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Will injuries cost 2 former starters their jobs?
Posted by: broncos on 2010-03-11
With new coaches come new schemes on offense and defense. Former starters become benchwarmers and sometimes the former benchwarmers make the most of their opportunities to shine. Such is the case with Broncos rookie QB Cullen Harper. Harper was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight when starter Ronald Terry dislocated his elbow against the Buffalo Bills in week 9. It may have been a change that was coming anyway as Ronald Terry was having a horrific season right from the start, having thrown 0 TDs and 7 interceptions in the first two games of the season. Having a new playbook thrust upon him in week 3 after the sudden dismissal of the previous coaching staff did not help matters at all, and the interceptions kept on coming. And coming. And coming.
Through week 9, when he was hurt, Terry had thrown 2 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, ‘leading’ Denver to a pathetic 1-6 record. Harper on the other hand, has lead Denver to 3 wins and 2 losses since taking over against the Bills. Harper’s stats, while not Elway-esque, have been far beyond what anyone would have expected from a rookie QB in this situation…and certainly better than Terry’s. Harper’s thrown 5 TD’s and 3 INTs since becoming the starter, and has 6 TDs to 4 INTs on the season with an overall QB rating of 90.5. If he keeps this up and develops, Harper could start to make the Denver faithful yearn less and less for the days of Elway.
Running back is another position in flux for the Broncos. Longtime starter Tatum Bell found himself riding the pine after his inaugural game for the new coaching staff proved to be less than stellar. His replacement, special teams Ace Chris Johnson, didn’t fare much better in his first couple weeks, having compiled 38 yards rushing (1.85 YPC) versus the Chiefs and Browns in weeks 4 & 5.. Then he exploded versus the Chiefs and Chargers in weeks 6 & 7, going over the century mark in both games and scoring 5 TDs. He came back to earth in weeks 8 & 9 versus the Bills and Cowboys. Hoping to turn it around in week 11 when the hated Raiders came to town, Johnson instead took a wicked (some say dirty) hit during a kick return. Johnson never came back as he suffered a concussion.
In comes Tatum Bell…for about 3 plays. Then the often forgotten Brian Calhoun gets put in the lineup and shone brightly, rushing for 85 yards and 1 TD…with a 7.7 YPC average. In the 3 weeks he’s been starting in place of the explosive Johnson, Calhoun has proved himself to be a prime time producer, having rushed for 318 yards and 4 TDs. Not quite up to Johnson’s totals of 369 rushing yards and 7 TDs, but Calhoun had all his output in 3 games to Johnson’s 6 (he did not have any rush attempts before getting hurt against the Raiders.
Production trumps potential…as Ronald Terry has found out. Chris Johnson may be the next Bronco to learn that lesson.
Archived News
Mile High Miracle posted on 2010-01-23
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