High bar set for Broncos' Clady
Boise State rookie's focus on early impact for Broncos
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 7, 2008 at 10:03 p.m.
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Rookie left tackle Ryan Clady, the Broncos' top draft choice in April, talked with staff writer Lee Rasizer about his preparations for his debut season in the NFL.
There were quite a few rookie tackles thrust into action last season, from Cleveland's Joe Thomas to San Francisco's Joe Staley to Indianapolis' Tony Ugoh. Did you study any of their games in preparation for training camp?
"I watched a few of them, checking them out, just because of their talent. I wanted to see their techniques and see how they were doing out there as a first-year left tackle because it's one of the hardest positions to play. Since I've been drafted, I've seen a few games of Joe Thomas - against the Raiders, stuff like that - seeing how he played as a rookie and trying to live up to the same standard."
You've also studied veteran tackles such as Marcus McNeill of San Diego and Walter Jones of Seattle . . .
"For the most part, especially techniquewise, you can pick up a lot. And you can see how they play against guys that we play against."
When you see somebody such as a Walter Jones, who may be in the Hall of Fame someday, what sticks out?
"You can tell he has a lot of experience and knows exactly what to do in every situation."
Are you jealous of somebody like him because of the knowledge base he already possesses, while you're just learning the ropes?
"A little bit. But it comes with time. It's a learning curve."
As you enter your rookie year, what do you believe will be the biggest challenge?
"For me, it's about using my hands and sitting in there with guys. I need to work on my upper-body strength a little more and definitely protect against the bull rush, which is a key pass rush for a lot of NFL players and something you have to be able to stop."
What else do you think will be part of the learning curve?
"Definitely, adjusting to the speed and the playbook and how big it is and complex it is compared to college. Also, just working on technique and getting that down pat."
How do your talents match the Broncos' offensive system?
"I think I fit well. The whole offensive line is filled with athletic guys, which I think I fit in well with. And it's the same type of scheme I ran in college. So it's a great fit."
Your agility on your feet has really struck a chord with teammates, coaches and the front office. How did you develop that kind of mobility at your size?
"We did a lot of footwork drills in high school, especially during the summertime. Also, I played a lot of basketball when I was younger. That probably helped out. (But) I never really played organized basketball, so I never was taught all the techniques."
How important has it been for you to get into the team's strength program?
"It's definitely helped me out. At the combine, I strained my pec, so I really wasn't doing all the benching, so that kind of hurt me a little bit. But (I've been) getting back to that."
Some players would prefer learning the ropes for a while over getting thrown into the fray immediately. What's your take?
"I feel like I was drafted to play right away. Stuff's going to happen. I'll try to do my best in practice and try to win that position, and if I win it, there we go, I'll start the season off."
You're playing next to left guard Ben Hamilton, who has extensive experience and knowledge in this scheme. How does that help?
"He can help me a lot, especially learning the system, which is really important for a first-year player, to get in the playbook and learn it so you don't have to think, you just go out and play."
How challenging is the playbook?
"Just learning all the plays and pass plays, a lot of them are similar in names but you have to listen exactly to the details to know what you're doing. A lot of plays sound familiar. You have to learn the whole name exactly so you're not doing them wrong."
Among your activities off the field has been yoga. What's that like?
"It helps keep you flexible, and flexibility helps prevent you from getting injured."
And you did yoga in college at Boise State, too?
"This one's a little easier. In college, there was some little chick that just flipped everywhere and did all this stuff. And it was like, 'I don't know if I can do this (laughs).' Now it's more like stretching type of stuff."
What was it like going to school in a place like Idaho, where the temptations would appear to be few and far between?
"It's a place that keeps you focused because you're there for one reason - to play ball, and to go to school, so two reasons (laughs). I wouldn't take it back for the world. It's probably the best decision I made in my life. I made a lot of great friends up there, had a great career and loved the fans as well."
When did the NFL become a possibility in your head?
"Probably after my freshman year."
So there were three years of college thinking you could do it. Now you're here in Denver, likely starting at left tackle for the Broncos. How excited are you, since you seem like such a low-key guy?
"Yeah, I'm a real low-key guy. But I am excited. This is something I always hoped would happen, but you have to be realistic sometimes. It was able to work out for me, especially going in the first round - I never would have thought that."
Ever a quiet moment where you think, "Man, this is big time?"
"Just the situation I'm in, I'm totally blessed."
