Harris fighting for job among crowded secondary

by Ryan Ebert

Broncos cornerback Chris Harris barely made the team's roster last year after going undrafted from Kansas.

It was his incredible work ethic that got people to first notice him.

Early on that was enough to play on special teams.  He kept impressing the coaches as he found a nice spot as nickel corner.

Now in his second year he knows his job isn't secure and will have to earn a spot in 2012.

"Being an undrafted free agent, you have to prove yourself every year," Harris said. "So I never stop working."

Harris is going to have to show the same thing that got him his job last time and keep it in a crowded secondary, especially since he doesn't have experience with him as do the players that Denver signed in the offseason.

Denver brought in defensive backs Tracy Porter, Drayton Florence, and Mike Adams.  Those players have a combined total of 21 years of experience.

Fourteen-year veteran Champ Bailey has seen that Harris isn't backing away from the competition.

"He's holding his own," Bailey said, noting that Harris always has a smile on his face. "That's one thing about him, he's such a competitor. He feels confident about what he does. He's just letting his play speak for itself."

Harris believes the competition will only help him.

"Its just something I can gain experience from," Harris said. "These guys have been in the league for a long time. They are just adding competition and just making me better.

"We all talked as defensive backs and said we're never going to give each other bad advice, always try to help each other," he continued. "The competition is only going to make everybody better."

Many of the players in the secondary are aware that they need to earn their spot, and that most of the openings will be empty until the regular season.

"We all understand every spot is up for grabs, except Champ's,” Harris said. “There's competition everywhere.”

His young age might go against Harris, but he sees it as more room for improvement and that it gives him more time to learn.

"Really I just want to get faster and stronger," he said. "I'm only 22 years old. We drafted a guy that's older than me coming in, so I'm still young, still learning the game a lot more. There's a lot I can learn."

He could be talking about Omar Bolden who is a 23-year old rookie from Arizona St., or he could be talking about center Philip Blake from Baylor who is 26-years old.  Like Bolden, Harris himself will be fighting for the second, third, and fourth cornerback spots.  Both were four-year starters in college, but Bolden hasn't yet face the pros yet.  The experience Harris has is something he holds valuable to himself and the team.

"Playing against top receivers like (Wes) Welker, Antonio Gates, I kind of got thrown in on the fly," Harris said. "Being able to go out there and play against those top guys definitely gives me confidence going into this season."

Harris was able to play in the playoff games Denver was in and made five tackles in the overtime win against the Steelers and started against Brady and the Patriots.

"Not a lot of undrafted rookies get that experience in the playoffs," Harris said.

Harris did point out a fact that while he and his teammates are vying for a spot, that there is a common goal for everyone.

"We're all here for one common goal, and that's to win a Super Bowl," Harris said.

Broncos looking for more from Moore

by Ryan Ebert

Former UCLA safety Rahim Moore is in his first offseason with OTAs and practices, and this should help him keep his starting job throughout his sophomore season in Denver.  Moore lost his starting job to safety Quinton Carter after five games of poor play.  He was the highest ranked safety coming out in the 2011 NFL Draft, but with the lockout brewing at the time, it did not help him understand the defense.

"I think (last year) was one of the only years I went with no production, and that's not something I looked forward to going into my rookie season," said Moore, who had 31 tackles, a pick, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 2011.  "I wanted to play better, but I think I needed that.  It's driven me now to want to compete and to have a better season and be able to help the team win."

“I missed having OTAs last season,” Moore said. “It was like I was thrown into the fire. I was antsy, but at the same time, I was second-guessing myself sometimes. When the game did slow down for me, it seemed like it didn’t. I thought it did, but it didn’t. A lot of times, I was unsure of what I was doing. I showed some signs of ability, but as the year went on, I wore down my body. This year during the offseason, I worked on getting stronger and getting in better shape.”

Fourteen-year veteran Champ Bailey knows how valuable OTAs are and how tough it is for a rookie to miss out them.

“Coming in last year, all they had was training camp,” Bailey said of the two rookie safeties, Moore and Quinton Carter  “I couldn't imagine how it would've been for anybody else doing that, especially at safety. There's a lot to learn. Now they know what they need to do to be successful, it's just going out and getting the work in."

Moore, because of his poor play was placed behind Quinton Carter on the depth chart this year, but defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio says that safeties Mike Adams, Quinton Carter, and Rahim Moore are fighting for the two starting jobs.

Moore believes the competition will be good for the players and improve their play overall.

“We’re like brothers back there and we help each other out,” he said. “And that’s what it’s all about and that’s what’s going to make our team better. That’s what (Head) Coach (John) Fox wants us to do, to compete.”

In hopes of getting a starting job Moore will look to build on his experience from last year.

“It’s just learning from my old experience so when the opportunity comes, or when that time comes you know how to handle it,” Moore said. “Also my conditioning, my work ethic, I know that I put the work in. I was always told what you do in the offseason is going to show in season. It’s not like last year I didn’t work hard, but I was just new to everything. So this year, like I said, I’m excited and looking forward to helping this team win and being a part of the process.”

Ten-year player Drayton Florence has been mentoring the young players including Rahim Moore, and Moore says how much he has appreciated the help.

“I think God has truly blessed me with a guy like (cornerback) Drayton Florence,” Moore said. “He’s helped me out so much, in ways words can’t explain. He’s shown me some things that I’ve never known, that I thought I knew, but really, it was wrong. He’s helped me out so much. He’s been like a big brother to me."

In OTAs thus far Quinton Carter and Rahim Moore have both been working out as the first-team strong safety.  Whenever one is in the other gets some reps in at second-team free safety.  In 2011 Carter played both safety positions, and Moore only played the free safety position.

"We've been interchanging each day.  Everybody has to know every position back there," Carter said.

Head coach John Fox is positive the play from whoever gets the starting job will be much better from 2010.

“The second time around, their sophomore season, (Moore and Carter) feel way more comfortable,” Coach Fox said. “Again, you have to develop a pro body. This game is twice as long as the college game when you figure in the preseason as well as the playoffs. It takes a while. They are much further along and much more comfortable the second time around.”