Denver needs another player besides Clinton Portis. He is your team, and if he gets hurt, you have nothing. There must be a collective sigh of relief in Denver that he is actually ok.
It didn't seem so long ago that when Terrell Davis got hurt then you had Orlandis Gary, then Mike Anderson, the Clinton Portis. Of course, the Broncos had a really good offensive line which may have made these running backs look a little better than they might really be. Okay, Terrell Davis was the real deal. Clinton Portis is probably the real deal even though I have no idea why he's running around with WWE Championship belts, from Toys-R-Us, but Orlandis Gary hasn't done anything since leaving Denver. Is Mike Anderson a good enough backup? Does Denver plan on keeping him in the offseason or trade him before his stock plumments? (if it already hasn't)
What makes the Broncos offense go is defenses have to account for Plummer or Portis handling the ball. Portis is special and everytime he touches the ball there is a chance of him breaking a long run, but don't forget the Broncos have a former rookie of the year running back in Mike Anderson. He may not be flashy and as quick but he can punish and pound defenders with his style of play. Plummer and the Broncos have already said they will run the same kind of offense no matter who is running the ball Sunday night. I'd have to disagree with you vikingfan on your comment about without Portis we have nothing. If you watched any of the games Plummer didn't play, you will clearly see without Plummer the Broncos are more in trouble than without Portis.
Long term, you would have to say Portis would be as tough to do without as Plummer, but Shanny has proven me wrong on the Denver RB front before...
I wonder what a year playing together will do for the Broncos. Will Plummer be better in '04? Lelie seemed to take a step back. Will he progress next season? Denver will certainly contend if the puzzle continues to come together.