Practice times and dates are subject to change without notice. Gates open to the public at 7:30 a.m. for morning practices and one hour before afternoon practices.
| Date | Morning | Afternoon |
| Aug. 5 | 8:30 | 3:40* |
| Aug. 6 | 8:30 | 3:50 |
| Aug. 7 | 8:30 | 3:40* |
| Aug. 8 | 8:30 | None |
| Aug. 9 | at Houston | 6 p.m. |
| Aug. 10 | None | None |
| Aug. 11 | None | 2:45 |
| Aug. 12 | 8:30 | 3:40* |
| Aug. 16 | Dallas | 7 p.m. |
| Aug. 22 | Green Bay | 7 p.m. |
| Aug. 29 | at Arizona | 8 p.m. |
The Broncos will practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 at their Dove Valley facility, but those sessions will be open to the media only.
* Special teams only; ** Media only
Thanks a lot, Joe Thomas.
All you did for the Cleveland Browns last season as their No. 1 pick is start 16 games at left tackle, help transform their offense to eighth overall in yardage, finish second in voting for the NFL's offensive rookie of the year and make the Pro Bowl.
So, Ryan Clady, there's your bar. Get in there and try not to disappoint for the Broncos as a rookie first-rounder, OK?
"He made it look real easy," Clady said with a laugh recently. "So there are a lot of expectations in the first round coming in to make an immediate impact."
It isn't always such a seamless transition, especially protecting the quarterback's blind side.
Robert Gallery, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Kenyatta Walker and Kwame Harris all came in with lofty reputations and produced less-than-desired results, especially immediately, as first-round picks.
There's so much to learn and so little time.
* Memorizing the playbook and quickly distinguishing play calls that might only have slight variations in terminology.
* Learning techniques taught by the new offensive line coach.
* Combating the knowledge base of veterans while having only a few months of pro experience.
* Catching up with the speed of the game and of pro life.
Most of all, it's using abundant talent in the best way possible until experience takes hold, while not letting the low moments drag you down.
"I think you just have to have the mentality that you're going to make some mistakes and have real tough skin because the coaches are going to be yelling at you and trying to get you on the right path," said Clady, selected 12th overall out of Boise State and one of a record six offensive tackles picked in the first round in April.
"You're not going to come in and completely dominate. Joe Thomas did well. But it wasn't lights-out craziness. So you have to come in with the mentality that, every day, you're going to get better."
But make no mistake, the most diligent of film study and on-field preparation won't insulate Clady from having his eventual "welcome to the NFL" moment.
Like it or not, that's coming.
'In rookie awe'
For Joe Staley, that instant came right after 1 o'clock Eastern time on Oct. 21.
The 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Staley had reached the bye week relatively unscathed before heading to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants and a head-to-head meeting with perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan.
It was the same Michael Strahan that Staley had put on a pedestal as a youth.
At halftime and with 3 1/2 sacks allowed, Staley wasn't liking Strahan quite as much.
"I got caught up in, 'Oh, my God, it's Michael Strahan,' " said Staley, who also yielded a sack to Giants lineman Justin Tuck in that game. "In my head, I was kind of in rookie awe and played really passive. He beat me pretty bad in the first half. But I came back saying, 'I don't care who this guy is, I'm going to play my game.' And I went out and shut him out in the second half.
"But I feel like I needed that game to raise my level of play," Staley said. "I learned so much from that game. And, from that point on, I gave up one sack the rest of the year."
Levi Brown, the No. 5 pick in the 2007 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and the first tackle taken after Thomas, was lulled to sleep in a different fashion.
Having already played Seattle earlier in the season, Brown thought he was prepared for his December rematch with Patrick Kearney.
"I gave up three sacks," Brown said. "During the game, I was like, 'Man, I can't stop him.' And the first time we played them, I didn't give up any sacks at all, so I was like, 'What happened? Am I coming out of my stance slower or something like that?'
"And later, watching film, it was just little things. It was like I was lackadaisical, not punching and things like that. I didn't attack him."
Like Staley, Brown learned from his mistakes.
The Cardinals revised their thinking, too, giving their rookie tackle more help after that game by aligning a tight end on his side and chipping defensive ends with running backs.
"I just had to let it go," Brown said. "After the game, maybe the plane ride back, maybe I dwelled on it. But that was it."
The NFL schedule continues to roll along, regardless.
