Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report
After the Broncos spent $110 million on defense this offseason, they did not have the money to sign running back Knowshon Moreno, who left to sign with the Dolphins. Though he’s out for the preseason, the opportunity has arisen for Montee Ball.
The second-year Broncos running back will be the primary running back whether he’s ready or not. The Broncos have no other good options out there at that position. It’s something he’s ready to relish.
Ball knows this could be his last opportunity. The NFL is Not For Long. Teams look for options next season if that player does not get the job done, so it’s no different for the Broncos primary running back. He has to show he can be that guy to run the ball for the next few years.
Ball did okay last season. He scored four touchdowns and he ran 559 yards. No one expected much out of him as a rookie. With that said, everything changes now. He is supposed to make progress, and he is going to have to show he can be the guy.
One of the things Ball has to do is block, so that he can be in a position to run. It’s something he has worked hard in the offseason. He has looked okay in training camp, but no one is going to know until he plays in the games. He struggled how to block last year, but let’s chalk this up to him learning on the job in another level where the guys are bigger, stronger and faster in the pros than college.
Ball did struggle to hold on to the ball earlier in the season last year, which is why he was benched. He figured it out how to do it in December. It was good enough not to add any more fumbles after he started the season with two. That was progress.
We will see if Ball can avoid fumbiltis this season.
The Broncos are going to give every opportunity for their second-year running back to succeed. For one thing, there is not much competition for the job with third-year pro Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson not offering challenge. Second, the Broncos have so much investment in this draft pick last year. They want to see their draft picks turn out to be good players after relying on free agency to build a team in the last few years.
It’s up to Ball to make it happen by playing well. That means he has to run on third downs. He has to run to the end zone when the Broncos are close. In other words, he has to be the game-changer.
Ball showed he can do that in Wisconsin. In fact, he was their offense when he played for that program. The NFL is a different animal, though. Defenses are much tougher and stouter.
We won’t be seeing much of the Broncos running back tonight against the Seahawks and next week against the 49ers. He is coming off an appendectomy. The Broncos hope he can play in the third preseason game against the Texans. The third preseason game is a rehearsal to Week 1, which is where starters play for three quarters rather than the first quarter in the first two preseason games. This is where we are going to find out what Ball can do.
Ball wishes he could play tonight. He would like to get started as soon as possible rather than wait through it. He knows he can use all the work early on, and he needs these games to show how much he learned and improved. For him, preseason games might as well be regular season games.
Ball has to hope he can get better soon. He knows he needs the preseason games to get into a groove. It may be hard for him to ride shotgun in the regular season without much work. This is where he has to develop confidence.
All Ball and Broncos can do is wait until he gets to play.
There’s no question he will be ready when it comes.
He knows opportunities can be fleeting, and he wants to show the Broncos he can be the guy as soon as possible.
The sooner he plays, the better for him and the Broncos.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro: @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
