Ryan Torain To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Broken Elbow
The Broncos suffered their most significant injury of Training Camp when rookie RB Ryan Torain broke a bone in his elbow this morning during 9-on-7 work, Head Coach Mike Shanhan announced after practice.
Torain was running with the football when he was knocked off-balance. Using his left arm in an attempt to steady himself, he was hit by LB's Nate Webster and Jamie Winborn. Torain immediately grabbed his left arm before crumbling to the turf. He was attended to by the Broncos' Training staff before being carted off the field.
The 6-8 weeks is an optimistic assessment, with a real time line to be determined by the amount, if any, of ligament damge has been done to the elbow. Shanahan expressed his disappointment in the loss, saying that Torain was in the competition for the starting HB job and his loss was a big one despite the fact that Torain was a rookie.
With Torain out, the weight of the running game falls square on the shoulder of Selvin Young, Andre Hall and undrafted free-agent Anthony Alridge. Alrdige has been impressive this summer in his own right and will surely get a close look during the pre-season.
I was completely impressed by Torain during the practice sessions I watched and felt he had a huge opportunity to get some major playing time. Now, Selvin Young has to, and I mean HAS TO, be the real deal atrunning back.
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Like I said in the other thread...6-8 weeks is a wash.
He will likely join Carlton Powell on IR for the season. :(
To me, Powell and Torain are both equally big blows to this team….losing Lynch hurt too. 13-3 is looking less and less like a possibility. :(
I wonder how MHR radio will turn out tonight…doom and gloom!
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
by Zappa on Aug 6, 2008 11:50 AM MDT 0 recs
No doom and gloom...
because I didn’t have this team going 13-3, my Quest is still well within reach….
Keep the faith, Z, and think about what has really happened….
-TSG
www.milehighreport.com
by TheSportsGuru on
Aug 6, 2008 11:54 AM MDT
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what happened to la-la land Zap?
Hey Zap, don’t be gloomy. we can’t have our cheerleader-in-chief feeling blue about the Broncos!
and the sing along songs will be our scriptures - we gotta stay positive!
by Orange & Blue Badger on
Aug 6, 2008 11:55 AM MDT
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Creates chances!
Don’t get down. We have depth! Aldridge now has a chance to shine, as does Pittman and Hall. Shanny’s reloading moves (quanity over quality) has given us the depth to absorb this and the temp loss of Marshall. Injuries happen every pre-season, and I believe we’re still in good shape (and still well within the 10 win goal I’ve set).
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
by hoosierteacher on
Aug 6, 2008 12:03 PM MDT
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I am a cynic...my cheerleading was based on reality.
Reality now has us going just 11-5 now…thanks to injuries and suspensions. And departures…I still think we take the division though. You’ll see.
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 12:09 PM MDT
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I hope so dude!
11-5, I would bite your hand off for that, 13-3 I’ll take your whole arm!
and the sing along songs will be our scriptures - we gotta stay positive!
by Orange & Blue Badger on
Aug 6, 2008 12:18 PM MDT
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O Ye of Little Faith..
Don’t get me wrong I hate Torain going down. Right now I’m glad it wasn’t his knee. Let’s look at it this way. We now will have long look at Alridge (my darkhorse in a past poll) who I think will do great spelling Selvin after the many back-to-back thirty yrd runs Young will have this year. We still have Pitman who can do either F or H-back-and should be great for tough short yards. We still have a receiving group that is ‘scary-good’ (I can’t remember who used ‘scary-good first but I like it). We still have the best corner tandem in football. We have a great looking group of safties. Our linebackers are improved and sound. Our defensive line looks to be like night and day when compared to last year. Brandon being gone is going to let us see Royal up close and personal-not to mention our quarterback won’t start losing five #’s a day sometime during the season.
13- 3 baby! And after we win al our playoff games and the game after the playoffs we will really be happy!
by Mike Clark on
Aug 6, 2008 12:58 PM MDT
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Thank you...
