Honored For Their Offseasons

By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The offseason. It's certainly not the most glamorous part of the football season, and isn't exactly the most exciting stretch of the year for the players.

But it's when the work begins for the next go-round, and offseason conditioning was something the Broncos took very seriously heading into the 2009 campaign.

The players started official offseason conditioning in the middle of March for a season that truly begins in September. The team accomplished a lot of work in that time span, but the locker room voted that 10 players' dedication stood out among the rest.

Josh Barrett, Tim Crowder, Jabar Gaffney, Daniel Graham, Ben Hamilton, Peyton Hillis, Kenny Peterson, Chris Simms, Brandon Stokley and Jack Williams were all voted Offseason Award Winners by their teammates.

All of them said that with all the hard work the team put in this offseason, to be singled out is a great feeling.

Some of the winners, like Crowder, were even surprised by the honor.

"I'm really not an outspoken guy, and I didn't think anybody was going to pay attention to what I do because I'm so quiet," Crowder said. "But I see they recognize the way I work hard, and it means a lot, just to get the respect from your teammates."

But a quick glance at Crowder and the other nine winners' routines and it's easy to see why they deserved the distinction.

Many of the players put in some extra work this spring and summer. Barrett took advantage of several trips to Red Rocks Park and Ampitheatre, where the team ran up and down the stadium seating as part of the conditioning program. Hamilton did the same. Crowder kicked his routine up a notch, losing weight in order to move to his new position, outside linebacker/defensive end.

Stokley, an 11th-year veteran, altered his offseason routine a little this time around, putting in even more work than he's used to.

"I know that I'm not getting any younger, so to try to withstand a whole football season, I've got to do a lot of extra things," he said. "So I really dedicated myself this year to the weight program, the conditioning and the lifting to try to get myself ready for a 16-game regular season."

Then there were those who just went about their business every day, and that caught the attention of teammates as well.

"I'm just doing my job," Graham said. "I've been doing my offseasons the same for the last seven years, just going in, working hard and preparing for the next season."

The regular season is almost here, when the players can truly tell how much all that preparation has paid off. But in the mean time, the preparation has already paid dividends for the 10 award winners in the form of several privileges.

First, the players each got a prime parking spot adjoining the practice field, close to the entrance to the facility. They also got first choice of seats on the team plane during away games. A few training camp bonuses included picking a playlist for a practice session, a free night without curfew and the opportunity to select a Friday afternoon meal. If the players have a favorite restaurant that caters, the team will have it brought in.

The parking spot got plenty of votes from the award winners as the best perk, especially if the weather got cold or it was raining, and no matter what time players arrived they knew their parking spot was waiting for them.

The Friday meals are a popular choice as well. Stokley said he got some "rave reviews" for his meal choice -- Del Frisco's -- when the team got some catered steaks. Hamilton's meal was popular as well -- some Popeyes chicken was delivered.

Choosing the music was a lot of fun for the players, but sometimes it was fun at the music selector's expense. After Hillis chose a tracklist laden with country, LaMont Jordan joked, "Not only is that unacceptable, it's unconstitutional … to have that playlist that he had."

Barrett said it's hard to choose what the best privilege has been.

"You know, choosing the music has been cool," he said. "We actually get to pick a Friday meal -- last week's was good, and Ben picked it. Getting to choose your seat, a night without curfew -- it's all been really good. That one night when you don't have curfew, getting to go home and sleep in your bed, that's an advantage. I was really, really excited about that."

All in all, the players have enjoyed the incentive program, and rewarding them for their offseason preparation has only been a positive.

What makes it all the better, Stokely said, is that the distinction was voted on in the locker room.

"It means a lot because it comes from your teammates," he said. "I put a lot of hard work in this offseason, and for it to be recognized by your peers, it makes you feel good."