The Next Denver RB

By Mitchell Blatt

All eyes are on Denver right now for the changing of the back. It seems an annual tradition now to change the running back every offseason. Whoever starts gains 1,000+ yards in a season. That might change this season. For years during the Broncos’ 1,000-yard running back era, Alex Gibbs was the man making it happen. He became the Broncos offensive line coach in 1984 only to leave in ‘87, but he came back in 1995. That was Terrell Davis’s rookie season. That was also the Broncos’ first 1,000-yard season of their nine year streak. Gibbs left last off-season to be the O-line and assistant coach for the Falcons. That year, Atlanta finished first in rushing with an awe-inspiring 5.1 yards per carry. They were 14th the year before. That can be attributed to a degree to Michael Vick being injured for most of the year, but it is still an amazing feat by an amazing coach. Gibbs’ teaching will probably stay with the offensive linemen whom he taught for so long. The only loss on offensive line was All Pro guard Dan Neil.

Tatum Bell
Bell is definetly the most tallented of the Broncos’ RBs, but can he take the punishment of carrying the ball 20 times a game? I think not. He was plagued by injuries all of last preseason. Just as his first injury was healing, he broke his thumb, setting him back even longer. In his senior season at Oklahoma State, it was his ankle that kept him out of some preseason practaces and later cost him two games late in the campaign. When he has played, he has been impressive to say the least. He carried 75 times last season for 396 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He only caught five passes, but the eighty yards (16.0 average) he got out of them showed he could really move with the ball after the catch.

Maurice Clarett
Forget the fact that Maurice Clarett sued the NFL, lied to the police, and bashed Ohio State. That all means nothing when you look at the fact that he has only played one injury-free season of high school football. It was his freshman year, so he didn’t get many carries anyway. He missed a game in his freshman year at OSU because of a shoulder injury and missed the first half of the next season due to a suspension for lying to the police about a stolen car. If Clarett can’t survive in high school football, how do you think he’ll do in the pros? How will he do in the same league with players like Ray Lewis and others who will want to knock his head off? As Lavar Arrington put it at the 2004 Pro Bowl, “If he can make it that rookie year without being assassinated, I think he’ll be all right.”

Quentin Griffin
Griffin and Dayne seem to be the front-runners as they are the only two who can stay healthy. Griffin started out last year as the starter. He exploded for 156 yards and three touchdowns (two running, one receiving) against Kansas City. Griffin is only 5′7″ and 195 pounds, so he can’t take the punishment of having 20+ carries, nor can he break tackles well enough to run well. He has a lot of speed, so he can run away from people, and KC can’t even take down a tackling dummy, so Q-Griff was able to slip away a lot. During the game, it was noticible that Griffin had few positive gains. He had a few huge runs, but for the most part, he was stopped for minimal gains because he couldn’t break any tackles. Further statistical study validates that perception. This chart shows how many times he gained certain amounts of yards:

	0-2	3-4	5-9	10-14	15-19	20+
Griffin	7	4	3	2	2	3
Holmes	3	8	5	6	3	1

In the four other games in which he played, Griffin only gained 155 yards on 62 carries (2.5 average).

Ron Dayne
Dayne is not a very good running back. In his four years with the Giants, he gained 2,067 yards on 585 carries (3.5 average). He tried running over people with his big 245 pound frame, but he wasn’t very fast. He is kind of the opposite of Quentin Griffin. In Denver, there won’t be many people to run over, because the offensive line clears them out, but with Dan Neil leaving in free agency, the Broncos might need to have someone big. Also, with the inadequacies of all the other Denver running backs, he is the only competent one. Nobody will think that he will be the one, but he probably will, so he will be a great late round sleeper.

The Denver running back situation become murkier every year. This season seems to be the hardest to predict yet. Ron Dayne seems to be the top contender. Most people are going to be looking at Tatum Bell. Bell will go pretty early in most drafts, and Dayne will last to the late rounds. Just like last year, when no one thought Droughns would win the starting job, nobody expects Dayne to win it. The odds must be 50-1 on him, but the dark horse will come out from the dust and win. No not Giacomo (the winner of the Kentucky Derby, for those of you who have better things to do than watch a horse run around a circle), but Ron Dayne.

Mitchell Blatt was born on October 10, 1989. He runs track and cross-country, and he is the sports editor of my high school’s newspaper.

