On Tuesday, the Broncos bolstered their running game by signing Michael Pittman.
This can be viewed as a positive, though in some respects, to me, this appears to be a precautionary move. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan has always looked at competition as nothing but healthy. In addition, Shanahan's offensive schemes, especially in the rush game, can never be underestimated. He can flat out decipher talent at that spot. Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns, Clinton Portis, and Selvin Young are a few names that come to mind. Not one of them was a first round selection.
The signing of Pittman helps to, at least momentarily, ease the loss of Travis Henry, out with a hamstring inury. Pittman will be entering his 11th year in the NFL, so his productivity remains an issue, as does his ankle. When healthy, he can be a force. The real question remains, how healthy is he? Healthy enough to compete with Selvin Young, the player currently taking carrying the football with the Broncos first team offense? We will see shortly.
Also, other than the depth the position gains with Pittman's signnig, comes yet another question. How much of this signing has to with depth and how much of it has to do with not being able to totally trust your first-team players? Henry has had issues with the Broncos and at this stage, really cannot be counted on. Pittman, while perhaps not as dangerous of a threat as Henry, at least is far more dependable.
This same type of issue seems to be the case at wide receiver. Brandon Marshall is the most talented of the group, yet seems the most likely to find himself involved in some situation that he should not be involved with. As a possible result, the team drafted Eddie Royal and signed Samie Parker and Darrell Jackson to compete and push Marshall and Brandon Stokley.
The question should be asked. If Henry is fully healthy and reilaible, do they sign Pittman? If Marshall doesn't suffer his accident, do they sign a group of wide receivers? That is hard to tell, but it's not to see how fragile some of this team's starters are.
See you on Thursday.
-"z"
