Atlas
10-20-2005, 10:29 PM
All real Bronco fans know the significance of that number
SoCAls link: http://insidedenver.com/drmn/broncos/article/0,1299,DRMN_17_4172164,00.html
Double usually spells trouble for opponents
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
October 20, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - Three times teams have been charmed.
That's it. Three times in all of the years, through all of the decades that have piled up as the NFL's history, has one team sported two 1,000-yard rushers in the same backfield in the same season.
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"That's awesome, that's a quarterback's dream," Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said. "That would be great to have."
In a departure from his usual ways, at least over the season's first six weeks anyway, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has decided the team's run game is more than a one-man job.
The team has run the ball 189 times already this year with Mike Anderson having taken 88 of those carries (46.6 percent) and Tatum Bell getting 58 (30.7 percent). Bell, with a robust 6.8 yards a carry, leads the team in rushing with 395 yards, and Anderson has 358.
At their current rate, Bell is on pace for a little more than 1,000 yards and Anderson is on pace for a little more than 950.
"We're winning," Bell said. "We all want to get the carries, but what we're doing is working, there's no reason to get away from that. We all just want to win games."
And despite what he has done previously in his career as a head coach, Shanahan has given no indication he has any intention of tinkering with what's working.
In nine of his 10 seasons as Denver's coach, one Broncos running back has carried the ball at least 51.5 percent of the time, and in five of those years one running back had at least 59.4 percent of the carries.
In the team's two Super Bowl seasons (1997 and 1998), Terrell Davis carried the ball at least 65.7 percent of the time.
"It doesn't really matter who starts," Shanahan said. "Mike has been our starter. Both of them will get a chance to help us win. We try to go with the best scenario. . . . So far it's working, and if it doesn't work, we'll change it."
But two 1,000-yard rushers just might be the NFL's version of a royal flush. So rare is the feat that more running backs have topped 2,000 yards in a season - five - than the three teams that have paired 1,000-yard rushers.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins went undefeated with theirs, and the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl. The 1985 Cleveland Browns were the third team and finished 8-8 before being ousted from the playoffs in the divisional round.
So, the odds are historically long, but those involved in the chase for the Broncos believe any team that runs the ball well enough to even get close to the discussion usually will win a lot of games.
"Those guys are both running very well," Plummer said. "Mike was pounding the ball hard - you could see his drive and desire on a couple runs, where he's breaking tackles. . . . Tatum can get out, and his speed is hard to contend with. . . . It's all our line, doing a great job of giving those guys holes. Two 1,000-yard backs would be awesome."
Anderson put himself in the mix with a near flawless training camp that included the 32-year-old's 93-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason. He has been the power answer for the Broncos, which is why Shanahan inserted him in the lineup late against the Patriots on Sunday when it was time to grind the clock.
Anderson has one 100-yard game this season - against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"Mike is a guy that can pound you," Shanahan said. "There are very few backs that can pound you like Mike Anderson. Some situations you feel like you have to pound, you put a guy like Mike in there."
Bell, who was one of the fastest running backs timed before the 2004 draft, has three runs of at least 34 yards in the past two games to go with 100-yard games in back-to-back weeks despite getting 12 and 13 carries in the past two games, respectively.
Shanahan has traced Bell's performance to the running back's health. He missed time last season because of finger, rib and hamstring injuries. Bell plays special teams as well, and Shanahan has said he plans to monitor the carries because of that.
Bell said he has taken some veterans' advice and been more diligent about recovery with regular visits to the chiropractor as well as dips in the team's cold tub after practices.
"When you're healthy, you get opportunities," Shanahan said. "The only thing that's kept him out of the lineup the last couple years is consistent health. He's been banged up and at least in this (season), he's been able to get through very healthy. . . . I think people can see when he does get a little hole he's got an opportunity to make a big play."
