CANTON John Elway Jersey White , Ohio — At one end of the room sat Tony Gonzalez. All the way across it was Ed Reed.Sometimes in the past, that’s as close to each other as the two new Hall of Famers cared to be.Same thing for Champ Bailey and Ty Law when it came to covering Gonzalez, the game-changing tight end and matchup nightmare for defensive backs.They’re all part of the class of 2019 that will be inducted Saturday night. On Friday, they spoke about each other — and the honor of entering the pro football shrine together.“It was a hassle dealing with Tony,” said Reed, a five-time All-Pro for Baltimore as a ball-hawking safety and member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, as were Gonzalez, Bailey and Law. “Tony was tough. You needed somebody else to help you. I’d tell Terrell Suggs, ‘You got to hit him before you pass rush.’“Tony was crafty, big, tough to get around, a basketball guy.”True. Gonzalez was a two-sport star at Cal. Clearly, he chose the right profession, making six All-Pro teams, catching more passes (1,325) than anyone except Jerry Rice, and becoming the most accomplished tight end in NFL history.Entering the hall with three exceptional DBs was striking for Gonzalez, whose ability to outrun linebackers and outmuscle or even out-jump safeties and cornerbacks made him a dominant performer for 17 seasons.“I loved it because he was the best,” Bailey said of his matchups with Gonzalez while both were in the AFC West, the tight end with Kansas City, the cornerback with Denver. Rarely did defensive coordinators ask cornerbacks to take on Gonzalez, but Bailey had the smarts, skill and temperament to do so.“Tony was not necessarily fast Womens Royce Freeman Jersey , but fast enough. It was kind of refreshing for me to go against a bigger guy, not one of those (tight ends who play like wideouts). I knew if the ball ever came his way, I had to worry about that big body (Gonzalez played at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Bailey at 6-0, 195) and try to make a play. I never got a pick on him. He was one of the best.”Gonzalez echoed those thoughts about Reed, Bailey and Law, who was a teammate in Kansas City in 2006-07.“Ed was the only safety (of the three), and he was a top guy,” Gonzalez said. “I loved going against him and seeing how I stacked up. I won some and lost some.“I went the most against Champ, twice a year, because the Broncos would match him against me a lot. Man, that was tough.“Ty was my teammate for a while and I learned a lot, how hard he worked at the game.”The four were joined in an interview session by fellow enshrinees Kevin Mawae, a dominant center for 16 seasons — and, yes, a player on the 2000s All-Decade team — former Chiefs safety Johnny Robinson, Gil Brandt and the family of late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.All of them conveyed the same message: never back off from your goals.“I never took my eye off the process,” said Bailey, who spent his first five pro seasons in Washington. “What was it going to take to succeed? But I dreamed big from the beginning.”Bailey was mentored by a Hall of Famer, Darrell Green, during his time in Washington. He also spent some time with Deion Sanders, also a Canton enshrinee Courtland Sutton Jersey , as a Redskin.“How did I get all this greatness around me?” he wondered. “It set my foundation.”Law spoke of his roots in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, mentioning how his grandparents set him on the correct path when he could have strayed and wound up “six feet under.”“Everything I have faced in my life, I can go back to Aliquippa and the lessons I learned,” he said.Brandt, who from 1960-89 was the personnel director of the Cowboys and recently has been a league consultant for the draft, will lead off the induction ceremony Saturday night. One of football’s great story tellers, he promises to leave plenty of time for the others on the docket to speak.“It’s kind of surreal,” said Brandt, 86. “I have been at the hall since 1965; one of my jobs was getting helmets and other things signed. You always hope for something to happen, but it’s almost impossible to happen.”On Saturday, the hall’s doors will open to Brandt and the other members of the 2019 class.“Very special,” Brandt concluded. “Very.” ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)Not even the signing of free agent Case Keenum could keep the Broncos from staging yet another quarterback competition this offseason.This time it’s a battle for the backup job.After bypassing a quarterback in a draft that was deep on passing prospects, general manager John Elway declared that Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly would duke it out for the No. 2 job.That served as a vote of confidence in Lynch, his 2016 first-round pick who hasn’t been able to win the starting job, and a golden opportunity for Kelly, ”Mr. Irrelevant” in 2017 as the last player picked in the draft.”With Paxton, we still think he is young. We are not kicking him to the curb. He can still develop. When we drafted him two years ago, we knew it was going to take some time,” Elway said. ”Paxton is going to compete with Chad for that backup spot. We are not going to bring another one in for OTAs.”That marked the first time Elway had publicly mentioned Kelly as having a chance to win a roster spot a year after missing his entire rookie season while recovering from wrist and knee surgeries.”I thought of it as, OK, perfect Royce Freeman Jersey White , I can get more reps,” Kelly said Saturday after serving as the only quarterback during a 90-minute walkthrough that capped the Broncos’ three-day rookie orientation. ”I just look at it as another opportunity to get better each and every day and each and every rep.”in a reshaped body.Kelly said ”eating a lot of spinach and chicken paid off instead of fried food. … I came here and knew I needed to move around and get back to my old playing weight back in early college and high school. So, I’m kind of feeling I can move around and so some things with my legs but also be powerful in throwing the ball.”Kelly has impressed both on and off the field.”Well, I’ve been proud of Chad overall,” coach Vance Joseph said. ”I mean, he’s been here every day. He’s worked his butt off. And he’s changed his body. Last year he was a little tubby kid. He is really lean now. He’s eating right. He’s working hard. He’s definitely put the work in.”And he’s throwing the ball really well right now.”So much so that bare hands are a bad idea for receivers, suggested tight end Jake Butt.”He can rip that thing now,” said Butt, who also sat out his rookie season. ”You’ve definitely got to wear gloves. He’ll be spinning that bad boy pretty tough. He’s learning the offense, he’s taking leadership, he’s doing a great job.”Joseph insisted Lynch was handling himself fine, too.In March, the Broncos declared Keenum the starter as soon as he signed. In April, they said Lynch would have to beat out Kelly for the backup job.”I think Paxton’s done a good job, also,” Joseph said. ”I think for Paxton and for our football team, it’s been a weight off all of our backs to have a starting quarterback and have everyone’s role defined from Day 1.”He said that allows Lynch to ”relax and get better each day and not worry about a competition.”Joseph suggested Lynch could learn how to handle adversity from Keenum.”Case has been through some ups and downs throughout his career. So, he can learn from Case on how to handle those things,” Joseph said. ”And it takes time to be an NFL quarterback. And you would hope with Case being here, he can sit back and relax and get better as a quarterback and not worry about being the guy right now and just compete to be our backup.”—