Give #22 the ROCK!!!

[Timmy!]

OK. Since March I've been on the McKid express. Anybody on this forum knows that. I adore the 5-0 start. This team is playing with emotion I haven't seen in a long, long time, on both sides of the ball. That being said. I only have 1 complaint.

For several weeks now, the Broncos have been getting owned in 3rd/4th and extremely short situations. It's driving me insane.

1: Run the friggin QB sneak. Really. Our O-line might not be the biggest. But Kuper is one of the best young OG's in football. There is no reason we can't get 2 inches off guard. Really.

2. I know we got stuffed with this play against the Faid, but holy cow. Give #22 the damn rock. I really, REALLY, hope that once Larsen gets healthy enough to play FB, Hillis gets some touches (and not only in short yardage, but really, at least in short yardage situations). I can understand keeping our only FB healthy but if this team is really all about the team, then Hillis needs to get carries in 3rd/4th and short situations. I think with Larsen blocking for him (Reid, WTF!?!?!) Hillis can hammer it home. That being said, can we please get a QB sneak for better yet:

#3 a PA pass (the FB will be wide friggin open...Hillis, again, anybody!!) on 3rd/4th and short. I love McKid, but this is simple stuff here. Fix it. Please. :shocked: Hillis might not "fit" into what the offense is doing, but there is no reason Jordan is getting touches over Hillis. I honestly hope McD is "saving" Hillis for later in the year. If we can bring out a fresh Hillis in week 10+, holy cow. I pity the defenses.

[smith49]

timmy, i could not agree with you more! i have said it a couple of times in this forum that hillis is not getting the touches that he should be. i love that bucky and moreno are kicking ass, but in those short yardage situations the broncos have been getting stuffed. last season hillis proved that he can and will get the yards needed damn near every time he touches the ball. the guy is a monster, and we all know it. i just dont see why, apart from keeping him healthy, that mcd will not put the guy in on those situations. hell, put him in on other situations, like first and ten. the guy was tearing it up last year until that freakish catch that he tore the hell out of his muscle.

i am on the "give #22 the rock" train!!!!!

[frauschieze]

Hillis is in the doghouse for poor ball control.

[BroncoJoe]

Running back LaMont Jordan did not practice Thursday, the second consecutive day the veteran was held out of practice by the Broncos.

That left rookie Knowshon Moreno and Peyton Hillis as the only two backs who are not coming off an injury working with the team’s offense. Correll Buckhalter, who was held out of Sunday’s win over the Patriots with a left ankle injury, did practice again.

Buckhalter did have some extra tape wrapping his left ankle, but was participating in drills.

The Chargers are 27th in the league in run defense and have surrendered at least 130 yards rushing to all four of their opponents this season. Opposing offenses are averaging 4.6 yards per carry and have scored six rushing touchdowns against San Diego thus far.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/broncos/2009/10/15/broncos-might-be-thin-at-rb-monday/

[MileHighCrew]

I love Hillis but he doesn't look the same this year. Dropping the ball, not hitting the hole the same. It is almost like he spent too much time reading this board amd MHR this off season and believed his own hype.

[smith49]

I love Hillis but he doesn't look the same this year. Dropping the ball, not hitting the hole the same. It is almost like he spent too much time reading this board amd MHR this off season and believed his own hype.

im not really sure what you mean. i watch every second of every game, a couple of times with my tivo and i dont recall seeing hillis even get the ball enough to say he doesnt look the same. he has had very few touches since the regular season began. i know he had a fumble, but if we are going to talk about fumbles we have to throw moreno under the bus as well and he seems to get plenty of touches.

[smith49]

Hillis is in the doghouse for poor ball control.

well, why is moreno still toten the rock so much? he has lost two fumbles in as many games and probly should have lost another one against the patsies that the refs blew dead. maybe he is not in the dog house because he is a rookie, but c'mon, lets give hillis a break here dont you think.?

im not saying moreno should not be getting the most touches, because i like moreno as our starting back, as well as bucky. its in those short yardage situations that the bronocs have been owned where they need to get hillis the ball and let him do what he does.

