ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Fight! Fight!
The Broncos had their first tussle of training camp Saturday as defensive lineman McTelvin Agim started throwing punches at guard Ben Braden. Because of all the armor players wear, football fights are the worst. Agim kept throwing haymakers that landed on Braden’s helmet. Who’s going to get hurt?
Still, it shows the spirit of competition that football coaches often like to see. Only Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett didn’t want to see it.
“Kicked those guys off the field,’’ Hackett said. “And in the end that’s what happens in a game. In a game when something like that happens, somebody’s out, potentially for the whole game and it hurts the team.
“In the end we talk about the team, it’s all about the team. I know it’s a heated battle out there but it’s all about controlled aggression. And no matter what happens you can’t throw a punch, you can’t do anything like that. That’s not what we want, that’s not what we coach.’’
Hackett said once inside the locker room, the players were able to “clear the air” with mediators on hand and Agim and Braden were allowed back onto the field. Hackett had Agim and Braden hug it out.
It was hot. It was practice No. 10 of the 14-day training camp. There’s three more practices – only one with pads – before the Broncos hold a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday at UCHealth Training Center. Parking and admission are free.
Marshall, Jones visit
Former Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall – who once had an NFL-record 21-catch game and three 100-catch seasons for Denver – attended his former team’s practice Saturday and paid close attention to the team play when he wasn’t hounded by local media members.
“A lot of this stuff didn’t exist,'' said Marshall, who had four productive seasons with the Broncos until he became one of many players who got sideways with coach Josh McDaniels and was traded to Miami after the 2009 season. "Some new additions. The indoor facility and obviously what they did inside, so that was cool.
"And then seeing all the old faces, Flip (Chris Valenti) from the equipment room, seeing some of the guys from the ground team, someone who has been here 19, 20 years, (P.R. guru) Patrick Smyth, it’s a beautiful thing coming back.
"When you’re young, sometimes you take things for granted. So to be 38 now and seeing some of these old faces and being on the grounds where it first started for me, it’s special.”
Marshall hosts his own “I am Athlete” podcast with former Bronco Adam Jones, who also attended the Broncos’ camp workout Saturday.
“They’ve got a good back end,’’ said Jones, a former cornerback and returner. “PS2 (Pat Surtain II), he’s special.”
Marshall joined the Broncos’ receiver group last month at quarterback Russell Wilson’s workout facility near San Diego, ostensibly as a coach, but ran a few routes himself.
“What I love is the humility in the receiver room,’’ Marshall said. “Courtland stood up as a leader and pushed everybody. Hell, he pushed me – you know, ‘finish, finish, finish.” He told me to come back and do the drill again. I’m like, damn I’m here coaching and you’re stepping up and making sure I’m doing things perfect on the field. Which is special. This team needs that.’’
Bronco Bits
Players are off Sunday. Coaches will come in Sunday and start doing some film work on the Cowboys, who will scrimmage the Broncos on Thursday and stay in town for the preseason game Saturday night. What normally happens in such instances is the starters get plenty of reps during the practice on Thursday and the backups take care of the game on Saturday. …
Rookie running back Max Borghi of Arvada had a couple nice carries with the No. 2 and 3 units Saturday.
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