Griffin Looks to Keep Denver’s Feet on the Ground
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Only four players in NFL history have rushed for 3,000 yards or more in their first two seasons. Clinton Portis joined that elite club last year, rushing for 1,508 and 1,591 yards in his first two years with the Broncos.
It came as some surprise, then, when the Broncos traded Portis to the Washington Redskins for Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey during the off-season. There was no off-field scandal, no feud between Portis and head coach Mike Shanahan. The Broncos simply felt a pressing need to upgrade their secondary and were willing to dangle Portis as trade bait.
You might have expected the Denver running game to wilt after losing such a great young running back, but in the Broncos’ opening game against the Chiefs, the offense didn’t miss a beat. Second-year man Quentin Griffin stepped in and scored three touchdowns, slashing and dashing for 156 yards and helping the Broncos thrash their division rivals. The Denver ground game worked just as effectively as it always has – different running back, same results.
To outside observers, it may seem as if the Broncos have had remarkable luck finding running backs in recent years. Over the last six seasons, they’ve had four different players rush for at least 1,000 yards, and none was a first-round draft pick.
Terrell Davis, a sixth-round pick, was the league MVP in 1998. Mike Anderson, another sixth-rounder, was Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2000. Portis and Olandis Gary both rushed for over 1,000 yards as rookies, and neither was a high draft pick.
While the Broncos’ ability to judge young talent must be applauded, their success is not simply the result of finding overlooked gems in the middle rounds of the draft. The Broncos have designed an offensive system that works, and they know what kind of players succeed in their system.
Most teams look for one of two things in a running back – blazing speed or bruising power. Neither of those things matters to the Broncos, who prefer a guy with quick feet, good vision, and one-cut ability.
For years, the zone blocking schemes that Denver’s offensive line has used have stretched the field horizontally and created cut-back lanes for the runners. If the linemen do their jobs, a back who can find the hole and get to it quickly can gain a lot of yards. The Broncos don’t want a back who waits for a big hole to open, or who bounces outside and tries to make two or three cuts.
All too often, teams turn to a kid who was a dominant college rusher and presume that he can replicate that success in the NFL. They figure that the way to build a good rushing attack is to find a great runner and build an offense around him. Sometimes that works, as with Ricky Williams in New Orleans or Barry Sanders in Detroit. However, if a team doesn’t understand why that back was successful in college, they end up trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, like the Giants did with Ron Dayne.
The Broncos aren’t the first team to take the opposite approach, designing an offense and then looking for a good match. A handful of other teams have had similar success in finding a string of running backs who could lead a ground attack that functioned according to a set system. The Patriots, Titans, and Redskins have each had four different 1,000-yard rushers in a nine-year span, and each team once again expects a new back to do well this season.
While some have suggested that Portis has only been succesful because of Denver’s system, he should continue to be one of the league’s top rushers in Washington. They have scrapped Steve Spurrier’s Fun ‘n’ Gun offense and installed a simpler system that will take advantage of his ability to run between the tackles.
The chart below shows the nine times in NFL history when a team has had at least four different players rush for 1,000 yards in a span of less than 10 years. While you’ll see some Hall of Famers, the majority of these guys were not great players. Some of them may even be names that the average fan won’t recall. In each instance, though, the team was able to build a good offensive line and devise a scheme that would work with different players in the backfield.
The retirement of Ricky Williams leaves the Dolphins in a lurch. They’ve got an offense designed for a power running game and don’t have a big back who can make it work. The Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Bears have struggled so far this year trying to fit new running backs into an offense that doesn’t quite suit them.
By contrast, the Broncos have simply plugged in Quentin Griffin, the right player in the right system. While it’s still early in the season, the Broncos’ past experience indicates that they’re on to something.