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As the Denver Broncos' decision-makers exited Sports Authority Field at Mile High Sunday night, they left after a three-touchdown win against the Arizona Cardinals with the mindset whatever gets done in the run game in the coming weeks will likely have to get done without running back Montee Ball.
Ball was scheduled to undergo an MRI Monday morning to gauge the severity of a right groin pull he suffered early in the third quarter against the Cardinals. Ball was helped from the field, supported under each arm, by the Broncos' training and medical staff and early indications were that the injury could cause Ball to miss an extended period of time.
For a severe groin pull, an avulsion fracture would be one scenario that would keep Ball out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. An avulsion fracture occurs when the muscle is torn with such force that the tendon or ligament it's connected to also tears a chip away from the bone as well.
Following the game, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said; "My prayers are with Montee. He just looked like he was in a lot of pain down there on the field."
It's been a decade, but for long-time Broncos' observers, Mike Anderson missed the 2004 season with a severe groin pull he suffered in the preseason that year. Broncos coach John Fox will have his usual day-after-game media session Monday afternoon.
It all comes at a time when the Broncos are still trying to find themselves in the run game. When Ball is out of the lineup, Ronnie Hillman is moved into the lead role. Hillman did flash his speed and quickness Sunday after Ball left the game, finishing with 64 yards on his 15 carries, including a 12-yard run on his first carry after Ball went to the locker room.
Juwan Thompson was the No. 3 back Sunday -- C.J. Anderson was a game-day inactive -- and Thompson scored his first NFL touchdown with a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter.
But overall, whether it's Ball, Hillman or anybody else, the Broncos find themselves in the odd situation of being able to roll up 568 yards worth of offense on the Cardinals in a largely pass-first mode, but also wanting more from a run game that hasn't always shown much potential.
Because when the Broncos sputter in their attempts to run the ball, they really sputter. They have 24 carries already this season that have gone for either no gain or negative yardage -- 13 for negative yardage, 11 for no gain. That's an alarming 24.2 percent of their runs thus far.
The Broncos, from Fox to offensive coordinator Adam Gase to the team's running backs, say better days are ahead. But Sunday they all said the Cardinals' game plan to stack the line of scrimmage and match up with the Broncos' receivers in single coverage made the smart play to throw the ball.
And the result was Manning's career-best 479 yards passing with four touchdowns as Demaryius Thomas finished with a career-best, and a franchise record 226 yards receiving.
"We I think, to the layman who watches football and doesn't study it every day, you kind of take what the defense gives you," Fox said. "I mean, [the Cardinals] do a lot of things to take your run game away. So you're going to lean on both of them some points and times in the season. [Sunday] was the day where it was tough sledding, running the football."
Or as Manning put it: "It wasn't a game where you were going to have a lot of easy runs, because they were piling the box and they were confident in their corners as they should be. So we knew it was going to be a passing game. We knew there were going to be some incompletions. We knew there were going to be some kind of ugly series."
The defenses the Broncos have faced have clogged the middle of the field, and have made particular progress in stifling the Broncos' zone run game as defensive linemen have consistent found the gaps between center Manny Ramirez and guard Louis Vasquez and Orlando Franklin.
Vasquez hasn't missed any games, but has missed some practice time as he has dealt with back and rib injuries already this season, so several personnel executives in the league believe he hasn't always looked as dominant as he did in his All Pro season in 2013.
In the end, because of the number of audibles they use in the offense as well as the run/block/receiving duties, the Broncos are more likely to try to deal with the potential loss of Ball in-house with the backs they have on hand. They do have one back, rookie Kapri Bibbs, on the practice squad.
Bibbs went through training camp with the team.
Full Article: http://espn.go.com/blog/denver-bronc...e-balls-injury
Ball was scheduled to undergo an MRI Monday morning to gauge the severity of a right groin pull he suffered early in the third quarter against the Cardinals. Ball was helped from the field, supported under each arm, by the Broncos' training and medical staff and early indications were that the injury could cause Ball to miss an extended period of time.
For a severe groin pull, an avulsion fracture would be one scenario that would keep Ball out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. An avulsion fracture occurs when the muscle is torn with such force that the tendon or ligament it's connected to also tears a chip away from the bone as well.
Following the game, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said; "My prayers are with Montee. He just looked like he was in a lot of pain down there on the field."
It's been a decade, but for long-time Broncos' observers, Mike Anderson missed the 2004 season with a severe groin pull he suffered in the preseason that year. Broncos coach John Fox will have his usual day-after-game media session Monday afternoon.
It all comes at a time when the Broncos are still trying to find themselves in the run game. When Ball is out of the lineup, Ronnie Hillman is moved into the lead role. Hillman did flash his speed and quickness Sunday after Ball left the game, finishing with 64 yards on his 15 carries, including a 12-yard run on his first carry after Ball went to the locker room.
Juwan Thompson was the No. 3 back Sunday -- C.J. Anderson was a game-day inactive -- and Thompson scored his first NFL touchdown with a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter.
But overall, whether it's Ball, Hillman or anybody else, the Broncos find themselves in the odd situation of being able to roll up 568 yards worth of offense on the Cardinals in a largely pass-first mode, but also wanting more from a run game that hasn't always shown much potential.
Because when the Broncos sputter in their attempts to run the ball, they really sputter. They have 24 carries already this season that have gone for either no gain or negative yardage -- 13 for negative yardage, 11 for no gain. That's an alarming 24.2 percent of their runs thus far.
The Broncos, from Fox to offensive coordinator Adam Gase to the team's running backs, say better days are ahead. But Sunday they all said the Cardinals' game plan to stack the line of scrimmage and match up with the Broncos' receivers in single coverage made the smart play to throw the ball.
And the result was Manning's career-best 479 yards passing with four touchdowns as Demaryius Thomas finished with a career-best, and a franchise record 226 yards receiving.
"We I think, to the layman who watches football and doesn't study it every day, you kind of take what the defense gives you," Fox said. "I mean, [the Cardinals] do a lot of things to take your run game away. So you're going to lean on both of them some points and times in the season. [Sunday] was the day where it was tough sledding, running the football."
Or as Manning put it: "It wasn't a game where you were going to have a lot of easy runs, because they were piling the box and they were confident in their corners as they should be. So we knew it was going to be a passing game. We knew there were going to be some incompletions. We knew there were going to be some kind of ugly series."
The defenses the Broncos have faced have clogged the middle of the field, and have made particular progress in stifling the Broncos' zone run game as defensive linemen have consistent found the gaps between center Manny Ramirez and guard Louis Vasquez and Orlando Franklin.
Vasquez hasn't missed any games, but has missed some practice time as he has dealt with back and rib injuries already this season, so several personnel executives in the league believe he hasn't always looked as dominant as he did in his All Pro season in 2013.
In the end, because of the number of audibles they use in the offense as well as the run/block/receiving duties, the Broncos are more likely to try to deal with the potential loss of Ball in-house with the backs they have on hand. They do have one back, rookie Kapri Bibbs, on the practice squad.
Bibbs went through training camp with the team.
Full Article: http://espn.go.com/blog/denver-bronc...e-balls-injury
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