The Associated Press

DENVER - Denver Broncos defensive tackle Lional Dalton, nicknamed "Jelly" for his eating habits and massive size, is slimmer, trimmer and feeling good.

"I'm still Jelly Roll," said Dalton, who's at 308 after dropping nearly 30 pounds in the offseason. "But I feel like a new person."

Dalton used his stocky frame - 6-feet-1, 335 pounds - to clog holes and build leverage to power past opponents in his first four seasons with Baltimore. But that size started to weigh him down.

Once Oakland provided a blueprint for beating Denver's defensive front - passing on almost every down - in a Monday night game Nov. 11, the Broncos faltered.

In the final seven games, of which Denver won just three, Dalton felt sluggish and had pain in his ankles. He was benched for two of the final three games and the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third time in four years.

"Last year, I had ankle problems and a lot of it had to do with my weight putting pressure on my ankles," Dalton said. "I played at 335 pretty much my whole career and my body just wasn't responding to the weight as well as it used to."

Frustrated, Dalton set out to change his body during the offseason. To do that, he would have to change his eating habits.

Despite his love of cake, Dalton cut out most sweets, switching to fat-free yogurt. He also tried to eat carbohydrates only during the day, when he could burn the calories off.

And to keep those calories off, Dalton participated in Denver's offseason strength program and Cris Carter's speed camp.

"I feel great," Dalton said. "My joints don't hurt me anymore."

Dalton is back to clogging holes in the middle of the defense, where he's projected to be a starter.

Not that the Broncos were worried about him.

"He's the same weight he was when he was 8 years old, so we're happy about Lional," defensive coordinator Larry Coyer joked.

Return to Bengals front page...