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WARHORSE
06-02-2008, 02:14 AM
Can one back run to daylight?

Young has plenty of top competition
By Jim Armstrong
The Denver Post (jmarmstrong@denverpost.com?subject=The Denver Post: Can one back run to daylight?)
Article Last Updated: 05/31/2008 10:32:51 PM MDT



http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2008/0530/20080530__20080601_C04_SP01FBNBRONX~p2_200.JPG (http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1965227 ) Selvin Young has every intention of becoming the Broncos' main man in the backfield, forecasting a 2,000-yard rushing performance in his second season in the NFL. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post )




It's out there now. It's in the headlines, on the Net and across the NFL map. Selvin Young wants to be the next running back to reach 2,000 yards, a figure attained only a handful of times in league history.
Things sure have changed since last June, when Young was an undrafted rookie preparing for his first NFL training camp. He's bigger, faster and stronger now. And more confident. Whoa, is he more confident.
"I feel totally different," Young said. "I feel like more of a, if I can use the word, beast. I feel I can do a lot more than last year. Now I know I can do it. It's not, 'Wow, I really did it.' I knew I could do it before. Now I expect to do it."
Maybe he will. Maybe he'll make a run at 2,000 yards. When it comes to Broncos tailbacks, stranger things have happened — much stranger things.
You never know what to expect from Broncos tailbacks. They are the NFL's pre-eminent mystery men. You don't know from one minute to the next who will be starting and who'll be sitting. One day you're an afterthought draft choice or a rookie free agent, and the next day you're Mike Shanahan's go-to guy. One day you're a star in the making, and the next day you're on the inactive list.
"We've got first-, second- and third-teamers, but just because you're first team doesn't mean you're going to stay first team," Shanahan said. "You just never know. We just know somebody is going to do it."
Somebody like Mike Anderson, a sixth-rounder in 2000 who ran for 1,487 yards and 15 touchdowns as a rookie. Talk about an odyssey. By 2003, Anderson was a little-used backup. A year later, he spent the entire season on injured reserve. So what happened in 2005? What else? He ran for 1,000-plus yards and signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
Stuff happens to Broncos tailbacks. Take the case of Reuben Droughns in 2004. He was a special-teamer, a journeyman, a converted fullback let go by the lowly Detroit Lions. In other words, a 1,000-yard runner waiting to happen in Denver. He finished with 1,240 after would-be starter Quentin Griffin injured his knee.
Six times in Shanahan's 13 seasons, a No. 1 tailback in training camp has lost his job as the season wore on. It all began in 1995, Shanahan's first year on the job, when Glyn Milburn opened camp as the starter, only to be dislodged by an obscure sixth-rounder named Terrell Davis.
You know the rest of the story. Davis has one leg in the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, his other leg couldn't withstand the punishment. And there have been others who have come and gone since Davis' days in the Broncos' backfield. Fact: Eleven tailbacks have made at least one start since T.D.'s knee injury four games into the 1999 season.
The common denominator among them? Production. The Broncos have had the most consistent running attack in the league during the Shana- han era. To wit: They have been among the top 10 NFL teams in rushing yards per game 12 times in Shana-han's 13 seasons, including a current eight-year streak that ranks as the longest in the league.
Now comes 2008. Young will open camp as the starter, but there's no shortage of intriguing candidates to go around. Travis Henry, the league rushing leader four games into the 2007 season, is in the mix. So are Andre Hall, fifth-rounder Ryan Torain, undrafted free agent Anthony Alridge and newcomer Michael Pittman. "We've got some depth at that position," Shanahan said. "We've got a lot of
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2008/0530/20080530__20080601_C04_SP01FBNBRONX~p1_200.JPG (http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1965226 ) Ryan Torain has solid skills but a history of injuries. He could be the latest rookie to be a top running back for the Broncos.


