People have it wrong at Dove Valley.
When the subject of running back is brought up, the question should not be whether Ron Dayne or Tatum Bell will emerge as the Broncos’ starter.
The question should be: What difference does it make?
A relatively high risk of injury, financial considerations, continued evolution of the passing game and a comparatively short learning curve have turned running backs into, if not football’s most dispensable commodity, at least the most interchangeable.
And not just in Denver, where every Olandis, Clinton, Reuben and Mike can gain 1,000 yards.
The Houston Texans had what many scouts and coaches felt was a once-every-decade running back in Reggie Bush plopped in their laps with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Instead, the Texans took a defensive end.
The Indianapolis Colts got off to a 13-0 start last season and are the odds-on favorites to reach their first Super Bowl this year. Forced to cut at least one of their offensive stars for financial reasons, the Colts gave contract extensions in the past two years to receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and quarterback Peyton Manning, but let No. 1 running back and four-time 1,500- yard rusher Edgerrin James head to free agency.
Three years ago, the Broncos had rediscovered another franchise-type running back in Clinton Portis, who was entering his prime after rushing for at least 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first two seasons. Quicker than a Mastermind can twitch, the Broncos traded Portis for a cover corner in Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick.
“It points to if teams have a choice between a running back or someone who’s going to help their passing game or defend against the pass, they go for the passing,” former Broncos running back Reggie Rivers said. “Because, ultimately, the passing game is where you win or lose. Running helps you control the clock, but there are a lot of guys who can do that. You don’t need your running back to be a game-breaker.”
Busting the myth
Listen to any NFL coach during the week, then chart the plays on Sunday, and the result would be more scrambled signals than FM radio in Nebraska. Football champions, it is said, are built on running the ball and defending the run. Yet, since 1995, the league’s overall play selection never has been less than 55 percent passes.
This may explain why a receiver like Terrell Owens can publicly insult his quarterbacks, privately fight with teammates and continuously disrupt locker-room chemistry, yet receive offers from such tradition-strong franchises as Dallas and Denver.
Meanwhile, 1,000-yard running backs such as Mike Anderson and James are set free.
What in the name of John Brockington has happened to the handoff right, handoff left, handoff to the same back every game for years and years?
“Free agency,” Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said. “To me that’s the factor. Do you want to hand a guy a $10 million to $15 million signing bonus, knowing he’s going to take more physical pounding than probably any other player on the field?
“There are some situations where teams get caught up in the emotion that surrounds the position, certainly the good ones. But their shelf life is not the same as some other players offensively.”
The most productive running back of the past five years has been Seattle’s Shaun Alexander, who has averaged 1,501 yards and 17 touchdowns during that span. But when the Seahawks tried to ignore public outcry that Alexander must not be allowed to become a free agent after last season, what was the team’s biggest concern? That five years was already a lifetime for most backs.
Most owners and general managers would say the ideal tailback situation is in Kansas City, where Larry Johnson is the NFL’s fresh new running monster.
“One of the pluses of Larry Johnson is he didn’t carry it an awful lot until his senior year at Penn State and didn’t carry it much in his first two years with the Chiefs,” Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson said. “So if you look at it as hits per year, he’s still pretty young.”
The Seahawks eventually caved and signed Alexander to an eight-year, $62 million contract this offseason that includes a $15 million guaranteed bonus.
History suggests there was reason for Seattle to hesitate. Even Hall of Fame running backs such as O.J. Simpson and Earl Campbell had only five good years.
Year in, year out
It’s true modern surgical techniques can help extend a running back’s career, but don’t tell that to Terrell Davis. His spectacular four-season run essentially ended with an irreparable knee injury early in the 1999 season and started the Broncos on their tailback merry- go-round of 1,000-yard rushers.
Olandis Gary rushed for more than 1,100 yards in 1999 before he suffered a knee injury. Then it was Mike Anderson going for nearly 1,500 in 2000, Clinton Portis surpassing 1,500 in 2002 and 2003 and Reuben Droughns running past 1,200 in 2004. Anderson needed roughly 14 games to gain 1,000 last year.
In each of the past three seasons, the Broncos rewarded their 1,000-yard rushers by either releasing them or trading them away. Thanks for continuing the tradition, guys. Now skedaddle.
“Here, it’s about the offensive system,” Dayne said. “They feel they can put whoever back there as a runner, as long as they have their system.”
When it comes to the Broncos’ vaunted running game, the Tom Nalen-anchored offensive line has endured less turnover than at running back.
“There’s always more running backs than there are offensive linemen,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
It’s different for running backs
One reason the pool of running backs is so vast is it can be filled with rookies. At positions such as offensive line and receiver, the terminology and pro technique are so sophisticated, formidable players such as Nalen and Rod Smith, respectively, had to start their careers on the practice squad.
But at positions like running back and cornerback, the younger the better.
“Not to take anything away from the learning curve at either one of those positions, but there is a lot of opportunity to use natural ability,” Sundquist said. “Running is running. If I’m standing here and got to get to that goal line, it’s the same whether in high school, college or pro.”
As a rookie, Bell rushed for 123 yards on just 17 carries in a game against Miami, then picked up 921 yards in the regular season last year while serving as Anderson’s backup. In this, his third season, Bell figures to receive at least a 50-50 split of the carries with Dayne.
“There’s only a handful of backs that get 90 percent of the carries,” Bell said. “Everybody else, the starters get about 60 percent. What we do here, it probably doesn’t matter who starts, but to me it does. If you start, you’ve got the first chance to do well and stay in.”
Besides the Broncos, two-back systems have emerged in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New Orleans, Tennessee and Miami, among others.
One back is in, another back is out. The running back has become so replaceable, change no longer occurs with the frequency of every year – the position is alternated every game.
“Guys that have the skill sets to be solid, proficient running backs are plentiful,” Rivers said. “But I think the days of the Eric Dickersons and O.J. Simpsons, where you had to have one guy and he was going to be your key guy for you to succeed, I think those days are gone.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
