The Denver Broncos might be undefeated, but the team has yet to convince people they are championship contenders as their offense remains inconsistent. As Peyton Manning continues to raise eyebrows with his arm, the ground game has yet to be able to keep the offense balanced enough. The Broncos released Montee Ball, because they had faith in CJ Anderson, but the running back is not picking up where he left off last season and is losing carries as a result.
According to NFL Media's James Palmer, head coach Gary Kubiak is referring to Anderson and Ronnie Hillman as co-starters for the offense. The head coach wants a 50-50 split of carries between the two running backs after Hillman put up 103 yards in Week 4. The Broncos finished that game with 144 yards on the ground which nearly matches the production of the first three games combined. As a result, Hillman and Anderson will continue to rotate in and out in the offense.
Kubiak expressed his confidence in Hillman in the offseason saying that he wanted the running back to get his hands on the ball more often. However, that came when Anderson was still the favored workhorse back. That has yet to come together this season causing Anderson to lose his starting spot. If the drop in status was bothering Anderson, he is not letting it show to the media.
"It doesn't bother me. It doesn't motivate me. I think that we're doing what we can to do win ballgames," Anderson said, via UPI.com. "There are certain plays that No. 23 (Hillman) can run and there are certain plays that I can run. That's what the coaches feel is best for us to win games, and that's what it's about. We're 4-0 right now by doing what we're doing, so don't fix what isn't broken."
The Broncos are looking to keep the winning coming as they prepare to play the Oakland Raiders in Week 5. The Raiders bring a strong front seven, but a weaker secondary which could benefit Manning and company. According to Kubiak via the Denver Post, the neck injury Demaryius Thomas suffered against the Vikings is not serious and the wide receiver is expected to play against the Raiders. That will benefit the offense just as the rise of Owen Daniels. The veteran tight end has emerged as a top red zone threat for Manning. Owens has back-to-back touchdowns from the quarterback and it is something that could continue.
"You force a defense to make a decision. Do they want to keep their base personnel in there to stop the run or do they want put a nickel guy in there to stop the pass," Daniels said, via the Denver Post. "Either way, whatever they decide to do we have to make them wrong. We have had a lot of success with that specific personnel grouping."