2007 Best and Worst Broncos' Moments #10
by Jeremy Bolander on Jul 12, 2008 9:00 AM MDT
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PrintMoment #10 -- One of the Best
-- Afterthought, Part I
The Tennessee game is interesting in that it showcased to young talents on the Broncos who had been overlooked up to that point, and who would go on to be overlooked through the coming offseason. When Broncos fans break down the roster, or evaluate the positions, these two players are usually considered afterthoughts.
The first player is Andre Hall.
The play that jumps out at you is a beautiful, 62 yard TD run. Hall would approach the line as the play developed, and then make a graceful cutback that sliced through a perfect running lane. After that he was off to the races. The decisiveness with which he hit the hole belied his inner struggle:
"It was big enough to scare me," Hall admitted. "I didn't know whether to hit this, is it a trick, what's going on? I just went with my gut, hit it and kept it moving.
"It was like practice. You know how they set the plays to open up? That's what it did. Exactly what it did. The offensive line watched everybody, and Brandon kicked his guy out, and the hole opened up."
And the reason he struggled with the decision was because he had already made a major mistake earlier in the game. On only his second rep after replacing an injured Selvin Young in the 3rd quarter, Hall blew a D-gap blocking assignment and was left clutching air as Cutler ate dirt, courtesy of Titans safety Vince Fuller.
Hall was devestated.
It is a testament to a young player that he can show he is able to overcome his own mistakes. Hall didn't let the blown play get him down, and instead he gritted his teeth and committed to giving everything he could, in an effort to make things right. 62 yards later, Cutler weighed in on the RB's missed block:
"He made up for it."
Should Hall be overlooked?
Let's face it, he wasn't drafted this year, or at all, he wasn't recently signed to a lucrative deal and he doesn't have off the field issues cropping up every other day. It makes a lot of sense that we aren't really talking about him right now.
But sooner than later, my scout's eye is going to be reminding me that Hall does a much better job of running with his pads down than Selvin Young. It will be telling me that the speed with which Hall hits the hole is probably the best on the team, and that his burst through the line is the real thing.
Sooner than later we will be reminded that after Henry crapped out on us, and Selvin Young had gone down with an injury, Hall alone would be left, and that when he got injured, he stayed in the game because that is what the Broncos needed him to do.
Sooner than later we will remember that Selvin Young and Andre Hall were neck and neck in training camp, and that the untrained eye couldn't have separated the two of them. That Selvin held on to his starting spot up until his injury is a testament to Young, not a knock against Hall.
He wasn't drafted. There was a reason for that. But he has had a year in Broncos Blue and Orange to win for himself the best objective evaluation that coaches and fans have the ability to give him.
You owe it to him, you owe it to yourself. Keep an eye on #23 in training camp.
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Solid write up styg.
I still don’t think Hall will make it past 4th on the depth chart, barring injury to someone ahead of him. His running style reminds me too much of Tatum Bell. The difference I think is toughness. Hall seems to me to be a tougher guy than T. Bell. We’ll see. If anything, I love the idea of having him 4th string on our team. That just tells me our depth is AMAZING at running back. lol
Looking at our offensive positions, this 2008 team may be the deepest roster we have EVER fielded. Yes, I said ever. The only position not deep is at QB, but let’s hope Cutler stays healthy all year. ;) Or bring Bubby out of retirement!!!
If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
The Quest ~ TSG 5/19/08
I dont see him making it
He is 4th at best. Plus with SY and Pittman porbably getting the most carries. Even though I am hoping its Torian who wins the job. But I just dont see Hall making an impact on the team.
by broncfanstuckinsd on Jul 12, 2008 11:15 AM MDT reply actions
My thinking.
Young looks like the starter right now. Pittman was brought in for a reason. Torain looks like the real deal for a power runner (and is getting praises in pre-camps). I think Hall looks like #4 right now (borderline STs).
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
Pittman was brought in for a reason...
I wouldn’t put it past Shannie to bring in a nearly washed up, high character vet to push the young guys through camp and then cut him before the season(of course he did pay him pretty well to do that…). It will probably depend on what Torain shows us in camp.
It’s scary this year that Mike Bell and Cecil Sapp don’t stand a chance at HB this year. I think we’ll lose them both before the season starts. If we go four deep at RB into the season Pittman might be there, if we don’t there’s almost no way we keep him through the preseason.
I'm thinking we go four deep.
I’m pulling for Young, Torain, Pittman, and Aldridge. Hall is too good to let go though. It’s a tough call. I’ll be giving a lot of weight to Guru’s breakdown of the position.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
by Steve Nichols on Jul 14, 2008 8:56 AM MDT up reply actions
On the bubble & Crowding
Hall is in a number crunch; he’s shown himself as strong enough runner to warrant keeping, but he’s in a competition for a position which may only have 3 spots—if we use last year as a guide.
RB is a position that requires some depth, and this may be in his favor, since the attrition rate is high because of the beating RBs take. On the other hand, it’s tough to keep keep 4 (I believe) without having a strong ulterior reason, such as Special Teams play. My guess is that Hall’s ST contribution would come as a KR, but, unlike recent years, there’s a number crunch there, too. And that’s certainly a pleasant change.
Another factor is the roster decision is what I call the “functional attribute” decision (hoosierteacher could help us on this one). I’ll link to HT’s post on RB depth schemes to explain this idea:
http://www.milehighreport.com/2008/5/29/534836/mhr-university-rb-depth-sc
The question is—what does Hall bring to the RB depth that would justify keeping him? Or, to put it another way, does he have a specific attribute that rounds out the depth at RB, one that he uniquely provides?