[gregbroncs]

im not really sure what you mean. i watch every second of every game, a couple of times with my tivo and i dont recall seeing hillis even get the ball enough to say he doesnt look the same. he has had very few touches since the regular season began. i know he had a fumble, but if we are going to talk about fumbles we have to throw moreno under the bus as well and he seems to get plenty of touches.
Hillis has had 2 fumbles (I believe) and that's with very limited touches. He also had a brain dead inexcusable penalty on a goal to go situation that effectively stopped the team from getting a TD. He has also had multiple penalties in the special teams.

I liked Hillis last year but at this point Bucky and Moreno have shown to be far more deserving of carries and touches on offense. Hillis is in the dog house and he deserves to be. Even Jordan has more touches than Hillis so far and far fewer mistakes. I am not a Jordan fan but can see why he is the one being relied on to carry the ball when in the put the game away mode over Hillis. I would rather it just be Moreno and Bucky over either Jordan or Hillis though.

[gregbroncs]

well, why is moreno still toten the rock so much? he has lost two fumbles in as many games and probly should have lost another one against the patsies that the refs blew dead. maybe he is not in the dog house because he is a rookie, but c'mon, lets give hillis a break here dont you think.?

im not saying moreno should not be getting the most touches, because i like moreno as our starting back, as well as bucky. its in those short yardage situations that the bronocs have been owned where they need to get hillis the ball and let him do what he does.
Moreno has carried the ball and touched the ball 10X more than Hillis and has made about the same # of mistakes despite having the ball far more often. No I don't think he deserves a break at this point. He is not a rookie and is not playing well. Give the ball to the players showing that they deserve it not the guy committing penalties and fumbling more often per touch than anybody else on the team.

[Dreadnought]

Hillis has had 2 fumbles (I believe) and that's with very limited touches. He also had a brain dead inexcusable penalty on a goal to go situation that effectively stopped the team from getting a TD. He has also had multiple penalties in the special teams.

I liked Hillis last year but at this point Bucky and Moreno have shown to be far more deserving of carries and touches on offense. Hillis is in the dog house and he deserves to be. Even Jordan has more touches than Hillis so far and far fewer mistakes. I am not a Jordan fan but can see why he is the one being relied on to carry the ball when in the put the game away mode over Hillis. I would rather it just be Moreno and Bucky over either Jordan or Hillis though.

Hillis has only one fumble on a KO return - and those will happen to anyone from time to time. He is being treated pretty shabbily while Lamont Jordan occupies a roster spot for no good purpose. Its one of my few remaining criticsms of McDaniels. I wonder a bit if Hillis is being punished for being a Shanny find rather than one of his own

[LRtagger]

Who cares. The team is winning. I am a big Hillis supporter, but I'm getting tired of hearing people complain about him not getting carries.

The team is winning and I doubt Hillis cares. He is playing the role McD gives him. Josh seems to have a pretty good grasp on the team.

[TXBRONC]

Who cares. The team is winning. I am a big Hillis supporter, but I'm getting tired of hearing people complain about him not getting carries.

The team is winning and I doubt Hillis cares. He is playing the role McD gives him. Josh seems to have a pretty good grasp on the team.

I would bet he would rather being playing than standing on the sidelines.

[BroncoBuff]

I'm not sure he's gonna get too many carries ... or catches.

Too many alternatives now, playing too well.

[Medford Bronco]

I think he should get the call on 3rd and short or 4th and short downs.

Just a chooches take in Boston :lol:

[Lonestar]

One of his fumbles was on a kR give me a break, he is a great player but a 250 as a KR there have to be better options IMHO

I'm thinking that each week Josh has added one more layer to the offense. Sooner or later Hillis will be added to the mix.

I also am not sure why Jordan is getting carries unless it is he understands the O better or if Hillis indeed in the dohouse.

I know that many think Moreno is the next LT, but deep in the red zone when the goal line defense is in that extra 40 pounds makes a differnce.

Also earlier in the year Hillis was being hyped and there were second thoughts about him being so good that the moreno pick might have been wasted. Something has changed not sure what it is.

Sent via Blackberry by altell.