The two 1,000-yard club
• 1985 Cleveland Browns: Kevin Mack, 1,104; Earnest Byner, 1,002
SoCAls link: http://insidedenver.com/drmn/broncos/article/0,1299,DRMN_17_4172164,00.html
Double usually spells trouble for opponents
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
October 20, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - Three times teams have been charmed.
That's it. Three times in all of the years, through all of the decades that have piled up as the NFL's history, has one team sported two 1,000-yard rushers in the same backfield in the same season.
Advertisement
"That's awesome, that's a quarterback's dream," Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said. "That would be great to have."
In a departure from his usual ways, at least over the season's first six weeks anyway, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has decided the team's run game is more than a one-man job.
The team has run the ball 189 times already this year with Mike Anderson having taken 88 of those carries (46.6 percent) and Tatum Bell getting 58 (30.7 percent). Bell, with a robust 6.8 yards a carry, leads the team in rushing with 395 yards, and Anderson has 358.
At their current rate, Bell is on pace for a little more than 1,000 yards and Anderson is on pace for a little more than 950.
"We're winning," Bell said. "We all want to get the carries, but what we're doing is working, there's no reason to get away from that. We all just want to win games."
And despite what he has done previously in his career as a head coach, Shanahan has given no indication he has any intention of tinkering with what's working.
In nine of his 10 seasons as Denver's coach, one Broncos running back has carried the ball at least 51.5 percent of the time, and in five of those years one running back had at least 59.4 percent of the carries.
In the team's two Super Bowl seasons (1997 and 1998), Terrell Davis carried the ball at least 65.7 percent of the time.
"It doesn't really matter who starts," Shanahan said. "Mike has been our starter. Both of them will get a chance to help us win. We try to go with the best scenario. . . . So far it's working, and if it doesn't work, we'll change it."
But two 1,000-yard rushers just might be the NFL's version of a royal flush. So rare is the feat that more running backs have topped 2,000 yards in a season - five - than the three teams that have paired 1,000-yard rushers.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins went undefeated with theirs, and the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl. The 1985 Cleveland Browns were the third team and finished 8-8 before being ousted from the playoffs in the divisional round.
So, the odds are historically long, but those involved in the chase for the Broncos believe any team that runs the ball well enough to even get close to the discussion usually will win a lot of games.
"Those guys are both running very well," Plummer said. "Mike was pounding the ball hard - you could see his drive and desire on a couple runs, where he's breaking tackles. . . . Tatum can get out, and his speed is hard to contend with. . . . It's all our line, doing a great job of giving those guys holes. Two 1,000-yard backs would be awesome."
Anderson put himself in the mix with a near flawless training camp that included the 32-year-old's 93-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason. He has been the power answer for the Broncos, which is why Shanahan inserted him in the lineup late against the Patriots on Sunday when it was time to grind the clock.
Anderson has one 100-yard game this season - against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"Mike is a guy that can pound you," Shanahan said. "There are very few backs that can pound you like Mike Anderson. Some situations you feel like you have to pound, you put a guy like Mike in there."
Bell, who was one of the fastest running backs timed before the 2004 draft, has three runs of at least 34 yards in the past two games to go with 100-yard games in back-to-back weeks despite getting 12 and 13 carries in the past two games, respectively.
Shanahan has traced Bell's performance to the running back's health. He missed time last season because of finger, rib and hamstring injuries. Bell plays special teams as well, and Shanahan has said he plans to monitor the carries because of that.
Bell said he has taken some veterans' advice and been more diligent about recovery with regular visits to the chiropractor as well as dips in the team's cold tub after practices.
"When you're healthy, you get opportunities," Shanahan said. "The only thing that's kept him out of the lineup the last couple years is consistent health. He's been banged up and at least in this (season), he's been able to get through very healthy. . . . I think people can see when he does get a little hole he's got an opportunity to make a big play."
The two 1,000-yard club
• 1985 Cleveland Browns: Kevin Mack, 1,104; Earnest Byner, 1,002