Jeffersj00
09-30-2003, 12:03 AM
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For the four Sundays of his suspension, all safety Lee Flowers could do was sit in his Georgia home and watch from a distance -- his first September of idle Sundays since he began his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995.
"It was very difficult. That was the first time I ever did that in my career," Flowers said on Monday, his first day back in the Broncos' locker room since the final night of the preseason exactly a month earlier. "To be sitting at home watching the leaves in the fall and the seasons changing, it's hard."
With his DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscription, Flowers surfed around, catching the Broncos' win over the San Diego Chargers and even checking out their Week 5 opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs, when they took on the Houston Texans in Week 3. But he didn't see the game quite the way he hoped he would.
"I think I'm wasting my money on that because they just showed the offensive side of the ball, and not too much of the defensive side," Flowers said.
As he returned to Denver following the four-week suspension, he found himself buried in work -- not so much on the field, but off of it. Television coverage doesn't exactly focus on where the safeties are going; the camera follows the ball, only happening to zero in on the secondary patrolmen when they happen to make a play on the ballcarrier or intended receiver.
"I've got a long day today and tomorrow," Flowers said. "I've got to come in and catch up on the three games that I missed. I just want to try to get back in the flow of things so I don't miss a beat in practice and I won't have to have the coaches telling me something over and over that they've been doing for four weeks now.
"I'm fresh right now, but I've still got to get in football shape," he later added. "I don't care how much you run on the track, you try to condition football-wise, it's still not football. You can't substitute running on the track for football. Wednesday's going to be a tough day for me."
Although he will practice this week, Flowers' return doesn't yet necessitate the release of another player.
"He can come and practice with our football team and he doesn't count on the (53-man roster) for a week," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "He can come back and get in football shape. Then we can make a decision if he's going dress against Kansas City right before the game on Saturday, or we don't have to count him for the week. We've got one free week that he can be on our team and not count, and then we have to make a decision which way we'll go."
If the Broncos decide to play Flowers as part of the 45-man active squad on Sunday, they will have to release a player, as Flowers would then count against the 53-man limit and the grace period would end early.
"First of all, we will see what type of football shape he's in, and take a look at the heath of our football team. Then we'll make a decision that we feel gives us the best chance to win," Shanahan said. "I won't be sharing that with you now for obvious reasons."
But Flowers stands at the ready, no matter what decision is made in regards to his status for the Chiefs game.
"The only thing I can do is go out there on the field and perform what the coaches ask me to do," he said. "If that allows me to get on the field then so be it. If not, I've got to deal with it."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/Images/flowers_060503.jpg
INJURY UPDATE: The injury report that Shanahan read at the start of his Monday afternoon news conference was so lengthy seemed more like the grocery list of a family that hasn't hit a supermarket in a month.
Center Tom Nalen, sprained ankle: "His MRI was negative and that is a good sign," Shanahan said. "I don't think we will know a whole lot for a couple of days. He is quite sore."
"I don't know if he will be able to practice," Shanahan said. "Tom Nalen is a guy that I wouldn't bet against unless he has got a broken ankle. That is the type of guy that he is, if there is a will there is a way, so I can't tell you for sure."
Tackle Matt Lepsis, knee: "The MRI was negative; it's just a little but sore, but it shouldn't be a setback. Hopefully he will be able to go on Wednesday."
Wide receiver Chris Cole, strained neck: "Cole had an X-ray on his neck strain and that was negative."
Fullback Reuben Droughns, right leg: "Reuben Droughns had (an) X-ray on his lower right leg and that was negative -- a good sign."
Running back Clinton Portis, sternum: "He is feeling better, but until he actually practices and takes a couple shots, I really don't know what his status is."
"Hopefully he can come out on Wednesday, full speed, no setbacks, and practice with the team," Shanahan later added. "If he does, then we should be in good shape for Sunday. If he doesn't we could be in a similar situation to what happened the week before."
Defensive tackle Daryl Gardener, wrist: "He is improving each week. According to the doctors this is the first time that they thought he had a legitimate chance to play from the beginning. So he is probably pretty much on schedule. We'll get a chance to evaluate him Wednesday and Thursday and see how he practices -- especially in pads on Thursday. (We will see) how he reacts on Friday then I can tell you more on Friday about him."
Safety Kenoy Kennedy, sprained ankle: "He is feeling better. Will he be able to practice? I can't tell you for sure right now, but he is making strides."
Safety Sam Brandon, quarterback Jake Plummer, tight end Shannon Sharpe, offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam and wide receiver Ed McCaffrey were also at the facility receiving treatment, Shanahan said.
FEARLESS SNAKE: Perhaps the two most frustrating plays for Plummer in the last three games have come when he flopped into a Pete Rose-esque head-first slide, lunging forward with outstretched arms in an attempt to get the first down. In San Diego, he got the first down but suffered a shoulder injury; against Detroit he got the necessary yardage but lost the ball as he hit the ground untouched, resulting in a fumble that gave the Broncos their first scoreless red-zone foray of the season.
Yet, in spite of the results, it's hard for Shanahan to fault the quarterback for making such a fearless attempt at getting a first down.
"The guy's such a competitor, he lays out trying to get the first down," Shanahan said. "You let competitors compete. When he gets to the sideline, I think he's got common sense to know when to get out of bounds (and) when to stay inbounds. There's a fine line. A quarterback's got to do the best thing for the team in protecting himself, but you also have to compete as a quarterback and get the respect amongst other players on the team, and I think he's done that."
But Plummer has also shown the ability to adeptly get out of bounds when the situation calls for it. Against the Raiders, he stepped to the sideline after sprinting 40 yards in the second quarter.
