Next up for Broncos: Tatum Bell

[Magnificent Seven]

Mike Shanahan had a little talk with Tatum Bell Sunday. But then, the conversation didn't need to be very long.

"I said, 'Tatum, you can't go down. That's it,'" said Shanahan.

At this point, if Bell does go down with an injury, the Broncos may have to re-sign Sammy Winder. Or maybe they'll call Terrell Davis to see if his bum knee has any mileage left on it.

The one thing we do know is this: Peyton Hillis' right hamstring is hurting enough to sideline him indefinitely. So Bell, who was selling cell phones at the Aurora Mall barely a month ago, finds himself the man with the plan in the Broncos' backfield.

Unless Selvin Young's groin injury heals in a matter of days, that's the new reality at Dove Valley. For all we know, Bell, let go by the winless Lions a few months ago, will lead the team in rushing.

No really, I'm not making this up. That's how wild and crazy the ride is, circa 2008. Young was supposed to lead the team in rushing, but he's third on the roster with 268 yards, leaving him behind Hillis (343) and Michael Pittman (320).

For all we know, Bell will wind up at the top of the tailback food chain. He has carried the ball 24 times for 100 yards. If he averages 81 yards in the Broncos' final three games, he would catch Hillis.

One day he's selling cell phones at a mall. The next day, seemingly anyway, he's bound to land on thousands of fantasy-league teams. Don't look now, but Bell could become the poster boy for one of the strangest seasons in Broncos history.

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11168938

[NightTrainLayne]

I keep on thinking that if someone would have told me that we'd be 8-5, with a three game lead over the Chargers with three games to go, and that Tatum Bell was our #1 RB, back in August I would have been incredulous.

[claymore]

I keep on thinking that if someone would have told me that we'd be 8-5, with a three game lead over the Chargers with three games to go, and that Tatum Bell was our #1 RB, back in August I would have been incredulous.

I dont know what that means, but im a thinkin it means shocked/surprised.

[Lonestar]

Are we in deep do do now that HIllis is on IR...

[broncofaninfla]

Are we in deep do do now that HIllis is on IR...


One thing about this team is people have been stepping up all year long. Hopefully it happens again.

[BroncoJoe]

Are we in deep do do now that HIllis is on IR...

Wow. I'm shocked at this post.

[claymore]

I say we put Champ Bailey back there and make him earn his signing bonus.

[Lonestar]

Wow. I'm shocked at this post.

WE BE toast if we have to rely on tater.. maybe another FA or someone from the Practice squad..

Larsen and Lichtensteiger as BB/FB before tater pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease..

[BroncoJoe]

WE BE toast if we have to rely on tater.. maybe another FA or someone from the Practice squad..

Larsen and Lichtensteiger as BB/FB before tater pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease..

Your enthusiasm is uplifting.

[Mike]

WE BE toast if we have to rely on tater.. maybe another FA or someone from the Practice squad..

Larsen and Lichtensteiger as BB/FB before tater pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease..

Bell will be fine provided the game plan plays to his strengths.

[claymore]

Bell will be fine provided the game plan plays to his strengths.
Nothing up the middle.

[Lonestar]

Bell will be fine provided the game plan plays to his strengths.

yes lets practice recovering fumbles all day Wednesday.. ..

[Dreadnought]

Bell will be fine provided the game plan plays to his strengths.

Exactly; sweeps and draws. Everything designed to play into his speed and quickness, and just enough running in the game plan to make Carolina play somewhat honest.

I really think he's a decent back, and the fumbling rap he got is totally unfair. Just plan on seeing a lot of 3WR sets, even on 3rd and 1.

[Mike]

Exactly; sweeps and draws. Everything designed to play into his speed and quickness, and just enough running in the game plan to make Carolina play somewhat honest.

I really think he's a decent back, and the fumbling rap he got is totally unfair. Just plan on seeing a lot of 3WR sets, even on 3rd and 1.

Exactly. I am sure that they were caught flat-footed this week with the game plan tailored for Hillis which didn't do Bell any favors.

