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Broncos report: Holland to return to practices Monday

By Lee Rasizer/Rocky Mountain News

Published August 8, 2008 at 12:51 p.m.

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Broncos right guard Montrae Holland reported over his expected weight, so he spent the first part of training camp pushing a sled across the field.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez © The Rocky

Broncos right guard Montrae Holland reported over his expected weight, so he spent the first part of training camp pushing a sled across the field.

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ENGLEWOOD — Montrae Holland's exile is nearly over.

Holland, a 16-game starter for the Broncos at right guard last year, will return to practice Monday after spending two weeks working alone on his conditioning and shedding weight.

"He's been working extremely hard and he's watched his diet, so that weight will come down here fairly quickly," coach Mike Shanahan said. "More important than anything, he'll practice better now and, hopefully, not get injured."

Holland reported to camp about nine pounds over his assigned 325-pound target weight. But when water weight is factored in to the equation, he might have had to shed as much as twice that total.

"I feel a lot better," Holland said Friday, adding, "It's been a long two weeks for me."

Holland's daily routine has included the ritual pushing of a weighted sled on an adjacent field for 90 minutes or more, in addition to extensive cardiovascular work in the weight room with strength coach Rich Tuten.

It's safe to say Holland will appreciate returning to the huddle, both for workouts with teammates and against the Dallas Cowboys next week.

"I felt I let them down in a sense," Holland said of his teammates. "I'm going to try and get back and make it up to them."

Holland wouldn't give his exact weight now but admitted he has shed considerable pounds.

While he has been out, Chris Kuper has been running with the first team at right guard and Ryan Harris at right tackle.

Shanahan would say only that he'll play his best five linemen, which would seem to indicate Holland still can work his way back with the No. 1 offense.

"I'm not worried about that," Holland responded. "I just want to get back on the field, knock the rust off, and everything else will take care of itself."

Holland made the trip to Houston and will suit up for the exhibition opener tonight (6 MDT, CBS 4) in case of an emergency.

The Marshall plan

Rookie receiver Eddie Royal, who has had a stellar camp, will start opposite Brandon Marshall against the Texans.

But one ancillary reason Royal will get the nod over Darrell Jackson, who had been running with the first team for most of camp, is that Jackson is preparing himself for Marshall's pending suspension.

Jackson had been working all camp at the "Z" position, the flanker spot on the tight end side, off the ball, where Royal now works.

But this week, Jackson switched to the "X," or split end position, where Marshall is the starter until his two- to three-game suspension kicks in, beginning with the regular-season opener Sept. 9.

"I've got to get some work at 'X' because the first two or three games, Brandon won't be there," Jackson said. "So I have to get a little more experience at the position."

Jackson hasn't been as flashy as Royal the past couple of weeks. But he has been the beneficiary of a light schedule in Denver's camp and also of improved health. Jackson battled the aftereffects for most of two seasons from a severe case of turf toe.

"I'm way more confident," Jackson said, comparing this summer with last year in San Francisco. "I'm getting into a little bit of a rhythm catching balls, so it's pretty cool."

New gear

Quarterback Jay Cutler and Marshall have been wearing the Riddell Revolution Speed helmet in camp, a model that offers extra padding designed to help guard against concussions.

"We're just trying some new stuff out," Cutler said.

Marshall, though, already has decided to wear the helmet in games.

"You know I always want to try something new," he explained.

Line 'em up

Nate Webster will start at middle linebacker, but Niko Koutouvides also will get time with the starting defense.

The two virtually have split time during camp.

"It's very close and, obviously, practice and game situations will dictate who will start, but I feel good about both of them," Shanahan said.

Dre Bly, the normal starter at right cornerback, will serve as the nickel back only after suffering an upper arm injury this week. And with Champ Bailey (hamstring) also sitting, Domonique Foxworth and Karl Paymah will be the first-team corners.

At defensive tackle, where Dewayne Robertson is being held out as a precaution, Kenny Peterson gets the assignment next to Marcus Thomas in the base package, with Ebenezer Ekuban and Josh Mallard, in place of Robertson, playing on obvious passing downs.

Etc.>

Safety Hamza Abdullah (groin) is out, with Marquand Manuel taking his place.

Nate Jackson, over Tony Scheffler, will pair with Daniel Graham in two-tight-end sets.

The offensive line is somewhat shorthanded. Center Tom Nalen won't play because of a knee injury. Tackle Erik Pears has been slowed by a lower back problem.

Look for rookie left tackle Ryan Clady to play more than the other starters, since the Broncos are trying to get him up to speed as he plays his first NFL preseason game. Tyler Polumbus, an undrafted free agent from the University of Colorado, also is expected to get extensive action in a reserve role.

Comments

  • August 8, 2008

    1:11 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bigbadthor writes:

    Good to hear Holland will be back, the picks they had he looked a lot heavier than 9 lbs over 325, he looked closer to 40 to 60 lbs over.

  • August 8, 2008

    1:21 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Willy writes:

    Good - now they can move Kuper out to RT and put Harris where he belongs - the waiver wire.

  • August 8, 2008

    2:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kmeissner writes:

    Lee you mentioned Holland would suit up for the exhibition opener tonight? I think it's tomorrow. Shouldn't the writers get this stuff right?

  • August 8, 2008

    3:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Broncos4Life1 writes:

    So can we assume that since Holland is watching his weight, and working out alot more, that the local Burger King is now out of business? Why the hell does this clown get the first two weeks of training camp to get into shape, I thought that with what they pay these guys, he would show up in shape. He reported overweight, and did'nt seem to make much of an effort to do anything about it, until the coaching staff got involved. Its not like the extra weight just showed up the night before they had to report, did'nt he do anything in the off season besides hitting the drive thru?

  • August 8, 2008

    3:39 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    fmikey writes:

    Golly kmeissner... bet you've never made an honest mistake in your life.....

  • August 8, 2008

    4:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    R8R_H8R writes:

    "9lbs. overweight"? "worried about his health"? BuLL! Shanahan, if you can't tell the truth, just shut up, ok? By all accounts on radio, the guy is ballooned FAR over his set weight, not 9 lbs. More than double it. And IF the team was truly "worried about his health", they would NOT be working him to death for 90 minutes with No Water break allowed. I mean, that is just pure and simple STUPIDITY. In this day and age, it's quite clear how important staying hydrated is. I'm tired of the coaches lies and dis-honest spin. What happened to this guy?

  • August 8, 2008

    7:56 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Pigskin writes:

    Maybe I missed something. Who said anything about "no water breaks"?

  • August 8, 2008

    9:08 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dynamicdave writes:

    fmikey, sorry, don't agree. I live in Vegas so having to read that and be forced to research it to make sure the game is still tomorrow, bites. Jeff Legwold said it's tonight, over and over again. I was in about a 10 minute panic mode while I searched the correct info. Jeff lives in Denver. He should know better. That's a pretty big mistake. We don't have the luxery of catching every preseason game, unless it happens to be televised in Vegas. So misquotes of that magnitude could waste peoples time, rushing to the Sports Book to place a bet before kickoff.

  • August 8, 2008

    9:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dynamicdave writes:

    Pigskin, yeah, a previous article said that. He had a lot of excess water in his body (additional weight that they were working off of him). Hey, I live in Vegas and it gets HOT! It was about 105 today. No water in this heat (and it was humid), would stroke a person if they weren't used to it. When I was in Kuwait, it was hotter then it is here and we were toting over 100 pounds of extra weight on us. It was A LOT longer then 90 minutes. We also had to ration our water. The man will survive. I bet he won't come into camp, overweight again, though.