for sure: his streak of 80 straight starts dating to the 2002 season is about to end.

"The specialist in Pittsburgh recommended that he not do anything for two weeks - to just stay away from any type of conditioning," coach Mike Shanahan said. "So that's where we're at right now. He's not going to do anything for two weeks, and at the end of two weeks, we'll evaluate him again."

Hamilton missed nearly the entire preseason after he was hurt during an Aug. 3 practice. He tried to return five days later but only lasted a few snaps. He again did some positional drills in pads Aug. 22 but has had to back off workouts because of continued dizziness after workouts.

His new timetable means he'll certainly miss games Sunday versus Buffalo and Sept. 16 against Oakland. Hamilton will have to get into cardiovascular shape once he returns, so his absence could drag on even more.

Against the Bills, Chris Myers will get his first NFL start in Hamilton's place.

"I'm sure Sunday will be like nothing I've ever, ever experienced. And I'm really looking forward to it."

Jarvis Moss, on making his NFL debut, against the Bills.