broncofaninfla
11-07-2009, 09:15 AM
Kiszla: Broncos make mistake with Moreno over Buckhalter
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
POSTED: 11/06/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
The Broncos need more touchdowns and fewer excuses. Where to begin? That's easy.
Start veteran Correll Buckhalter at running back.
Bench prized draft choice Knowshon Moreno.
This is the time to make the upgrade, with a Steel Curtain dead ahead for the Broncos. The Pittsburgh Steelers lay down an unforgiving law meant to intimidate foes: Don't even bother trying to run.
"They make everybody stop running the football," coach Josh McDaniels said Thursday.
So what can the Broncos do to fight the Steelers in a battle of wills? Put it all on the shoulders of quarterback Kyle Orton?
Something tells me Denver better come up with a Plan B.
Better give Buckhalter an increased role in the game plan.
In an offense averaging a modest 20 points per game, McDaniels has given Moreno 120 touches from scrimmage to 73 for Buckhalter, yet despite the disparity in workload both Denver players have gained an identical 484 total yards by running or catching the football.
If productivity counts for anything, then it seems to me Buckhalter deserves to be in the huddle nearly twice as much as Moreno.
"We let them play, and we feel good about our backs. No matter who's in the game, we think they're capable people," McDaniels said.
Here's the problem: Know-shon doesn't know all the tricks of the NFL trade, and what the rookie doesn't know is hurting the Broncos.
Don't get me wrong. Despite all the caterwauling when Denver used the 12th choice in the first round on Moreno, taking the 5-foot-11, 210-pound runner out of Georgia was the right thing to do. Playing him so much while Moreno learns on the job has been the mistake.
It's as if McDaniels is in a rush to prove wrong the doubters of his football acumen. Could it be ego is blinding McDaniels to the fact it's Buckhalter, not Moreno, who has been the most dangerous weapon in a Denver offense lacking in big shots?
Despite missing the New England game with an ankle injury, Buckhalter leads the Broncos with five gains of more than 20 yards.
After salary negotiations and a banged-up knee cost Moreno valuable time on the field during his first NFL training camp, his apprenticeship has been done with victory and defeat on the line. The 420 yards gained rushing speak loudly to Moreno's natural talent. Nevertheless . . .
Whether smashing into the pile on third down or fumbling the football in a crash, there are too many times when his rookie anxiety shows and Moreno treats this sport like demolition derby.
It's not the speed of the game that's killing Moreno. It's failure to trust his instincts to slow down the action. Moreno is so obsessed with picking up the tough yards he doesn't give himself a chance to take a play to the house. Maybe that's why his longest run in 109 attempts for Denver is 17 yards.
What Moreno must learn to break big plays is the same trait McDaniels needs to employ in the development of his prized rookie running back: patience.
"Patience is not getting the ball and going 100 mph. In this league, the majority of the time, if you're going 1,000 mph from the time you touch the ball, you're not going to make a good read," said Buckhalter, whose 6.0 yards per carry this season ranks second in the NFL behind the superb 6.9 per attempt by Chris Johnson of Tennessee.
"When I say have patience, I don't mean running the ball at 50 percent speed," Buckhalter added. "But you start out at maybe 70 percent. Then, when you find the crease, you see the opening and that's when you turn it on. Slow to the hole. Fast through the hole."
Buckhalter started four consecutive times to open the season, then got injured, which allowed McDaniels to give the No. 1 running back job to Moreno, and Denver's rushing production has gone on a slow, steady decline.
It's OK for Moreno to be in the game. The Broncos, however, need Buckhalter to make more plays to win the game.
Buckhalter told me he is confident Moreno will develop the patience necessary to exploit NFL defenses, but the talent won't appear overnight, and it might take a whole season of hard knocks for his rookie teammate to master the counterintuitive principle that getting ahead in this league sometimes requires slowing down the racing brain inside your helmet.
A commitment to the running game needs to be made by Denver.
