Posted by Knowshon Zone | Posted in Denver Broncos, General Knowshon | Posted on 11-08-2009
Knowshon Moreno recently signed his rookie contract with the Denver Broncos, believed to be paying him about $12.5 million in guaranteed money. The Broncos invested the 12th overall pick in Moreno so they’ll expect him to be active early and often. You don’t pick someone that high to ease him into the position, especially a running back.
We see time and time again rookie running backs contribute in big ways: Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, Joseph Addai, etc. The coaches believe Knowshon is a 3 down back… the type of player that doesn’t need to be pulled out of the game in short yardage and goal-line situations. He can run the ball and pass block, making him useful in any situation.
The Broncos have their first preseason game coming up on Friday, August 14 against the San Francisco 49ers. I expect Knowshon to get something like 7-8 carries and maybe a catch or two.
knowshon out for 1-2 weeks. from the denver post:
The Broncos had to wait to get prized rookie running back Knowshon Moreno on the practice field in training camp, and now they will have to wait a bit more to see him in another preseason game.
Moreno suffered a sprained left knee Friday night in the Broncos’ 17-16 loss to the 49ers in San Francisco and is expected to miss one to two weeks. That would put his return near the Broncos’ third preseason game — Aug. 30 at home against the Chicago Bears — if things go well, but he may see significant action again only in the preseason finale Sept. 3 at home against the Arizona Cardinals.
Moreno is said to have injured the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He came up limping after the second of his three carries Friday — he carried the ball on three consecutive plays during the Broncos’ first drive of the second quarter — but tried to stay in the game.
He briefly tried to loosen up the knee by walking back and forth in the Broncos’ bench area, but was taken to the locker room well before halftime and did not return.
“I know he said he was dinged, but he said he was fine,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said after the game. “We checked him out and kept going with him.”
Moreno, who was not available for comment in the locker room after the game, had an MRI on Saturday.
The first-round draft pick missed eight days of training camp in a contract impasse. He signed his deal and practiced for the first time last Sunday, and the Broncos had hoped to steadily give him more work through their four preseason games
if denver uses knowshon well, they won’t wear him out. when the coach saw knowshon limping, he should have been taken out, not given the ball again. at georgia, knowshon felt comfortable taking himself out of the game when he knew he needed a break. he needs that leeway in denver. it’s quality, not quantity. knowshon doesn’t need to be an every-down back to light up the nfl. 15 carries a week, & open them holes. knowshon will do the rest.
from the denver post:
Broncos’ backfield already thin
It proves the axiom: You can never have enough running backs
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
Knowshon Moreno (Denver Post file photo)
There are deposits and there are withdrawals.
An NFL season is a week-to-week slog through the physics of force and mass, so each week the bills come due.
“And you’re going to need a lot of backs,” Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter said. “To get through the season, you’re going to need enough guys back there who can carry the ball and get through a game week after week. I think it’s just that way.”
Welcome to the Broncos’ backfield, already sporting the bruises of August with a full season still waiting on the calendar. Just two of the team’s backs — Peyton Hillis and Darius Walker — have participated in all 25 of the team’s training camp practices, and neither is in line to be the team’s primary
back.
So while there were some eyebrows raised because of the Broncos’ aggressiveness at running back in free agency and the draft, their supply already has been stretched over the past few weeks.
“You need a lot of them,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. “Everybody knows what happened here last season, and I’ve seen it happen in other places.”
Last season may have been unprecedented in the league’s modern era in that the Broncos finished the year with seven running backs on injured reserve, including the two players — Hillis and Michael Pittman — who had the team’s only 100-yard rushing games.
The question this year will be if the Broncos have the right mix in what figures to be a more pass-oriented offense. McDaniels uses a three-wide-receiver look as his base offensive formation, and the team puts the quarterback away from center, in the shotgun, far more than Mike Shanahan did.
“We have a lot of guys who can go in there and get it done — five right now,” said running back LaMont Jordan, who, like Buckhalter, signed as a free agent. “That’s the way we feel. I’m happy we have them all here, and everybody has to do their part when they’re put back there.”
Knowshon
Denver Broncos
View slide show of training camp Aug. 19.
View slide show of training camp Aug. 18.
View slide show of Broncos rookie cornerback Alphonso Smith.
View slide show of Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall return.
View slide show of Broncos-Niners preseason game Aug. 14.
Find analysis and notes from training camp on the All Things Broncos blog.
Ask Mike Klis about the team or NFL in the Broncos Mailbag.
Evaluate the latest team numbers on the Broncos Stats Page.
Post photos of your team spirit.
Pore over Broncos ‘09 schedule.
Moreno’s travails likely have pushed the Broncos’ preseason plans off the drawing board, at least for the moment. The rookie running back, selected 12th in the April draft, was set to be the kind of three-down back the Broncos want.
He was expected to emerge from the preseason work as the unquestioned starter in the backfield. But then he missed 13 practices before he agreed to a contract, and practiced only five times before he suffered a sprained knee on his second carry of the Broncos’ preseason opener at San Francisco last week.
Moreno has not practiced since and may not get much practice time before the Broncos open the regular season at Cincinnati.
“There was no question for me, coming out in the draft, I said to myself, ‘Knowshon was the best back,’ ” Jordan said. “We got a great back there, people will see.”
McDaniels rarely leaned on one back to do the bulk of the work in the three seasons he was the Patriots’ offensive coordinator. No back had 200 carries, and no back reached 900 yards in any of the those seasons.
There also is the matter of the physical nature of the position. Moreno is entering his rookie year tipping the scales at less than 215 pounds, lighter than many every-down backs across the league. Jordan will turn 31 in November, missed some practice time with a leg injury earlier in camp and hasn’t carried the ball 150 times in a season since 2005.
Buckhalter will be 31 in October and has torn the left anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee (2002) and torn the patellar tendon in his right knee (2006 and 2007). The Broncos have tried to limit his work in camp.
They already waived Ryan Torain, who was coming off ACL surgery last year and sprained a knee in practice. They also brought in two backs — Marcus Thomas and Marcus Thigpen — in a three-day span last week.
“We have a lot of guys who have proven themselves, a good young guy in Knowshon, the pieces are there to do what we need in the offense,” Buckhalter said. “You look at the league now, not many teams have just one guy who does it all. You have to spread it around. It’s a tough position to play. You take a pounding.”
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com