Thread: It's not how good our backs are...

...but rather how well they fit into our new spread offense. When we look at our running backs, it's hard to definitively predict which ones we'll keep and which ones will go. But there's two guys that I think will be sticking around...

Hillis, obviously, is a keeper. He has the ability to fulfill multiple roles, catch passes, block, and be a goal line back. Imagine Chris Cooley, except he gets 5-10 rushing attempts per game. Hillis will be huge for us.

But the other back I'm looking at, surprisingly, is Selvin Young. Yeah, go ahead, laugh it up. But watching Selvin Young the past two seasons, he gives the Broncos a couple of things that we have not had in recent memory.

1) Selvin Young is not a great running back, but he runs the ball well when given open space. Perhaps this can be attributed to playing in the spread offense at Texas, but Selvin Young is our best threat when running draw plays. His acceleration is phenomenal, and he's able to speed away from defensive ends while running past the tackles. And he has a shifty running style and great balance once he gets past the first wave of defenders.

2) Screen passes. Denver has been terrible at performing running back screens throughout the decade. And just because a running back is fast, it doesn't mean that they are necessarily good on screens (I'm looking your way, Tatum Bell). But, for the same reasons that he's good on draws, Young is dangerous on screen passes, and he's shown flashes of it when he's been healthy.

When I think of the Patriots running backs, I think of Kevin Faulk. It seemed like every time he touched the ball, it was on some sort of screen pass or draw. And every game he'd quietly get about 40 yards rushing and 40 receiving on 10-12 touches.

I could be crazy, and a stiff fall breeze could snap Selvin's leg in half, but I really see Young having a significant role in our offense in 2009. (Especially since we can't afford to use high draft picks on anything except defense.)

i think alridge will do better in open space then young would ever do. he is faster and can get to the edges a whole lot sooner while making people miss. ive seen enough of young and tatum to make me have stomach ulcers on gameday. if mcdaniels has any brain at all he will draft a rb.

Yea, i dont see Young being kept. Alridge fits that role much better. As for the draft, i think we might still address it in the Draft or Free Agency. Same with Defense.

I stll cant figure out what Bell has done to warrant not keeping him.

I'd rather have Tater on the roster than Young. At least Tatum can touch the ball 10-15 times a game without getting injured. Plus he is better in open space than Young is IMO.

Hillis, Tater, Rook, maybe Pittman if he decides to play another year, and Alridge as a PR/KR would be fine by me.

IMO we can afford to spend a 3rd on a RB. Having Young on the roster at this point is like having a 52 1/2 man roster. Does anyone honestly think the guy can touch the ball 10+ times a game and play all 16 games? Sorry, but he's gone...maybe we can get a 7th for him.

Hillis is a beast. If we can actually have one back carry the load (unlikely since it hasn't been done since portis) it's gotta be Hillis. He has Brian Westbrook's skill set with the running power of Mike Alstott.

Originally Posted by nj10

Hillis is a beast. If we can actually have one back carry the load (unlikely since it hasn't been done since portis) it's gotta be Hillis. He has Brian Westbrook's skill set with the running power of Mike Alstott.

I wouldnt go so far to say he has Westbrook's elusiveness, but he does have a size advantage. That size allows him to run through the things Westbrook runs around. problem there is when you make a career out of collisions...you dont end up with much of a career at all.

Originally Posted by CoachChaz

I wouldnt go so far to say he has Westbrook's elusiveness, but he does have a size advantage. That size allows him to run through the things Westbrook runs around. problem there is when you make a career out of collisions...you dont end up with much of a career at all.

I'll agree he doesn't have Westbrook's elusiveness. Hillis is deceptively elusive though. I was referring more to him being a passing threat as well as rushing.

I hate tatum bell! let me say that now, but i will admit that the last 2 games he played for us he ran harder than i have ever seen him run in his life. Based on those 2 games i would give him another chance, maybe finally he has clicked and doesnt fall down when someone farts. His potential, with him finally being able to run like normal could be real good.

I still am very high on torian. He will do well in any offense we run, jsut wait and see. Obviously he has to have a mcl or whatever to run, but if it heals like it should then he will be the guy.


My dark horse is actually andre hall. I loved the guy before, and then after that 1 game where he fumbled and such i thought he was a goner. But he is the back for a spread offense..

He is small, extremely fast, and runs real low with his center of G. Plus he has moves and ok power. I would very much like to see him in the spread.

torian-15-20
bell/hall 5-10
alridge 3-5 (screens incl)
hillis- goaline, 3rd and short, and the occasional run play keep the d honest.
hillis

As the Cowboys proved last year, you can never have too many good RBs. They had Barber, added Felix Jones and were set.

But when Tashard Choice was still there in the 4th they added him too.

And it wound up being important when both Barber and Jones went down to injury. Those are 3 GOOD backs.

Do we have 3 good backs?

