Fantasy Spin: Denver's Dire Running Back Situation

That's Sammy Winder. He sure can't help the Broncos can he? Yup, healthy RBs have become scarce in Denver these days.

Like many, who'd been quietly or in my case (not so quietly) – awaiting the arrival/return of fantasy savior Ryan Torain, Thursday night was nothing short of disaster. The Ryan Torain era was something special, now wasn't it? I was just about ready to dish out a round of self high fives as Torain was grinding his way through the Cleveland defense to the tune of 68 yards and a TD early into the 2nd quarter. And then everything hit the skids with the word coming on Friday that Torain is done for the season, torn ACL.

Well, it's simply time to come to grips with the fact that (beep) happens, but you've gotta keep on keeping on. Besides, having all your eggs in the Denver backfield is never a way to go through life. Trust me; I wasn't banking on Torain being a savior, rather a welcome bonus addition. Moving on, what's more important now is sorting out what lies ahead for the Denver offense.

I mean, seriously, they are down to virtually no healthy RBs. They've now lost three RBs in Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, and Ryan Torain to season-ending injuries and Selvin Young is hardly 100 percent and/or reliable. Is this some kind of karmic payback for Shanahan being the Satan of fantasy RBs? Paging Olandis Gary please? So, what options do they have? Let's take a look ...

Option 1: Grip 'N Rip with Cutler.

This seems to be the obvious choice on the board. Perhaps they'll mix in a few running plays here and there with Peyton Hillis and Selvin Young, but really isn't time for Jay Cutler to just start keep on slinging it all over the field? Give the man a little window of pass protection and let him pick his weapons. Lord knows he's got plenty of weapons surrounding him.

And in reality wasn't this what the Broncos were doing before they lost all these RBs anyway? Are they going to win a Super Bowl this way? Probably not, but you have to admit this option looks pretty appetizing if you are a Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, or Tony Sheffler owner ... right?

Option 2: Peyton Hillis.

In an altered variation of the "grip n' rip" offense, maybe the Broncos mix in some of that balance by transforming the fullback Peyton Hillis into a fulltime tailback. It did work for the Bucs a season ago with Earnest Graham. Besides, somebody's gotta get all those valuable rushing yards from the vaunted zone blocking scheme. Seriously, are we really going to go back-to-back years without a 1,000 yard rusher in the Broncos system?

Option 3: Forever Young?

Selvin Young promised everyone a 2,000-yard campaign this season. And some of us took the bait without realizing that Mike Shanahan had no plans to befriend fantasy footballers this or any season for that matter. Well, in hindsight, Young wasn't all that bad before Shanny started dishing out carries to Andre Hall and Michael Pittman. Then, of course, Young got hurt and now he's still not 100% at a time when the Broncos need him most. Can you really have confidence in him EVER being the man in Denver?

Look, I know once he gets healthy (if he actually does get healthy) the Broncos may very well lean on him. However, the long-term upside of carrying the Broncos in limited capacity just doesn't do it for me. We've already been fooled by Selvin once. Not again.

Option 4: Sign a Free Agent – Mike or Tatum Bell, anyone?

No, they couldn't possibly bring back either Mike Bell or Tatum Bell, right? Well, stranger things have happened I suppose, and Mike Shanahan loves to make a living out of using recycled or scrap heap RBs. Seriously, where is Cecil Sapp? Do we really expect the Broncos to rely on P.J. Pope, whom they signed last week? Hmm, something tells me a free agent signing is in the works, but any of the above seems like a stretch.

Verdict: The Broncos will most likely continue to ride the arm of Jay Cutler and plug in serviceable RBs as needed. You can hardly trust temporary fill-in Peyton Hillis to be the man, nor should you trust Selvin Young. Shanahan is stubborn in his ways and will do everything he can to win on his terms. However, don't be surprised if he does in fact find a free agent to bring in to help out. Yet, I wouldn't bank on any star emerging from the Denver backfield this season. Nope, those hopes and dreams went down with a knee on Thursday night. Deep. Sigh.