guys who aren't big-name guys, but they're guys who have the potential to be pretty good."
Confident young man
Broncos tailbacks have a way of becoming pretty good, if not long-term answers at the position. The latest candidate to be a fixture atop the depth chart is Young, who is looking much more like a man than a kid fresh off the University of Texas campus. He recently did five bench-press reps at 360 pounds, numbers he couldn't have conceived of a year ago.
Shanahan said during last season that Young, at 205 pounds, wasn't big enough to handle a steady workload. But the coaching staff's view of Young, along with his weight, has changed. He's weighing 212, the same number, give or take, that Davis and Clinton Portis once carried.
"Some guys can't handle more than 10 carries a game, but Selvin can," Shanahan said. "He's going to have to get himself in excellent shape, but I'd like to see him handle it and get it done. When you're averaging over 5 yards a carry, we'd be crazy to take him out."
Young ran for 729 yards and 5.2 yards per carry after taking over for Henry. How confident is he that he can be The Man in the Broncos' backfield?
"In my mind, I'm competing with myself," he said. "I feel pretty sure other guys feel like they're competing with who they're competing with. I feel like, if I come out here and take care of business, I'm talented enough to be the guy for this team and lead this team for years and years and years.
"It's a whole different mind-set when you're running No. 1 and getting those reps. I don't want to be a guy who goes in, then has to come out a couple of plays. I'm pretty sure a bunch of people are saying I can only carry the ball 10 or 15 times a game. I don't feel that way at all. I'm doing everything necessary to reach my goals. Why not go for things you believe in?"
Plenty of options
The Broncos believed in Henry enough to sign him to a big-money contract despite drug issues and a past that included nine children with nine women. But that was last year. This year, after taking a massive pay cut, Henry will have to prove he can stay healthy and productive, and he'll have to walk a straight line off the field.
"There are no more chances for Travis, and he understands that," Shanahan said. "As time goes on, we'll see how he handles that situation. The key is he has to stay healthy and keep his nose out of trouble. If he doesn't, somebody else will come in and do the job. It's not like we don't have the ability to go in different directions."
If history is any indication, Torain could be a factor. Shanahan's offense has produced four rookies who have run for 1,000-plus yards. Not only that, Shanahan on draft day called Torain a first-round talent if not for some injury issues at Arizona State.
Or maybe Pittman, at 32 the elder statesman in the group, will emerge. He has never run for 1,000 yards, but cracked the 900 mark once and 800 another time. Given his pass-blocking and pass-catching ability — he has 3,400 receiving yards in his career — Pittman profiles more as a third-down back, but you never know with a Broncos tailback.
"This team has a history of getting all backs an opportunity," Pittman said. "That's something I definitely looked at. You compete to be the No. 1 guy. You don't ever compete to come in second. If I get the starting job, that's great. If not, I'll play my role and accept it and do my best at it."
However the position shakes down, Shanahan is adamant that the Broncos' running game will be improved. That's saying something since, even with Henry sidelined for most of the 2007 season, they finished fifth in the league at 4.6 yards per carry. "We'll be much better," Shanahan said. "We've got to be a little lucky and stay healthy, but I feel very comfortable with who we have and the depth we have. We're looking for a running back who has the ability to give us that 5 yards a carry. If we get somebody like that, it would be pretty special."

dogfish
06-02-2008, 03:06 AM
doesn't sound like selvin thinks too highly of the father of the year. . . . :laugh:



soon enough, we'll see if he can put his money where his mouth is. . . .

DenBronx
06-02-2008, 09:29 PM
so who takes the bulk of the carries? pittman? young?

dogfish
06-02-2008, 09:31 PM
so who takes the bulk of the carries? pittman? young?

i'd bet heavily on a RBBC, with selvin being the first among equals, so to speak. . .


i won't be surprised if we have at least three different tailbacks start for us over the course of the year. . .

Rick
06-02-2008, 10:20 PM
atop the depth chart is Young, who is looking much more like a man than a kid fresh off the University of Texas campus. He recently did five bench-press reps at 360 pounds, numbers he couldn't have conceived of a year ago.
Shanahan said during last season that Young, at 205 pounds, wasn't big enough to handle a steady workload. But the coaching staff's view of Young, along with his weight, has changed. He's weighing 212, the same number, give or take, that Davis and Clinton Portis once carried.


this both excites AND worries me.


If he has worked his ass off to get that strong then this could very well be a huge year for him...but I am just hoping that much gain in strength is through natural means...

See so many times kids trying to get the edge take the easy way out.

Here is to hoping it is completly natural, sweat dripping work outs.

TXBRONC
06-02-2008, 10:31 PM
i'd bet heavily on a RBBC, with selvin being the first among equals, so to speak. . .


i won't be surprised if we have at least three different tailbacks start for us over the course of the year. . .

I'm hoping we don't have to use rbbc because that means we don't have that one back that you can lean on when you need to get the tough yards.

scott.475
06-02-2008, 10:53 PM
If he has worked his ass off to get that strong then this could very well be a huge year for him...but I am just hoping that much gain in strength is through natural means...

See so many times kids trying to get the edge take the easy way out.

Here is to hoping it is completly natural, sweat dripping work outs.

I have the same worry. I really want him to succeed, and I love the fire in his belly, and I really hope this is all natural.

honz
06-02-2008, 10:57 PM
15 pounds of muscle isn't THAT much. That can be achieved naturally fairly easily.

As for who will be our main RB? My bet is on Young and Torain getting the bulk of the carries. I think Torain will be a pleasant surprise as long as he can stay healthy.

dogfish
06-02-2008, 10:58 PM
i can gain 15 pounds easily, but it's not muscle. . . . :sad: :lol:

Rick
06-02-2008, 10:59 PM
15 pounds of muscle isn't THAT much. That can be achieved naturally fairly easily.

As for who will be our main RB? My bet is on Young and Torain getting the bulk of the carries. I think Torain will be a pleasant surprise as long as he can stay healthy.

If you say so I will go with it as for one I really hope it is...and 2: As a 145 lbs of nothing I really have no clue about gaining muscle :)

broncohead
06-03-2008, 12:00 AM
Torain will probably be the #2. Pitman is old for a RB and wasn't that good to begin with, it will be hard for him to make a roster spot still IMO.