Tag Archives: Ronnie Hillman

October 21, 2013

Back to the drawing board

By Dave Krieger

The Broncos’ franchise-record winning streak ended Sunday night at 17 in particularly violent fashion, with their star quarterback feted before the game and treated like a wedding crasher the rest of the night.

The patina of perfection fell away early. For all their Star Wars numbers on offense, to borrow a Jim Irsay phrase, the Broncos’ championship aspirations are as tenuous as anybody’s, especially if they keep letting pass rushers blast Peyton Manning from his blind side.

Before their 39-33 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, they had gone the equivalent of a full season plus a game since losing in the regular season, although even the streak felt less than perfect given the rather important playoff loss that came between the 11 wins that closed last season and the six that began this one.

For much of the streak, especially recently, the Broncos were so dominant that big themes seem necessary to explain the fact that they finally lost. The talk will be all about the soap opera, Manning’s return to Indianapolis and how he wasn’t quite himself while Andrew Luck, his successor, was.

Maybe it was the oddity of a 90-second tribute video to the opposing quarterback just before kickoff, which Manning felt obliged to acknowledge with emotional, heartfelt gestures.

Maybe it was the Colts’ decision — presumably owner Jim Irsay’s — to open the roof and the windows at one end, creating a chillier, windier environment than Lucas Oil Stadium normally provides for a visiting quarterback generally thought to be at his best when conditions are pristine.

Maybe it was the sack-fumble-safety when Colts defensive end Robert Mathis, a former teammate, crushed Manning from behind in the second quarter after leaving Broncos backup left tackle Chris Clark grasping at air.

“It was a good hit,” Manning said. “A healthy one, as I would call it.”

When a post-game questioner suggested his passes wobbled more after that, Manning grinned wryly.

“I throw a lot of wobbly passes,” he said. “Throw a lot of wobbly touchdowns, too.”

For all the echoes of ancient myths in the prodigal son’s return to the place his pro career started and the temptation to manufacture a moral from the outcome, the prosaic truth is the Broncos played well enough to win if it weren’t for a couple of critical mistakes.

Missing both of their starting offensive tackles, they struggled to protect Manning from the Colts’ pass rush. Manning was sacked four times, twice by Mathis. Two of Denver’s four turnovers — one fumble and one interception — came when edge rushers got to Manning before he could get rid of the ball.

Even so, they still had every opportunity to win if Ronnie Hillman hadn’t fumbled the ball at the Colts’ 2-yard line with three minutes to play and the Broncos down nine.

“I’d like to have seen it go to a two-point game down there toward the end and seen what would have happened,” Manning said. “It never quite got to that point, but you can go back to different parts of the game, and we got behind, and (made) mistakes there, but we still had a chance there at the end. So we did fight and hung in there. I think we can learn from it. We certainly have to improve from this game because we weren’t as sharp execution-wise as we’d like to be.”

On this point — the requirement to score twice there at the end — I’d like to highlight a fact likely to be overlooked. Call it a pet peeve if you like, but the arithmetic is indisputable:

If the Broncos don’t try a two-point conversion when they could have had a one-point conversion for free with a little more than 12 minutes left in the game, the difference later is eight points, not nine, and only one possession is required to tie, not two.

Teams are constantly making comebacks more difficult by going for two way too early. The index card that tells coaches when to go for two should be incinerated in a public ceremony and replaced with a much simpler one bearing these words: If there’s any question at all, take the free point.

The score was 36-23 at the time, following Manning’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. The tortured logic of the two-point try is this: Two points cut the deficit to 11, meaning a touchdown, another two-point conversion and a field goal would be enough to tie. Take the one, you trail by 12 and need two touchdowns.

In the meritocracy of NFL play-calling, this line of reasoning is inane. With that much time left, you never know what’s going to happen. For example, Colts running back Trent Richardson might fumble deep in his own territory less than a minute later. The Broncos might recover and score another touchdown with nearly nine minutes still to play.

This, of course, is what happened. When the Broncos took the standard one-point conversion on the second score, they trailed 36-30. Had they taken the standard one-point conversion on the previous score as well, it would have been 36-31.

