ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Knowshon Moreno might be on the football field this week for the first time since pulling a hamstring an hour into the first day of training camp on Aug. 1.
Coach Josh McDaniels said he’d prefer his starting tailback take some hits prior to the Sept. 12 season opener at Jacksonville.
“I think that’s always best for a running back—same thing with (Correll Buckhalter)—to get hit before they actually go on to a regular season game,” McDaniels said. “But, if that’s not the best thing for us to do, the smartest decision to make, then we’ll probably hold off on that.
“We’re going to practice this week—we’ll be in pads on Tuesday and we’ll see if we can bang one or both of them around if they’re ready to go by then. We don’t have a timetable yet but both of them are getting close.”
Buckhalter, who wrenched his back 10 minutes after Moreno went down, hasn’t played in the preseason yet, either, but he did return to practice last week.
LenDale White, who will start the season on a monthlong suspension for violating the league’s drug policy, made his Denver debut Sunday night and ran a dozen times for 34 yards, including a 2-yard TD run that started the Broncos on their way to a 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
White signed on after the top two tailbacks went down but he was hampered by a sprained ankle he suffered on his first full day of workouts.
With a turnstile of tailbacks in the training room, Lance Ball has taken advantage of his opportunity of a lifetime to impress the Broncos’ coaching staff.
Ball, a second-year pro from Maryland, where he went undrafted by the NFL, has rushed 21 times for 119 yards for a 5.7-yard average with a long run of 43 yards.
The Broncos jettisoned veteran Justin Fargas (10 carries, 17 yards) on Monday.
Denver’s run game has been hampered by the shifting offensive line and the tailback troubles, but the Broncos did improve Sunday night, when they rushed for 128 yards, enough to set up their passing game.
Of course, the difference in the game was special teams, where Andre’ Goodman had a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown and rookie Syd’Quan Thompson had his own pick-6, a 48-yarder.
Rookie Zane Beadles started at left tackle, where Tyler Polumbus was earlier supplanted by D’Anthony Batiste, and Stanley Daniels started at left guard.
With Chris Kuper (ankle) out, Russ Hochstein started at right guard next to rookie center J.D. Walton.
Ryan Harris, who missed half of last season with foot injuries, has been the mainstay this summer at right tackle.
“The line, I thought we did a decent job at times,” McDaniels said. “Again, this is one of the best run defenses in all of football in the last decade. You’re not always going to have a bunch of pretty runs against this team and I thought we tried to continue to stick them in there and our guys made some plays and we kept them out of the backfield. I think the negative runs, something we talked about avoiding, … I think we did a decent job of that early.”
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IT’S A NEW DAY: Not long ago, the sight of an offensive lineman at the media podium at Dove Valley was unheard of. But gone are the days of the silent linemen now that Ben Hamilton is in Seattle.
“The regime is different,” right guard Ryan Harris said.
Gone is the old guard, replaced by a bunch of youngsters.
“Well, in terms of the media stuff, Ben kind of started it himself when he was on the Jim Rome Show,” Harris said. “So, that was the biggest fine to date in the o-line room.
“I just think that we’re growing as individuals and as a group. Chris Kuper is now our oldest vet on the line and some of us are able to come into our own and speak for ourselves, so to say.”
Harris said he has a new perspective since missing the last half of last season with foot injuries.
“It’s a blessing. Every time I go out on the field, I’m happy to be there,” Harris said. “… I’m so lucky to be back and going through training camp.”
Asked his impressions of left tackle Ryan Clady, who returned to practice last week for the first time since tearing up a knee in the offseason, Harris said: “I think he’ll answer that in his time but I think his desire is definitely there. That’s one thing we can see and it’s just good to have him on the field again because that presence is vital and has been key to our success, so it’s good to see him out there.”
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GOING HOME: Ryan Harris said he wouldn’t mind playing four quarters in the final preseason game at Minnesota on Thursday night because Minneapolis is his hometown.
“I’ll take every snap I can get,” Harris said.
Harris said there’s some expensive restaurants that he’ll be glad to show his fellow linemen if they want to pick up the tab.
Harris said he’ll head to the Blue Door in St. Paul, “a place that dips peanut butter on the patty. It will change your life.
“I don’t know if they have shakes, but they do have cheese curds, which is another life-changer if you’ve never had them,” added Ryan, who packs 300 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame.
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FULL-TIME FULLBACK: Spencer Larsen never figured he’d end up a full-time fullback after entering the league as a linebacker.
His first two seasons he split time on both sides of the ball. Only playing one position seems strange to him.
“It’s been different, but it’s been great to focus and try to improve drastically,” said Larsen, the only fullback on the roster.
Larsen said he never envisioned marking his mark in the NFL at fullback.
“I didn’t foresee this, no,” Larsen said. “But I did foresee me trying to carve out a role, whatever it is in trying to stick around on a team in the NFL and so if it’s fullback, it’s linebacker or it’s special teams, that’s what I want to do because I want to play.”
Larsen said it is easier to focus on just one position.
“What’s easiest about it is just the social part: being in a group, being with my running backs and developing relationships there and trust with guys,” Larsen said.
