Lelie gives himself 'C' after initial practice

By John Mossman
Associated Press

"This was harsh," Ashley Lelie said. Advertiser library photo

"This was harsh," Lelie said. "This was harder than minicamp."

A cloud cover kept temperatures in the upper 60s until late in the morning session.

"It wasn't hot at all," Lelie said. "It was dry."

Asked to grade himself on the workout, Lelie said, "Probably a 'C' based on missed assignments. But I have the routes down. The main thing is I didn't drop any passes."

Lelie said he was "nervous in the first set of drills. I got the butterflies out after that."

Coach Mike Shanahan expects big things out of Lelie and running back Clinton Portis, the team's top two draft picks.

"Lelie and Portis really were impressive in our minicamps," Shanahan said. "We had a chance to get a look at them in eight full days of practice. They picked up the offense very quickly. You can see they're mature kids, and hopefully they'll help us this year."

Playing alongside running backs who have gained 2,008, 1,487 and 1,159 yards in a season can't help but make Portis envious. It should also make him better.

"It's exciting to be in the backfield with three accomplished guys," Portis said.