Would Hall be a speed back that fills HT’s Change of Pace role? I see Selvin Young as the speed back here, so Hall’s competition is mainly Young in terms of providing that attribute. Another back that has caught my attention is Alridge, who’s clearly a speed back, so Hall has another competitor who provides speed, and lots of it.
Another way of looking at Hall’s situation is terms of versatility. Specialization is important if it fills an important team need, but having more than one attribute is even better. Does Hall have the combination of power & speed to out-compete his competition for the the Primary, Spell or Rotational back roles? Another question we could ask is, which specifically applies to the Spell back role, does he fumble? A recent column here at MHR pointed out that Hall fumbled in a crucial situation last year, one in which he substituted for the starter in a Spell back capacity. So, the questions is—is Hall reliable enough to fill-in when called on to relieve the starter? It’s actually a very, very important attribute.
There are other attributes that important, too, besides running the ball. How well does Hall block? Blocking is extremely important, even though it’s rarely given its due by fans. Also, how well does Hall catch passes? Moreover, is there anyone else who provides that attribute? Both Hillis and Pittman are excellent pass catchers, as well as providing the power back attribute that is important to the RB position. Both, presumably, can also block fairly well. So, we have competition for Hall in these areas, too.
After going through my list of attributes and roles (as per HT’s post), I have a hard time finding a justification for keeping Hall on the 53 man roster. I’m not down on him, but I can’t seem to find a trait (or traits) that would justify keeping him on the regular roster. It’s not an easy decision since I do see him as having the potential to make a good professional RB, but the decision relates as much to the attributes that the other RBs bring to the team as it does to his abilities. Hall’s best chance at making the team (beside the ubiquitous STs) seems to rest on a roster decision to keep 4 RBs, which would be a response to the threat of injury and the need to distribute the work load.
good justification
I voted third string on the poll, but the more I think about it the more I agree that it is tricky finding a place for Hall on the roster, particularly with Hillis and Sapp locking the full back/h-back spots (and giving better special teams value) leaving probably only 3 load carriers (Young, Pittman, Torian(???)). His only way in is as a speedster so I guess he’s going to need to outshine Torain and Young in that respect. If he can do that, more power to him.
And hey it could be worse, he could be Mike Bell.
by Orange & Blue Badger on Jul 13, 2008 9:03 AM MDT up reply actions
Agreed that Hall is in a lot of trouble.
It’s a shame, given that he is so decent in so many roles. But using my post for direction (thanks for the nod), I agree that it is difficult for him to make the team. I think you’ve done a much better job making the argument than I.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
by Steve Nichols on Jul 14, 2008 9:01 AM MDT up reply actions
Hall
Hall is the best back on Bronco’s. He’s proven it everytime he touches the ball, the problem is most people are stuck on the names of colleges Young and Torain attended rather than what they’ve done on the field. Hall was the top back in the Big East and say what you want about the Big East, but their out of conference record is better than most and have handed to the SEC (best conference supposedly) the last couple of years. Hall is a powerful, explosive back. He’s just as fast as Young and his build allows him to shake tacklers much easier. As for Torain, he’s proved nothing in Two years of Div1 ball, other than maybe he’s injury prone, just like Young.
Though I disagree with most of the post on Hall, the unfortunate truth is that Shannhan won’t give Hall the chance and I for one wish he’d release Hall so he can be picked up by a team that will use him rather than keep him around as an insurance policy.
college
I don’t know much about college ball living here in England. Your points about his record there and how it compares to Selvin would appear to be valid though. They both need to prove it in the big leagues however and Selvin does seem to have that extra step.
I don’t think Shanahan will give up on Hall, Mike will give him a chance unless Hall himself gives him a reason not to. Shanny is very fair to all his backs and has proved over the years that background counts for nothing and proving it on the field (be that practice or gametime) is the most important factor in whether you make the team or not.
by Orange & Blue Badger on Jul 13, 2008 9:59 AM MDT up reply actions
Thats fine
I just dont think Hall is that good. Sure he had a nice career in college. But there are reasons he is down on the depth chart. It has nothing to do whith how he did in College but dont forget in 2004 USF was in Coonf USA. A little bit different than the Big East. Sure SY had injury problems at UT but when healthy he was productive. Until he got hurt he splitting carries with Benson at UT. Torian is gonna be a good runner in 19 games he averaged 5.4 YPC and had 1782 yards and averaged 93 yards per. Plus in 2006 had the 8th most rushing yards in a single season. Before everyone piles on RT for injuries, remember a certain TD had injuries issues in his SR season at UGA.
by broncfanstuckinsd on Jul 13, 2008 2:42 PM MDT up reply actions
Hall's 2005 Senior Year
Why don’t you check the teams S. Florida played that year and he still finished top back in the Big East. Penn State (3rd), West Virginai (5th), Miami (17th), Louisville (19th), 4 top ranked teams at the end of the year. Don’t say the guy didn’t face talent or played in a weak conference. Hall has done nothing but excel everywhere he’s played and the guy can get it done in the NFL as well, period!
it all depends
are we assuming bell, sapp, and hillis are trying out at the fb position, and pittman at rb? how many backs are we going to keep? add in injuries, and we just don’t know how this is all going to line up yet. hall looked good in his brief showing last season, but he had some room to run, as i recall. he will surely be given a chance to show what he can do in the preseason, and if he looks great, shanny may keep a spot for him. but this seems to be pretty crowded at rb at the moment, especially if torain looks ready to go. time will tell
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