So the Colts’ field goal with six minutes left would have put them up eight, not nine. So, at the very end, the Broncos would have needed just one score and a two-point conversion, not two scores, as they did.

In short, going for two too early had exactly the opposite effect of what was intended, which is often the case.

Of course, even needing two scores, they had a chance, and a pretty good one, if Hillman hadn’t fumbled on a head-scratching running play at the Colts’ 2-yard line with three minutes left. Manning drove the Broncos offense 90 yards in six plays after being sacked to start the series, half of them sensational catches by Wes Welker. Needing two scores, there was no time to waste with a running play, and Hillman is not their best between-the-tackles option anyway.

In any case, if the Broncos score there, they’re within two, and Matt Prater’s field goal in the final minute wins it.

The Colts’ strategy in between probably changes, so who knows, but the bottom line is this defeat was largely self-inflicted. So much will be made of the soap opera that it will seem unsatisfying to suggest the outcome was mainly about three fumbles and one interception, but the outcome was mainly about three fumbles and one interception. Also a bad index card.

For all their mistakes, the Broncos had more first downs than the Colts (23-19) and more total offense (429 yards to 334). They gave up a likely touchdown on Hillman’s fumble, provided the Colts with a safety and set up an ensuing touchdown on the Mathis sack-fumble, set up another Colts touchdown when kick returner Trindon Holliday fumbled on his own 11, and set up a Colts field goal when outside linebacker Erik Walden hit Manning’s arm in the fourth quarter, producing an interception by inside linebacker Pat Angerer.

That’s 19 points for the Colts and minus seven for the Broncos as a result of their four turnovers. Without them, the Broncos win going away.

On the other hand, they weren’t just bad luck. Both Holliday and Hillman have had issues holding on to the ball before. I don’t know when Hillman next gets the call near the goal line, but I’m guessing it might be a while.

The other two are more problematic. On the sack-fumble-safety, Mathis beat Clark, who replaced the injured Ryan Clady, who is out for the year. Against capable pass rushers such as Mathis, the Broncos may have little choice but to routinely reinforce Manning’s blind side protection with a blocking tight end. That may limit some offensive options.

On the interception, Walden bull-rushed right through tight end Julius Thomas. NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth acknowledged Thomas’s ability as a receiver, but gave him low marks as a blocker.

Think of it as a cold shower for a team that’s heard hardly a discouraging word for the first six weeks of the season. The defense needs to get stouter and the ball security needs to get better. Mostly, the pass protection needs to improve if they want to keep Manning upright for the holidays.

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September 24, 2013

At 3-0, Peyton Manning rewards himself with 20 minutes in the cold tub

By Dave Krieger

Starting with the important stuff: The Broncos did not determine who would score their final touchdown Monday night against the Raiders by playing rock-paper-scissors.

The three running backs — Ronnie Hillman, Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball — did play the children’s game near the sideline at Mile High when Peyton Manning called timeout with the ball on the Oakland 1-yard line and 11:31 left in the game. When Hillman, who carried for 32  yards on the two previous plays, went back in for the goal line play, it looked like he’d won.

“Actually, I lost,” he said afterward. “We was just messing around.”

Still, it’s a sign of how much fun the Broncos are having these days. They are undefeated, having won all three of their games by double digits. They are averaging slightly more than 42 points a game. Manning now owns the NFL record for most touchdown passes in the first three games of a season (12), breaking a mark set by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady two years ago.

“They’re a devastating team, and that’s obvious from tonight,” said Raiders rookie tight end Nick Kasa, who was playing for the University of Colorado this time last year.

“It’s really about being able to match, and even exceed, the efficiency that they are operating at,” said Raiders middle linebacker Nick Roach. “When you aren’t able to do that, it kind of snowballs like it did tonight. You have to give them credit for that, though.”

“I still think there is plenty we can improve on, I really do,” Manning said.

He was shivering when he came out to meet the inquiring minds. He’d just spent 20 minutes in a cold tub, trying to jump-start his recovery looking ahead to a short week of preparation for the Eagles.

