Denver Broncos: Five Things We Learned v Houston Texans
By Will Reeve
May 27, 2015; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker Shane Ray (56) speaks to the media following organized team activities at the Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Shane Ray Is Already Improving
Shane Ray looked good for the second week in a row in preseason action.
The talented Missouri product, and Denver Broncos first-round pick, has been extremely hard on himself in training camp while trying to find his way.
Generally, being hard on oneself can either help or hurt a young player’s confidence depending on both what they have inside and how his coaches handle said behavior.
Head coach Gary Kubiak seems to be be keen to Ray’s tendencies and taking the right approach.
“I don’t want him to get too down when the days aren’t good,” Kubiak told the Associated Press. “He’s really hard on himself. I’m trying to get him to go on to the next one when it’s a bad play.”
Ray flashed a high motor, explosiveness and instincts Saturday night.
Although Ray went unblocked on this play, his explosiveness and instincts jump off the screen.
Rather than making the wrong play and doing everything he could to make the flashy sack, as so many rookies would do, Ray immediately gets his hands up and bats down the hot-read pass to the flat.
One of the knocks on Ray since before he was drafted was that he often gets “stuck” on opposing tackles at times given his short-armed approach and tendency to hand-fight.
However, as demonstrated above, his high motor can make up for some of that as he pushes through and nets a 1/2 sack on a play that, early in camp, he may not have finished off.
Things are definitely already trending up for Ray, and that’s great news for Broncos fans everywhere.
Next: Not Sold On Osweiler