...I needed that. :)
There is only One Moment—this moment—the Eternal Moment of Now
by sirsam on
Aug 6, 2008 1:03 PM MDT
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Lala lands chief export is
optimism! :)
Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.
by styg50 on
Aug 6, 2008 9:23 PM MDT
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RE: silver lining
I expected that injuries were going to take care of some of the difficult roster decisions, and it IS a blessing in disguise—actually. The numbers on many positions made it likely that some potential contributers were going to be cut. And there was a strong liklihood that the ‘choisest morsels’ would be claimed by other teams, thus an Alridge or Woodyard wouldn’t have remained with the Broncos, and there was little the coaching staff could do about it because it’s an intractable problem.
Having a surplus of talent creates a dilemma at roster cutdown time, players worthy of making the team are scooped up by competing teams. The roster worthy players often don’t make it to the practice squad. Injuries provide a way of holding on to talent for a while longer. Attrition makes your roster decision for you, while also expanding the roster size. I don’t mean to trivialize the suffering of these players but that’s why quality depth is important. Opportunities arise because of injuries, and there’s always going to be injuries in football but there’s a limited amount of playing time.
by Colinski on
Aug 6, 2008 4:47 PM MDT
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Good point, God makes the cuts this year.
This is straight from the la-la-land-of pre-season-feel-goods…
We have a good team this year, la-la-land or not, we have something special this year. Cheer up you special fans! !3-3 baby. Zappa, you were right from the beginning!
by Mike Clark on
Aug 6, 2008 6:07 PM MDT
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I dont think
They are as big as a loss as you think. Sure they hurt, but Denver has depth at RB, and at Safety. Maybe you lose some leadership in the lockerroom without Lynch, but really he wasnt going to play that much
by broncfanstuckinsd on Aug 6, 2008 11:55 AM MDT 0 recs
wow...
I really really really hate training camp injuries!!!!!! They’re so discouraging and have been absolutely killing us the last couple of years. =/
Do you guys remember Elway triceps injury in his last year’s (or 2nd to last?) training camp? I remember absolutely freaking out about that one. Luckily, we had superman disguised as a QB and healed fast.
by tunga77 on Aug 6, 2008 12:15 PM MDT 0 recs
I'm not really that surprised...
and this is exactly why we shouldn’t expect so much from the running backs. What we have here is a collection of backs who are not only unproven in a talent sense, but more importantly unproven in a durability sense. Yes, Torain sounds like a perfect fit for the Broncos…but every scouting report I’ve ever read about him is littered with injury reports. The same goes for Selvin Young, and then you look at Hall and Alridge…they’re tiny! Again, I am hopeful that someone will emerge and lead the running attack, but expect it? Certainly not.
Not sure how many of you follow baseball, but I’m a big Mets fan as well. There is a parallel – Omar Minaya stocked the Mets with players in their late-30’s and expected them all to remain healthy for the season – Pedro, El Duque, Moises Alou…of course they haven’t, yet the club’s response to losing is “well, we’ve lost so many guys to injuries!” I hope hope hope the same isn’t about to happen in Denver, but the chances of a Young/Hall tandem surviving a 4 game pre-season and then a 16 game regular season are slim to none. We can all hope, just don’t count on it.
by nycbroncosfan on Aug 6, 2008 12:17 PM MDT 0 recs
Well, thank you for that...
...I’m going to go to the bathroom and cry now.
There is only One Moment—this moment—the Eternal Moment of Now
by sirsam on
Aug 6, 2008 12:26 PM MDT
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awwwwwwcrap
Owning the Patriots since September 9, 1960
by Darin H on Aug 6, 2008 12:43 PM MDT 0 recs
Size isn't the only problem here...
LJ: 6-1, 230
Torain: 6-1, 225
Portis: 5-11, 221
LT: 5-10, 221
AP: 6-1, 217
Selvin: 5-11, 215
Hall: 5-10, 210
Alridge: 5-9, 185
These numbers are from nfl.com which admittedly may not be 100% accurate… but Selvin and Ryan are on par with the others by only a few pounds. Hall is definitely on the small size, and then Alridge is absolutely tiny…
In any case, my feeling is that:
a) The Broncos seem to have the injury bug over the last few years (I’m sure more than a few other fans here would feel the same way)
b) The problem is not just the size, but the power, the muscle, and the speed of the players in this day and age. Not just the Broncos, but I remember last season I commented to my wife how I felt like injuries were at a much higher volume than I could remember anytime before.
