Denver Broncos may use ‘hot hand’ at running back

When Montee Ball went down with injury during the Denver Broncos win in Week 5, it was assumed Ronnie Hillman would take over his spot.

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The veteran running back immediately came in for Ball and looked very solid in doing so, though the impressive play may not have garnered himself a solid role as the Denver Broncos may use a ‘hot hand’ approach as noted by Andrew Mason.

“The real question is who ends up getting the most touches and snaps”, says Mason. “Anderson suggested Thursday that it could fall to whoever has the “hot hand.” If any specific runner can heat up against the Jets’ run defense, the Broncos will be best served by riding him for as long as possible. Who that ends up being is anyone’s guess.”

Running against the New York Jets isn’t likely to be the easiest of tasks, especially given their suspect pass defense and the pass happy Broncos offense. Still, it’s likely Denver will build themselves a solid lead and the Broncos will attempt to run a bit more in the second half if they have a large lead.

Of course garbage time isn’t exactly the best place to figure out who will be leading the Denver Broncos running back committee though it seems as if Ronnie Hillman will be given the first crack.

It’s not known when Montee Ball will be able to return nor is it known if he’ll come back to a starting job. He wasn’t exactly lighting things up before the injury and it’s within reason to believe that Hillman, C.J. Anderson or possibly even rookie Juwan Thompson could carve out a larger role with Ball sidelined.

The Denver Broncos will play the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers, two additional tough run defenses after the Jets.

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