Who's the Man in Denver?

[YunYaamka]

Yeah, I have Anderson and Griffin sitting on my bench. I really think Shanahan is going to go with someone he's familiar with this year.

[Nobodies Business]

Shanahan never uses a RBBC, hes had chances to and never has. He finds a clear starter and goes with him. My money is on Quentin to keep the job and have Tatum Bell learn for a year under Anderson and Hearst.

what?? Does Clinton Portis, Orlandis Gary ring a bell?? they were a tandem for almost the whole 2002 season...

[Turnip]

Shanahan never uses a RBBC, hes had chances to and never has. He finds a clear starter and goes with him. My money is on Quentin to keep the job and have Tatum Bell learn for a year under Anderson and Hearst.

what?? Does Clinton Portis, Orlandis Gary ring a bell?? they were a tandem for almost the whole 2002 season...

Portis had 273 carries in 2002. Gary had 37. That's not a committee.

[Sixxgunn]

This is another of those situations where I'm glad my draft is after pre-season.My guess is we're going to see a bit of all of them.Only after one starts to emerge will Shan make a decision on a starter.I may be mistaken,but wasn't that how Portis got the job?I would have to think it's going to be Hearst off the bat(you don't bring a guy like that in if you are comfortable with what you have)and then go with the big man Bell.I also further believe that Anderson is more of a full back,right?Correct me if I'm wrong on that.But with at least 3 other pure runners I don't think he would go with the full back.Just guesswork,but isn't that what this is all about!

[Shatner8]

(well not Hearst, but the other 3)

Why do you say that. Actually I also think that Garrison Hearst will win the starting Job, besides Anderson hes the only guy that has proven he can play in the NFL(dont say Griffen has, it was one game against a weak D). When it comes down to it, I think Shanahan will see that Hearst is the best fit for the starting role this year.

[Kensat30]

I think Denver is going to turn out exactly like no one predicts it will. There will be no clearcut featured RB in Denver, it will be more of a game by game situation. None of these guys will get the chance to carry the ball 20 times a game with any consistency. Hearst is the X factor behind my reasoning.

I believe Garrison Hearst was brought into Denver as a "buffer" player that will ease the transition of whoever becomes the starter in Denver. Hearst is going to see playing time no matter what happens. His purpose in Denver is to be the change of pace guy who takes the burden off the starter.

On the flipside of that, if Hearst produces extremely well, he will become the starter and the other backs will spell him. Whatever the case, Hearst will see playing time in all 16 games this year. This is coming from a Niner fan that has watched Hearst develop over a number of years. Hearst is one of the most underrated backs in the NFL and is extremely tough to keep on the sideline.

That starter could be Griffin or it could be Bell, at this point it looks like Griffin will get the first crack. Whoever starts, don't expect them to get 300 carries like a typical starting Denver RB. This is 2001 all over again.

[tuffbuc]

I think Q will get the starting nod to open the season, but it will be Bell by week 5 and he will excel as the starting RB. Shanahan never uses RBBC and he won't start this year either.