[NightTrainLayne]

Hillis caused us to waste a time-out in the first half against the Patriots. He came in the game and immediately lined up on the wrong side of the formation.

Dumb mental mistakes like that I think are what's keeping Hillis out, moreso than any ball-control mistakes. He is making bone-headed mental mistakes when he gets in, and that is not something that McD will tolerate.

[Day1BroncoFan]

He hasn't given blood lately has he?

:D

[honz]

Hillis caused us to waste a time-out in the first half against the Patriots. He came in the game and immediately lined up on the wrong side of the formation.

Dumb mental mistakes like that I think are what's keeping Hillis out, moreso than any ball-control mistakes. He is making bone-headed mental mistakes when he gets in, and that is not something that McD will tolerate.

Perzackly! I'm not sure what Hillis has done this year to make the coaches think that he should get more touches or be out on the field more. He has a fumble, 2 ST penalties, a false start, got stuffed in short yardage situations multiple times, and forced us to burn a timeout because he lined up wrong. That doesn't exactly scream "I need the ball coach!".

I love the guy, but all he has done is **** up this year.

[skycoyote]

Three yards and a cloud of dust. I love power football. Maybe the Broncos should try the wishbone. lol

[dogfish]

Hillis is in the doghouse for poor ball control.


Hillis caused us to waste a time-out in the first half against the Patriots. He came in the game and immediately lined up on the wrong side of the formation.

Dumb mental mistakes like that I think are what's keeping Hillis out, moreso than any ball-control mistakes. He is making bone-headed mental mistakes when he gets in, and that is not something that McD will tolerate.

meh. . . . he's barely gotten any sort of opportunity-- they need to give him a legitimate shot to work his way through it. . . he can't atone for his mistakes from the bench. . . the only thing i can think is that maybe he's not practicing particularly well, but i still think his time will come. . . tagger's right that we're winning right now and it doesn't matter how we get it done, but the combination of size and skillset that hillis brings to the table can provide a different dimension to this offense, which has been good so far but not consistently great. . . we won't really start hitting on all cylinders the way we're capable of until we find a way to get all of our guys going, integrate all the different weapons into a cohesive attack. . . .

[honz]

meh. . . . he's barely gotten any sort of opportunity-- they need to give him a legitimate shot to work his way through it. . . he can't atone for his mistakes from the bench. . . the only thing i can think is that maybe he's not practicing particularly well, but i still think his time will come. . . tagger's right that we're winning right now and it doesn't matter how we get it done, but the combination of size and skillset that hillis brings to the table can provide a different dimension to this offense, which has been good so far but not consistently great. . . we won't really start hitting on all cylinders the way we're capable of until we find a way to get all of our guys going, integrate all the different weapons into a cohesive attack. . . .

How many weapons can you get going in one game? We already have tons of guys who have been effective weapons for us. We have Moreno, Bucky, Marshall, Royal, Gaffney, Stokley, Scheff, Daniel "Hands" Graham. All of those guys have had big games and have not made the costly mistakes that Hillis has. I agree that Hillis will get his chance to be a big part of our gameplan at some point, but he is going to have to earn his stripes back.

[Requiem / The Dagda]

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, which running back of the Broncos balls the hardest?" -- "Knowshon Moreno running like he's on probation, it's time for him to catch some new charges."

Hillis is a doggy. Loser.

[MileHighCrew]

im not really sure what you mean. i watch every second of every game, a couple of times with my tivo and i dont recall seeing hillis even get the ball enough to say he doesnt look the same. he has had very few touches since the regular season began. i know he had a fumble, but if we are going to talk about fumbles we have to throw moreno under the bus as well and he seems to get plenty of touches.

I have a PVR too and I haven't missed a snap this year (or in a lot of years thank you Sunday Ticket) and it is true he hasn't had the ball a lot but Hillis is not making the most out of the chances he has got. Itis not just about the fumbles, Hillis isn't running the same. I am a big fan of Hillis last year, I was looking forward to him smashing D-line all over the place, but he just doesn't seem like the same player when he is in the game.

[NameUsedBefore]

Quentin Griffin?

