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Apparently, the New York Jets have just been taking their sweet time with the Wildcat, and now, they’re really ready to unleash it. So says Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News , who relayed this bit of info from the Jets’ PR department before Monday’s practice: Well, good. There shouldn’t be a problem with the bunker approach. Is isn’t as if anyone has free access to specific information about the Wildcat concept, and its three primary plays — Steeler, Power, and Counter, plus the play-fake pass that could come off a reverse. Oh, wait … you say there IS such a thing? My goodness. David Lee, the man drawing the Xs and Os of the Wildcat in that video, used to run it at Arkansas with Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. And it was Lee, not former Miami Dolphins head coach and current Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, who brought the wildcat to the NFL on a large scale in a Week 3 upset win over the New England Patriots. Lee, then the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach, gave Sparano the idea. And Lee is the Buffalo Bills’ current quarterbacks coach. So, the Jets’ secretive approach should pay extreme dividends! Or, maybe it’s just the Jets who are puzzled by the ‘Cat. When they lost 17-13 to the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos in Week 11 of the 2011 season, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine now recalls that they were so busy preparing for the Tebow Wildcat they didn’t really see, they were unable to adjust to other things. From the Daily News : It’s a question that confounded defensive coordinator Mike Pettine when the Jets faced Tebow in Denver last season. After the Jets shut down the Broncos for 3½ quarters, Tebow beat them  with a frenetic 95-yard game-winning drive in the final five minutes. Part of the reason why? Pettine said the Jets had exhausted so many hours preparing for the Wildcat/read-option plays that they didn’t have time to practice two-minute situations in the run-up to the game. So when Ryan consulted Pettine before the Jets traded for Tebow in March, the defensive coordinator was all-in. “Absolutely,” Pettine told Ryan. “I’d rather face him in practice than a game.” Never mind that, per Football Outsiders’ 2011 game-charting , Tebow didn’t run a single play classified as a Wildcat. That includes the Jets game, which saw Tebow using far more of the read-option ideas he’s been running since he became a red zone weapon for Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. It’s not that Tebow can’t run the ‘Cat — he’s certainly got the general skill set to do it very well — but that wasn’t what the Jets saw. The winning play was a simple Tebow bailout against the Jets’ Cover-0 package.  We expect announcers to confuse read-option and Wildcat plays — they do it all the time.

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Jets forbid media from tweeting out Wildcat information, forget that everyone already knows it (Shutdown Corner)

While most of the world was tuned into the 2012 London Olympics, football fans across America were gearing up for football season and the start of preseason games. For Denver Broncos fans, this was a chance to get the first glimpse of Peyton Manning in orange. While the Olympic coverage on NBC has attracted many viewers, the August 9th opening preseason game between the Broncos and the Chicago Bears attracted more local viewers in the Denver area than the Olympics.

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Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning Beat Out the Olympics: Fan Perspective (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – Out with the new and in with the old. Linebacker Keith Brooking participated in his first padded practice with the Denver Broncos on Saturday, subbing for rookie Danny Trevathan (ankle) at weakside linebacker behind Wesley Woodyard . Earlier in the week, the 36-year-old Brooking lined up at middle linebacker in place of second-year sub Mike Mohamed for non-contact work during 7-on-7 drills behind starter Joe Mays . Center J.D. Walton tried to pick a fight with Brooking during Saturday’s morning workout. “He told me he thought it was someone else,” Brooking said. “He was like, `Man I would not have picked a fight with you, I thought it was someone else.’ I’m like, `Yeah, whatever. Man, I’ve already forgotten about it, whatever.’ “You should have seen me way back in the day. It was like four or five a day. I’ve calmed down a lot. I’m much smarter.” It’s that veteran savvy that the Broncos wanted when they signed the 15th-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowler to a one-year, $1 million deal with Denver last week. The Broncos will be without five-time leading tackler D.J. Williams for the first six weeks of the regular season while he serves a drug suspension. Williams also faces a DUI trial on Wednesday that could result in an even longer absence. Williams wasn’t at practice Saturday, but coach John Fox said it was an excused absence. The Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) have been holding him out of team drills anyway while giving snaps at his position to Woodyard, Trevathan and, now, Brooking. Williams made the trip to Chicago for the season opener but didn’t dress out, while Brooking stayed back in Denver to work with the Broncos’ strength and conditioning staff and acclimate to altitude. Brooking said he felt just like you’d expect after lacing up the pads for the first time in seven months and going at it in Denver’s thin air. “It didn’t feel great, but it felt good,” Brooking said. He said it’ll take a few days to get back in the groove. “I know how to take on a block and shed a block and get to the football, but it takes a few days until you get your pad level right,” Brooking said. “I know how to do it, they know I know how to do it. It just takes a few days to kind of get it back after you’ve been away for seven months.” Brett Favre used to talk about how every summer it took a few days to get used to even having his heavy helmet on again. “Oh yeah, that’ll be tomorrow,” Brooking said. “You get that kind of camp headache where it’s just kind of constant, the Advil, the Tylenol don’t work.” Brooking, who played the last three seasons in Dallas after a stellar 11-year run in Atlanta, said he’s eager to play for demanding defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and longtime linebackers coach Richard Smith. “Defensive coordinators that played linebacker tend to have linebacker-friendly defenses. I consider this defense that. So he’s definitely going to be a lot of fun to play for,” Brooking said of Del Rio. “And Richard Smith worked me out back in `98 when I was coming out for the draft so he’s been in this league for a very long time and has a lot of knowledge as well.” While he works his way back into shape, Brooking is being asked to impart his own vast football knowledge to his younger teammates while pushing them for snaps on Sundays. “I have a lot of experience. I have a ton of plays in this league. I’ve seen it all,” Brooking said. “Obviously experience and knowledge and I love competition. … The big elephant in the room is that we’re all competing against one another, but at the same time we’re here to build a special bond and unite and be together and be a great team. Because all the really great teams I’ve been on have those intangibles.” Brooking said he looked to veterans Jessie Tuggle and Cornelius Bennett when he first reached the NFL, and now things have come full circle. “When I was a rookie, man they were great for me, and always there for me. So for the young guys I’m here for them and they can pick my brain all they want,” Brooking said. Woodyard sure is. “He brings that experience. He’s been to a couple of Pro Bowls here and there, played in the Super Bowl,” Woodyard said. “So, you know, he’s a guy that can tell us things and it’s going to be up to us to pick up on what he’s going to give us.” Second-year pro Nate Irving is one player who could learn a lot from his new veteran teammate. He missed out on the offseason a year ago because of the league’s lockout and his play at middle linebacker wasn’t memorable. “Last year, it was just like scrambled eggs,” Irving said. “I was just trying to run around and trying to get everything right – hopefully. But this year I know more about what I’m doing and I’m able to do it.” Irving has been moved to the strong side to back up Von Miller , and he led the Broncos with five tackles in their exhibition opener. “Well, I think just the young guys, they’re so overwhelmed,” said Brooking, who wants to do now for the greenhorns exactly what graybeards Tuggle and Bennett did for him. “They were always there for me. I picked their brain, and they were more than happy to help me out and answer any questions that I had,” Brooking said. “But just seeing the examples that they showed every day – how to practice, how to meet, how to take notes, how to watch film – just being a pro, that’s what this league’s about. You have longevity by doing the little things and not leaving a stone unturned.” Notes: CB Tracy Porter (abdominal strain) didn’t participate in all of practice. … RT Orlando Franklin made a cameo appearance at right guard in Denver’s 31-3 win at Chicago in their exhibition opener. By Arnie Stapleton, AP Writer (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Brooking Wants To Push, Teach Broncos Youngsters