Not in a rush to run? Broncos seem to show a lack of confidence in running game Daniel Williams, DDN Staff Writer Tuesday, November 17, 2009
MORENO

When head coach Josh McDaniels added Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, Lamont Jordan and J.J. Arrington in the offseason to an already crowed backfield, it looked as though the Denver Broncos were going to run the ball often his season.

However, if you have watched the last three Denver Broncos losses closely, you would have noticed that McDaniels has chosen to hardly run the ball, abandoning the run early in games.

Against the Baltimore Ravens Nov. 1, the Ravens had 35 rushing attempts to the Broncos’ 19. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 9, the Steelers had 29 rushes to the Broncos’ 14 (although the Broncos did only average 1.9 yards per carry that game, so abandoning the running game may have been the team’s only option). And against the Washington Redskins Sunday, the Redskins had 40 rushes to the Broncos’ 22, yet the Broncos had a 5.5 yards-per-carry average compared to the Redskins’ 4.4, and the Broncos led most of the game. 

This would lead some to believe that McDaniels and his coaching staff don’t have confidence in their running game Ń even though they are saying the opposite.

“It’s a whole team effort, that is why we haven’t run the ball, but we haven’t given up on it,” said longtime Broncos running back coach Bobby Turner. “We need the running game, we need to be balanced. We are taking a good hard look at ourselves and the bottom line is we aren’t going to give up on the running game.”

It is one thing to talk about it and another to actually put the running game into action. Over the past three weeks the Broncos have passed the ball nearly 70 percent of the time Ń with that percentage even going up in the second half of those games.

“We are never complacent, we are always expecting more. But I am happy with the group. It is not a concern,” Turner added. 

But what is a concern is Moreno has recently voiced his concerns not only about the Broncos’ suffering offense, but about him wanting the ball 20-25 times a game Ń at the minimum.   

“He is a rookie and that is the bottom line. He is not saying anything that any other leader says. He wants to come out a rush for 100-plus every game and help the team win,” Turner said.

However, McDaniels obviously doesn’t seem to be happy with his running game Ń which has also had a fumbling problem the entire season. 

But yesterday at Dove Valley, he was careful to not praise the run game but also didn’t criticize them either.

McDaniels knows that he put the brakes on a career day for Moreno, who almost rushed for 100 yards. But what we don’t know is why.

“I don’t know if it was a step forward,” McDaniels said about Moreno’s 96-yard effort on Sunday. “He played well, but he’s played well before. We handed it to him a lot, and he was productive, made some tough yards, made some big gains, made some guys miss tackles and did a nice job.”

So why did he run the ball only three times after the first drive of the second half, where the Broncos gained 29 yards on three run plays prior? Only McDaniels knows why Denver ran the ball only six times in the second half on Sunday. 

Something else Broncos fans have questioned McDaniels about this season is his lack of a power running game. Jordan and 2008 fan favorite Peyton Hillis looked like a great power-duo capable of wearing down defenses, particularly tiring defenses late games. 

However, Jordan has barely been used this season and Hillis has been inactive the past couple games Ń to the displeasure of Hillis’ many local fans.

“Peyton had a personal thing he dealt with a week ago. We are just trying to dress the guys we think can give us the best chance to win. Peyton has certainly been in that group, and there have been a couple games where he hasn’t,” McDaniels said. 

“There are a few things that go into that. The kicking game and all the rest of that stuff goes into it. It’s hard to take four backs to the game unless they’re contributing significantly in the kicking game. He’s in that mix every week to go to the game. There’s certainly no preset decision on whether or not he can dress or not dress and play or not play. That’ll be the same thing as it is this week.” 

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