hooknladder Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Report: Broncos quickly realized drafting Moreno was a mistake Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 14, 2011, 12:44 PM EDT Getty ImagesThis has not been a great offseason for Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno. We learned that he was likely headed for a reduced role in the Broncos backfield with the arrival of John Fox. The new head coach said running back was their No.1 priority in free agency despite the fact the Broncos have almost no defensive tackles. Moreno was a top-15 draft pick only two years ago, but reportedly it didn’t take long for Josh McDaniels to “privately realize he made a big mistake.” Woody Paige of the Denver Post writes that Moreno is not what the Broncos thought. “He hasn’t been tough, smart, motivated, if that’s what you’re asking. . . . He’s not a great clubhouse guy. Interpret that how you want, and he’s been a wimp on the field,” Paige writes. It’s an interesting criticism. Moreno was billed coming out of school as a versatile player that was highly intelligent and a team-first guy. He’s been fairly productive as a pro, but not great. In theory, Moreno could rebuild his stock with a new staff. In reality, most of the offensive staffers have remained last year and it sounds like Fox doesn’t love what he’s seen on tape of Moreno. Moreno hasn’t been seen this offseason at the Broncos players-only workouts, and it sounds like he’ll be seen in a backup role in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustOfBeenDrunk Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Story of my FF life ,, I just traded to get him ,, on the bright side I got him very cheap but not as cheap as I thought after reading this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The Broncos have no credibility anymore. Peyton Hillis anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) Story of my FF life ,, I just traded to get him ,, on the bright side I got him very cheap but not as cheap as I thought after reading this I was close to trading Best for him (Relish ) but I had that nagging feeling that I needed to hold onto Best. Sure glad I did! Edited July 15, 2011 by BearBroncos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Just remember... McDaniels had buyers remorse... A guy who knows nothing but failure as a HC/GM. He clearly has not idea what the hell he's looking at so this holds no water to me... And Woody Paige wrote this? McDaniels and Woody. Credible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron2112 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 When I watch Moreno play he looks a step slow to me. He seems to have enough elusiveness to make people miss, but many times I've seen him lack the burst to get through the hole when it's there... and what looks like an opportunity for him to break into the secondary closes up on him before he can exploit it... that's my impression watching him as a pro... which is odd becasue a lot of his college highlights were pretty spectacular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditkaless Wonders Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 When I drafted him I thought I was getting something better thana poor man's Brandon Jackson. I was sorely mistaken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 yup. I watched every snap last year and can't remember ever being all that impressed. There just aren't any "wow" moments. I TOTALLY disagree with you Opie . . . you could not be more wrong. I had a ton of "wow"moments with Moreno last year. Like "WOW is he slow" and "WOW I cant believe he fell down so easily at first contact" and "WOW is he slow hitting the hole" and "WOW that guy couldnt out-juke Jabba the hut" . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Hey! Woody's pretty good when he's sober. Which pretty much explains why he almost always cluelessly sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooknladder Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Which pretty much explains why he almost always cluelessly sucks. Do you like Moreno this year Billy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Got myself a young studly Steve Johnson and a 1.14 in return for KnowMo this year Thanks Relish!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever in debt to mo lewis Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) yup. I watched every snap last year and can't remember ever being all that impressed. There just aren't any "wow" moments. didnt see alot of denver last year....but thats funny...i know theres a difference between the SEC and the NFL....but i watched him alot when he was at georgia....and thats all i remember is alot of "wow" moments...funny how the nfl makes some special looking kids looking average...like moreno and reggie....at least moreno looked tough at georgia though.... Edited July 16, 2011 by forever in debt to mo lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawks21 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) I remember taking it awfully hard in the pooper from a few regs around here for implying that he didn't have the natural talent (namely, speed) to warrant being taken so far before the rest of the RB's from his draft class. (I know, I shouldn't gloat, but it's so rare that I actually get one right, I couldn't contain my jubilation, forgive me.) Edited July 16, 2011 by Seahawks21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) Do you like Moreno this year Billy? Nope. I hated the pick when McDaniels made it and haven't found any reason to change my mind. DEN was a top 10 O then and had a dog butt ugly D that was bottom 5. They