I also hope they work Pope into the game. Bell 12-15 carries and Pope 5-10 carries. Maybe give Boyd a carry or two depending on how he looks in practice.

[BroncoWave]

yes lets practice recovering fumbles all day Wednesday.. ..

How many times has Bell fumbled this season? Exactly. :coffee:

And if you look at his stats as a Bronco, he didn't fumble nearly as much as you make him out to have. You are just so blinded by your hate for him at this point that it doesn't matter what he does from this point forward, you will just find a way to shit on him.

[Medford Bronco]

Nothing up the middle.

You mean no dive plays or statue of Liberty plays :lol:

This team has bounced back from adversity all season long.
Marshall stepped up yesterday and if we get good effort from everyone on offense, sometimes TE, RB, sometimes WR we will be fine.

As long as there are not too many turnovers our offense even with Bell can score with anybody

I think Pope will get some carries as well and maybe Selvin Young might actually get healthy and show some of the flashes from last season he had in the later weeks.

[Bronco9798]

Bell will be fine provided the game plan plays to his strengths.

Tatum has no strengths. If he can get through the 1st level and to the outside with no one around him, he is effective. That's it, nothing more. He is useless up the middle unless the hole is wider than a whores on Bourbon Street on a Saturday night. The guy cannot run between the tackles in traffic. This is a disaster for our running game. I don't see anything positive out of this at all.

[Lonestar]

How many times has Bell fumbled this season? Exactly. :coffee:

And if you look at his stats as a Bronco, he didn't fumble nearly as much as you make him out to have. You are just so blinded by your hate for him at this point that it doesn't matter what he does from this point forward, you will just find a way to shit on him.

Not hard to do since he makes my case almost every time he touches a ball..

9 as a bronco and one as a loin,, 5 in his last year in DEN.. and IIRC they were all at really inopportune times when it hurt us most..

I do not hate the guy just disgusted with his lack of ability to shake soft tackles.. If it were not of an occasional 10+yard run and his "blinding take it to the house speed" (ahahahahahaha) he would not be in the NFL .. Oh wait he was selling cell phones two weeks ago..

Hopefully this clown will indeed be exposed for what he is not and we can finnaly put this clown out of our minds.. He was a failure when we had a great ONLINE and unsure of himself now.. Maybe alltell will rehire him after this weeks game..

[Lonestar]

You mean no dive plays or statue of Liberty plays :lol:

This team has bounced back from adversity all season long.
Marshall stepped up yesterday and if we get good effort from everyone on offense, sometimes TE, RB, sometimes WR we will be fine.

As long as there are not too many turnovers our offense even with Bell can score with anybody
I think Pope will get some carries as well and maybe Selvin Young might actually get healthy and show some of the flashes from last season he had in the later weeks.


one of our most respected members could not help but put this comment in his post..

our offense even with Bell can score with anybody

A ringing non endorsement of this RB..

Only the tater lovers can see light at the end of the tunnel..

[Slick]

Tater lovers...homers....whatever.

I am supporting the kid because he currently plays for us. Face it folks. All other options are gone.

Rally around the guy, support him. He's all we got right now. I prefer to do that rather than point out his flaws at this point.

[BCJ]

mike should have a little more motivation talk with Bell. Something he understands in Tatum's language. Something like, "Tatum, we need you to have a PLAN. Think big yards, LONG DISTANCE. You need to SELL IT! Think more OPTIONS. If one PLAN doesnt work, offer yourself a different PLAN. You need to see the other team's COVERAGE and work it. You have to be top BILLING! You do well, this could be an UNLIMITED gig for you. Set a personal do list next Sunday and meet that QUOTA!"

[Lonestar]

mike should have a little more motivation talk with Bell. Something he understands in Tatum's language. Something like, "Tatum, we need you to have a PLAN. Think big yards, LONG DISTANCE. You need to SELL IT! Think more OPTIONS. If one PLAN doesnt work, offer yourself a different PLAN. You need to see the other team's COVERAGE and work it. You have to be top BILLING! You do well, this could be an UNLIMITED gig for you."


outstanding the only thing you missed was texting, and perhaps insurance..:salute::salute:

[BroncoWave]

Not hard to do since he makes my case almost every time he touches a ball..

