Ronnie Hillman has a grip on the Denver Broncos’ running game
The Denver Broncos have a pretty good guy under center, taking the snaps, running things. His name is Peyton Manning; you’ve probably heard of him.
Just last week, Manning became only the second quarterback in NFL history to surpass 500 touchdowns passes along with Brett Favre. After throwing 4 TDs last week versus the Arizona Cardinals, Manning currently sits at 503, leaving him only five short of tying Favre’s record and six shy of breaking it. Manning will break the record, and the way things have gone with Denver’s offense this season, he could do it this week versus the New York Jets.
That’s not necessarily how the Broncos want it, however.
No matter how good of a quarterback you have, adding a balanced attack of passing and running is always ideal.
The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season, but you already knew that. While the defense’s smothering of Manning and the Denver offense had a big impact on the game (held the league’s best offense to 8 points), the threat of both Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch kept opposing defenses true and guessing on what they were going to do next.
Green Bay and New England also have this process in the works, with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady handing off to two pretty good ball carriers in Eddie Lacy and Stevan Ridley.
In last week’s Thursday Night matchup with the Vikings, Lacy sure did his part to help keep the defense honest. With 105 yards and two touchdowns, Rodgers only attempted 17 passes, completing 12 for 156 yards and three TDs. Green Bay won 42-10.
In last week’s Sunday Night matchup, Ridley scampered for 113 yards and one touchdown, while Brady threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots beat the then undefeated Bengals 43-17.
While Manning doesn’t mind doing most of the work, it would certainly make his job easier to have a reliable run game. Even if Manning is throwing for close to 30 completions a game, it has to be easier if the defense doesn’t know whether to expect the run or the pass.
After the Super Bowl, the Broncos–and everyone else–knew they had to get something going on the ground. They had something going last season with Knowshon Moreno (1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns), but let him walk in free agency and he now resides in Miami.
Letting Moreno go didn’t seem like a big deal with Montee Ball coming into his second season, but sticking with him isn’t looking like the best decision after four games.
Ball has been the featured running back for the Broncos thus far, and his best game was Week 1 versus the Colts where he rushed for 67 yards and one touchdown. Yeah, that’s his best game.
In Week 5 against the Cardinals, Ball suffered a strained groin and is expected to miss a few weeks. While it is never good seeing anyone get injured, this injury was almost bitter-sweet for Denver as it forced them to re-evaluate a position they already needed to re-evaluate.
With Ball out, Ronnie Hillman will be called upon to take his place and can hopefully have more of an impact.
Aside from a few snaps against the Seahawks in Week 3, Hillman hasn’t been featured in Denver’s offense at all this season, and for particularly good reason.
Hillman came into the league with nothing really special about him; just a quick, speedy back from San Diego State who hoped to make some sort of impact. While it isn’t too high of a pick, the Broncos thought highly enough of Hillman to spend their 2012 third round pick on him. After a decent rookie season, Hillman was benched for fumbling and not showing much improvement last season, making him hungrier than ever to come back strong this year. Denver is now desperate for Hillman to succeed immediately, not only because Ball is out, but because he wasn’t producing in the first place. They need Hillman to ignite their ground game.
In his 15 carries against Arizona last week, Hillman managed to get 64 yards (4.3 yards per carry) with a long of 16. While it wasn’t anything too impressive, Hillman showed flashes of a good running back, and that had to give Denver some sort of hope.
While Hillman is the current starter, he needs to earn his reps. The Broncos also like rookie Juwan Thompson, who showed promise in the preseason.
The Broncos’ starting running back job really is up for grabs, as Ball just has not produced as much as Denver expected him to. For now, it’s Hillman’s job to lose. If he plays poorly, he won’t only miss yet another opportunity for the Broncos, but it might also be his last chance to remain important enough to hold onto moving forward.
You’ve got your chance, Hillman. Go make us proud.
More from FanSided
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook suitor maintaining very ‘real’ interest
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return
- LA Galaxy vs. Club Leon Leagues Cup match rescheduled for July 26