“It’s nice of the NFL to give Philly 12 days and give us six,” he said, breaking briefly into his Saturday Night Live deadpan. It’s actually 10 for the Eagles after their Thursday night game last week, but what this tells you is Manning is already on to the next one, even as we tally up the records from this one:

  • The Broncos won their 14th regular-season game in a row — the last 11 of 2012 and the first three this year — tying the franchise record. It’s a particularly auspicious record because it was set in the championship years of 1997 (the last regular-season game) and 1998 (the first 13). It is the longest active streak in the NFL.
  • The Broncos’ 127 points through three games tied for second all time with the 1966 Cowboys of Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Dan Reeves and Bob Hayes. Also, in a supporting role, Pete Gent, who went on to write North Dallas Forty. The only team to score more was roughly the same Cowboys team two years later, which put up 132.
  • Manning’s 12 touchdown passes are the most by any quarterback in the first three games of a season. His 12 touchdowns without an interception has been accomplished by one other quarterback — Brady — over any three-game stretch.

When I asked Manning about the record for early-season touchdown passes, he broke it down characteristically:

“We’ve worked hard on the passing game, starting with the offseason and training camp. We knew it was going to play a pivotal role for us this year. But I still think you strive for balance. I think we averaged four yards per carry in the run game, 4.5 yards or so (actually 4.7), and when you can do that, that can certainly help your passing game and help put their defense in a little bit of a bind.

“You know: ‘Do we drop back and play zone?’ That’s opening up running lanes. ‘Do we crowd the box?’ Now you’ve got one-on-one. If you put the defense in that position, that’s a good thing.”

No doubt, but many people are familiar with this line of reasoning. Just one, in the history of the NFL, has started a season with 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first three games.

“We think it’s silly also,” said tight end Julius Thomas, one of only three players in the league to have caught a touchdown pass in every game so far (teammate Wes Welker and Saints tight end Jimmy Graham are the others).

“To think about what he’s been able to do, week-in and week-out, we just shake our heads. He’s playing at such a high level right now. He just continues to get better and make everybody around him better. We’re definitely happy we have 18 running things for us.”

Manning’s explanation for the absence of interceptions, like his explanation for the bounty of touchdowns, was grounded in the prosaic weeds of executing plays correctly.

“Just good play-calling,” he said. “Trying to make good, smart, sound decisions. I think guys are doing a good job getting open on time. I think guys have a good clock in their head about when to come out of the break versus different coverages. Protection has been good, so it gives you a chance to see the field and try to throw accurate footballs.”

The pattern changed a little this week. Instead of sparring early and then dominating the second half, the Broncos came out with a rush, took a 27-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, then played a little sloppily in the second half and settled for a 37-21 final.

Manning’s greatest fear seems to be the Broncos peaking too early. So just as he criticized the first halves of the first two games, he criticized the second of this one.

“I still think we can correct some things,” he said. “Our defense did a good job holding their offense. When we have those chances down in the red zone, third-and-1, to get stopped and have to settle for a field goal on that one drive. Had the sack-fumble. You’re not looking to play the perfect game. You’re looking to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

“I thought we left a couple of touchdowns out there tonight. Those are things we can fix, which you’re going to need those in a game at certain points of a season. But just got to keep emphasizing protecting the ball and eliminate some penalties, I thought, early in the game. I think we do a good job overcoming those penalties from time to time, but I still think there is plenty we can improve on, I really do.”

In that last answer, you could see him reliving Monday’s opening drive, remembering the frustration of right tackle Orlando Franklin’s holding penalty on the first play from scrimmage and Moreno’s dropped pass on the second. But Manning overcame the second-and-20 with consecutive completions to Eric Decker, who finished with eight for 133 yards and the touchdown that culminated that possession.

A solid outing by left tackle Chris Clark, replacing the injured Ryan Clady, was marred by the sack-fumble, when Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston beat him to the outside and hit Manning from behind. Rookie running back Montee Ball, who fumbled into the end zone to wipe out a touchdown drive last week, fumbled again as the Broncos tried to run out the clock on what would have been a 37-14 verdict.