9 as a bronco and one as a loin,, 5 in his last year in DEN.. and IIRC they were all at really inopportune times when it hurt us most..

I do not hate the guy just disgusted with his lack of ability to shake soft tackles.. If it were not of an occasional 10+yard run and his "blinding take it to the house speed" (ahahahahahaha) he would not be in the NFL .. Oh wait he was selling cell phones two weeks ago..

Hopefully this clown will indeed be exposed for what he is not and we can finnaly put this clown out of our minds.. He was a failure when we had a great ONLINE and unsure of himself now.. Maybe alltell will rehire him after this weeks game..

So just to be clear, you're rooting for a Bronco to have a bad game. Awesome.

[Lonestar]

So just to be clear, you're rooting for a Bronco to have a bad game. Awesome.


not rooting just counting on it.. tater will not fail me..

[PatricktheDookie]

Perhaps Young will be ready?

[jrelway]

this team has no other options. i'll support tater like i supported his ass in the past when he was on this team. tater to the outside and larsen up the gut for a FB dive.

[Bronco9798]

So just to be clear, you're rooting for a Bronco to have a bad game. Awesome.

You don 't have to root for Tatum to have a bad game, it just happens. There's a reason he was working at the mall when the Broncos came calling.

[topscribe]

Are we in deep do do now that HIllis is on IR...

Losing Hillis was a blow. But there remains an awful lot of talent on that team,
the most salient of which are that Scheffler is now healthy and Graham is
finally getting separation on his routes and wreaking damage on opponents.

The line is learning run blocking big time, and if holes are there a RB can get
yardage, no matter who the RB is.

We thought the Broncos were in trouble a long time ago, but they just keep
picking up the pieces and beating people when it counts.

I think they will do it again in Carolina. With Tater or whoever else . . .

-----

[Hobe]

One day he's selling cell phones at a mall. The next day, seemingly anyway, he's bound to land on thousands of fantasy-league teams. Don't look now, but Bell could become the poster boy for one of the strangest seasons in Broncos history.

Maybe living down here on the mean streets of the middle class has made him hungrier then he use to be! :spam4:

[BroncoWave]

Hopefully this clown will indeed be exposed for what he is not and we can finnaly put this clown out of our minds...


not rooting just counting on it.. tater will not fail me..

Sounds to me like you're rooting for it. :noidea:

[broncohead]

We don't have anyone better on the roster. I honestly don't see any promise in Young either. Both speed/change of pace backs that can't handle the full time job without getting injured.

[broncobryce]

Exactly. I am sure that they were caught flat-footed this week with the game plan tailored for Hillis which didn't do Bell any favors.

I also hope they work Pope into the game. Bell 12-15 carries and Pope 5-10 carries. Maybe give Boyd a carry or two depending on how he looks in practice.

Pope was awesome a couple games ago, then got dinged a little. But we should definetely give him at least 10 carries.

[slim]

We don't have anyone better on the roster. I honestly don't see any promise in Young either. Both speed/change of pace backs that can't handle the full time job without getting injured.

Selvin Young is better than tater.

[honz]

Exactly; sweeps and draws. Everything designed to play into his speed and quickness, and just enough running in the game plan to make Carolina play somewhat honest.

I really think he's a decent back, and the fumbling rap he got is totally unfair. Just plan on seeing a lot of 3WR sets, even on 3rd and 1.
Sorta like the fumbling wrap Marshall has gotten this year with a grand total of 2 fumbles. :rolleyes: Everybody fumbles...Tater had one bad game where he fumbled it a couple times and has yet to live it down. Another comparison is Daniel Graham who will seemingly never live down that one dropped pass from last year or 2 years ago.

[honz]

Tater lovers...homers....whatever.

I am supporting the kid because he currently plays for us. Face it folks. All other options are gone.

Rally around the guy, support him. He's all we got right now. I prefer to do that rather than point out his flaws at this point.
Exactly. I am no fan of Tater, but he does know our system and know how to run the stretch play. He knows when to cut back in the ZBS. Him, Selvin, and PJ Pope aren't exactly the ideal RB rotation, but they are what we've got . Play to their strengths and hope for the best. Please pardon us "Tater lovers" for hoping he can step up for us.

