Posted by Knowshon Zone | Posted in Game Time | Posted on 05-10-2009
The Denver Broncos defeated the Dallas Cowboys yesterday by a score of 17-10. The victory moves the Broncos to 4-0 on the season, a record no one thought they would have. Part of their success can be attributed to running back Knowshon Moreno, who found the end zone once again in the victory.
Moreno rushed the ball 14 times for 65 yards and caught 2 passes for 11 yards plus a touchdown. The one negative of the day came on a lost fumble. Moreno needs to learn how to hold on to the ball better.
If you missed the game, check out the highlights below.
go knowshon!
from the denver post:
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Denver running back Correll Buckhalter missed a third consecutive practice Friday because of an ankle injury.
It appears rookie Knowshon Moreno will start in his place Sunday when the Broncos host the New England Patriots.
Buckhalter, who sprained his left ankle last Sunday, leads the NFL with 7.2 yards per carry and leads the team with 267 yards rushing. But Moreno, who has shaken off a knee sprain that sidelined him for the final three weeks of the preseason, also has become a force in Denver’s fourth-ranked rushing attack.
While Buckhalter was listed as out on the team’s injury report, Coach Josh McDaniels declined to discuss his status or who would start in his place. He did say Moreno, the team’s top draft pick, was up to speed on every aspect of the playbook and prepared for whatever role he may play.
“There’s nothing he can’t do,” McDaniels said. “He’s totally ready to go with the whole game plan, and he’s fine, mentally and physically.”
Moreno, the first running back drafted when the Broncos selected him 12th overall out of Georgia, has rushed 60 times for 249 yards, both tops among rookies. He has produced a team-high 17 first downs: 14 on rushes and three as a receiver.
He has shown a knack for running with power between the tackles and also has held up well providing pass protection.
“Those are tough yards that you’ve got to get,” Moreno said. “I think we do a good job as a backfield of getting those hard yards that we need.”
Moreno’s pass protection ability also has played a pivotal role. He helped stave off the rush with a key block when Kyle Orton threw the winning 51-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall in last week’s 17-10 victory over Dallas.
“He’s been working hard and hasn’t been making a lot of mistakes in the game,” Orton said. “He’s running the ball hard and protecting well. He can certainly do everything you ask a back to do. We don’t have to take him off the field in any situation. He’s had a nice start and he’s got a ways to go.”
Moreno said getting the chance to start “would mean a lot,” but would not change the way he prepares for a game.
“It’s no different than being out there when I wasn’t starting. I’m just trying to get the job done,” he said.
Lamont Jordan and Peyton Hillis also could see additional snaps at running back should Buckhalter miss the game.
“Opportunities are what I can make of them, so it just depends on what gets thrown my way, and I’ll try to take full advantage of it,” Hillis said. “It’s definitely a challenge but I think we’ve got the guys back there to do it. We’re not looking for a setback. We’re just looking to move ahead.”
Notes: The unbeaten Broncos managed a lighthearted moment in their final practice before Sunday’s game. Assistant coach Roman Phifer turned a stick with a football affixed to the end into a makeshift drum-major’s baton and led a parade of dancing players onto the field for kickoff drills. Some of the players kept the parade beat by banging on blocking bags and the bottom of a garbage can. … The Broncos’ Friday practice was a true dress rehearsal. Players donned the vintage yellow and brown themed uniforms that they will wear in Sunday’s “throwback” game against the Patriots, who will wear their old-school duds from the franchise’s days as the Boston Patriots.
great game today, knowshon! 18 carries for 97 yards. a tough day for denver, but a rookie of the year kind of day for knowshon. wish they’d relied a bit more on the run in the 2nd half – knowshon would have got his 100, & since simms did all of nothing with the pass, the running game, which averaged more than 5 yards per carry today, might have been just what the broncos needed to put them over the top with kyle orton on the sidelines. looking forward to another big day for knowshon next week against san diego.
from the Denver Post:
Broncos Expect Knowshon Moreno to Continue on Learning Curve
It may be a passing league with the names of quarterbacks all over the marquee, but the Broncos have done better this year when they have a functional running game.
In their six victories, the Broncos have averaged 25.3 rushing attempts, with a season-most 45 carries for 215 yards against the Raiders in Week 2. In the Broncos’ three losses, they have averaged 18.3 rushes.
“We can run the ball better than we have lately,” Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter said. “We’ve done good things there.”
The Broncos leaned more about rookie Knowshon Moreno last Sunday in their 27-17 loss at Washington, with Moreno getting 18 of the team’s 22 rushing attempts.
Denver running backs coach Bobby Turner says as Moreno continues to adjust to the idea he won’t have 5, 6 or 7 yards of open field before reaching a defensive player, as he did in college at Georgia, his production will improve.
