Longtime NFL Referee Walt Anderson was in town to explain rules changes to the Broncos. (Photo: David Richard/AP)
Day 8 of Broncos Training Camp saw the injury bug continue to bite.
In addition to Tight End Jake Butt remaining on the shelf for the 4th consecutive practice, Wide Receiver DaeSean Hamilton joined him as an observer. The second-year pass catcher tweaked his left hamstring Wednesday, but we’re told it’s not that serious.
Undrafted rookie Tight End Bug Howard left practice with an apparent left ankle injury suffered in 7-on-7, but Head Coach Vic Fangio didn’t seem concerned about Howard’s injury, and didn’t have much to add to tackle Jake Rodgers who exited with an apparent calf injury.
One bright spot on the injury front came in the form of rookie wideout Juwann Winfree returning to the practice field after missing the previous two sessions. The 6th-round pick from CU seems to catch everything thrown his way, and that continued Thursday.
Overall Fangio seemed pleased with his team’s effort in practice. “It was good,” he said. “I actually thought our practice today was better than yesterday.
The run game will always be a point of emphasis, and really the basis for the success of this offense. When asked about the run game, as it relates to his offenses identity, Fangio didn’t seem to care how his team moves the ball.
Thursday was the annual practice where the NFL sends out a full officiating crew. Typically you’ll see refs at almost every practice, but they’re often referees who live nearby but likely ref college, both major conference and smaller division of football.
Longtime NFL referee Walt Anderson was on the field Thursday, and following practice made a presentation to the media which featured a video of rules changes and points of emphasis on the field in 2019.
Of note, a few rules will be changed or officiated more closely.
The blindside block will be officiated more harshly and has essentially been eliminated from the NFL.
Team celebrations following a touchdown are now officially limited to players in uniform. So, any of the 35 players not on the field during a scoring play can join their teammates to celebrate, but anyone, player or team staff not wearing a uniform entering the field following a TD will be penalized 15 yards. In fact, a player in uniform, not wearing a helmet can run on the field to celebrate without penalty. Something tells me we’ll see someone get a 15-yard flag for celebrating with their teammates when they didn’t realize they weren’t in uniform.
The changes we saw to kickoffs last year that were temporary, are now permanent as it relates to alignment for players on both the kicking team as well as the receiving team.
There will be a greater point of emphasis on players leading with their helmet, on both sides of the ball. In the video that the league shows all teams, and Anderson will go over with the Broncos Thursday night, there are a couple of plays where a defensive player led with his helmet. But, they also showed a play where Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot led with the crown of his helmet as he encountered an Eagles defender.
We were told this was going to be emphasized last year, maybe even the last 2 years and it hasn’t been. We’ll see if that changes.
The biggest rule change, isn’t even really a rule change, just an expansion of the “menu” of plays that are able to be challenged by a team, or by the booth inside of the 2-minute warning in each half.
Pass Interference, and more specifically, “missed” pass interference like we saw in the NFC Title Game is now a reviewable play. Nothing changes for the officials. They call P.I. the same as they always have. However, is a call is missed, like we saw in the Saints/Rams game, a Coach, or the booth can challenge and review the play.
Anderson, a now retired Dentist, has been an NFL official since 1996, and a referee since 2003. He’s officiated 17 Playoff games, and worked as a line judge in Super Bowl XXXV and was the referee in Super Bowl XLV. He just came to Denver from the annual NFL Referees meeting in Dallas. There, the officials were given the statistics on the reduction in both concussions and overall injuries with the changes to the kickoff rules in 2018. He indicated injuries related to punt coverage/returns will likely be the next area the league looks at as it continues to focus on player safety.
Every day after practice, Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright on “Broncos Country Tonight” track down a couple of players. Today that had a great conversation with right guard Ron Leary. There’s a ton of great stuff in this interview, but Leary’s emphasis on leadership and his role in re-establishing more leadership on the Broncos is very insightful.
In case you miss(ed) the interview on the show, 4-10 on KOA. Check it out here: