Denver Broncos Rumors: Knowshon Moreno Likely Starter

[Broncosballer32]

Denver Broncos Rumors: Knowshon Moreno Likely Starter After Ronnie Hillman Struggles, Montee Ball Gets increased Role as Running Back Issues Plague Team

Denver Broncos Rumors: Knowshon Moreno Likely Starter After Ronnie Hillman Struggles, Montee Ball Gets increased Role as Running Back Issues Plague Team : US : Sports World Report

Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno is making sure people do not count him out just yet. The four-year veteran was originally thought to be trade bait at one point this offseason after a slew of injuries hampered his overall production on the field, but after a strong training camp the running back could be poised to earn the starting role. As one of Denver's younger backs continues to drop off the depth charter, Moreno is looking to move up.

Ronnie Hillman originally entered training camp as the favorite to win the starting job. Head coach John Fox was impressed with the young back during offseason workouts, but recent issue with fumbling has seen a drop in reps.

Hillman has fumbled a few times throughout the preseason. Fans are starting to worry that the second-year back is not ready for an increased role, but Fox has not lost his faith just yet.

"I personally thought his progress was stopped; otherwise he's got to get on the ground faster or do a better job of holding onto the ball when guys yank on him late in the down," Fox said. "Again, every one of these things is a learning experience for these guys. I think he will work on it, so I have not lost confidence in him whatsoever."

Despite the kind words, Moreno is now reaping the benefits of increased reps and impressing. The Denver Post reports Moreno might not be the fan-favorite choice, but his experience and improvement make him the likely winner of the running back race. The Broncos have too many other great players, to let one running back ruin their chances. The more Hillman fumbles, the more he remains out of contention.

Quarterback Peyton Manning is slowly losing trust in Hillman, leaving things to Moreno and Montee Ball. The Broncos continue to increase Ball's role as he develops into a strong blocker and Moreno has the speed to make him a great option. Hall is seeing the writing on the wall. It is hard to miss.

"Definitely, when you put the ball on the ground, and you have guys like Montee and Knowshon running the ball as well as they did tonight and Lance (Ball) -- it kind of affects your competition," Hillman said. "It's unacceptable -- what I did, and I just have to work on it."

Overall, the Broncos have displayed a lot of sloppiness on offense throughout the preseason. While they continue to build chemistry on the offensive line, the wrinkles continue to get worked out. Fox might not be losing faith in Hillman, but if the turnovers continue he might have no choice but to limit his work.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Might be a little disappointing if Moreno begins the season as the starter, since expectations for both Ball and Hillman were high, but I won't wring my hands over it. Seems to me that Moreno returned from his benching last season to fill in for McGhee with a renewed sense of commitment and he played pretty well. Hopefully, if he is in fact the starter, he will continue to show that same level of determination. As long as the youngsters improve and stay healthy, I suspect that all three RBs will get snaps.

 

[cdumler7]

To be honest I wouldn't mind if Moreno got the start. The guy has been productive during his career when healthy. The problem has rarely been his play on the field it has been more his lack of being able to stay on the field. The other part with Moreno has been every off season the guy has decided to transform his body to try and be a different kind of player. One year he lost a ton of weight to try and get some of his speed and elusiveness from college back. He did pretty good but kept getting injured. He then tried to put on a ton of muscle but lost all change of direction. I think he has finally found that happy medium where he has some good bulk to handle the hits that come his way but also still have some speed and elusiveness to go with it.

I would honestly love to see Moreno and Ball just pound the ball down the field and wear defenses out especially at Mile High. The OL with getting healthy and time together look like they have better timing and blocking so hopefully that will mean the run game will have better success than what they have had this preseason.

 

[TDs3nOut]

To be honest I wouldn't mind if Moreno got the start. The guy has been productive during his career when healthy. The problem has rarely been his play on the field it has been more his lack of being able to stay on the field. The other part with Moreno has been every off season the guy has decided to transform his body to try and be a different kind of player. One year he lost a ton of weight to try and get some of his speed and elusiveness from college back. He did pretty good but kept getting injured. He then tried to put on a ton of muscle but lost all change of direction. I think he has finally found that happy medium where he has some good bulk to handle the hits that come his way but also still have some speed and elusiveness to go with it.

I would honestly love to see Moreno and Ball just pound the ball down the field and wear defenses out especially at Mile High. The OL with getting healthy and time together look like they have better timing and blocking so hopefully that will mean the run game will have better success than what they have had this preseason.

Good points, CD. I particularly like the part about having the ability to "pound the ball down the field". Seems to me that getting big leads and then relying on the run game to demoralize opponents is a formula that once worked pretty well for Denver's best teams over the year.

 

[cdumler7]

Good points, CD. I particularly like the part about having the ability to "pound the ball down the field". Seems to me that getting big leads and then relying on the run game to demoralize opponents is a formula that once worked pretty well for Denver's best teams over the year.

It definitely has had some great success for us for sure! Having two guys who can pound it up the middle for the second half of games will be nice to watch. I still think hillman will have a role as you can't let that speed go to waste but I would rather watch ball and Moreno pound it down the field 5 yards at a time

 

[Broncosr0k]

A good run game would definitely help us. It will allow the team to stay competitive when Manning is struggling and lets us eat the clock to close out a game. That was another issue made painfully obvious in the playoff game last year. We had Hester and Hillman going but they could not convert. Before Moreno went down the run game was doing pretty good in that game.

 

[MileHigh64]

I honestly don't think it matters who our starter is on opening night. There is no doubt that John Fox will continue his usual approach of running back by committee. He's gone on record saying this several times in the preseason. I think all three of our featured backs are going to get plenty of playing time this year. Who shines and where we sit with backfield injuries will dictate who ends up with the most yards, but I really expect all three to contribute over the course of the year.

I also agree with the pound the football 4 to 5 yards at a time to keep opposing defenses on their heels and to gobble up time clock minutes, but we still need to see these backs have that one cut and off to the races ability too from time to time. Memories of TD slashing through the line for a 50 yard touchdown run are still with me and I hope we get a chance to see some of that out of the Broncos again this year!

Go Broncos!

MH64

 

[BroncoInCALI]

I have taken a huge ration of BS over the last few years on the old cbs board for being a Moreno fan.....I find this to be very ironic. lol

Seriously though.....I agree with the Running Back by committee statement. Each back has something they bring to the table and I think each one will find his role with this team. Moreno, in my opinion, is a nice player to have on the field, because he brings a fire and emotional boost. Hillman, to me, could develop into a great 3rd Down back, and I would not be surprised to see Montee Ball getting the bigger share of the work load after a few weeks.....

I think it is a good problem to have at this point.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Yeah, sounds like there's no official word from Fox on who's starting. Also looks like Hillman regained some 1st team reps too. The fact he was only out for two plays also suggests he'll be in the mix come gameday. I'd expect to see all three taking snaps on Thursday, with the bulk of the snaps going to the hot hand.

 

[WalkerBoh]

For what it's worth, Hillman's listed on the most recent depth chart as the #1 RB, with Ball #2, and Moreno #3......

 

[Morpheus]

For what it's worth, Hillman's listed on the most recent depth chart as the #1 RB, with Ball #2, and Moreno #3......

For what it's worth, Adam Gase said all 3 will be in the rotation. Moreno is a better pass blocker with more experience in the system. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield and is dangerous in open space.

Montee Ball is looking better, especially in short yardage.

HIllman needs to figure out how to hold onto the football and pass block.

A telling sign was CJ Anderson making the 53 man roster. He looked good in camp and against the 49ers in preseason. My gut says if he can stay healthy, he starts to see some carries in this offense later in the season.

 

[WalkerBoh]

For what it's worth, Adam Gase said all 3 will be in the rotation. Moreno is a better pass blocker with more experience in the system. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield and is dangerous in open space.

Montee Ball is looking better, especially in short yardage.

HIllman needs to figure out how to hold onto the football and pass block.

A telling sign was CJ Anderson making the 53 man roster. He looked good in camp and against the 49ers in preseason. My gut says if he can stay healthy, he starts to see some carries in this offense later in the season.

I agree it'll be a committee/rotation, with (I suspect) the hot hand getting the lion's share of carries for the game. However, the placement on the chart suggests Hillman's not having as poor a preseason as has been suggested. If I recall correctly, Hillman's not the only Denver RB to have recent fumbling issues (McGahee had 5 last season). If his net production is significantly positive, he'll be fine.

 

[Morpheus]

I agree it'll be a committee/rotation, with (I suspect) the hot hand getting the lion's share of carries for the game. However, the placement on the chart suggests Hillman's not having as poor a preseason as has been suggested. If I recall correctly, Hillman's not the only Denver RB to have recent fumbling issues (McGahee had 5 last season). If his net production is significantly positive, he'll be fine.

I think they are defending the draft pick a bit and showing loyalty to him, which is smart. But his pass blocking is probably a bigger issue than his ability to hold onto the ball.

 

[Morpheus]

Well, I would say Knowshon Moreno is the most trusted RB in that stable.

93 yards, 2 TD's, over 7 YPC. Solid day.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Well, I would say Knowshon Moreno is the most trusted RB in that stable.

93 yards, 2 TD's, over 7 YPC. Solid day.

Moreno was awesome! As a long time Knowshown apologist, it was particularly gratifying to me. Only wish I'd had the guts to play him on my fantasy team!

 

[BroncoInCALI]

Loved the way Knowshon played today.

Good stuff.

 

[MrDoc420]

Yah, he's certainly won the starting spot going forward. We should try to get him a minimum of 20 touches a game. You can see such in improvement in his field vision from just two years ago. If he can just stay healthy.....

 

[Broncosballer32]

Moreno has always run very well, and has always been very productive when he gets the chance.

Do not forget his rookie season. We have seen this, but watch it again.



He has never been healthy. Last year he earned the starting position after being the dog house for 8 games. He was being slowly taken out of the rotation. Broncos drafted Hillman AND Ball the last two years.

He is as of right now the best RB on the roster, and it really is not close. Ball clearly does not have the vision to run to the hole. He runs like he did in Wisconsin, where many holes were simply where the play was called. Those Big Ten lines usually clear a path against their pathetic out of conference competition. Anyway, the point is Montee Ball must understand that often times the hole is not going to be at the spot that play is designed. If the hole closes up in the 3, then perhaps he can bounce it to the 5.

There is an unteachable quality to that. There are all sorts of drills in practice to try and get RBs to run to the hole that IS open and not necessarily the one that it is designed to go to. If you watch how Ball runs (he is young and learning) he does not do that very well at all.

 

[cdumler7]

Moreno has always run very well, and has always been very productive when he gets the chance.

Do not forget his rookie season. We have seen this, but watch it again.



He has never been healthy. Last year he earned the starting position after being the dog house for 8 games. He was being slowly taken out of the rotation. Broncos drafted Hillman AND Ball the last two years.

He is as of right now the best RB on the roster, and it really is not close. Ball clearly does not have the vision to run to the hole. He runs like he did in Wisconsin, where many holes were simply where the play was called. Those Big Ten lines usually clear a path against their pathetic out of conference competition. Anyway, the point is Montee Ball must understand that often times the hole is not going to be at the spot that play is designed. If the hole closes up in the 3, then perhaps he can bounce it to the 5.

There is an unteachable quality to that. There are all sorts of drills in practice to try and get RBs to run to the hole that IS open and not necessarily the one that it is designed to go to. If you watch how Ball runs (he is young and learning) he does not do that very well at all.

Well this is where we have to hope Moreno can stay healthy long enough for Ball to get comfortable with the idea that the hole is not always where the play is designed to go. I would chalk this up to more being a rookie and still having to think about what play is being called, what his responsibility is, and just all around overthinking the whole situation. It takes time to develop that understanding of where to be looking and what to be looking for in the defense to know where to go. I think by the end of the season he should at least be serviceable so I guess we just have to hope that Moreno can hold out that long. If not I guess there is always McGahee still on the market and he actually knows the offense.

 

[TDs3nOut]

As good a game as Moreno had yesterday, I think it's at least a bit overstated to say that he's always played well when healthy. True that he was very productive his rookie year and that injuries have held him back, but he has also at times run very tentatively and been prone to fumbling, a couple of the same issues that Ball is now struggling with. Hopefully Moreno can stay healthy and continue to run with the same authority that he's run with ever since returning from his benching last year while Ball makes the adjustment to the NFL.