By Bill Coats 09/06/2007 1:48 pm
From the time he strolled into town this past spring, throughout the OTAs, minicamps, training camp and preseason games, first-round draft pick Adam Carriker has been on a fast track as he transitions to tackle from defensive end, his primary position at Nebraska.
So far, so good … but let’s be realistic, urged coach Scott Linehan.
“I’ve been asked a lot of questions about Carriker from the time we drafted him to now, and every time, in general, I can be pretty glowing with where we feel he is,” Linehan said. “Bottom line is, he’s a rookie. He hasn’t played one snap in a regular-season NFL game. Time will tell…. But at this point, Adam Carriker is way ahead of where a lot of rookies — whether they’re the first-rounders or not — would be at this point.”
The next time Carriker pulls on the pads, it’ll count. And Carriker acknowledged that he’ll have some butterflies Sunday before the season-opener vs. Carolina.
“Oh, I’m sure I will,” he said. “This is the first game for real, it’s the NFL.” The nerves will settle quickly, though, he added.
“You just approach it the best you can,” he said. “Obviously, this is another level, but I’ve been playing football for a long time. I’ll just try to keep doing what I’ve been doing, and on game day, just go out and play as hard as I can.”
Carriker has been leaning on veteran DT La’Roi Glover to help get him up to speed. “He helps me out a lot,” Carriker said. “He’s played against all these O-linemen for years. He’ll sit down with me and just be like, ‘This guy likes to do this, this guy’s tendency is this, or this guy’s weakness is this.’”
Carriker also is learning that life in the trenches is a bit different than lining up on the perimeter. “You’ve got to be able to hold your own,” he said. “It’s not friendly in there. It’s not very nice.”
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Linehan said a decision will be made Friday, but it looks more and more as if RG
Richie Incognito will miss the opener. Incognito suffered a high ankle sprain Aug. 18 vs. the Chargers and hasn’t participated in a full practice since then. If he can’t go, either Claude Terrell or Milford Brown will start.
The prospects appear better for WR Drew Bennett, who has been nursing a tight thigh muscle. He suited up Thursday and though he was somewhat limited, seemed to be running without difficulty.
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The Broncos are wearing a decal on the back of their helmets with the Nos. 27 and 29. It’s in honor of Darrent Williams, a cornerback who was shot to death early last New Year’s Day, and Damien Nash, a running back who died after a charity basketball game here Feb. 24.
Nash was a high school star at East St. Louis and Riverview Gardens who went on to play at Missouri. He was 24 when he was stricken.
A memorial plaque will hang at Invesco Field in Denver, and the team is planning ceremony honoring the two this season.
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Notes & quotes:
>>DE Eric Moore has been wearing a No. 90 pullover in practice as he plays the role of Carolina’s Julius Peppers. “They’re moving him around a lot more,” Linehan said. “We noticed him in about five different spots in the New England preseason game, which is what you try to do with a player like him. We have to account for him wherever he is.”
>>Newly signed RB Antonio Pittman is being brought along slowly. He’s been working with the offensive scout team and on special teams. “He’s a work in progress until he learns the system,” Linehan said. “We knew when we picked him up that it was going to be a while.”
>>Three days after the fact, ex-Seminole
Alex Barron still was smarting over Florida State’s 24-18 loss to Clemson. When asked about the game Thursday, Barron growled, “That’s not a good subject to bring up right now.”
All for now…