On the first point, I’ve also begun to wonder if Greek is truly that great at preparing our players for the rigors of a full season in the offseason conditioning program. Perhaps, his program needs to be evaluated and compared with other less-injured team’s programs??
On the second point, there really isn’t much that can be done… we can’t really tell these kids to stop getting so big and strong. Maybe they just need to be drinking more milk!! =/
by tunga77 on Aug 6, 2008 12:48 PM MDT 0 recs
they say numbers don't lie...
but in this case, i’d say they probably do. we can all tell visually that the Broncos’ current backs are smaller than those other guys. keep in mind…being “as big” as AP and Portis is not exactly a ringing endorsement. Portis has been quite banged-up as a Redskin, and i will be shocked if AP ever makes it through a 16 game season unscathed. he was hurt in college and as a pro both. but it’s not just weight…it’s how they’re built. LT may only weigh a few pounds more than Young, but LT is built like a brick you-know-what and Young is not. lastly, some guys are just starstruck when it comes to injuries…it’s probably genetic, but some guys just tend to get hurt.
your point about more injuries today is well-taken, but i wouldn’t be blaming Greek. there are a few factors to consider here…the crackdown on steroids and supplements has a few major effects – 1) guys are smaller and more importantly 2) they take longer to recover from injuries and 3) without greenies, they may have a bit less energy. this goes across the board for all NFL and MLB players, hence the breakdown of my aforementioned older Mets.
but as for the Broncos facing more injuries than other teams? i don’t believe that’s the case…everyone is hit with catastrophic injuries. those with the fewest are lucky, and those who overcome them are the winners. it’s just not a good excuse for losing. real quality teams have depth to make up for these situations…look at the Giants last year – almost all of their draft picks had a major contribution on the way to the Super Bowl. we’re talking about a violent, contact sport here – if a team does not anticipate and prepare for injuries, they are fools.
by nycbroncosfan on
Aug 6, 2008 1:21 PM MDT
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Yea, I know...
that most of the times those numbers listed are not the real weights that they report to camp/games with. But I just wanted to point out that there are small backs out there that can make it. I concur its more about training in peak physical shape and also gaining experience on how to take hits and falls to less absorb pain to oneself (ala Jerry Rice). Every now and then when I watch old videos of TD, I cringe every time I see him take a nasty shot or he’s going super hard and he is flying through the air and comes down hard on that knee. It’s a very very violent sport… and again, I believe much more violent and physical than even a decade ago.
Yea, I have no concrete evidence that our team has been hit harder by injuries than other teams (that’d be an interesting stat… does ELIAS have that kind of stuff?), but the thing I do feel more strongly about is that last couple years seemed like a BIG jump from previous years.
by tunga77 on
Aug 6, 2008 3:14 PM MDT
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Last I heard, Selvin Young was up to 220-something.
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 1:27 PM MDT
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yes, i read that too
but i’ll buy it when i see it. would i LOVE to see Young become an every-down back? of course. i just don’t expect it. we haven’t had that since Portis, and that was a long long time ago. as for doom and gloom, i don’t think i’m amongst that crowd. i’m just a realist and what to see before i believe at this point. it is not a foregone conclusion that the Broncos’ running game will return to form…and i think those that claim we had the typical Shanahan-era attack over the last two seasons is delusional…it was a skeleton of what we’ve become accustomed to.
by nycbroncosfan on
Aug 7, 2008 8:05 AM MDT
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Ya know
I amnot buying into all this gloom and doom. If anything history shows that Denver has done quite ok in the running back dept. Plus wasnt Torian predicted to the 3rd string RB? Lets get a grip here, and realize this isnt the end of the season.
by broncfanstuckinsd on Aug 6, 2008 1:11 PM MDT 0 recs
DOOOOOM!!! GLOOOOMMM!!! (other scary undertones!)
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 1:28 PM MDT
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Hey...guys!!!