[DenBronx]

Hillis is in the doghouse for poor ball control.

he fumbled once...and that was like week one. i think moreno has fumbled it twice and we lost one. so he's not in the doghouse.

[DenBronx]

Hillis caused us to waste a time-out in the first half against the Patriots. He came in the game and immediately lined up on the wrong side of the formation.

Dumb mental mistakes like that I think are what's keeping Hillis out, moreso than any ball-control mistakes. He is making bone-headed mental mistakes when he gets in, and that is not something that McD will tolerate.

maybe a lack of playing time is why he's made those mistakes.

anyhow, i'm interested in seeing larsen at fullback and it would be interesting to see hillis play a dallas clark role here and there.

[broncofaninfla]

Every one of our RB's have fumbled the ball, every rb has made mistakes. The limited times Hillis has touched the ball the line got pushed back and every person in the stadium could tell where the ball was going. Nothing zone about it, all power and the guards got pushed back and #71 blocks were pathetic. Hillis was used differently last year, not sure why he hasn't been used more BUT we are 5-0. I'm happy with Moreno but he is far from the stud I was hoping for, I'd say Bell was equally as good at this stage of his career and he was a undrafted RB. I'm very happy with Buck, he has been fantastic with his touches. I like Hillis a lot and would like to see him get more involved with the offense but I'll take the wins over his carries any day.

[Tned]

I have a PVR too and I haven't missed a snap this year (or in a lot of years thank you Sunday Ticket) and it is true he hasn't had the ball a lot but Hillis is not making the most out of the chances he has got. Itis not just about the fumbles, Hillis isn't running the same. I am a big fan of Hillis last year, I was looking forward to him smashing D-line all over the place, but he just doesn't seem like the same player when he is in the game.

I think he has 4 carries this year, and most, if not all, have come in that tight, jumbo formation that the Boncos have not been having success out of from any RB.

[EastCoastBronco]

I wouldn't worry about Hillis too much. In case you guys haven't noticed, McLovin tends to bring out a brand new game plan every week which highlights yet another of our endless supply of fantastic talent. If I remember correctly we were having this same conversation about Eddie Royal before last week. Look what happened.
We have a TON of talent on this team and they are not, except maybe when we host Oakland, ALL going to get to shine at once. It's all part of the "Team" dynamic that is being built here.
Every dog has his day and under the McLovin regime, if the weakness of the opponent dictates it, Hillis will have his day.

[Ziggy]

McD doesn't accept many mental mistakes. Hillis has not only fumbled, but had 2 penalties on special teams in one game. I'm a big Hillis fan, but until he gets his head in the game, he won't, and shouldn't get much playing time. The Broncos are 5-0 going with the backs that they have gone with. Sounds like pretty good coaching decisions to me.

[EMB6903]

I like the way this 2 back system is working, but I do think Hillis should be involved more in this offense.

[gregbroncs]

What does Hillis bring to the table that Buckhalter and Moreno don't? He did not have any more success in the few short yard situation they have had than the other backs. Meanwhile both Moreno and Bucky are faster, can catch just as well, and are bigger threats to break a big one. I just don't see where Hillis is a better option than the other 2 players. Furthermore Jordan has yet to fumble even with more touches than Hillis so looks to be the better option to close out games because of ball security.

I just don't get the love affair with Hillis. He's a decent back on a team with 2 good backs and another decent back who has made mistakes that have taken him out of the rotation. Would I like to see him get another chance at the end of games sure. But I just don't think there is any reason to give him a chance before that because he is just not as talented as the other 2 backs that are getting the carries.

[slim]

Hillis has only one fumble on a KO return - and those will happen to anyone from time to time. He is being treated pretty shabbily while Lamont Jordan occupies a roster spot for no good purpose. Its one of my few remaining criticsms of McDaniels. I wonder a bit if Hillis is being punished for being a Shanny find rather than one of his own

I agree.

Hillis crapped the bed down on the goal line against Oakland, but they NEVER should have went to Jordan on fourth down...should have given Hillis another shot. Jordan is a big back but he should never be used in short yardage, he just runs to soft. In fact, I don't see any reason he needs to be on the roster.

