Juwan Thompson pushing Montee Ball to Denver Broncos roster bubble

Yet, Peyton Manning is thoroughly impressed. In a shotgun handoff, however, the back is getting the ball several yards behind the line of scrimmage, from a standing start. Wade Phillips’ unit has 15 sacks altogether, most of those coming by backups after cameo appearances from Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, who had a sack for a safety in Denver’s 19-12 victory over San Francisco.

Anderson had 13 carries for 49 yards and three catches for 22 yards. It’s my general impression, subject to correction, that Manning nearly never looks good in preseason. Denver has a stacked receiving corps as it is, and the former undrafted free agent just didn’t do enough to make it to the final preseason game. He blamed the three-week layoff for weakening his core, which he said in turn led to the torn right groin that landed him on injured reserve.

Manning said he hasn’t been able to feel them for four years after undergoing multiple neck procedures in 2011. “But my head’s not down; I’m going to keep it up and keep fighting”.

“Actually, when you sort of think about it, defenses win championships”.

“Would we like to be a finely tuned machine going into Week 1?” Maybe. At that point it seems we’ll have an even greater appreciation for the second chapter of his career.

The Broncos enter the final preseason game versus the Arizona Cardinals with nine wide receivers battling for roughly five or six receiver spots.

Following Monday’s practice Ball was still sorting through the idea that what he expected in this preseason has not come to pass.

It was clear in the third preseason game just how far Ball has fallen on the depth chart, not seeing carries until the second half of the game after C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, and Juwan Thompson had already received carries.

If Ball makes the team as the fourth running back, he could be facing deactivation on game days.

Montee Ball’s time in Denver may be coming to an end. He has a strong case for that honor, but for him to overtake the likes of Ted Thompson of the Green Bay Packers, Ozzie Newsome of the Baltimore Ravens, or John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks, Elway will need to build a Super Bowl-winning team in Denver. But with the starters especially the coaches are experimenting, trying out this player or that play in this or that situation, to see what works and what needs jettisoning or fine tuning. And they will both play special teams, too.