Questions or comments for Mitchell? Post them in the Cafe’s forums!

Articles

Private: The Next Denver RB

By Mitchell Blatt

All eyes are on Denver right now as it is the changing of the back. It seems an annual tradition now to change the runningback every offseason. Whoever starts gains 1,000+ yards in a season. That might change this season. For years during the Broncos 1,000 yard runningback era, Alex Gibbs was the man making it happen. He became the Broncos offensive line coach in 1984 only to leave in 87, but he came back in 1995. That was Terrell Davis’s rookie season. That was also the Broncos first 1,000 yard season off their nine year streak. Alex Gibbs left last offseason to be the O-line and assistan head coach for the Falcons. That year, Atlanta finished first in rushing with an awe-inspiring 5.1 yards per carry. They were 14th the year before. That can be attributed to a degree to Vick being injured for most of the year, but it is still an amazing feat by an amazing coach. Gibbs’ teaching will probably stay with the offensive lineman who he has taught for so long. The only loss on offensive line was All Pro guard Dan Neil.

Tatum Bell
Bell is definetly the most tallented of the Broncos RBs, but can he take the punishment of carrying the ball 20 times a game? I think not. He was plagued by injuries all of last preseason. Just as his first injury was healing, he broke his thumb, setting him back even longer. In his seniour season at Oklahoma State, it was his ancle that kept him out of some preseason practaces and later cost him two games late in the season. When he does play, he has been impressive to say the least. He carried it 75 times last season for 396 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He only caught five catches, but the eighty yards (16.0 average) he got out of them showed he could really move with the ball after the catch.

Maurice Clarett
Forget the fact that Maurice Clarett sued the NFL, lied to the police, and bashed Ohio State. That all means nothing when you look at the fact that he has only played one injury-free season of high school football. It was his freshman year, so he didn’t get many carries anyway. He missed a game in his freshman year at OSU, because of a shoulder injury and missed the first half of the next season due to a suspenion for lying to the police about a stollen car. If Clarett can’t survive in high school football, how do you think he’ll do in the pros? How will he do in the same league with players like Ray Lewis and others who will want to knock his head off? As Lavar Arrington put it at the 2004 Pro Bowl, “If he can make it that rookie year without being assassinated, I think he’ll be all right.”

Quentin Griffin
Griffin and Dayne seem to be the front runners as they are the only two who can stay healthy. Griffin started out last year as the starter. He exploded for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns (2 running, 1 receiving) against Kansas City. Griffin is only 5-7 and 195 pounds, so he can’t take the punishment of having 20+ carries, nor can he break tackles well enough to run well. He has a lot of speed, so he can run away from people, and KC can’t even take down a tackling dummy, so Q-Griff was able to slip away a lot. During the game, it was noticible that Griffin had few positive gains. He had a few huge gains, but for the most part, he was stopped for minimal gain, because he couldn’t break any tackles. Further statistical study validates that perception. This chart shows how many times he gained certain amounts of yards:
0- 3- 5- 10- 15-
15+
Griffin 7 4 3 2 2
3
Holmes 3 8 5 6 3 1
In the four other games he played in, he only gained 155 yards on 62 carries (2.5 average).

Ron Dayne
He is not a very good runningback. In his four years with the Giants, he gained 2,067 yards on 585 carries (3.5 average). He tried running over people with his big 245 pound frame, but he wasn’t very fast. He is kind of the opposite of Quentin Griffin. In Denver, there won’t be many people to run over, because the offensive line clears them out, but with All Pro Guard Dan Neil leaving in free agency, the Broncos might need to have someone big. Also, with the inadequacies of all the other Denver runningbacks that I have mentioned above paragraphs, he is the only competent one. Noone will think that he will be the one, but he probably will, so he will be a great late round sleeper.

The Denver runningback situation become mirkier every season. This season seems to be the hardest to predict yet. Ron Dayne seems to be the top contender Most people are going to be looking at Tatum Bell. Bell will go pretty early in most drafts, and Dayne will last to near the end of the draft. Just like last year, when noone though Droughns would win the starting job, noone expects Dayne to win it. The odds must be 50-1 on him, but the darkhorse will come out from the dust and win. No not, Giacomo (the winner of the Kentucky Derby for those of you who have better things to do than watch a horse run around a circle), but Ron Dayne.