“He’s a rookie; that’s the bottom line,” Turner said. “All those young guys come in, they’re effective at where they were and he wants to go out and rush for 100-plus yards like all backs do. That’s going to come.”
the fumble was just unfortunate – how often is your teammate’s knee going to come crashing into the ball as you’re trying to push it over the goal line? and with everything else going wrong with the broncos right now, you can’t blame people for not mentioning it, but the fact is that knowshon averaged 8 yards a carry on sunday, gaining 80 yards on just 10 attempts. it’s at least the second time that knowshon should have crossed the 100 yard mark, but in recent weeks, with the broncos behind, mcdaniels has decided to “run from the run” in the 2nd half. both moreno & buckhalter were running all over the place to start the game – why not stick with what works? anyway, the fumble was an unfortunate fluke. what people should pay attention to is the fact that knowshon has put up 177 yards in the last 2 games, averaging 6.8 yards a carry. 6.8 yards! having that kind of danger in your backfield opens up the pass, so i’m looking for the broncos to get back on track as they come down the stretch.
knowshon had another fantastic game, & the broncos are 7-4. 5.6 yards a carry in the last 3 games? those kind of numbers win football games. those kind of numbers make knowshon one of the broncos most valuable DEFENSIVE players, because they keep the other team’s offense off the field. knowshon moreno is the 2009 nfl offensive rookie of the year. last week, i heard people saying that the broncos were finished, but it’s the chargers who should be starting to sweat. go knowshon!
from the denver post:
Moreno Flexed Muscles Against Giants
There is occasional clamoring among fans to see Peyton Hillis, which is understandable.
The Broncos running back is a likeable, folksy kid from Arkansas who had surprising success as a seventh-round rookie last season thanks to a refreshing, bow-the-neck running style. But if brute strength is what people want, did they see how Broncos rookie Knowshon Moreno ran Thursday night against the New York Giants? Moreno ran with authority.
On several of his runs, Giants defenders gave him the ole treatment rather than take him head on.
“It was a tough, physical game against a really good team and we had some success running,” Moreno said, his left wrist wrapped in a bandage afterward. “The offensive line did a great job all night opening holes. We were just out there running, having fun.”
Moreno has averaged 88.3 yards rushing in the Broncos’ last three games, on 5.6 yards per carry. His 688 rushing yards are nearly 200 more than the next-best rookie, Arizona’s Beanie Wells.
Against the Giants, Moreno not only ran aggressively, he ran with two hands on the ball, a reaction to losing his fourth fumble Sunday against San Diego.
Doesn’t running with two hands on the ball crimp his fluidity?
“Oh, no,” he said. “That’s the main thing, ball protection. I put an extra emphasis.”
2 nice articles about knowshon in the denver post this week. look for knowshon to have his first 100 yard game tomorrow against the chiefs.
from the denver post:
Knowing is half the battle, a battle Knowshon Moreno seems to be winning.
And Moreno, seemingly becoming more comfortable and confident in the Broncos’ offense by the game, is just what the team may need if it is to earn a playoff spot over the last five weeks of the season.
“I wouldn’t say I’m at the same point as I was early in the season, because I am learning and getting better, and at the same time helping my team out,” Moreno said. “But it is still a learning process. I guess I’ve said it before, but it’s true: Each week you learn something new. That’s a lot of weeks so far and a lot of new things.”
The NFL can be unforgiving for the uninitiated, especially high draft picks facing high expectations.
Moreno, who was Josh McDaniels’ first draft pick as the Broncos’ coach, seemed to bear the burden of that while taking his first steps as a professional. He struggled early in the season adapting to the speed of the NFL. He was hesitant at times, as if the traffic in the middle of the field was frustrating him. That shows up in 31 carries of zero or negative yardage.
“We talked all the time at Georgia about ‘get the ball upfield,’ ” Moreno said. “But it’s even more (important) here. A lot more.”
Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said it’s all part of the learning curve. There’s far more to learn than how to run the ball. If a running back is going to play on third down, he has to be able to pass block. He also has to be able to digest more and more information as the season wears on.
“We throw an awful lot at them,” McCoy said. “At this level you see a lot more defenses. In college, defenses are a little simpler than the NFL. It’s still football, but you get a lot of things thrown at you.”
Moreno has been more decisive with his decisions on where to run in the past few games. The former Georgia star has been far more direct in his approach, getting his shoulders square to the line and making his cuts up the field.
He has rushed for at least 80 yards in each of the past three games and has his two longest runs of the season — a 28-yarder against the Redskins, on his first carry of the game, to go with a 36-yarder against the Chargers.
His 10-carry, 80-yard outing in the loss to the Chargers also included his fourth lost fumble of the year — tied for second among the league’s running backs — and a sideline shove to teammate Brandon Marshall when a heated Marshall got a little too tight in Moreno’s airspace after he fumbled.
“Stuff like that happens all the time,” Moreno said of his exchange with Marshall. “It’s nothing right now. Nobody thinks about it. . . . We’ve got a lot of
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other things to worry about.”
