Cuts will thin crowded backfield

As Broncos trim roster, Bell could be odd man out

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 1, 2007 at midnight

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ENGLEWOOD - They have been together almost every day for months, crammed into a meeting room, wondering what the future holds.

So they can see the issue.

Too many runners, not enough places to put them. And when the proverbial music stops today as rosters around the league formally go to 53 players, not all of those Broncos running backs will have chairs to sit in Monday.

"It's very crowded in there. You can sit all our backs down, close your eyes and take a pick and you're going to be OK," rookie running back Andre Hall said. "You put Trav (Henry) in, Mike (Bell) in, Cecil (Sapp) in, Selvin (Young) in, and I think you get the same results.

"We all have different running styles, but we all are going to get the job done. I hope I can be around, you know, but yeah, it's crowded in there."

And the biggest change could come at the expense of Bell. Last season, he rocketed up the depth chart in training camp as an undrafted rookie, eventually taking plays at the start of two-a-days ahead of Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne.

By the time the regular season opened in '06, Tatum Bell had regained the starting job, Dayne was gone and Mike Bell had earned enough playing time to become only the fifth undrafted player since 1967 to rush for at least 500 yards in his rookie season.

He closed out '06 with 677 rushing yards - he had three starts and one 100-yard rushing game - and led the Broncos with eight rushing touchdowns. But he now finds himself in a roster squeeze tight enough that the Broncos practiced him at fullback this past week and played him there Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason finale.

"All I can do is take it one day at a time and see what happens," Bell said. "I've always said that I believe whatever happens is supposed to happen. I'm confident in what I can do. I know I play football, whether it's here or with somebody else.

"I'm not disappointed they moved me to fullback. I know I can play tailback. Fullback is just something more I can do, but whatever happens, I'm ready for it."

Sapp, who spent much of training camp splitting snaps with Bell running with the second-team offense, also moved back to fullback Thursday night as the Broncos took one last look at combinations in the backfield.

Interestingly, a player looks to have done this summer exactly what Bell did last August - come from being an undrafted rookie to earning a spot on the 53-man roster. Young, a once-heralded recruit at the University of Texas whose career with the Longhorns was filled with injuries, has run well enough that the Broncos like the idea of his being Henry's backup this season.

Young led the Broncos in rushing in the preseason, with 167 yards, 140 of those coming in his two starts. And some scouts around the league say his ability to catch the ball as a third-down back, as well as his potential on special teams - he is the first player in Longhorns history to return a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the same game - made him a legitimate roster candidate with any team in the league despite not being drafted.

Some teams were turned off by the injuries, including a fractured ankle in '04 that took a plate and 11 screws to heal, but also by the 40-yard dash times of 4.58 and 4.61 seconds Young ran in his campus workout before the draft. But some long- time scouts always have taken a hard look at 40 times run at Texas, because there is a wall close to where the players end their runs, and often some of them slow as they finish, costing them an important tick or two on the stopwatches.

"Coming in here, I had a set of goals. I had them written down," Young said. "I've been checking them off without any setbacks so far. I had a feeling if I was able to go and accomplish every goal that I had written down, that without a doubt I would be able to make this team.

"And I don't have any blank spots on my goal list so, hopefully, I can make this team."

Coach Mike Shanahan even singled Young out publicly as having done well, saying it "was kind of obvious" after the game Thursday that Young likely had earned a spot on the roster.

Shanahan, having no reservations about naming Young, then said, "A couple, few more guys I could mention but I'm not going to mention because we're going to try to get those guys on the practice squad and we don't want to announce it to everybody in the country, for obvious reasons."

Henry and fullback Kyle Johnson were held out of the game Thursday along with the remainder of the starting offense. Fullback Paul Smith, another player Shanahan singled out as having done well Thursday, was signed in free agency by the Broncos because of his work on special teams earlier in his career, and first-year special teams coordinator Scott O'Brien is expected to have significant input about a few roster spots to fill out his units.

That likely leaves Sapp, Young and Bell trying to fit in two spots, a tight fit for Bell, especially given that Young appears to have made it to the 53- man roster.

"It was very crowded," Bell said. "It brought the best out of me and I know it brought the best out of everybody else. Like I've said, I know I can play this game. If it isn't here, it will be somewhere else."

ETC.: Cornerback Karl Paymah, who was taken from the field on a backboard after suffering a concussion Thursday night, was released from the hospital Friday morning. X-rays and a CT scan were negative. Paymah briefly had been knocked unconscious after colliding with Cardinals running back Steve Baylark. . . . Broncos coaches and personnel executives met Friday to go over the roster and are expected this morning to inform those players who will be released. Shanahan told the players they would hear of the decisions today. . . . Tight end Stephen Alexander, who was kicked in the lower left leg Thursday, was among those players getting treatment Friday. . . . The Broncos reached an injury settlement with tight end Teyo Johnson and waived the veteran Friday. Johnson had been moved to reserve/injured this past week. . . . Former Broncos punter Paul Ernster was one of four punters to work out with the New England Patriots on Friday.

Sprint to the finish

Rundown on the Broncos' running backs in the preseason:

Player C Y Avg. TDs

Selvin Young 34 167 4.9 2

Cecil Sapp 26 117 4.5 0

Andre Hall 18 52 2.9 2

Travis Henry 15 52 3.5 1

Mike Bell 12 52 4.3 0

Cedric Cobbs 1 6 6.0 0

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

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