The Raiders entered the game ranked second in the league in rushing. The Broncos were first in rushing defense. If this was supposed to be the unstoppable force vs. the immoveable object, the unstoppable force proved eminently stoppable. Darren McFadden’s nine yards on 12 carries works out to 0.8 yards per attempt.

“I thought they won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” said Raiders coach and former Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. “I think generally when you look at your inability to run the ball or your inability to stop the run, I think you have to start up front.”

“For the first time in my career, guys are getting together after practice and watching film as a collective group,” Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson explained. “When that happens, you get carryover.”

The Manning work ethic seems to be contagious. On both sides of the ball, the Broncos have sometimes looked like they’re toying with their opponents. The question remains: Who’s going to stop them?

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August 25, 2013

Ronnie Hillman’s misery

By Dave Krieger

At 5-9 and an alleged 195 pounds, 21-year-old Ronnie Hillman was going to be the starting running back for a team oddsmakers like to go to the Super Bowl. At least, that’s what the depth chart said.

Willis McGahee was gone, somebody had to do it, and Hillman seemed a more promising choice than the talented, injury-prone, ever-disappointing Knowshon Moreno.

But about that depth chart. The Broncos’ personnel brain trust, led by John Elway, liked Hillman in the 2012 draft, selecting him in the third round, but liked Montee Ball better in the 2013 draft, taking him in the second.

Ball, the rookie, is a year older than Hillman. Listed at 5-10, 215, Ball was the sort of workhorse in college, at Wisconsin, that Elway envisioned taking some of the offensive burden from Peyton Manning’s shoulders.

But Ball was making pretty much all the rookie mistakes, including letting Manning get his head bounced off the turf in Seattle in preseason game No. 2. He was processing the considerable complexities of the Manning-engineered offense as newly-learned information. It was taking too long. This is not uncommon for rookies.

Week 2 of the preseason was sort of a draw. Hillman was inches — or less — away from a touchdown when it turned into a fumble and a 106-yard touchdown the other way. Ball missed a block in pass protection that led to the sort of hit on the 37-year-old Manning that makes you cringe and close one eye.

Week 3 was going really well for Hillman until the nightmare recurred. He had carried the ball six times for 34 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards when he swung into the right flat early in the second quarter, caught a short swing pass from Manning and found himself in the grasp of Rams rookie linebacker Alec Ogletree.

Ogletree would create another turnover later, intercepting Manning on a play the veteran quarterback attributed mostly to Ogletree.

“He obviously has a pretty wide wingspan,” Manning said. “I was surprised he was even able to get his hands on that ball. So if we play the Rams again, I will remember that.”

That hadn’t happened yet when Ogletree ripped the ball from Hillman’s grasp, chased it down and carried it into the end zone to give St. Louis a 17-7 lead. That’s two touchdowns on Hillman carries the past two weeks, neither by his team.

So I asked him afterward what happened this time.

“I had two hands on the ball, so I really don’t know,” he said. “It just got it out. Obviously, they returned it for a touchdown, so I’ll just try to work on it and try to hold on tighter, I guess.”

I asked how much trouble he was having processing these back-to-back disasters.

“It’s hard,” he said. “I’m tough on myself more than anybody else. I’m probably just going to see what I did wrong and see exactly what’s going on with me and fix it.”

Does he think it affects the competition for the starting running back job?

“Definitely,” he said. “When you put the ball on the ground and you’ve got guys like Montee and Knowshon running the ball as well as they did tonight, and Lance (Ball), it kind of affects your competition. Those guys did a great job today and it’s unacceptable what I done and I just got to work on it.”

His mindset going forward?

“Just use it as a tool to get better and prevent this from happening again,” he said. “It’s preseason, but it’s no excuse for what I done. Just go to practice and improve.”

Asked if he still had confidence in Hillman, coach John Fox did his best to lighten the burden.

“I still have great confidence,” Fox said. “I mean, we ran the ball pretty effectively. I think we had 30 carries for 140-plus yards (actually 33 for 133), about 4.5 yards per carry (4.0). I think it’s very evident that we turn the ball over four times and we’re still able to win. That’s the bright side. The not-so-bright side is we had four turnovers. The stuff that we worked so hard on last week, we will work very hard again on it this week. When we have young players learning to play in the league for the first time, it can happen. We just have to eliminate that before the regular season.”