Moreno leads NFL rookies in carries (161) and yards rushing (688). But a few of his peers, such as the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy and the Cardinals’ Chris “Beanie” Wells, also are getting more work as the season progresses. In the wake of Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook sustaining a concussion, McCoy now has 528 yards rushing for the season, 175 of those in the past two games.
“I think it’s a sign of the confidence they have in (the team’s rookies), they put faith in us, and we showed up,” McCoy said. “I think any player in this league is a competitor. I think you have that attitude to approach anything in this league. You’ve got to play as a competitor.”
Moreno knows the deal too. The Broncos’ offense operates more smoothly, scores more points and controls tempo when the team has a productive running game.
He wants to be part of that and believes he is ready to help the Broncos’ playoff push.
“When you get a chance, you want to get in there and make a play,” Moreno said. “If, in the end, they say I could be one of the key guys, that would be good to hear from your teammates, but a lot of guys would be that. You always want to be one of those guys.”
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
from the denver post:
Knowshon Moreno believes he’s learned a lot in his first NFL season.
He’s learned about professional defenses, about how to fit into an offense that asks a lot of players to do a lot of things, and how to be a pro from one day to the next.
He’s also learned the NFL season is long. Very long.
“Right now, at Georgia, we’d be talking about getting ready for a bowl game that was a month away,” Moreno said. “Here we have five more (games) to go and hopefully more. You have to get your mind right for that.”
Welcome to the rookie wall. Coaches talk about the potential for first-year players to hit a lull in late November and early December because the NFL regular season is longer than what they’ve experienced before.
The Broncos have played four preseason games and 11 in the regular season.
Toss in two-a-days, offseason conditioning and all of the work first-year players did getting ready for the scouting combine and their pre-draft workouts, and a guy can suddenly feel the full weight of the calendar if he’s not careful.
“Really it’s like two seasons from college in one,” Moreno said. “Physically you know it’s tough, but mentally is where you really have to stay focused. It’s long and you know it and these games are important.”
Moreno, who was the Broncos’ first-round draft pick in April, said he’s taken extra steps to keep himself mentally and physically as fresh as possible for the stretch drive.
The Broncos like what they’ve seen, handing him the ball plenty the last three games. He’s had three of his five games with at least 80 yards rushing in the last three weeks.
“You kind of hear about it all the time,” Moreno said. “So I think I was prepared for the idea of getting to this point in the season knowing I hadn’t really ever played that much football in one year before.
“But then you see how big the games are every week and you want to be in there and be able to make a play when you get the chance. So you get yourself right. That’s what I’m doing, just getting myself right.”
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
looking forward to a great game tomorrow.
Broncos running game picks up for stretch run
The Associated Press
Posted: 12/11/2009 01:25:19 PM MST
Updated: 12/11/2009 01:33:24 PM MST
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The numbers don’t lie. The running game of the Denver Broncos is on the upswing in time for the stretch run.
The team ran for 136 yards against the New York Giants and a week ago amassed 245 yards on the ground against Kansas City’s defense.
“I think we are pleased with what we’ve done the last few weeks,” Denver coach Josh McDaniels said. “We’ve done it by showing improvement in a number of areas.”
That includes Denver’s output on short-yardage and goal line situations and a reduction to almost no negative plays when the Broncos are running.
“We struggled a little bit in the middle of the year with our short yardage and goal line,” McDaniels said. “Last week it was important for us to convert a few of those and also shore up on the goal line.”
One of the most successful short-yardage plays came early in the fourth quarter of the Kansas City game. On fourth-and 1 from the Chiefs 18, rookie Knowshon Moreno scooted around the left side of the line, down the sideline and into the end zone.
“The biggest thing we’ve always talked about is negative plays and last week I think we had 45 carries and one negative run,” said McDaniels. “That’s a good percentage for us and as long as we continue to do that, I think we will be effective running the ball.”
“It was always there, it was just a missed read here and there,” Moreno said of the running game. “I think we’re coming together more and trying to make the best of our opportunities.”
And just in time for the Broncos’ upcoming matchup with the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts.
During film sessions, Denver’s running game didn’t get unnoticed by Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell.
“They are a very talented team, first of all, and they have a really strong running attack, too,” Caldwell said. “Two outstanding backs that are doing a great job.”
Two backs, the young Moreno and 31-year old Correll Buckhalter, who are a perfect complement to each other.
“Buck is a little faster, has a great burst and gets to the edge on his speed,” McDaniels said. “Knowshon is a little bit of a slippery runner inside the tackles, has a little more spin moves and does it in a different way.”
“I feed off of him and he feeds off of me,” Buckhalter said of Moreno. “The guy plays with lot of tenacity and emotion and he makes me feel young.”
Moreno leads all NFL rookies with 774 rushing yards. Buckhalter has rushed for 563 yards.
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