Peyton Hillis

Don Wassall

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The Broncos face the Jets on Sunday, who have one of the very toughest run defenses in the league. Expectations for Hillis are very low, with many expecting Denver to either use Tatum Bell more as a speed threat who can get to the perimeter, or abandon the running game altogether and throw the entire game. If Peyton has a big game it will really open some eyes.
 

white lightning

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Peyton Hillis has a huge game rushing for 129 yards! He is a force to be reckoned with. He had the 3rd most rushing yards of any running back in the nfl this week and he did it against a stellar NY Jets Defense. Way to go Peyton!
 

Van_Slyke_CF

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Congratulations Peyton Hillis on 129 yards rushing!
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Colonel_Reb

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Congrats Peyton! Keep running man!
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Van_Slyke_CF

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How many 100-yard games have we had this decade?

Brock Forsey: 1

Brian Leonard: 1

Peyton Hillis: 1

Mike Alstott: (2000-2002)?

Anyone else?
 

Van_Slyke_CF

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Mike Alstott: was still somewhat of a RB from 2000-2002, but I can't find a link detailing whether or not he had any 100-yard games in those seasons.

Brad Hoover: 1 (2000)

Brock Forsey: 1 (2003)

Brian Leonard: 1 (2007)

Peyton Hillis: 1 (2008-and hopefully with more to come)
 

White Power

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I was watching ESPN and they were talking about Peyton Hillis and how he carried the running game for the Broncos, and then I heard something that made me think that their might be hope for the caste system. Chris Mortenson said that Hillis was an outstading running back in high school running for 2700 yards and 29 touchdowns in his senoir year. He goes on to say that Hillis came to Arkansas as a running back, but switched positions after Mc Fadden and Jones showed up at Arkansas to accomodate the team. Mortensen goes on to say sort of that Hillis can do the job as a running back and anyone who watched college football would know that the guy is a great underused talent. Now what does this do for the caste system maybe nothing but at least some one at ESPN acknowledged in a round about way that Hillis got screwed at Arkansas. I think that Hillis stays a running back the guy can flat out play the damn position, and I don't care what the naysayers say today's game was freaking huge for Hillis. On the national stage in front of all of the northeast he was the best running back on the field to day, and that has got to say alot about him and his athletic exploits. Well done Peyton; Denver is now my 2nd favorite NFL team. I think he contiues to play well espicially in the playoffsEdited by: White Power
 

Colonel_Reb

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The last time a white RB had all of his team's non-QB carries was Mike Alstott on December 6, 1999


Mike Alstott had a 100 yard game on the following dates:


October 13, 2002


October 28, 2001


December 23, 2001


September 26, 1999


November 7, 1999


September 20, 1998


November 1, 1998





Brad Hoover's 100 yard game came on November 27, 2000 and he had a 99 yard game on October 24, 2004.
 

jaxvid

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I think Hillis goes back to the bench as soon as one of the black guys gets healthy and Hillis has a bad game or two. That's what has always happened in the past I don't see what has changed. Maybe it'll be different in Denver because they have seen a few good white backs in the college game come through there. I hope so.
 

Gi-15

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he most probably will be nominated for Rookie of the Week award(even though Leonard wasn't after his 100-yard game laste year...) so go vote often guys!
 

Don Wassall

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Nice video! It's going to be hard to putthe genieback in the fullback bottle after today. If Shanahan is smart he'llaskPeyton to get down to his natural weight of 230 or 235 and then he'll be an amazing power tailback.
 

Colonel_Reb

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Thats what I'm saying Don. Peyton is better than what we saw against the Jets because he is playing at an un-natural weight. He needs to fight the NFL Caste policy of auto-bulking any white RB that comes into the league. This will give him an even better shot at more playing time.
 

Don Wassall

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From the Rocky Mountain News. Hillis is ideal for the one cut downhill running style that Shanahan likes. We have to hope he is color blind when it comes to what's best for his team:
<H1 ="line">Broncos' Hillis adds power back to running game</H1>


Doug Hillis turned 44 Saturday, so his son, Peyton, called his family home in Conway, Ark., to give his father a birthday greeting.


"I asked my dad what he wanted for his birthday and he said, 'I want 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns,' " said Hillis, the Broncos' rookie fullback.


Considering that Hillis entered Sunday's game against the New York Jets with all of 156 yards rushing for his NFL career, Doug Hillis' request seemed like a tall order.


"But I knew coming in that it was going to be a good game for me," said the 6-foot-2, 250-pound bruising back. "I was real motivated, and I had a lot of confidence. I always want to expect the best."