sent Hillis packing after choosing not to use him because he wouldn't kiss McDaniels' ass and wasted a pick at RB when their D was in desperate need of a stud. Moreno always seemed like a pitty-pat runner, even in college, but he got away with it there because of the talent level. At the NFL he became nothing better than a CoP candidate. Now he'll pretty much get locked into that role as Fox will pick up someone who will run with explosiveness between the tackles. I don't see Moreno getting enough touches to be anything better than a depth/bye week FF RB. Edited July 16, 2011 by Bronco Billy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turf Smurf Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Nope. I hated the pick when McDaniels made it and haven't found any reason to change my mind. DEN was a top 10 O then and had a dog butt ugly D that was bottom 5. They sent Hillis packing after choosing not to use him because he wouldn't kiss McDaniels' ass and wasted a pick at RB when their D was in desperate need of a stud. Moreno always seemed like a pitty-pat runner, even in college, but he got away with it there because of the talent level. At the NFL he became nothing better than a CoP candidate. Now he'll pretty much get locked into that role as Fox will pick up someone who will run with explosiveness between the tackles. I don't see Moreno getting enough touches to be anything better than a depth/bye week FF RB. Any speculation on who??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Any speculation on who??? I'm throwing a name out there... Jason Snelling. Perfect combo, and you don't have to break the bank on him like you will with DeAngelo Williams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I'm throwing a name out there...Jason Snelling. Perfect combo, and you don't have to break the bank on him like you will with DeAngelo Williams. Lax Josh Gordon laws in Colorado + Ricky Williams= too easy . . . . Too bad Mike Bush wont be a free agent . . . he woulda been perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUMbotron Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I'm wrong all the time in my assessments, but Moreno I might have nailed.... When he was drafted my buddy said Moreno would be the next Rodney Hampton (also from Georgia)... I shot back with, "How about the next Rodney Thomas?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If Moreno were the feature back for a real nfl team like the Steelers or raven* he would go for 1400 and 12. There is nothing wrong with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUMbotron Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 My eye test says Moreno can't create his own space. His 40 times at the Combine were clocked as low as 4.44 and as high as 4.68, which is a huge spread. I always thought that was fishy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Wow, good thing I won the championship LAST year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawks21 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 well, it gets worse... I'm just an idiot, but it seems like most of the time when a RB changes his weight, up or down, significantly, it actually backfires... correct me if I'm wrong. Also, "they" say that a players loses a decent amount of weight as the season moves on, so if he's at 200# now, then he'll probably be 195 or less towards the end of the season, yeah? And "they" say that a RB needs a decent amount of mass to absorb the punishment, so if he's going lighter, well, he didn't seem super durable previously. I actually would be optimistic about this. I thought he had too small of a frame to be a power back, yet wasn't shifty enough to be an elusive style back. To this point, he's basically been just an undersized power back. I think his natural skill set and running style fits that more of an elusive style back. He had pretty quick feet in college, and has seemed to be stuck in the mud a bit since coming into the NFL. I think it is at least worth a shot. I don't recall nearly as many guys having durability issues from losing weight as I do guys struggling a bit from putting too much weight on to try to help with the pounding. Maybe he can't take as many carries, but hopefully those that he gets could be a bit more productive. If I were to look at the bodies of NFL RB's and guess at which guys might benefit from slimming up a bit, he'd be near the top of my list. Reminds me a lot of Chris Polk from UW. Got banged up as a freshman, added some weight for durability reasons, and now even when he gets space, doesn't seem to have that dangerous explosiveness that I thought would become his biggest asset. You've got to be explosive as a RB. If it doesn't work, what does he really have to lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Jerome Harrison is another guy who'd be cheap to get. Why would a team add a CoP RB to run with a guy who is already a CoP RB? DEN needs a between-the-tackles runner badly right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 If Moreno were the feature back for a real nfl team like the Steelers or raven* he would go for 1400 and 12. There is nothing wrong with him. Could you unpack this a bit? I don't see evidence supporting Moreno being capable of being a bell cow RB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 McGahee, Kevin Smith? Ugh. If DEN is going to go the route with discount guys like these two & Snelling who have already shown their significant limitations at the NFL level, I'd rather see them roll the dice and shoot for an UDFA like Graig Cooper who could play in the 215 lb range without giving up anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.