Posted by Knowshon Zone | Posted in General Knowshon | Posted on 16-06-2009
Rotowire just released the following update about Denver RB Knowshon Moreno. Their scouts are impressed with the ways he’s been playing in the mandatory mini-camps. Let’s just hope he doesn’t take a step back when the pads come on.
Update:
Moreno has been making a strong impression during the Broncos’ mandatory minicamp, the Denver Post reports. On Saturday, he took all of the snaps with the first-team offense during a no-huddle drill against the defensive starters. He ended the drive with a touchdown reception.Recommendation:
“I like this kid,” fellow running back Correll Buckhalter said. “I think he’s going to be a heck of a player in this league.” Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan still top the depth chart, but Moreno is coming into his own as he gets a stronger grasp of coach Josh McDaniels’ offense. He’s still not a guarantee to open the year as the starter, but right now he seems to be well on his way to earning that designation.
Have any of you been out to the mini-camps? I’d love to grab post some pictures. Please contact us if you do.
From The Denver Post:
Among the most hotly contested positions should be along the defensive front, outside linebacker and running back.
Rookie first-round pick Knowshon Moreno spent the final mini-camp running behind veterans LaMont Jordan and Correll Buckhalter. But given McDaniels’ repeated stance that Moreno has three-down ability, he could work his way to the top of the depth chart this summer.
“As long as we keep making each other better, we’ll be all right,” Moreno said.
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(in article about Kyle Orton being named starting QB)
Orton admitted that it’s been difficult trying to find a comfort level in McDaniels’ offense and that he’s had good and bad plays along the way.
That was evident Saturday, when Orton had interceptions run back for scores by cornerback Jack Williams and outside linebacker Robert Ayers. But Orton also lofted a perfect sideline pass into the arms of rookie running back Knowshon Moreno in tight coverage.
from the denver post re. the broncos backfield:
Broncos’ Buckhalter happy to be shareholder
Splitting carries helps RB’s body of work
By Lindsay H. Jones
Correll Buckhalter, now with the Broncos, has less mileage than most backs his age. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)
It’s funny, the things that Correll Buckhalter considers to be blessings.
Things like knee injuries — three of them, all season-ending — or the addition of a star-in-the-making rookie running back like Knowshon Moreno.
Another player might consider any one of those things, let alone the combination, to be a curse, but not the Broncos’ Buckhalter, who somehow has managed to preserve a glass-half-full perspective after eight often-frustrating seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“At this point in my career, the more that you can share, the better your body can be,” Buckhalter said. “I’m not one of those guys coming in feeling like, ‘I’ve got to get all the carries and all the reps.’ I’m a guy coming into this to
Correll Buckhalter
View slide show of Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter.
compete to my fullest ability to be the No. 1 back, but whatever (coach Josh McDaniels) has for us, whether I’m in on one package or three or four different packages, I’m going to give everything I got. I’m not greedy.”
He never has known any other way.
Buckhalter split carries while in college at Nebraska — with another running back and also with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Eric Crouch.
When Buckhalter arrived in Philadelphia as a rookie in 2001, he split carries with veteran Duce Staley. In recent years, he was the No. 2 back to Pro Bowler Brian Westbrook.
Buckhalter was productive, yes, with 682 yards rushing and an average of 4.9 yards per carry during the past two seasons, but he was never a star.
And now he’s preparing to be part of another committee, along with Moreno, fellow veteran free-agent addition LaMont Jordan and Peyton Hillis, who also plays fullback.
“I’m used to it. Nowadays in this league, lots of teams use two or three running backs,” Buckhalter said. “There are not that many guys in the league anymore that are just that single guy — only a handful. That’s what it has evolved to, and I’m fine with that. It’s been that way for me for a while.”
Perhaps some of Buckhalter’s perspective comes from the time he spent sidelined with knee injuries. First, he tore his left ACL during an offseason practice in the spring of 2002 and missed the entire season.
He returned to play in 2003, but spent all of the 2004 and 2005 seasons on injured reserve after twice rupturing the patellar tendon in his right knee, both times in the preseason.
“It was like, ‘You have to be kidding me!’ ” said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, Buckhalter’s teammate from 2001-08 in Philadelphia. “It was so tough to see him go through all of that, especially because of when he first got there, how much promise he had, and what we was going to bring to our football team.”
Buckhalter said few people believed he would be able to return to football after the consecutive injuries, yet he has managed to stay mostly healthy since the start of the 2006 season. It helps, he said, that he dropped 10 pounds, treats his body better and hasn’t endured the same amount of pounding as most 30-year-old running backs.
“It’s been a blessing, the injuries I had in ‘04 and ‘05. They kind of helped my body stay fresh at the same time, and that’s why I feel this way now, that I’m a very fresh guy,” said Buckhalter, who has rushed for 2,155 yards and 18 touchdowns in his NFL career.
McDaniels said the Denver staff targeted Buckhalter in free agency because coaches felt he had “multidimensional” skills that would allow him to succeed in the role of a traditional running back and also in the passing game as a blocker or receiver.
“His body is young,” McDaniels said. “He just might be, as a matter of fact, I think he is, our fastest back. He’s got a great burst and he’s got great long speed.
“To add a guy to our offense that is very unselfish and is going to accept whatever role he earns is great, and he’s going to play his butt off.”
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
Backfield in motion
NFL reporter Lindsay H. Jones breaks down the Broncos’ revamped tailback corps:
Knowshon Moreno: First-round draft pick from Georgia has the makings of a star.
LaMont Jordan: Signed as a free agent in March from New England. Took most of the first repetitions in spring workouts.
Correll Buckhalter: Signed as a free agent in March. Will compete with Moreno and Jordan for first-team carries.
Peyton Hillis: Fully recovered from the hamstring injury that ended his rookie season. Could prove valuable in Denver’s new offense.
Ryan Torain: Still recovering from November anterior cruciate surgery, but did participate in individual drills during a June minicamp.
Darius Walker: Played for Houston and St. Louis in 2008 and signed with the Broncos as a free agent in May.
From the Denver Broncos team report (yahoo sports):
Rookie Impressions: While Knowshon Moreno was running behind LaMont Jordan and Correll Buckhalter for the offseason practices, the Broncos will use the 12th overall pick of the draft often this season. His exact role is uncertain – McDaniels liked to use a full committee in New England with many backs providing different looks – but Moreno has shown he has the ability to play in the NFL. As soon as he shows a veteran-like command of the playbook, he should move quickly up the depth chart.
from yahoo sports (assessing the “good & bad” of nfl teams in the off-season):
DENVER BRONCOS
The Bad … The Jay Cutler situation was a debacle no matter what you say about how Cutler and his agent Bus Cook handled it. The Brandon Marshall saga hasn’t ended, but it’s been ugly so far. The No. 1 need for the Broncos was young talent in the front seven on defense, especially in light of the move to the 3-4, and they drafted only one player who will contribute (Robert Ayers).
But … Knowshon Moreno was the draft’s most sought-after running back and could thrive under new head coach Josh McDaniels. Kyle Orton is a cerebral quarterback who McDaniels hand-picked, largely because he led the Bears to two winning seasons in the years he was the primary starter. The Broncos signed a host of quality veterans from winning teams like Jabar Gaffney and Correll Buckhalter on offense to Andre Goodman and Brian Dawkins on defense.