Heir waves

Bell declares he should move up to become Broncos' No.1 back

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 1, 2006 at midnight

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ENGLEWOOD - Scanning the assembly line of yardage-munching backs the Denver Broncos have sent out against opposing defenses through the years, coach Mike Shanahan always has enjoyed having big-play potential.

And reliability.

And durability.

And somebody who will compete for those game-day carries all through the week.

So, consider Tatum Bell's hand raised. Again.

"I feel like I can do all that," Bell said Wednesday during the first day of the team's six-day minicamp at the Dove Valley complex. "I feel like I can be the man. . . . This year, I am not taking no for an answer. If I stay healthy, I feel like I'll be the man, that's just how I see it."

Even though it is Bell's third spring with the Broncos, his hope to be the team's lug-the-rock-every-down running back still springs eternal.

And his battle, once again, is against:

• A roster that has another candidate for the job - this time, Ron Dayne.

• The pressure of playing in a system that has made the Broncos the league's leading rushing team since the start of the 1995 season (25,022 yards), no matter who is carrying the ball.

• The perception he can stay healthy enough to be more than a situational runner, the change-of-pace speed back who gets, as Shanahan has said, only "10 to 12 carries a game."

During his injury-troubled rookie season of 2004, Bell found himself behind Quentin Griffin, Garrison Hearst and, after both of those players were injured, Reuben Droughns.

Last season, Bell shared time with Dayne as Mike Anderson's backup after Anderson had a spectacular training camp.

"It's me and Dayne right now," Bell said. "It's really up for grabs. Last year, they just gave it to Mike. I really didn't have a chance, but this year, I feel like I've got a better chance to be the man. . . .

"I don't want to say they gave it to him, but it was just like, 'Mike, you're No. 1; (Tatum), you're No. 2, period.' There wasn't any (competition) regardless of what I did. This year, I feel it's wide open."

Bell was held back in his quest to climb the depth chart in 2004 because of a few injuries, including hamstring, thumb and ankle, that kept him off the practice field several times during the season.

In 2005, the Broncos gave Anderson the dirt-under-the-fingernails carries while Bell, one of the fastest backs available in the 2004 draft, was sprinkled in as needed.

As a result, Bell did not have more than 15 carries in a game until mid-November and didn't have more than 17 carries in a game all season.

Still, he finished with 921 yards, eight rushing touchdowns - three were longer than 20 yards - and a 5.3-yards-per-carry average.

"I know there is a lot of talk about how it doesn't matter who starts because we're both going to split time," Bell said. "But I don't want it to be like that. I want to be the guy, come out when I need a blow. . . . I would like those carries."

But at the league meetings in March, Shanahan said he would be inclined to evenly divide the workload in the backfield in 2006 if no one snatched the job outright. Then, after the April draft, Shanahan said had the Broncos stayed with the No. 15 pick, they likely would have selected University of Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney.

Some have pointed to the fact Bell averaged more than 5 yards a carry in five of the Broncos' first eight games last season, then, in the final eight games, averaged more than 5 yards a carry only once - against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Five of the games during the season's second half came after Bell suffered a chest injury Nov. 20 against the New York Jets. Bell said Wednesday the injury, which also kept him out of the Thanksgiving game in Dallas, prevented him from lifting weights as much as he normally would down the stretch.

He finished the season at 203 pounds after starting at 213. He said he tipped the scales at 208 on Wednesday and hopes to enter training camp in July at 213.

"I look at Warrick Dunn, I'm bigger than him," Bell said with a smile. "(Clinton) Portis is probably my size. There are still some backs out there my size that get all the carries. (The 5-foot-8 Griffin) even had a couple 20-carry games. I don't know what's wrong with me."

But when the Broncos released Anderson early during the off-season, then moved up in the first round to select Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler instead of a running back, Bell thought he might finally be moving to the front of the line.

Then, he saw in May the work he still had left to do.

"When I heard the news about Mike, and then when we didn't get another running back, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, that's all I need,' " Bell said. "But come quarterback camp, it was, 'Dayne, you go with the first group.' I didn't say nothing, but I was like, 'Ahh, here we go again.'

"We were second in the league (rushing) last year rotating, so we should be in the top five again if we rotate. But I feel like I can be in the top five if I get those carries (laughs). I'm really just going to crank it up a notch."

SECOND INTERVIEW: Broncos assistant general manager Rick Smith today will interview in Houston for a second time for the Texans' general manager vacancy. Smith initially interviewed last month in Houston.

Reggie McKenzie, the Green Bay Packers' director of pro personnel, also is expected to have a second interview in Houston. Texans owner Bob McNair likely will introduce the team's new general manager next week.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2359

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