"You have to have the mentality that it's not going to affect your confidence level," Staley said. "A lot of players start playing bad or having a bad practice, and they start turning that into two bad practices and then a whole week of them. Then it's a bad game, and the confidence level goes down and has to be built back up."
If either player has friendly advice to Clady, it's honing in on the mental aspects of the game to allow the game to slow down.
"There's that transition of going from basically knowing 10 plays going into a game in college to knowing a 500-page playbook," Staley said.
That process begins in organized training activities, but after the Broncos broke minicamp in June, Clady had only his offseason notes on which to rely because the team collects the playbooks before reissuing them in training camp.
Once two-a-days begin, multiple daily meetings serve as more than a refresher course. But it's also the beginning of more complicated defenses, and rookies have to assimilate the information quickly on the field.
There's continual teaching of technical aspects, too, where, if you're not sharp with footwork within the first few steps, the results can be disastrous because of the speed of opposing linemen.
"The first thing is trusting the technique they've been taught because it's going to be different than college and uncomfortable for them," said veteran offensive line coach George Warhop, who has tutored lines in St. Louis, Arizona, Dallas and now San Francisco during the past 12 years.
"What happens is, they won't have as much success early as later on, and the tendency is to want to go back to the way they used to do it. But once they trust the different technique, progress comes a little faster."
The daily grind of competition can be overwhelming for rookie tackles.
"These guys are used to being the best player on the field. And now they're facing players who know how to take advantage of their mistakes, and it's a source of frustration," Warhop said. "It's up to us, as coaches, to get them through that."
Time to learn
The Broncos normally have afforded their homegrown, first- year offensive linemen a waiting period to get accustomed to the synchronization skills necessary in their zone blocking system.
Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper each went without an offensive snap as rookies. Ryan Harris played sparingly. Even the last No. 1 tackle drafted, the since-departed George Foster, made his lone appearance in Year 1 in the regular-season finale.
Clady was unaware of that historical backdrop, which makes his task "a little more challenging." But he also feels as if he was drafted to play immediately.
"I think I'm up to it," he said.
Matt Lepsis, the Broncos' starting left tackle from 2004 to 2007 until his retirement in January, said Clady will need to get used to firing out quicker on the snap.
But the toughest adjustment in Lepsis' view, figures to be cutting off the back side in the running game. The two concepts are intertwined.
"A lot of teams have these gigantic guys and just tell them to get to a spot. If there's somebody in that area, block him," Lepsis said. "But the Broncos kind of ask you to be very athletic and run down the line to cut off a defensive tackle."
Lepsis predicted the Broncos initially will give help to Clady in the passing game, but he also knows coach Mike Shanahan wants as many receivers downfield as possible without needing to use extra players to block.
The terminology also figures to be challenging.
"The thing he really has going for him is he's got Tom Nalen at center, who makes all the calls on the lines. He's not going to have to make any calls with Tom there," Lepsis said. "He'll learn it, eventually, but in the beginning, he'll rely on Tom and Ben (Hamilton), who have been doing it forever and know their stuff in their sleep. They'll help him out."
And once Clady learns the scheme, he'll have an advantage because the Broncos running game doesn't stray much from its base concepts.
Stretch right. Stretch left.
Though the Broncos system is more complex, many of the elements Clady ran at Boise State are similar, with outside and inside zone schemes.
The rookie got a further jump-start by studying the system on tape in the offseason and watching individual tape of players, ranging from Seattle's Walter Jones to San Diego's Marcus McNeill and Thomas.
"Clady's so capable, it's almost unbelievable," Broncos second-year tackle Ryan Harris said. "He's really been on top of his game. I mean, he probably gets the least coaching because I think he needs it the least. He knows what he's doing and always has great effort. That's a great kid. It's like he almost practiced before we came out here because he's always doing the right things and, in meetings, he knows all the answers."
So much for the notion that a low Wonderlic score might be a signal Clady wouldn't assimilate well to the pro game.
Clady has explained that a pectoral injury during the weight-lifting portion at the combine got him sidetracked come quiz time.
"I tell you what, whenever a defensive end asks you a logic question, we'll start worrying about the Wonderlic test," Harris said.
Focus on technique
Truth be told, Thomas never was as settled as he might have seemed.
Cleveland's Pro Bowl rookie had an adjustment period - just like everyone else.
