From the time he was selected in the 2004 draft, there has been a list of challenges confronting Broncos running back Tatum Bell.
Not until this year, his third year, did he start checking off multiple boxes.
Can he become a No. 1 tailback? Check.
Can he handle 20 carries a game? In his most recent game against New England, Bell had a 14-yard gain on his twenty-first carry. Check.
Can he have a 1,000-yard season? He finished with 921 yards as a backup last year and is on pace for 1,573 yards this year. Perhaps a check can be marked in pencil.
Now for Bell’s next challenge: Can he, as a speed back, consistently pick up the tough yards Monday night against a Baltimore Ravens’ defense that is ranked No. 1 against the run this year?
“I have to let the game come to me,” Bell said after the team’s workout Thursday. “I’m not going to try to break open every play. I’m going to try to do what I did against New England, get my 2s and 3s and 4s and squirt out of one of them eventually. When I do squirt, I have to make it a good one.”
Against New England, Bell had the first “workhorse” game of his career by getting 27 carries, six more than his previous high. He also gained 123 yards, or nearly double the 63.3 average rushing yards Baltimore’s defense has allowed.
“They’ve got more speed than New England and they have more athletes than New Eng- land,” Bell said. “My goal is to get 100, but whatever I get, if we win, I’ll take it.”
Season without Courtney?
It may be getting close to the point of no return for Broncos defensive end Courtney Brown. The oft-injured former No. 1 overall draft pick of the Cleveland Browns experienced yet another setback this week with his troublesome left knee.
“It’s tough, man,” Brown said, discouragement detectable in his tone. “We’ll just have to keep working at it and hopefully it will come around.”
Brown was a run-stopping force for a Broncos defense that finished second against the rush last season, but his knee started acting up early in training camp this year. He underwent arthroscopic surgery with hopes of being ready by the season opener in St. Louis, but instead missed the first three games.
After resting through the bye week, Brown participated in the team’s full workout Monday, but by Wednesday, the pain returned. He spent Thursday back in the trainer’s room.
Lynch and the Marlins
The hiring Tuesday of Fredi Gonzalez as the new manager of the baseball Florida Marlins brought a smile to Broncos safety John Lynch.
In another life, Lynch was a tough-luck, hard-throwing if command-challenged pitcher in the Marlins’ minor-league organization. Lynch threw the first pitch for the Marlins’ organization in 1992 with Single-A Erie. Lynch’s manager that year? Fredi Gonzalez.
“Good guy,” Lynch said. “You could see he would be moving up.”
Lynch posted an 0-3 record for Gonzalez in 1992 despite an impressive 2.15 ERA in seven starts. After pitching two games and getting his first win the next year at Single-A Kane County, Lynch was drafted in the third round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lynch finished his baseball career with a splendid 2.29 ERA, but with 29 walks against 19 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings.
Anderson’s return
Mike Anderson gained 1,014 yards for Denver last season, then was released as the Broncos felt his $2.55 million salary was steep for a 33-year-old running back, who was going to be a backup this year. Signed by Baltimore, he has just nine carries through four games.
“There’s no hard feelings at all,” Anderson told Baltimore reporters Thursday. “Business is business. But I’m excited about where I’m at and going into there, I like our chances.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