RELAX!!! This is a 3rd string RB. This is NOT a season ender….this is NOT going to cost us games. To paraphrase Zim quoting the Dalai Lama, “sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is not getting what you want”. This could be just the thing that could give someone like Alridge a shot. Every one of the backs has looked great in training camp. As of now we have 7 backs (FB and HB). While I’m excited about Torain’s potential…if there is anywhere that we can absorb an injury it’s at RB.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 6, 2008 1:15 PM MDT 0 recs
Well, for me...
it isn’t so much doom and gloom in the sense that I feel we lost a player on the caliber of a starter and that we’re all of a sudden going to be worse off than the CHEFs. But… it is more in the sense that we’ve had all this hype and built up excitement about seeing this potential diamond in the rough, aka the next TD (lol), and now all of a sudden that excitement and hope gets crushed for the time being due to a training camp injury. It’s a mood killer in my mind… ;)
by tunga77 on
Aug 6, 2008 3:08 PM MDT
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How fitting...
with regards to the next TD reference please see step 2 of the 12 steps to becoming a broncos fan for outsiders…(listed under recommended posts)
by Denverjhawk on
Aug 6, 2008 3:13 PM MDT
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huh?
my comment, if you couldn’t tell, was a bit self-deprecating. But yea all Denver fans dream of that year in and year out. Just like we dream for the next John Elway … which we now have, btw. ;)
by tunga77 on
Aug 6, 2008 3:17 PM MDT
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BLASPHEMY!!!!11
Again, I wasn’t being completely serious, ya know…
by tunga77 on
Aug 6, 2008 3:35 PM MDT
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I'll go a step further.
As deep as RB is, and as well as the system works, and considering all the depth changes from season to season (and even within each season), we can absorb an injury to a starter at the position, let alone a 3rd string. It’s not desirable of course, but it’s far, far, far from ending our season hopes.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
by hoosierteacher on
Aug 7, 2008 7:32 AM MDT
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Too bad.
I was looking forward to what Torain could do. Still, he wasn’t the starter. Now if we’re down to starting third-, fourth-, and fifth-stringers at some point during the season, that’s a problem. I mean, some team I know is trying to use twenty-eighth-stringers to get by on a hope and a prayer during the middle of a season . . .
"Keep your head down, and inch toward daylight." - Blade of Tyshalle
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
by Russ on Aug 6, 2008 1:36 PM MDT 0 recs
Torain back by October?
He can go on the PUP, and be activated any time before six games into the regular season. That’s 10 weeks from now. Thankfully, it was an arm injury, not a leg injury.
by bradley on Aug 6, 2008 1:57 PM MDT 0 recs
Almost Correct....
If Torain is placed on the P.U.P list, he’ll be inactive trough the first 6 weeks, then the Broncos will have 3 additional weeks to decide if they want to activate him. That is the likely scenario, unless the Broncos feel good about their running back situation, then they’d likely place him on I/R…
-TSG
www.milehighreport.com
by TheSportsGuru on
Aug 6, 2008 2:38 PM MDT
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I still have a feeling Torain will end up on IR...
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 2:58 PM MDT
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He will be out for the season
I had the same exact injury, and trust me, he will be out for the season. It takes s4 weeks to heel the break, then anothre 2 to 3 months to get full range of movement in your arm and strength back. Very painful rehab too, I spent many a night just trying to throw a softball 30 feet to get the motion back, I could hear bone scraping off in my elbow every time, because of the calcium build-up. I expected that Torain was going to be the starter this season, and have a great rookie year, but looks like him and Hillis will probably end up on the IR, hope the other guys can pick up the slack.
Broncoman
by Broncoman on Aug 6, 2008 2:38 PM MDT 0 recs
Hillis? What did I miss?
Last I heard he was fine….you are scaring me! lol
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 2:58 PM MDT
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DOOM AND GLOOM!
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 2:58 PM MDT
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lol
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 6:23 PM MDT
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Hammy
I just have seen that he hasn’t practiced since camp opened because of a hamstring, which to me indicates it’s more serious than what they are reporting, I have a hard time believing he would be on the sidelines this long if it wasn’t more serious.