[Superchop 7]

The best running back on the roster (at the moment) is Herana Daze-Jones, granted, they have him at safety, but he can definately run the rock.

Give him some reps coach.

Now can we get Caulcrick ? (Similar to Hillis)

[topscribe]

Nothing up the middle.

Runs up the middle depend just as much on blocking as it does on the RB. If
the line opens holes, Tater is quick enough to get a few yards before they
haul him down. He won't get the two, three, or four extra yards Hillis would
have gotten, but he will at least get that.

Those who are closing down the Broncos' season over the loss of Hillis are not
implicating Tater. They are implicating Cutler. An especially powerful running
game does not provide the offense for Cutler. It augments it. But this offense
has shown it can produce over just about any kind of obstacle.

It would be nice to have Hillis. But I'm not especially worried.

-----

[BroncoTech]

I have to admit I was pissed watching tater run up the gut, but if you lose 2 yards on a run up the gut it's because there were defensive linemen there. So he didn't get any holes and he's not going to make his own or turn a 1 foot gap into a 20 yarder. He's fine on the stretch play or maybe we can run an end around with him split out. Where is Selvin Young he wasn't on the injury report going into the KC game.

[broncofaninfla]

Mods....How about a poll on who the next RB should be?

[Ziggy]

I don't like Tatum Bell. I don't like the way he goes down when a strong gust of wind comes around. We need to remember that he's our 6TH STRING running back. To have an NFL veteran that has averaged 4.8 yards per carry, over 500 rushing attempts in the NFL as your 6th back, is the silver lining in this whole RB cloud as far as I'm concerned. At this point I'll take it and be happy that we have a guy who knows the system and can suit up on game day.

As far as the fumbles are concerned, he has averaged one every 54.9 carries. That's a horrible average for an NFL running back. This team cannot overcome a lot of turnovers, so we need him to hold on to the ball or we have no chance. Let's hope that he does. At this point, we're not counting on our RB to win the game, just not to lose it.

[bcbronc]

I don't like Tatum Bell. I don't like the way he goes down when a strong gust of wind comes around. We need to remember that he's our 6TH STRING running back. To have an NFL veteran that has averaged 4.8 yards per carry, over 500 rushing attempts in the NFL as your 6th back, is the silver lining in this whole RB cloud as far as I'm concerned. At this point I'll take it and be happy that we have a guy who knows the system and can suit up on game day.

As far as the fumbles are concerned, he has averaged one every 54.9 carries. That's a horrible average for an NFL running back. This team cannot overcome a lot of turnovers, so we need him to hold on to the ball or we have no chance. Let's hope that he does. At this point, we're not counting on our RB to win the game, just not to lose it.

I don't think fumbling will be a problem anymore. all the cell phone button pushing is sure to have increased the dexterity, strength, and flexibility of his fingers. gripping the ball shouldn't be a concern now.

[TXBRONC]

yes lets practice recovering fumbles all day Wednesday.. ..

We would have to do that if Q were back there.

[BCJ]

Sorta like the fumbling wrap Marshall has gotten this year with a grand total of 2 fumbles. :rolleyes: Everybody fumbles...Tater had one bad game where he fumbled it a couple times and has yet to live it down. Another comparison is Daniel Graham who will seemingly never live down that one dropped pass from last year or 2 years ago.

If people are still jumping on Graham then they arent watching the Broncos play. I think he has shed that from most knowledgable posters. As for the fumbles, you dont need a fumble lost to have that stigma on you. Losing a fumble, diving back 3 yards to recover it on a 3rd and goal will be remembered by a lot of peole regardless if it was listed as a no fumble lost.

[BCJ]

The best running back on the roster (at the moment) is Herana Daze-Jones, granted, they have him at safety, but he can definately run the rock.

Give him some reps coach.

Now can we get Caulcrick ? (Similar to Hillis)

Unless Putzier is taking his place at RB, you can kiss this idea goodbye. Dude with two last names is gonzo. Barrett lives!