Montee Ball Injury Opens Door for Ronnie Hillman to Take Broncos' Feature RB JobThe
Denver Broncos have been talking about achieving more balance between the passing game and the ground game this season. All those notions seemed to be thrown out the window in their Week 5 victory over the
Arizona Cardinals.
Denver won in convincing fashion 41-20, knocking the Cardinals from the ranks of the undefeated—and they did it for most of the game without
Montee Ball.
In the third quarter, Ball was knocked from the game with a groin injury. Ball had to be helped to the sideline by trainers, and he did not return to the game.
Vic Lombardi, from CBS4 in Denver, saw Ball with crutches after the game.
Dr.
Jene Bramel, from Footballguys.com, emailed me his insight about Ball’s injury.
While it's still too soon to know with certainty, Ball's groin injury looked to be significant. Ball was unable to get off the field without assistance and left the locker room on crutches. That often means a mid-grade strain (or worse) and a multi-week recovery. Ball will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the severity of his injury and determine how long he'll need to rehab. 2-4 weeks is probably the best case scenario for Ball, with a longer absence possible.
Ball’s injury opened the door for third-year back
Ronnie Hillman to do more, and he responded with 15 carries for 64 yards on Sunday. Hillman was the lead back for the Broncos after Ball’s injury, and he could be the lead back going forward if Ball is out for an extended period of time.
After the game, Broncos head coach John Fox praised Hillman’s performance: “I thought Ronnie [Hillman] showed some bursts and explosions at time in the game. As I mentioned before, this is Game 4, we’re a work in progress. We just completed the first quarter of the season.”
Hillman was selected in the third round of the 2012
NFL draft. The Broncos
moved up 20 spots in a trade with the
Cleveland Browns to snare the scatback from San Diego State. The idea at the time was to get Hillman involved as a change-of-pace back behind then starter Willis McGahee—and there was a chance that Hillman could prove to be more than a part-time player.
Nothing like that came to fruition with Hillman, and he’s been largely a disappointment during his time in the pros.
In 2012, Hillman was mainly a backup for McGahee. When McGahee was lost for the year due to a knee injury, the Broncos activated Knowshon Moreno for the first time in eight weeks to be the starter for the rest of the season.
In total, Hillman rushed for 84 times for 327 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also caught 10 passes for 62 yards as a rookie. Hillman had 15 explosive plays (12 yards or more) on the year, more than guys like LeSean McCoy or
Jamaal Charles had in their rookie season.
Entering the 2013 season, Hillman was the lead back for the team during the entire offseason. Moreno was recovering from yet another knee injury (suffered in the playoff loss to the
Baltimore Ravens), and Ball was a rookie who was not ready for a larger role. When the first training camp depth chart was released, Hillman was at the top.
That’s when it all went downhill.
During the 2013 preseason, Hillman fumbled three times—with two of them being returned for touchdowns. He lost his hold on the starting job, and Hillman began the season splitting time with Ball as the backup behind Moreno. A fumble near the end zone against the
Indianapolis Colts in Week 7 put Hillman in the coach’s doghouse, and he was inactive for all but three games after that.
Hillman’s second-year production slipped, and his confidence seemed to slip as well. He totaled only 55 carries for 218 yards and one rushing touchdown. Hillman also caught 12 passes for 119 yards.
Entering the 2014 season, Hillman was considered the third-string back behind Ball and C.J. Anderson. He was inactive for the Week 1 game against the Colts after a mysterious illness struck him after the fourth preseason game. He didn’t receive any touches until the Week 3 contest on the road against the
Seattle Seahawks.
Hillman talked after the game against the Cardinals, commenting on how he was a different player than he was a season ago. “I’m just a little bit more experienced. It’s my third year, and I’m able to do a lot more, a lot faster. Just take the opportunity that you get.”
The offense took some time to get the running game going, but Hillman likes what they were able to accomplish over the course of the contest.
“It’s a good start. We’ve still got a lot of improvement. You want to score every time you get the ball. The odds of that happening are very slim. We’ve still got a lot of improvements to make and we’re going to go into the office tomorrow, look at the tape and get better for next week because we’ve got a big test next week.”
If Ball is out about a month, can the team trust Hillman? Will the fumble problems rear their ugly head once again? Can he finally start to play up to his potential as a feature back?
Those questions will be the biggest ones the team faces—if Hillman is the starter. While Ball is out, Hillman has a chance to be the lead back. However, he could be on a short leash if any problems arise. Talented backups like C.J. Anderson or Juwan Thompson could be competing for a larger role as well.
The Broncos are a passing team first, and they could abandon balance to be the pass-happy team they were last year. There’s even more incentive to do that now that the running back position is a question mark.
Jeff Legwold 