Broncoman
by Broncoman on
Aug 6, 2008 3:50 PM MDT
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He practiced on Monday in the morning session
Thye are being extra careful, perhaps on the notion that they believe other guys need more reps right now.
Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.
by styg50 on
Aug 6, 2008 5:21 PM MDT
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I had this injury too
Took me 6 months of rehab and I still don’t have full range of motion. They ended up removing part of my radial head just so I could bend and straighten my arm. It was actually pretty funny because I could hang a 25 pound weight from my hand all day long and my arm wouldn’t go straight. Broncoman is right very painful injury, very painful rehab and while he is a professional athlete and I would expect him to recover faster than myself, I still think this will be most of the season if for nothing else because from a strength and conditioning standpoint he will suffer.
by Denverjhawk on
Aug 6, 2008 2:58 PM MDT
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I had it 15 years ago
My arm never did go to a point where I can fully straighten it, oh well.
Broncoman
by Broncoman on
Aug 6, 2008 3:52 PM MDT
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at least i'm not alone
I always wondered if anyone else had the same injury, pretty exclusive club. :)
by Denverjhawk on
Aug 6, 2008 3:58 PM MDT
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And apparently, very common among Bronco fans. lmao
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 4:22 PM MDT
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Thank God a runner uses his legs...and Torain's legs are fine!
by Mike Clark on
Aug 6, 2008 6:20 PM MDT
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Arms are important for running.
They are an issue in balance most importantly (track coach speaking), but also in catching, stiff arming, and covering up the ball during runs (football coach speaking). This isn’t meant to get anyone down about the situation. I predicted 10-6 awhile ago, and I took injuries into account. We are deep at RB, and we’ll be fine.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
by hoosierteacher on
Aug 7, 2008 7:36 AM MDT
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Out 6-8 weeks......bummer
This sucks. You never know when somebody is going to step up when given the chance. I man when Smith and Walker were hurt, Marshall stepped up big time. While I am bummed he got injured, hopefully someone will shine in his absence.
This happend one month before the season started so depending on how serious the injury is he may only miss a couple of games. I mean this is all assuming he was going to get some serious playing time.
by weazel on Aug 6, 2008 4:45 PM MDT 0 recs
Pittman
will probably be a happier camper in the long run, which in terms of Torain vs. Pittman is actually the short run….
Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.
by styg50 on Aug 6, 2008 5:23 PM MDT 0 recs
Yea, I was doubting Pittman making the team until this injury.
Remember, he was THIRD on the depth chart at FULLBACK. Pittman wasn’t even listed on the depth chart at running back. Perhaps this changes things now.
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
by Zappa on
Aug 6, 2008 5:39 PM MDT
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I wouldnt read
too much into that first depth chart. I feel he was gonna be a part of this team no matter what. Especially after Henry was cut.
by broncfanstuckinsd on
Aug 6, 2008 6:48 PM MDT
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D. Post: Torain out 2 - 3 mo.s; Pittman moved to RB
I don’t know that Pittman won’t see some time at FB still—which is my guess based on past Shanahan roster moves. But Pittman is being moved back to RB according to the Denver Post.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_10114850
”...veteran Michael Pittman was shifted from fullback back to his natural tailback position.”—Denver Post
Whether Shanny and staff will ask Pittman to perform at both positions will depend, IMO, on how he handles the mental challenge of learning two positions. The other factor in the decision is how important the coaching staff considers having depth a RB, and versus having depth at FB. The other consideration is having a power back, and where. When players perform double-duty it has the effect of stretching the size of the roster.
by Colinski on
Aug 6, 2008 6:55 PM MDT
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Whats the problem?
Every year our beloved Broncos put together a great running attack! It will be the same this year only BETTER! The fact that the o line has been improved is the actual KEY. You could put ME back there and gain some yards! The problem is that at 56 years old…... Well you get the picture. One good hit and i’m on the IR lisT for life! LOL
by metalman5050 on Aug 7, 2008 10:51 AM MDT 0 recs














