Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Are the Broncos cursed at RB?

Those familiar with the NFL have likely heard of the ‘Madden Curse' and the 'Sports Illustrated Cover Curse', but who would have ever thought the Broncos were cursed at Running Back (RB)? With Peyton Hillis being their latest RB to hit the Injured Reserve (IR), that makes [5]. Yes, I said [5] Running Backs for one team have all sustained season ending injuries.

Most teams only carry [3] RB’s into a season without even a thought of ever having to hand over your offense to the 3rd string guy (sometimes a 4th RB is placed on the Practice Squad Roster, which is separate from the Active Roster).

The Broncos have used [6] different starting RB’s, and [8] have seen significant playing time due to injuries. Wow, imagine the personnel department and what they have had to go through. I’d be hesitant to sign with the Broncos for fear of going down. ;-)

The last man standing (limping really) is Selvin Young, who has had [1] carry in the last [7] games, due to an injury that was re-aggravated on the single carry. Luckily, he has not been placed on IR.

They brought in Tatum Bell a couple of weeks back, and he appears to be the starter for now while Selvin Young is recovering. They must be feeling very comfortable with Tatum and Selvin for the remainder of the year as when they placed Peyton Hillis in the IR they signed another Tight End (TE). My advice, start scouting another RB. I tend to use historical trends in predictive modeling. If that is the case, the Broncos need to get someone signed and their nose in the playbook as they are losing a running back every 2.16 games. Is there any good news? (Do I need to invite Little Optimist for this one?) There is; there are only [3] regular season games remaining, though the Broncos can clinch the division with [1] more win or a San Diego loss which would guarantee them at least [1] playoff appearance. That said, see my earlier prediction of a 1st round playoff loss. If this is true, they have exactly enough RB’s to play out their season according to my numbers.

Don’t even get me started on the injury plagued Defense….

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