Have the fumbles cost Hillman his advantage?

“Well, I think the one this week was altogether different,” Fox said. “I personally thought his progress was stopped; otherwise he’s got to get on the ground faster or do a better job of holding onto the ball when guys yank on him late in the down. Again, every one of these things is a learning experience for these guys. I think he will work on it, so I have not lost confidence in him whatsoever.”

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas lost three fumbles in the Broncos’ first five games a year ago. He was instructed to carry a ball all week, tucked tightly against his body, wrapped in a couple of green beanies bearing the names of a coach’s children. Precious cargo was the message. Thomas did not fumble again. So Fox was asked Saturday night if he would try a similar regimen with Hillman.

“We’re doing everything,” Fox said. “We worked hard on it last week. You’re giving up our little drills, but we’ll continue that. That will be part of the process, and hopefully we’ll get better at that.”

With the Broncos still the most popular pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, Manning has used his group interviews to emphasize all the personnel changes they’ve made, insisting this year has brought a learning curve nearly as long as last year’s, his first in Denver. One of those changes is at running back, where Elway decided to let the veteran McGahee go.

Manning said Saturday night that Montee Ball, the rookie second-round draft choice, “is going to play a lot.” He suggested at one point that whoever starts, Ball will play as much as a starter might. In the preseason game in which the starters are supposed to play the most, the rookie ended up with the most carries, 14, for 43 yards. Although Hillman was sent back out for the first series after his second-quarter fumble, he did not carry the ball again, nor did Manning throw it to him again.

“We’re going to have a young running back,” Manning said. Someone asked if he had any advice for Hillman.

“I have given him advice, but that is something that I would like to keep between me and him,” Manning said. “Ronnie has coaches that are coming to him first and communicate with him regularly. I don’t necessarily have any words that need to be shared with the public.”

Hillman, who took questions at his locker until the last camera crew had its one-on-one, heard more than one inquisitor attempt to soften his pain, asking, in effect, “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

“It’s kind of hard to look at the positives when you have a negative like that, so for me, I’m just going to focus on what I have to improve on and get better,” Hillman said.

Nothing in all of sports is forgotten more quickly than games that don’t count, mostly because their statistics don’t, either. Hillman’s ability to bounce back is quite literally in his own hands.

“It’s in my head right now, but I’ll forget about it tonight and tomorrow and come back to practice Monday, ready,” he said. “I’m fine emotionally. I’m harder on myself than anybody else, so I’ll just go back and work on it.”

Whoever is listed first on the depth chart once the games begin to count, running back looks like a committee for a while. If Moreno remains the most reliable back in pass protection, he may get some third downs. Hillman will again get an opportunity to turn heads with his quickness, but these nightmares will have to stop.

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April 28, 2012

Fans hate, love second day of Broncos’ draft

By Dave Krieger

The magic of the NFL draft, the thing that turns a soporific scouting exercise into must-see TV, is simple:

When it comes to football, everybody knows everything, and nobody knows nuthin’.

Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes around the game acknowledges you can’t actually judge a draft for a minimum of two or three years. Nevertheless, the entertainment imperative means everyone is going to grade it immediately anyway.

With that in mind, I invited reaction on Twitter (maximum 140 characters) to the Broncos’ second day, in which they selected defensive tackle Derek Wolfe of the University of Cincinnati, quarterback Brock Osweiler of Arizona State and running back Ronnie Hillman of San Diego State. Here’s a sample:

“C- minus for today, at best.”

“Quality draft so far, good picks for next year and the future, I really like the choices.”

“I would give them a D for the draft so far.”

“I’m not impressed either, but since I don’t pretend to be smarter than EFX, I’ll let the pros do their jobs.”

“In Elway I Trust. Go Broncos!!”

“I think Wolfe is excellent, Hillman is underrated and Osweiler is quizzical. EFX knows more about football than I do GO BRONCOS”

“McDaniels.”

“I’ll give you a single word… nonsensicle.”

“No cookie jar is out of the Broncos reach.”

