BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Mike Shanahan knows just the place receiver Ashley Lelie could compete for the No. 1 job he covets so much that he's boycotting the Broncos' minicamp: Denver.
"If you want to compete to be the No. 1 guy, why not be here? Why not be here in camp?" Shanahan said after the Broncos began their three-day practice session Thursday. "If you're afraid of competing against a No. 1 guy who's 35 years old (in Rod Smith)?
"I don't think you're going to find a better scenario than what he has here."
Lelie wants to be a featured pass-catcher in somebody's offense and is convinced he'll never get that opportunity in Denver. He wasn't pleased with the Broncos' interest in Terrell Owens over the winter and declined to attend the club's offseason conditioning program, forgoing a $100,000 contract incentive to work out instead in Tempe, Ariz.
Ironically, during the winter and spring he worked out with former Pro Bowl receiver Javon Walker, who joined the Broncos in a draft-day trade from Green Bay. Walker, who missed most of last season with a torn knee ligament, has a lucrative new contract that will kick in next March if his comeback goes well in 2006.
Lelie, who is entering the final season of the rookie contract he signed as the 19th overall pick in 2002, had 42 catches for 770 yards and one TD last year, numbers that were down from 2004, when he racked up 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns on 54 receptions.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/07/06/bc.fbn.broncos.lelie.ap/index.html
"If you want to compete to be the No. 1 guy, why not be here? Why not be here in camp?" Shanahan said after the Broncos began their three-day practice session Thursday. "If you're afraid of competing against a No. 1 guy who's 35 years old (in Rod Smith)?
"I don't think you're going to find a better scenario than what he has here."
Lelie wants to be a featured pass-catcher in somebody's offense and is convinced he'll never get that opportunity in Denver. He wasn't pleased with the Broncos' interest in Terrell Owens over the winter and declined to attend the club's offseason conditioning program, forgoing a $100,000 contract incentive to work out instead in Tempe, Ariz.
Ironically, during the winter and spring he worked out with former Pro Bowl receiver Javon Walker, who joined the Broncos in a draft-day trade from Green Bay. Walker, who missed most of last season with a torn knee ligament, has a lucrative new contract that will kick in next March if his comeback goes well in 2006.
Lelie, who is entering the final season of the rookie contract he signed as the 19th overall pick in 2002, had 42 catches for 770 yards and one TD last year, numbers that were down from 2004, when he racked up 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns on 54 receptions.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/07/06/bc.fbn.broncos.lelie.ap/index.html
