Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat
whats he supposed to do with crappy receivers and crappy running backs? throw to cooley every play? then what do we do when cooleys doubleteamed? we don't have a single running back or RB on our roster that is a genuine #1. we have three #2 running backs and our best receiver is best suited to play the slot at this point. We dont have a true #1 or #2 receiver on our team. We have NO talent for Kyle to work with other than Cooley (and possibly Davis).
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Don't worry about the running game. Right now we have a team thats prepared to run the most efficient offensive system in terms of getting yards on the ground. We also have a revamped line that will open holes that you and I could run through. If CP, LJ, and Parker were the only option at Running Back I would be more worried. However since they can spell each other we shouldn't have a problem.
Also the reputation of running backs coming out of nowhere is well deserved. Obviously everyone knows about Portis and Davis. However take a look at some of the others
Orlandis Gary: 1,159 yards 4.2 ypc, 7 TD's in 12 games
Mike Anderson: 1,487 Yards 5.0 ypc 15 TD's
Ruben Droughnes: 1,200 Yards 4.5 YPC
Tatum Bell: 1,025 Yards 4.4 YPC 2 TD's (Mike Bell same year 677 Yards 4.3 YPC 8 TD's)
If you had been a Denver fan posting in a forum before any of these years you would have been just as worried as you are now.
Also here's the ranks of Denver's rushing attack since 1995 along with their overall offensive rank Rushing Rank(Offensive Rank). 1995 is probably the most relevant to our situation as that was Shanahan's first year without a great option at Running Back and a future Hall of Famer at QB with no Super Bowl Titles:
Pre-Shanahan 1994: 23rd (10th)
1995: 5th (3rd)
1996: 1st (1st)
1997: 4th (1st)
1998: 2nd (3rd)
1999: 12th (14th)
2000: 3rd (2nd)
2001: 10th (22nd)
2002: 5th (3rd)
2003: 2nd (7th) - Portis
2004: 4th (5th) - Portis
2005: 2nd (5th)
2006: 8th (21st
)
2007: 9th (11th)
2008: 12th (2nd)
Redskins 2009: 27th(22nd)
Redskins 2010: ?(?)
Also don't discount a guy like Ryan Torain or Keiland Williams becoming the next out of nowhere guy. Still, in conclusion it's very rare for a Shanahan coached team to not be a top 10 rushing team, as shown by the fact that the Bronoc's never finished worse then 12th during Shanahan's time in Denver.