We have Young, who breaks a leg getting out of bed in the morning.
We have Hall, who looked like the better back before his fumbling and “arm” issue ended his season.
We have Alridge, who looked decent in pre-season but is awfully small to carry any sort of load.
We have Pittman, who may not be back with us and may not even play again – do we know yet?
We have Torain, who has had 3 devastating injuries in 2 years, requiring ridiculous surgeries. Not planning on him carrying the load.
We have Bell, who is a few games removed from stealing luggage and selling phones.
And we have Hillis, who tore his hamstring something fierce.

I don’t like Young, I don’t think Pittman comes back, and I won’t bet a rubber nickel on Torain’s health.

That leaves Bell and Alridge as scatbacks and Hillis and Hall as the only two guys we should even think of giving a third-and-short carry to – and we should think really hard about giving it to Hall, because that hasn’t been shown to be his game either, though he’s better at it than Young.

I’d like another back, please. A really good one.

I’d keep Bell, and Hall and Alridge, but I don’t want to be forced to rely on any of them if Hillis goes down, and Hillis runs so hard that I don’t want to count on his season-long health either.

Add another back and then if it gets down to Bell or Hall they’re down on the depth chart, and decent depth to have.

Don’t go in with one of those guys vying for the starting spot. That’s a recipe for “what the hell happened to our running game?”

~G

Can anyone show me a link where McDaniels has said that he will run a spread offense here in Denver?

Selvin Young was put on IR 12/24/08 with a ruptured disk in his neck. Reports said they were going to wait about a month to see if he needed surgery or not. I haven't seen any current updates on his condition.

Although I like our running backs when they're healthy - all have shown some talent and made positive plays - they all seem to be torn up pretty good with the exception of Tatum Bell and that Boyd kid.

I see us drafting a back in the mid rounds to add to the group. I hate to say it, but if anyone except Hillis gets another injury during training camp, just do an injury settlement and get them the heck off the team.

Originally Posted by G_Money

As the Cowboys proved last year, you can never have too many good RBs. They had Barber, added Felix Jones and were set.

But when Tashard Choice was still there in the 4th they added him too.

And it wound up being important when both Barber and Jones went down to injury. Those are 3 GOOD backs.

Do we have 3 good backs?

We have Young, who breaks a leg getting out of bed in the morning.
We have Hall, who looked like the better back before his fumbling and “arm” issue ended his season.
We have Alridge, who looked decent in pre-season but is awfully small to carry any sort of load.
We have Pittman, who may not be back with us and may not even play again – do we know yet?
We have Torain, who has had 3 devastating injuries in 2 years, requiring ridiculous surgeries. Not planning on him carrying the load.
We have Bell, who is a few games removed from stealing luggage and selling phones.
And we have Hillis, who tore his hamstring something fierce.

I don’t like Young, I don’t think Pittman comes back, and I won’t bet a rubber nickel on Torain’s health.

That leaves Bell and Alridge as scatbacks and Hillis and Hall as the only two guys we should even think of giving a third-and-short carry to – and we should think really hard about giving it to Hall, because that hasn’t been shown to be his game either, though he’s better at it than Young.

I’d like another back, please. A really good one.

I’d keep Bell, and Hall and Alridge, but I don’t want to be forced to rely on any of them if Hillis goes down, and Hillis runs so hard that I don’t want to count on his season-long health either.

Add another back and then if it gets down to Bell or Hall they’re down on the depth chart, and decent depth to have.

Don’t go in with one of those guys vying for the starting spot. That’s a recipe for “what the hell happened to our running game?”

~G

Dont think Pittman will be back from the neck/back injury? If Pittman plays another year I'll take him over Hall.

I believe that a team can not have to many quality RB, LB and CB's.. they all do not have to be all Pros but they have to be more than the stable mikeys has been trying to run since TD and poortis left.. they have to be more than leftovers..

Now I;m not advocating we get two on day one.. but something more than the 5th or 6th round would be a huge upgrade over most of the mokes we have now..

Pittman can stay if he wants to give one more year a chance..

Hillis is my stud wanna be.. the only thing that hurts him is the major body damage he puts on folks trying to tackle him.. But I'd rather have him for 4-6 years than a tater for 8-10..

after that I'm not impressed with any one else. Maybe Aldridge for his return ability..

RBs can be replaced NT, DT QB OLT and CB are much harder to find..

Originally Posted by Jrwiz

I believe that a team can not have to many quality RB, LB and CB's.. they all do not have to be all Pros but they have to be more than the stable mikeys has been trying to run since TD and poortis left.. they have to be more than leftovers..

.

Exactly.

One of the biggest problems (even for me) is that fans get so enamored with guys on the College level and so desperately want them to succeed to boost their football egos that they want their teams to keep them on their squads regardless if they fail or cant stay healthy. At this point, the guys we have just havent done enough or stayed healthy enough to bother keeping around. Give Torain another shot? Maybe. But Young, Hall, and Bell have all had their shots to show what they got and all of them havent stepped up to the plate in the long run in my mind. I believe its time to clean house and concentrate on trying to find stronger, more durable, and more talented backs and quit wasting time on guys who are second and third string guys to try to carry the load.