Standing before roughly 25 Denver Broncos rookies who were seated in the team auditorium, I sensed how they were all trying, really trying, to appear engaged.

I took no offense. It was 4 o’clock Monday afternoon and the rookies had been at team headquarters since at least 7:30 a.m. Their day had already consisted of meeting the Broncos' veteran players for the first time, going to positional meetings, practicing, lifting weights, getting treatment, rehabbing injuries and attending more meetings.

And now, after all the veterans except star receiver Emmanuel Sanders had gone home, the kids were listening to me speak at the Broncos rookie media seminar. The occasional fidget in their chairs reminded me to dial up the energy.

It got more interesting when I stopped talking and brought up first first-round quarterback Paxton Lynch, and then third-round safety Justin Simmons for mock interviews.

I asked Lynch if he thought he could become the starting quarterback by the time the Broncos open their season Sept. 8 against Carolina.

“I have confidence in my abilities, but I haven’t done anything, yet," Lynch said. "I have to first earn the respect of my teammates.”

Bad answer for the media seeking a headline. Good answer for a kid quarterback who understands he must defer to veterans Mark Sanchez or Trevor Siemian.

I tried an old media trick on Simmons in that I attempted to lead him into bashing the NFL’s player safety rules. Better put aside some of the signing bonus into a fine savings account, I told him. Defensive players get fined for any kind of hard hit. Can’t hit like your idol Brian Dawkins did even a few years ago.

What do you think of the league’s player safety rules, Justin?

“Whatever the rules are, it’s my job to play within them,” Simmons said. “If it makes the game safer for players, it’s a good thing.’’

Smart group of rookies John Elway just drafted.

This was the second consecutive year Patrick Smyth, the Broncos’ visionary vice president of public relations, asked me to provide the media’s perspective on covering the team.

"Adjusting to being an NFL player goes far beyond the field,” Smyth said later. “Coach Kubiak and John Elway give us a lot of time and resources to help the rookies understand all the responsibilities on them as a pro."

The rookies had a media training session last Thursday and based on the answers given by Lynch and Simmons, Smyth had already got his point across. This session was more hands on with the rookies getting the perspective of a player who has been accountable and accessible to the media, and a reporter familiar with covering the team.

Sanders addressed the room first. His message was the Denver media market was fair. Treat reporters with respect and you’ll get it back.

Just be careful to not give up too much information.

He also warned about the perils of social media. Don’t engage with naysayers on Twitters. No #snapchat Instagrams in social settings. Let’s go repeat as Super Bowl champs.

"We just want them to realize that the primary way fans now learn about our team is through our players' social media, and with that comes a great deal of opportunity and risk,” Smyth said. “We encourage them to add value, not just noise, with what they put out there. Use social media as a tool, not as a toy. Have a game plan with how you want to present yourself with both the media and on social media."

Then it was my turn. The players were in shorts and T-shirts. I knew what the drafted guys looked like but without jersey numbers, I couldn’t put a face of an undrafted rookie to his name. Drafted or not, these are some of the best athletes in the world.

Sensing the last thing these guys wanted to do was sit through some talk by a reporter, I tried to break the ice.

“Forget what Emmanuel just told you about being careful,” I said. “Spill your guts! If you want to rip a coach, I’m your guy! If you want to blast a teammate, pull me over to the side and we’ll get it out there.’’

It didn’t get a huge laugh, but a few chuckles. As I spoke, I was taken by how respectfully attentive these players were. They want to be NFL players, in every way. I let them know that as of 10 days ago when they became Broncos, they were now the biggest guys in town.

There are politicians here, city officials, CEOs, billionaires. None are bigger in the city of Denver than Bronco players. John Boyett never played for the Broncos but he did practice with them for a while and when he punched a cabbie and tried to escape police detection by hiding under some mulch, he made headlines for a week.

I told them contrary to what you’ve heard from coaches and teammates over the years, the media is not the enemy. For the most part, sports reporters grew up loving sports. We were sports fans who had sports heroes.

I told them mine was Joe Namath. Every other Friday, mom went grocery shopping. I stayed in the magazine section and read all the sports literature. All the stories I read glorified the players.

That’s what we wanted to do when we grew up, write stories or talk on TV or radio about the game.

Then you get in the business and quickly realize there is a natural detachment between the media and people we cover that cannot be breached. When a player drops a pass, he is conditioned to shake it off and positively think he will catch the next one.

The media must point out the dropped pass and ask why. And the next day, ask what the player is doing to prevent further drops. That’s not negative. That’s addressing an issue, a reminder they can do better.

The roles cannot escape conflict, however unintended.

I brought up the media’s relationship with Von Miller. We all liked Miller as a person. Everybody loves Von. But in 2013, Miller got sideways with the league, sideways with the legal system.

It was the media’s responsibilities to report on these incidents because of the potential impact they could have on the team. Miller no doubt felt like the media was attacking him, but instead of harboring bitter, hostile feelings towards the press, he held himself accountable. He remained available.

And long before Miller became the Super Bowl 50 MVP, he received the benefit of the doubt from the media because he cleaned up his act, became responsible for his actions, and was largely viewed as a story of redemption.

The kids seemed to perk up with the Miller story.

I did tell them the media and the athletes we cover have entered a new world. Never mind TMZ with its cameras waiting outside nightclubs. Everybody has a cell phone. Which means there are cameras inside the establishments.

In this age of Twitter, Facebook and cellphones, everyone’s a journalist. Including the players themselves. When I was finished, the rooks clapped their hands in thanks.

Copyright 2016 KUSA