“Unknown pig farmer to stuff the run, Small forward for a QB, and a firecracker RB. I am confused, not optimistic, but hopeful.”

“Drafting Plan B.”

“Puzzling – even if you like Osweiller he doesn’t help us win now – thought plan was to go all in while Manning here.”

“Did someone let Josh McDaniels back in the bldg?”

“Draft grade D-. Elway needs water wings as he is completely out of his depth with this debacle.”

“1) Need filled – DT 2) wasted pick on friend of Elway’s son – QB 3) Need filled – RB”

“Peyton Manning is the tree, the lights, and the stand. Now looking for tinsel. I’m happy.”

“I love how media experts think Elway was saviour for getting PM, but they now compare his draft to McDaniels.”

“All good except Osweiller. WTF? Need help now with Manning, not 4 yrs from now! He will never play. Hope I’m wrong.”

“Really, what does anyone really know at this point??”

“Need, toy, project…I had no idea the #Broncos were that close to a championship?”

“Broncos got who they wanted, not who others thought they should want. Elway said they don’t view the team the way others do.”

“Draft 2012 as grade C. Like DT Wolfe but really a QB and RB? NEED DEFENSE. Got lit up too much last year. Need CB SS LBs”

“East Coast brawn meets West Coast skills”

“it seems everyone knows better than those making decisions for the Broncos.”

“reminded me of mcdaniels drafts. Reaching when you don’t need to, leaving obvious picks on the board. Qb pick a waste”

“love it. Reached a lil on Wolfe, Qb of the future, and we have the next Lesean McCoy at RB! Not to bad.”

“whet a joke. Osweiler is a 4th round pick. @Denver_Broncos have so badly mismanaged this draft it’s incredible.”

“Underwhelmed. Could have waited for Wolfe and Hillman, no one would have picked them up…”

“Underwhelmed. Hoping time will tell, but we could have obtained each of these three later in the draft.”

Yes, those last two were different people, even if it doesn’t sound like it.

Anyway, you get the idea. I started fixing the spelling mistakes, then I stopped, so please don’t point them out.

The fact is, despite what people say, none of them can actually see the future. If they could, they’d be breaking the sports books in Vegas, not hanging out on Twitter. There have been hated picks on draft day that turned out well and picks greeted orgasmically that turned out poorly. Boring as it is, the tweet that comes closest to my own view was this one:

“I’ll let u know my reaction to the Broncos draft picks in 5 years. Because at this point, nobody really knows.”

Before we get to the Broncos’ take, here’s a sample of commentary from the players selected:

“There wasn’t a lot of contact like there was from the other teams,” said Wolfe, the 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pound defensive tackle selected with the 36th pick after the Broncos had traded down twice, from Nos. 25 and 31. “It was kind of put under wraps; there was kind of a shock when they took me. I’m pretty excited.”

By the way, if you want to hear the interview Dave Logan and I did with Wolfe on KOA shortly after he was selected, you can find it here.

“I’m just absolutely ecstatic to be a Denver Bronco,” said Osweiler, the 6-foot-7, 242-pound quarterback selected with the 57th pick. “It’s a dream come true. I absolutely can’t wait to get to Denver and can’t wait to get to work and give everything I have to that organization.”

As for holding a clipboard behind Peyton Manning for a while, Osweiler said he was unconcerned: “A lot of quarterbacks might be upset about having to sit behind somebody, whereas I look at it as a tremendous opportunity to learn from one of the best, if not the best, quarterback to ever play the game.”

Personally, I like any draft pick who uses the word “whereas,” but that’s just me.

And, yes, Osweiler called Jack Elway, John’s son, one of his best friends at ASU, so if you want to believe the elder Elway used a second-round pick to do a favor to one of his kid’s pals, well, I’m guessing you may also think aliens killed President Kennedy.

Finally, we have Hillman, the 5-9, 200-pound running back that was perhaps the most electric offensive player in the Mountain West Conference. He played last year at 189 pounds, but weighed in at the NFL Combine at 200.

He is a man of few words. Asked if he had any contact with the Broncos prior to his selection, he replied: “Not that much.” Asked if he was therefore surprised to be selected by them, he replied: “Yes, I was. I was very surprised.

