Ryan Clady – Denver Broncos BT Profile

Ryan Clady came into the league with some big shoes to fill. With longtime Denver Broncos starting left tackle Matt Lepsis retiring after 2007, the Broncos used their first round draft pick on Clady and saw immediate results: he started from Day One. Clady was voted an All-Pro in 2008 and 2009 and a Pro Bowler in 2009 (snubbed in 2008) before an early offseason knee injury nearly derailed his 2010 season. Clady didn’t miss a game, but his performance suffered, especially in the early weeks. His 2011 season was inconsistent, but he made his second Pro Bowl appearance as an alternate, making him the third tackle in league history to start every game and make at least two Pro Bowls in his first four NFL seasons.

2011 Analysis: Despite making the Pro Bowl, statistically, 2011 was Clady’s worst year as a pro. According to Stats LLC, Clady committed seven holding penalties and yielded nine sacks in 2011. (In comparison, he had all of six holds and 16 sacks allowed in his previous three seasons combined, and only one hold and half a sack allowed in his rookie season). Part of that can definitely be attributed to the switch to quarterback Tim Tebow — Clady and the rest of the Broncos were simply asked to block a lot longer than they ever had been before. The offensive line gelled at times and struggled at others, Clady included, but overall it’s hard to be disappointed in any unit that produces the number one rushing offense in the league.

Contract Status: Signed through 2012; Free Agent 2013

2012 Outlook: It’s a contract year for Clady — he may never return to his record-setting rookie form, but you can still expect the typical upswing in production from a player the year before he is set to hit the market. Another year with the same offensive linemen next to him should also do Clady wonders in 2012.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to participate. Are you disappointed in Clady’s recent performances, or do you still consider him one of the elite players on the Broncos’ roster?

We hope you enjoy these posts as BroncoTalk develops a one-of-a-kind fan-powered Denver Broncos roster on the web.

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Full bios on each coach are available on DenverBroncos.com.

It’s interesting to see Jack Del Rio‘s influence taking hold in Denver. First there was the Richesson hire itself, then the signing of wide receiver Jason Hill, and now these three coaches. Or maybe the influence stems from Richesson himself.

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Brady Quinn wanted a billboard too

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) and Denver Broncos quarterback Adam Weber (2) watch as quarterback Brady Quinn leads the offense in the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Something tells me the Denver Broncos won’t be so eager to re-sign free agent quarterback Brady Quinn this March — not after these comments he made to Mike Silver for GQ:

Brady Quinn (backup QB, Denver Broncos): Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle [Orton] got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out. So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I felt like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just ’cause they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn’t have any billboards. That would have been nice.

Is there truth in Brady Quinn’s words? More than likely. Should he have said them? Of course not.

The fact is, Brady Quinn wasn’t the second-string quarterback. The Broncos opted not to have one of those. And just because Quinn was the favorite to go in one week didn’t guarantee anything for the weeks to come.

Quinn comes off sour and like a poor teammate in this quote. What’s worse, he’s questioning his coach and management, doing himself a huge disservice. There’s no way he can return to this locker room now. Just think — Tim Tebow was reportedly fined by Kyle Orton, Quinn, and Adam Weber simply for not publicly speaking against the billboards. Now Quinn is saying he wanted one too.

The bottom line: the Broncos are looking for two quarterbacks. You can bet that Brady Quinn won’t be one of them.

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