"Jake's a smart guy. He knows when to slide; he knows when it's very important to get the first down," Shanahan said.
"It was very difficult. That was the first time I ever did that in my career," Flowers said on Monday, his first day back in the Broncos' locker room since the final night of the preseason exactly a month earlier. "To be sitting at home watching the leaves in the fall and the seasons changing, it's hard."
With his DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscription, Flowers surfed around, catching the Broncos' win over the San Diego Chargers and even checking out their Week 5 opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs, when they took on the Houston Texans in Week 3. But he didn't see the game quite the way he hoped he would.
"I think I'm wasting my money on that because they just showed the offensive side of the ball, and not too much of the defensive side," Flowers said.
As he returned to Denver following the four-week suspension, he found himself buried in work -- not so much on the field, but off of it. Television coverage doesn't exactly focus on where the safeties are going; the camera follows the ball, only happening to zero in on the secondary patrolmen when they happen to make a play on the ballcarrier or intended receiver.
"I've got a long day today and tomorrow," Flowers said. "I've got to come in and catch up on the three games that I missed. I just want to try to get back in the flow of things so I don't miss a beat in practice and I won't have to have the coaches telling me something over and over that they've been doing for four weeks now.
"I'm fresh right now, but I've still got to get in football shape," he later added. "I don't care how much you run on the track, you try to condition football-wise, it's still not football. You can't substitute running on the track for football. Wednesday's going to be a tough day for me."
Although he will practice this week, Flowers' return doesn't yet necessitate the release of another player.
"He can come and practice with our football team and he doesn't count on the (53-man roster) for a week," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "He can come back and get in football shape. Then we can make a decision if he's going dress against Kansas City right before the game on Saturday, or we don't have to count him for the week. We've got one free week that he can be on our team and not count, and then we have to make a decision which way we'll go."
If the Broncos decide to play Flowers as part of the 45-man active squad on Sunday, they will have to release a player, as Flowers would then count against the 53-man limit and the grace period would end early.
"First of all, we will see what type of football shape he's in, and take a look at the heath of our football team. Then we'll make a decision that we feel gives us the best chance to win," Shanahan said. "I won't be sharing that with you now for obvious reasons."
But Flowers stands at the ready, no matter what decision is made in regards to his status for the Chiefs game.
"The only thing I can do is go out there on the field and perform what the coaches ask me to do," he said. "If that allows me to get on the field then so be it. If not, I've got to deal with it."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/Images/flowers_060503.jpg
INJURY UPDATE: The injury report that Shanahan read at the start of his Monday afternoon news conference was so lengthy seemed more like the grocery list of a family that hasn't hit a supermarket in a month.
Center Tom Nalen, sprained ankle: "His MRI was negative and that is a good sign," Shanahan said. "I don't think we will know a whole lot for a couple of days. He is quite sore."
"I don't know if he will be able to practice," Shanahan said. "Tom Nalen is a guy that I wouldn't bet against unless he has got a broken ankle. That is the type of guy that he is, if there is a will there is a way, so I can't tell you for sure."
Tackle Matt Lepsis, knee: "The MRI was negative; it's just a little but sore, but it shouldn't be a setback. Hopefully he will be able to go on Wednesday."
Wide receiver Chris Cole, strained neck: "Cole had an X-ray on his neck strain and that was negative."
Fullback Reuben Droughns, right leg: "Reuben Droughns had (an) X-ray on his lower right leg and that was negative -- a good sign."
Running back Clinton Portis, sternum: "He is feeling better, but until he actually practices and takes a couple shots, I really don't know what his status is."
"Hopefully he can come out on Wednesday, full speed, no setbacks, and practice with the team," Shanahan later added. "If he does, then we should be in good shape for Sunday. If he doesn't we could be in a similar situation to what happened the week before."
Defensive tackle Daryl Gardener, wrist: "He is improving each week. According to the doctors this is the first time that they thought he had a legitimate chance to play from the beginning. So he is probably pretty much on schedule. We'll get a chance to evaluate him Wednesday and Thursday and see how he practices -- especially in pads on Thursday. (We will see) how he reacts on Friday then I can tell you more on Friday about him."
Safety Kenoy Kennedy, sprained ankle: "He is feeling better. Will he be able to practice? I can't tell you for sure right now, but he is making strides."
Safety Sam Brandon, quarterback Jake Plummer, tight end Shannon Sharpe, offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam and wide receiver Ed McCaffrey were also at the facility receiving treatment, Shanahan said.
FEARLESS SNAKE: Perhaps the two most frustrating plays for Plummer in the last three games have come when he flopped into a Pete Rose-esque head-first slide, lunging forward with outstretched arms in an attempt to get the first down. In San Diego, he got the first down but suffered a shoulder injury; against Detroit he got the necessary yardage but lost the ball as he hit the ground untouched, resulting in a fumble that gave the Broncos their first scoreless red-zone foray of the season.
Yet, in spite of the results, it's hard for Shanahan to fault the quarterback for making such a fearless attempt at getting a first down.
"The guy's such a competitor, he lays out trying to get the first down," Shanahan said. "You let competitors compete. When he gets to the sideline, I think he's got common sense to know when to get out of bounds (and) when to stay inbounds. There's a fine line. A quarterback's got to do the best thing for the team in protecting himself, but you also have to compete as a quarterback and get the respect amongst other players on the team, and I think he's done that."
But Plummer has also shown the ability to adeptly get out of bounds when the situation calls for it. Against the Raiders, he stepped to the sideline after sprinting 40 yards in the second quarter.
"Jake's a smart guy. He knows when to slide; he knows when it's very important to get the first down," Shanahan said.