ENGLEWOOD – Manny Ramirez arguably has the toughest job in pro football. As Peyton Manning’s center, he literally works under the most demanding quarterback in the NFL.
Not only that, but before this season, the seventh-year journeyman from Texas Tech hadn’t played a full year at center since his junior year at Willowridge High School in Houston – way back in 2000.
With Ramirez as its anchor, the Broncos’ offensive line has allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL (17), giving Manning time to throw his record 51 touchdown passes and plowing the way for Knowshon Moreno to top 1,000 yards rushing for the first time.
The Broncos (12-3) are 28 points shy of becoming the first 600-point team in history, and a win Sunday at Oakland (4-11) will secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
“Manny’s been awesome,” Manning said after a Christmas afternoon practice in pads.
“That is no easy task to go from guard to center, especially in a sophisticated, fast-moving, always-changing offense. I think it would be one thing if you knew what play was going to be called and you had 40 seconds to process it. But we call one play and change it to the next with five seconds on the play clock, and when we change a play, Manny has to make his own calls, and he has just gotten better each week.”
He’s got the backbone and brawn to match the brains, too, Manning said.
“I know he has played through a lot of injuries. It speaks to his toughness,” Manning said. “He is one of the strongest guys on our team, so it’s very impressive. I’m not sure people (appreciate it). I think people in this building understand with the sophistication of our offense just how difficult his job is, and he’s just been outstanding.”
Ramirez is an unlikely fulcrum for this historic Broncos offense, spending all season casting aside defensive linemen and doubters alike.
“This summer, I’m hearing all kind of grief about Manny can’t do this, Manny can’t do that,” Broncos offensive line coach Dave Magazu said. “Well, I think Manny’s proven all those people wrong.”
Head coach John Fox now laughs that nobody seemed to believe him when he kept saying in the offseason that Ramirez was his starting center and that he wasn’t just keeping the position warm for Dan Koppen or Ryan Lilja or Chris Kuper or Steve Vallos or J.D. Walton.
Ramirez, whose claim to fame before this season was bench-pressing a school-record 550 pounds in college, didn’t listen to the skeptics, but he couldn’t help but hear them, either.
“Truthfully, and unfortunately, that’s been my entire life,” Ramirez said. “You know, even when I was playing in middle school and high school, I’ve always had doubters, and that’s fine. That’s always been motivation for me.”
He’s been proving people wrong since he first started playing football.
“Growing up, where I’m from, people aren’t shy to tell you to your face, ‘You’re not going to make it. You’re a Mexican, for one thing. There’s not many Mexicans that play in the league anyways. You’re not smart enough. If you go to college, you’re going to have to go to a juco first and then go to college if you get an opportunity,’” Ramirez said. “I don’t know, it’s just some dumb stuff people were always saying, trying to put me down for whatever reason it might be. But you’ve just got to put all that to the side.”
Ramirez started 11 games at right guard for Denver last year, but free agency barely was 20 minutes old when he got a call from his old college teammate, Louis Vasquez, informing him he’d just signed a four-year, $23.5-million deal with the Broncos to play right guard.
“I was shocked, but at the same time I was excited because Louie and I got a bond that’s like brothers, so I was happy for him,” Ramirez said. “And then my mindset was I’ve just got to fight for a job.”
The Broncos had a plan in mind for Ramirez.
When Manning began the second chapter of his career in Denver after the series of neck surgeries that affected his famed right arm, he rebuilt his throwing motion from the ground up.
No longer does he rely as much on his arm strength so much as he does on proper mechanics, using more of his hips and torso to direct his passes and generate speed. So, it’s imperative that he has room to step into his throws.
That meant the Broncos needed more height – and beef – in the middle of their line, and they got it with Vasquez (6-5, 335 pounds) and Zane Beadles (6-4, 305) at guard and Ramirez (6-3, 320) at center.
“That’s helped us become a little more powerful on the run and a little stouter on the pass,” Fox said. “So, those are areas you try to get better at physically. And then mentally is the thing that Manny’s done a great job with.
“He’s got a quarterback behind him that’s a pretty demanding guy and changes and does things on the fly, so you’ve got to be a sharp guy, and you’ve got to earn his trust, and he has and done an excellent job.”
Webster, Welker and Wolfe return to practice
ENGLEWOOD – The Denver Broncos got their three “W’s” back at practice on Christmas Day – Kayvon Webster, Wes Welker and Derek Wolfe.
It’s unlikely that Welker and Wolfe will play against Oakland in the regular-season finale Sunday, but both were cleared to practice after prolonged absences and are working to regain their conditioning and timing.
Welker’s practice was his first since suffering a second concussion Dec. 8. He was allowed to participate on a limited basis, according to the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“It was good to see him out there,” Broncos’ head coach John Fox said.
The Broncos have struggled to convert third downs since losing Welker just before halftime against Tennessee three weeks ago.
“Yeah, we’d like to stay on the field more,” Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said.
“That’s definitely a point of emphasis that we can improve on,” Manning said.
Wolfe hadn’t practiced since having a seizure-like episode on the team bus trip to the airport Nov. 29 before the Broncos flew to Kansas City. He had been working out with the team’s training staff for a couple of weeks.
“Football is a unique game in that you can try to simulate different things in the weight room and different areas, but until you get out there and start running around playing, it’s not quite the same,” Fox said. “So, he’s back out there. We’ve got everything under control. Now it’s just a matter of him getting back into football shape.”
Webster practiced for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right thumb Dec. 13 after breaking it in two places the first half against San Diego the night before.
If Webster can handle the pain of playing with a cast, chances are he’ll be active against the Raiders (4-11) when the Broncos (12-3) will try to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs.
Wolfe has had a difficult year, beginning with a neck injury in the preseason that had him carted off the field on a backboard, and continuing with a food poisoning episode early in the season that caused him to lose a lot of weight. Doctors have been unable to explain his seizure-like episode, either.
