Thread: Montee Ball

Originally Posted by Captain Speardog

Ball was very good blocking against the Chiefs. Maybe he has turned the corner. Ball did block for Russell Wilson so he was not totally foreign to it when he came to Denver.

Yeah, but defenders can see Manning, unlike Wilson.

Originally Posted by Captain Speardog

Well then they should keep Anderson active. I wanna see what he has.

Why are so many people hung up on Anderson?!?!?

Originally Posted by dbfan2007

Yeah, but defenders can see Manning, unlike Wilson.

So true, I bet the WRs for Seattle all they see is a ball flying out of the middle of the pocket!

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Why are so many people hung up on Anderson?!?!?

Cinderella, man.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Why are so many people hung up on Anderson?!?!?

Hung up, well, I would not say I am hung up; Denver activated him and he never got to play. I would have liked to see him get some carries. He is built like a stud RB. Much more so than Ball, Moreno and Hillman. He is 5'9" 225 lbs. He is the big back everyone in the draft said Denver was looking for. In his one preseason game against the 49ers he got 60+yards and over 5 yards per carry. Why shouldn't Denver see what he can do if they have him on the active roster?

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

I don't think that at all considering the two games prior Moreno had over 60 carries.

Right, but Moreno does a lot of other things, too, like bltiz pickups, screens and checkdowns (e.g. the big catch he had in the first half against KC last week, or the second half catch that finished with his crawl.) That's the beauty of a back who can play literally any role on passing downs as well as run: His mere presence on the field doesn't tip our hand and let the D sell out on running if he's useless in the passing game or passing if he's useless in the running game.

Hence Terrell Davis' advice to Ball to learn how to block so he can stay on the field. If the coaches didn't prefer Ball and Hillmans legs as much as most fans they wouldn't have started the season ahead of Moreno on the depth chart, but they aren't going to get Manning drilled just so the rookie can rush for 100 yds every game. Ball's improved as a receiver and is dangerous in space (hence his 31 yd reception on 3rd and 20 to preserve our only purely offensive TD drive in the first half @NE.) Yet Moreno will start as long as PFM feels safer with him against the blitz.

Uhm. I like Ball and Moreno, both.

Originally Posted by Captain Speardog

Hung up, well, I would not say I am hung up; Denver activated him and he never got to play. I would have liked to see him get some carries. He is built like a stud RB. Much more so than Ball, Moreno and Hillman. He is 5'9" 225 lbs. He is the big back everyone in the draft said Denver was looking for. In his one preseason game against the 49ers he got 60+yards and over 5 yards per carry. Why shouldn't Denver see what he can do if they have him on the active roster?

Brock Osweiler has been on the active roster every game this season. Hell, why not throw him in too.

Originally Posted by Joel

Right, but Moreno does a lot of other things, too, like bltiz pickups, screens and checkdowns (e.g. the big catch he had in the first half against KC last week, or the second half catch that finished with his crawl.) That's the beauty of a back who can play literally any role on passing downs as well as run: His mere presence on the field doesn't tip our hand and let the D sell out on running if he's useless in the passing game or passing if he's useless in the running game.

Hence Terrell Davis' advice to Ball to learn how to block so he can stay on the field. If the coaches didn't prefer Ball and Hillmans legs as much as most fans they wouldn't have started the season ahead of Moreno on the depth chart, but they aren't going to get Manning drilled just so the rookie can rush for 100 yds every game. Ball's improved as a receiver and is dangerous in space (hence his 31 yd reception on 3rd and 20 to preserve our only purely offensive TD drive in the first half @NE.) Yet Moreno will start as long as PFM feels safer with him against the blitz.

But, that's not what you said.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

Why are so many people hung up on Anderson?!?!?

Probably cuz Hillman sucks.

Originally Posted by Joel

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/te...PerRushAttempt

Note: I refer primarily to rushing AVERAGES rather than TOTALS below because totals are a function of attempts, which are a function of victory margins, so running BADLY but OFTEN still yields huge totals. The NFL season rushing average has consistently remained right at 4.2 yds/carry since at least the mid-nineties; whatever the total, any team averaging less underperforms.


I remember it all too vividly, and am getting sick of seeing it week after week ever since Shanny left. It was a lot better in September (against the 4 best run Ds we've faced this year, which just goes to show how BAD it is now,) but now it's the same old -3 yds and a cloud of dust. Sunday was better (though against a bottom 10 run D) but still not great; they opened some nice holes more than once, but just as often let guys mob Moreno or Ball behind the LoS.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/te...sition/defense
Ball had two huge runs for almost 80 yds; otherwise he had 44 yds on 11 carries, an average of exactly 4. That's OK, but below both the NFL and KC average this year. The run blocking was good enough, but good enough against the teams with the 6th worst (NE) and 5th worst (KC) defensive rushing average WON'T be good enough in the playoffs against, say, the team with the 11th BEST defensive rushing average (Cincy.) We're fortunate none of the likely AFC playoff teams are ranked higher (although NY IS #1,) but 3 NFC contenders are in the top ten.

Maybe this weeks game will be the best bellwether; not only will the cold encourage running, but Tennessees D is ranked 17th in total and 14th in average rushing yards; Seattles is ranked 13th and 15th. We might even have a "bellwether for the bellwether:" Washingtons D is 14th in total and 13th in average rushing yds; they allowed us 107 yds on 34 carries (3.1) in our rout.

Ok you think you saw something vividly I am saying I didn't. When you can actually know what will happen in the playoffs before the game even takes place let know.

Originally Posted by SeeingRed

But, that's not what you said.

It's what I strongly implied: If Ball can't pass block, the only reason he'll be out there is to 1) run or 2) CATCH a pass, and he ain't exactly our primary (nor even tertiary) receiver. I haven't watched him on every down he's played, but I believe he spend the vast majority of the time either running or sitting. We can and do run ANY play with Moreno on the field, so there's no tell like there is when Ball takes the field. If I'm a defensive coordinator and see Montee Ball take the field, I'm loading the box unless it's 3rd and 7+ (in which case I'll probably see Moreno.)

Thus Ball on the field makes it more rather than less likely we run, since Moreno preserves every option but Ball very few. That's why Moreno starts; as long as it's true he always will.

Originally Posted by TXBRONC

Ok you think you saw something vividly I am saying I didn't. When you can actually know what will happen in the playoffs before the game even takes place let know.

We can't be sure how the playoffs will go till we're there, but CAN make predictions from current data; the more such data we get, the more reliable the predictions. Right now we've got 12 games worth of data that says there's only been ONE GAME since September our running even matched the NFL average—even against BAD run Ds.

That's (one reason) why I'm looking to this weeks game for more definite conclusions: Not only will the sub-freezing temperature at home tell us a lot about how Manning will handle that in the playoffs, playing an above average D and specifically an above average RUN D will tell us a lot about how we'll run against good defenses in the playoffs. Plus it doesn't look like Derek Wolfe will play, so facing Jamaal Charles @Arrowhead followed by CJ2K will tell us whether we still hav a top run D even without Big Vick and Wolfe.