"My problem is I'm coming from Wisconsin, a power school, and I had 900 carries in four years. Whenever I was out on the field, I was getting the ball a majority of the time," Broncos RB Montee Ball told FOX Sports this week. "But with this offense and No. 18..."
Ball didn't finish that sentence with words. Just an exhale. That said it all.
Sources have told FOX Sports all three will play in a running-back-by-committee approach. The team is high on Ball, whom they drafted in the second round in April, but protecting Peyton Manning is a priority, so expect to see plenty of Knowshon Moreno and Ronnie Hillman against Baltimore and beyond - until Ball proves he can protect a commodity even he knows is much more important than him.
"He's not RG3. He sets his feet and gets the pass off," Ball said when asked about protecting a stationary quarterback. "Great things happen downfield when you protect him. That's the thing. When I mess up, I understand getting yelled at because you don't want a big hit on him. He's extremely valuable. Big plays happen downfield when everybody does their job."
The key takeaway here is that the Broncos want Ball to be the guy, but he has to learn pass protection before they will trust him with big snaps. Ball is the back to stash if you want to buy a piece of the Denver running game.
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