“I’m just going to come in and try to help win, that’s all I can do,” he added. “I’ll just bring my versatility to the team and being able to create more on offense.”

The Broncos gave the media wretches a change of pace when the second and third rounds were finished, sending coach John Fox downstairs in place of Elway, who had the duty the night before. So these comments are all from Fox.

On Wolfe:

“Derek’s a guy that played both 5-technique (defensive end in a 3-4 defense) as well as 3-technique, defensive tackle. He’s got good length, he’s got good speed for that length, 6-5, 300 pounds. He’s got a great frame. He can get bigger. Very, very productive as far as creating havoc on the quarterback mostly because he does a great job with his hands as far as snatching off things. I think the most productive sack guy of all the tackles in the draft. He’s got a great motor. On some testing things that we do, he’s a high character guy and a guy that I think will bring a great attitude to our defense.”

On Osweiler:

“He’s a guy that when we went to visit I thought had an outstanding interview, outstanding workout. I think he has a bright future. I don’t think you can ever have too many quarterbacks. I don’t think it’s going to be one of those things where Peyton Manning’s going to feel threatened by any stretch. He’s got great mobility for a guy that big, he’s got quick twitch. A tall body helps you see through some of those lanes you get in this league. All in all, I thought he was what you’re looking for in a prototypical quarterback in the National Football League.”

On who Hillman reminds him of:

“One of the big things was, no offense to Marshall (Faulk), but he broke all his records there at San Diego State. He fared pretty well. I think (Faulk) would be an example. That’s the first one that comes to mind. That’s pretty big shoes to fill. He’s kind of (Darren) Sproles-like. Very explosive. He’s dynamic when you hand it to him, check it down to him or even long passes to him. So he’s a pretty all-around running back.”

Fox was asked what separated Osweiler from the other quarterbacks available late in the second round in his mind.

“Everybody has their own evaluations,” he said. “The thing that was most impressive to us was his accuracy and mobility for a big guy and just his production in a young guy coming out. I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from Peyton Manning.”

I mentioned to Fox that Elway said the Broncos’ goal this year, like last year, was to find three starters in the draft. So I wondered if Fox had any misgivings about using the club’s second pick on a quarterback who obviously would not be starting.

“To create that competition, grooming a guy, bringing a guy in, I think is always good because it’s such a premium position,” he said. “And you never know what happens. It’s important to have depth. That’s an important position moving forward in time.”

Several questions tried to get at why the Broncos had Wolfe rated higher than a number of better-known defensive linemen who were available at No. 36, including Kendall Reyes of Connecticut, Jerel Worthy of Michigan State and Devon Still of Penn State.

“We evaluate it,” he said. “We look at a lot of tape. We work at it probably in most cases harder than most people who talk about it on TV. So we’ll stay true to what we do, not so much public opinion, and obviously we thought very highly of Derek.”

Was his high level of effort, his constant motor, a big part of what set him apart on the Broncos’ board?

“When we have our first team meeting, everybody that has one of those chairs obviously has some God-given talent or they wouldn’t have one of those chairs,” Fox said. “From experience, it’s the makeup of a guy that makes the difference. So we put a lot of stock in that.”

Just before he headed back upstairs, I asked if the Broncos took Osweiler with their second pick, at No. 57, because they had information that he was about to be taken by somebody else.

“Again, you just stay true to your board,” he said. “You don’t get all upset about that. That guy’s there, you like him, you’re committed to him, we’re committed to him and you pick your guy.”

The Broncos traded two picks to move up in the third round to take Hillman, so they are back to seven picks overall, meaning they have four remaining today: two in the fourth round (Nos. 6 and 13), one in the fifth (No. 2) and one in the sixth (No. 18). Tracking them by their overall numbers, they have Nos. 101, 108, 137 and 188 still to exercise.

Let me leave you with the line of the night. Janoris Jenkins, the cornerback from North Alabama by way of Florida, was taken by the Rams in the second round. He’s had some off-field issues, so someone asked him what made him different from the talented but troubled Adam “Pacman” Jones.

Replied Jenkins: “I never shot up a strip club.”

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