[honz]

I'm rewatching the game right now and the guy that blew his assignment when he should have and had the opportunity to force Sproles into the middle of the field and all of our coverage guys??? Yep, Peyton Hillis.

[CoachChaz]

Hillis had like 2.5 good games as a rookie and he is treated like an All-Pro. He is what he is...a fullback. He blocks decently, catches well and runs hard.

Sounds like alot of other guys

[LRtagger]

I hope Hillis doesn't get carries until week 14 or 15 when we are sitting Buck and Moreno because we locked the #1 seed.

[broncofaninfla]

I'm guessing we'll see him again in our short yardage packages as every RB has failed in those situations to date. IMO he is our best option in those situations.

[broncofaninfla]

Hillis had like 2.5 good games as a rookie and he is treated like an All-Pro. He is what he is...a fullback. He blocks decently, catches well and runs hard.

Sounds like alot of other guys

Hillis isn't the only overhyped RB we have. I'm happy with him to date but Moreno isn't any better than undrafted Mike Bell was at this stage of his career.

[Lonestar]

actually Mike Bell is kicking ass this year..


I'd like to see Hillis get some touches during the game more.. we all know he can be a force.. it is apparent that Josh wants his RB to be Bucky and Moreno and that is OK if they do not wear down..

put some change up plays in their like griffin used to get every so often a quick hand off to the up guy to keep the D off balance.. it will take some heat off of the RB's that way..

[Tned]

Hillis isn't the only overhyped RB we have. I'm happy with him to date but Moreno isn't any better than undrafted Mike Bell was at this stage of his career.

I think going into this week Moreno was leading rookie RBs in carries and yards, while splitting time with Buckhalter. He is on pace for 1,000 yards. He's doing pretty good for a rookie RB.

The only real negative I see with him is the fumbles.

[dogfish]

I think going into this week Moreno was leading rookie RBs in carries and yards, while splitting time with Buckhalter. He is on pace for 1,000 yards. He's doing pretty good for a rookie RB.

The only real negative I see with him is the fumbles.

he sucks. . . he was a FIRST ROUND PICK , he should have at least 1,300 yards and 20 TDs by now. . . .

[honz]

Moreno has probably been giving blood on a weekly basis...at least he is playing like that's the case!

[dogfish]

Moreno has probably been giving blood on a weekly basis...at least he is playing like that's the case!

his blood is a disappointment-- they'd probably just give it back!

[Dreadnought]

I think going into this week Moreno was leading rookie RBs in carries and yards, while splitting time with Buckhalter. He is on pace for 1,000 yards. He's doing pretty good for a rookie RB.

The only real negative I see with him is the fumbles.

Moreno's 3.8 YPC is pretty uninpiring too, and his ball kicking/helmet tossing act Moday showed an unfortunate potential bonehead streak. It didn't end up hurting us, and I hope it was a fluke. Buckalter is wonderful, and also pretty old and always one play away from permanent retirement (more so than most)

[Timmy!]

http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/i/19268/original/bump.jpg

Seriously. The running game is getting it's ass kicked. Can we please try something different? 27 yards against the Steelers is an effing disgrace. Period. Give Hillis the damn rock and let's see what happened. I like Buck and Know but holy crap, it's time for a change. Do it McD!!!

[NameUsedBefore]

Hillis must be in McDaniels doghouse methinks.

BTW, dogfish, who is that in your avatar? :salute:

[MOtorboat]

http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/i/19268/original/bump.jpg

Seriously. The running game is getting it's ass kicked. Can we please try something different? 27 yards against the Steelers is an effing disgrace. Period. Give Hillis the damn rock and let's see what happened. I like Buck and Know but holy crap, it's time for a change. Do it McD!!!

Hillis was in Arkansas at a funeral.

:welcome:

[sacmar]

Don't care where he was...it'll be nice to have him back.

[rationalfan]

lost in this hillis lovefest is the fact that hillis wouldn't have been the difference against the steelers. or the ravens. no matter how "powerful" he is (vastly overrated, by the way) no running back will succeed when defenders are hitting him in the backfield.