Q and A with Kalif

More on Kalif:

m.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/20-days-20-Broncos-camp-questions----9-Who-could-emerge-to-handle-kickoff-and-punt-returns/0e3fbb24-7f5e-4702-9d04-22860c7522d6

Nice press from the AP on Kalif:

August 1, 2016 Monday 5:07 AM GMT

Denver Broncos have a wealth of options at wide receiver

ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Pro Football Writer


DATELINE: ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Denver coach Gary Kubiak says that in his 32 years in the NFL he's never seen this much depth or deftness at wide receiver.
"I've said from day one: that really has the chance to be the strength of our team," Kubiak said Sunday. "It's going to be really hard to make our team at that position."

Last year, there were Pro Bowlers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and not much else, as those two pass catchers accounted for 80 percent of the team's production at wide receiver.
This year, coaches are excited about the leaps being made by holdovers Bennie Fowler, Jordan Norwood and Cody Latimer, all of whom stepped it up in the playoffs and are now vying for the No. 3 receiver job this summer.
They're joined by two free agent acquisitions familiar with Kubiak's system in DeVier Posey and Marlon Brown.

Rounding out the dozen receivers vying for half as many roster spots are four speedy rookies and Peyton Manning's 6-foot-5, personal practice partner Jordan Taylor, whose sessions with Manning helped the five-time MVP work his way back from a foot injury last year to lead Denver's Super Bowl run.

Taylor made a catch Friday that was reminiscent of Odell Beckham Jr.'s famous one-handed grab, only Taylor added a somersault to boot.

Still, the most impressive catches of camp so far belong to undrafted rookie Kalif Raymond of Holy Cross, a 5-foot-9 blaze on special teams and blur from scrimmage.

Making it difficult for the Broncos to try to hide them on the practice squad, Raymond and Taylor have spiced up the Super Bowl champs' training camp, where there is an extraordinary three-way competition unfolding at quarterback.

Even with Sanders and Thomas getting a day off, there was no shortage of crowd-pleasing catches against Denver's star-studded secondary. The bulk of them belonged to Taylor or Raymond, who helped rookie QB Paxton Lynch have his best day yet as he tries to catch Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian.

"This is my dream, so anything I can do to get on that field - receiver, returner, sniper, gunner, anything they need me to do," Raymond said. "I'll go out there and snap the ball if they want me to."
Taylor ran himself ragged last year, playing both receiver and safety on the scout squads after his daily workouts with the meticulous Manning.

"He was probably the most in-shape guy on the team by far," Tolbert said, adding that Taylor showed growth long before his daily sessions with Manning.

"Most people who are that tall, your footwork is not as crisp, especially coming out of college. So, the one thing I've tried to do is work on his footwork and his technique and he's gotten tons better from the day he got here until now," Tolbert said. "All the hard work he's put in is really gratifying."

Also working in Taylor's favor is that he's "sneaky fast," Tolbert said. "He doesn't look like he's moving that much, but he's gaining ground on you. And his catching radius is 6-8, I'd guess. He has such a huge radius he's able to adjust his body in the air and make plays on the ball."

Raymond's size is a matter of some debate.

Short but stocky, Raymond swears he weighed in Sunday at 181 pounds although he's still listed at 160.

Not that size matters to Tolbert.

"They can be tall like Jordan or short like Kalif," Tolbert said. "Now, everybody wants bigger, stronger, faster. But there are some big, strong, fast people sitting at home on the couch because they can't make plays. So, I just want playmakers."

Of which, he has no shortage.

Do editors still exist?  If they do they must assume reporters look-up easily verified facts and so don't bother to check themselves!  

It was changed, but not corrected.

According to what I see on the HC web site, going into last season he had 7 total TDs - 1 rushing, 5 receiving, 1 kickoff return.

Last year he had 11 - 9 receiving, 1 kickoff return, 1 punt return.

Had to use my toes in addition to my fingers, but I'm pretty sure that's 18 total TDs in his HC career.

Am I the only one who has seen this? I've been out of the country for a couple of weeks and if this has already been posted, my apologies, but here is another side of Kalif (go to about 1:53 on this video to see some of his non-football moves):

Huge opportunity for Kalif tonight. Best of luck to him!

www.denverpost.com/2016/08/09/kalif-raymonds-big-shot-kapri-bibbs-big-bust-out-qbs-and-more-observations-from-tuesdays-broncos-camp/

Is the game on live now? I am taping NFL Redzone starting at 11:00 pm EDT.

According to the stats on NFL.com Kalif has one kick return for 26 yards and 3 punt returns: the first for 8 yards, the second for 16, the third for 8 yards again. That is outstanding!!

i misread the stats when I first checked

Yeah--I misread the stats and misreported. After checking the play by play  I corrected the post but thought it best to self-report my error to condition myself to be more careful.....mea culpa....

Raymond seems to have played the first half, and Bralon Addison handled the returns in the second half. Addison is also short in stature.