"I think, if you ever get in a comfort zone on the offensive line, that's when you are going to get beat," Thomas said. "I think for me, it took a couple games in the regular season - finding out, 'Boy, I can block these guys' - before I felt confident to go out there and play."
The best advice Thomas received last season: Don't listen to what others say about you, good or bad.
And follow technique tips to the letter.
"Every little thing that you do, players are so good and study so much, they know what you are going to do before you do it, based upon presnap alignment, formation and how your stance is,"
Thomas said. "If you study the game, you are going to be able to help pick up on those things, too."
Physically, Clady must get stronger, particularly in the upper body, and guard against the bull rush. He has already demonstrated mobility to contest speed rushers.
His long arms, footwork and agility are his chief weapons entering Denver's first preseason game Saturday in Houston.
And, like training camp, he's fine if you don't notice him, which is actually a huge compliment.
"I just want to get on the field, learn the plays, start all the games and play consistently. That's all I'm trying to do," Clady said of embarking on his first season. "I don't have to be all-rookie team and all that."
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August 8, 2008
1:59 a.m.
Suggest removal
Horvil_Tiki writes:
Ya guy ya! Got to crusht and smash enemy player! Beat and pound into sumbission. I see this guy fall on guy as he gets up. I cant beleefs it. Real mean streak no quits til wistle guy. Got to smasht and crusht. Man handle the opposites. Break will of enemy defence. Cant get to cutlser guy, cant do it. Litle general has have new power giant in town guy.
August 8, 2008
7:59 a.m.
Suggest removal
kmeissner writes:
ITisWHATitIS if you are referring to Horvil-Tiki I totally agree. He sounds like he could get a job as a Denver Cop.
August 8, 2008
8:19 a.m.
Suggest removal
oofda writes:
That is pure play by play Tiki! I thought the game was on!
August 8, 2008
8:44 a.m.
Suggest removal
RockLobster writes:
Wow, ITis! Chill, dude. Apparently you don't follow the Post boards. Horvil is a legend over there. I agree he makes my head spin, but it certainly doesn't ruin my day.
August 8, 2008
8:55 a.m.
Suggest removal
OrangeCrush_77 writes:
How about a vote? Who is the bigger moron?
A. Horvil Tiki
B. ITisWHATitIS
I'm gonna go with "B"
August 8, 2008
9:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
westwoods writes:
B
August 8, 2008
9:53 a.m.
Suggest removal
Fan74 writes:
I agree with OrangeCrush_77, I'm going with "B" as well. Obviously ITisWHATitIs never had a conversation with a Hawaiian. Pity, cuz it would get you to chill, even if it's just for a moment. People post the way they want, bra. Try having a little bit of acceptance instead of anger. A little style would help too, but it is what it is.
August 8, 2008
11:18 a.m.
Suggest removal
SLoganSt writes:
B
August 8, 2008
11:26 a.m.
Suggest removal
jugdish writes:
ITisWHATitIs,
Take chill pill, my friend. So much hostility. And threat of violence. And profanity. Why? Over some silly posting on web site. You need to mellow out. You are shaving days off life by spewing such anger. If that ruin your day you need professional help. Jugdish cousin psychiatrist. Will give you number.
August 8, 2008
11:43 a.m.
Suggest removal
Bradonkadoncs writes:
man I am excited about this pick. Thanks for the good article Lee.
August 8, 2008
12:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
RustyWon writes:
Of all the tackles available in the draft, including Long, I think Clady has the most upside.
I'm glad we got him and I believe he'll be just fine.
That said, it's always risky to put a rook on the left side like that.
If we can run the ball like we should, that will make his job much, much easier.
If we get down early alot and have to play catch up; he'll definitely earn his dough.
Horvil's post are great. I always look for them to read.
Keep em coming my friend. Don't let the haters affect you,
Go Broncos!
August 8, 2008
1:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
bigbadthor writes:
I thought Clady had the most upside and was the best LT prospect, but he still is learning the position, remember he started as a DT at Boise State, so to expect him to be in Joe Thomas league now is pushing things, but in two to three years, I think he will be a perenial pro bowler and the anchor of the line.
August 8, 2008
9:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
Dynamicdave writes:
I also say "B". I think Horvil writes in a very entertaining way. He makes me laugh. I mean, did we not enjoy listening to Yoda?
bigbadthor, yeah, I think Clady will get his bad moments but because of his ability, I say he will get it down pat, before the year ends. 2-3 years is more for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. I think he will have more upside then down.