Sure, the names sounded great when they passed through the NFL transaction wire this year — Brandon Stokley, Keith Brooking, Jim Leonhard and Dan Koppen, all veterans who had played in conference championship games or Super Bowls, looking for another shot with a new team.
But each came with significant questions such as age (Brooking, Stokley) or injury (Leonhard, Koppen), and Broncos coach John Fox understood that the additions may have looked like crazy gambles to the rest of the league.
Now, with the Broncos in control of the AFC West at their bye week, those moves are starting to look crazy brilliant.
Brooking, at middle linebacker, and Koppen, at center, have become starters at crucial positions. Stokley,
in his second stint as Denver's slot receiver, is tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches. And Leonhard, while having lost his job as punt returner, is seeing increased playing time at safety, and made an interception Monday in San Diego."We've played a lot of games, and played in some big games, and that's never bad for a football team, when you have guys that have that experience, especially in your backups," Leonhard said. "Usually your backups are young, and having veteran backups, you can bounce ideas off the starters, off the coaches, you really get kind of an extra set of eyes on that film."
Leonhard, who will turn 30 before the Broncos play their next game, had played for three teams and was coming off back-to-back, season-ending injuries as he became a free agent this year. He was confident he would recover from the torn patellar tendon he suffered late last year, but understood that other teams might not feel the same way.
That's why, when the Broncos flew him to Denver for a workout in the first week of August, when his knee wasn't fully healed, he said he "jumped at the chance" to sign.
"They were willing to give me time, which not everyone was," Leonhard said.
Leonhard was cleared to start practice late in the preseason and has been playing in specialty defensive packages through the first six games.
Monday night in San Diego, Leonhard replaced starting strong safety Mike Adams for part of the second and third quarters. It was during that time Leonhard, all 5-foot-8 of him, wrestled a deep pass away from 6-4 tight end Antonio Gates.
"I was frustrated because up to that point I didn't really feel I had made an impact. Being a competitive guy, that's all you're looking for," Leonhard said. "It was great to get that interception, and be around a couple more plays throughout the night."
For Brooking, who like Peyton Manning was a first-round draft pick in 1998, the Broncos offered a chance to play earlier than he was realistically expecting as a nearly-38-year-old free agent. Brooking arrived in Denver in August expecting to push Wesley Woodyard for playing time at weakside linebacker and play special teams.
He wound up splitting time with Woodyard, and ultimately replacing Joe Mays at middle linebacker. Brooking started there against the Oakland Raiders when Mays was suspended, and was promoted to starter last week after Mays struggled in his return against the New England Patriots. Brooking graded well against the Chargers (with five total tackles) and likely will remain the starter after the bye week.
"What I've missed, or the half of step I've lost — I won't give you a full step — you gain it in experience and knowledge and things you've seen in this league," Brooking said. "I really felt like my résumé is on tape, and even here recently my role has changed, significantly, over the last two years, but when I've had opportunities, I've been productive. If you look at the film, I can still produce in this league and help a team."
Stokley was basically retired when he answered Manning's call to come work out in North Carolina in February. His close ties with Manning, and to the Broncos, whom he played for from 2007-09, made it an easy decision for the Broncos to offer Stokley a contract in April.
After dealing with injuries over the past two seasons, Stokley, with 19 catches for 216 yards in six games, is healthy and is on pace for his best season since his career prime with Manning in Indianapolis.
"I don't want to say a surprise — but a pleasant surprise as far as his movement, his quickness, even his speed I think has been very good," Fox said.
Koppen, who spent 2011 on injured reserve with a broken leg, replaced injured starting center J.D. Walton midway through the Broncos' win over Oakland on Sept. 30, and the offense has shown no ill effects from the switch so far. Koppen's familiarity with a fast-paced, no-huddle offense from his years in New England has helped the Broncos in crucial situations, like when he managed to get protections changed, push Manning back into shotgun and deliver the snap with less than a second remaining on the go-ahead touchdown pass Monday in San Diego.
"Guys that have been there, done that, been on championship teams, veteran guys that young people can look up to, I think, is important to have," Fox said. "I've always believed in a little bit of a blend of that youth, experience, and veteran know-how."
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262, twitter.com/bylindsayhjones
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