Is the Broncos' No. 1 priority to let Moreno learn by trial and error, or ride the back of Buckhalter to the playoffs?
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
POSTED: 11/06/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
The Broncos need more touchdowns and fewer excuses. Where to begin? That's easy.
Start veteran Correll Buckhalter at running back.
Bench prized draft choice Knowshon Moreno.
This is the time to make the upgrade, with a Steel Curtain dead ahead for the Broncos. The Pittsburgh Steelers lay down an unforgiving law meant to intimidate foes: Don't even bother trying to run.
"They make everybody stop running the football," coach Josh McDaniels said Thursday.
So what can the Broncos do to fight the Steelers in a battle of wills? Put it all on the shoulders of quarterback Kyle Orton?
Something tells me Denver better come up with a Plan B.
Better give Buckhalter an increased role in the game plan.
In an offense averaging a modest 20 points per game, McDaniels has given Moreno 120 touches from scrimmage to 73 for Buckhalter, yet despite the disparity in workload both Denver players have gained an identical 484 total yards by running or catching the football.
If productivity counts for anything, then it seems to me Buckhalter deserves to be in the huddle nearly twice as much as Moreno.
"We let them play, and we feel good about our backs. No matter who's in the game, we think they're capable people," McDaniels said.
Here's the problem: Know-shon doesn't know all the tricks of the NFL trade, and what the rookie doesn't know is hurting the Broncos.
Don't get me wrong. Despite all the caterwauling when Denver used the 12th choice in the first round on Moreno, taking the 5-foot-11, 210-pound runner out of Georgia was the right thing to do. Playing him so much while Moreno learns on the job has been the mistake.
It's as if McDaniels is in a rush to prove wrong the doubters of his football acumen. Could it be ego is blinding McDaniels to the fact it's Buckhalter, not Moreno, who has been the most dangerous weapon in a Denver offense lacking in big shots?
Despite missing the New England game with an ankle injury, Buckhalter leads the Broncos with five gains of more than 20 yards.
After salary negotiations and a banged-up knee cost Moreno valuable time on the field during his first NFL training camp, his apprenticeship has been done with victory and defeat on the line. The 420 yards gained rushing speak loudly to Moreno's natural talent. Nevertheless . . .
Whether smashing into the pile on third down or fumbling the football in a crash, there are too many times when his rookie anxiety shows and Moreno treats this sport like demolition derby.
It's not the speed of the game that's killing Moreno. It's failure to trust his instincts to slow down the action. Moreno is so obsessed with picking up the tough yards he doesn't give himself a chance to take a play to the house. Maybe that's why his longest run in 109 attempts for Denver is 17 yards.
What Moreno must learn to break big plays is the same trait McDaniels needs to employ in the development of his prized rookie running back: patience.
"Patience is not getting the ball and going 100 mph. In this league, the majority of the time, if you're going 1,000 mph from the time you touch the ball, you're not going to make a good read," said Buckhalter, whose 6.0 yards per carry this season ranks second in the NFL behind the superb 6.9 per attempt by Chris Johnson of Tennessee.
"When I say have patience, I don't mean running the ball at 50 percent speed," Buckhalter added. "But you start out at maybe 70 percent. Then, when you find the crease, you see the opening and that's when you turn it on. Slow to the hole. Fast through the hole."
Buckhalter started four consecutive times to open the season, then got injured, which allowed McDaniels to give the No. 1 running back job to Moreno, and Denver's rushing production has gone on a slow, steady decline.
It's OK for Moreno to be in the game. The Broncos, however, need Buckhalter to make more plays to win the game.
Buckhalter told me he is confident Moreno will develop the patience necessary to exploit NFL defenses, but the talent won't appear overnight, and it might take a whole season of hard knocks for his rookie teammate to master the counterintuitive principle that getting ahead in this league sometimes requires slowing down the racing brain inside your helmet.
A commitment to the running game needs to be made by Denver.
Is the Broncos' No. 1 priority to let Moreno learn by trial and error, or ride the back of Buckhalter to the playoffs?