On his first carry Sunday, Hills broke through for 19 yards. It was only the beginning of some great things to come.


Hillis rushed for 129 yards on 22 carries and if it weren't for a holding penalty in the third quarter that nullified a 14-yard touchdown run, he would have made good on his father's birthday wish. His performance stood out in the Broncos' 34-17 victory.


In any case, the rookie will take the 100-yard game (the Broncos' first 100-yard performance since Michael Pittman went for 109 yards against Jacksonville on Oct. 12) and hope that there are more such performances in the future.


"You have to have confidence in yourself," Hillis said. "I bet about 99.9 percent of the people didn't think I could do it, but I definitely did. My teammates have confidence in me and so do the coaches. They believe in me as well. I did the best that I could out there, and that's all I can ask for."


The Broncos have had a litany of injuries in the backfield and have started five players at running back over the past six weeks. But maybe Hillis is ready to break that trend.


"He's sure looking like the man there," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "Peyton is a hard runner and he hits the holes hard. He breaks his share of tackles as well. It's going to be interesting to see what's going to happen, but I know he's not going to give up that position easily."


Coach Mike Shanahan, who has developed a ton of unsung backs and turned them into stars for the Broncos over the years, was impressed with the rookie's outing.


"You could see right away that Peyton had confidence," Shanahan said. "His confidence has been coming in recent weeks, and it was just a matter of time before he had a game like this. The game plan coming in was to develop more of a power running game, and that fits his style. I knew he would have some success running the ball today and this was an excellent defensive team we faced."


Hillis said that he didn't concern himself with the wet conditions.


"There might have been other guys fumbling the ball out there, but I made sure I had it every time," Hillis said.


http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/30/broncos-hi llis-runs-over-tough-jets-defense/?partner=RSS Edited by: Don Wassall
 

Blue Devils

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Sorry if this has been posted before but I was skimming through the Broncos Message Boards and I couldn't believe what I was reading. Broncos fans criticizing Hillis
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saying stuff like "Torain the Train is our guy" and even went as far as saying they should draft Ian Johnson
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To my surprise a lot of people came to Peyton's defense. The Thread/Topic was created before Peyton's 100 yard game which probably shut a lot of people up. It's an interesting read here's the link.

http://forums.denverbroncos.com/showthread.php?t=127664Edited by: shawn1262231
 

backrow

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i think that if he stays at runningback, dropping maybe 10 pounds or so will be inevitable and in his best interest with high work load and need for some extra speed. he won't lose much power and can get faster and shiftier easily.
240 pounds of lean muscle plus a full off season as a stating runningback would make big difference in my opinion. remember that he's only took reps at runningback for the last 3 weeks or so!

EDIT to add the quote from Broncos forums:

Originally Posted by YosemiteSam
"I think the running game is not only different, it is better. I will take a back that can get me 5 or 6 yards every carry, pound the defense, catch and block over a finesse speed demon that will break a 50 yard run once every other game, but can't do the grunt work.

I think the only thing that would make Hillis better is having another Hillis as his FB."

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Edited by: backrow
 

Van_Slyke_CF

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I was just watching ESPN and one of their female talking heads was discussing Peyton Hillis with a guy from the Denver Post. Everything was going fine til right near the end of the conversation and then he said, "Peyton Hillis may not be as flashy as most NFL tailbacks, and he may not have the speed of most of them...."
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It's just endless. No matter what guys like Hillis, Leonard and Hester did in college, and regardless of their stellar performances for all to see at the NFL Combine, there always have to be loaded comments that really mean these guys are just accidental RBs and truly belong as blocking FBs and/or H-backs because that's all that white men have been allowed to do for the past 25 years.

Hopefully Peyton Hillis will do so well that he can break the stereotypes, perhaps pave the way for Leonard and Hester to get more carries next season, and wake up the drunk white fans.
 

Gi-15

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There is a "ask peyton hillis" contest on denverbroncos.com, I sent a question, I recommend you do too, maybe one of us will be selected and we'll hear peyton's view on the caste system... highly unlikely but worth a try.
 

backrow

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Hillis is faster than Torain, Pittman and probably 60% of NFL runningbacks. and he weighs 250...
 

backrow

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this article from Denver Post elicted this response from draftdaddy.com:

Even after a dominating rushing performance @ a very talented New York Jets defensive line a few days ago, Denver Post writer suggests Broncos' running back Peyton Hillis should play tight end in the N.F.L.

DD.comment: We've been blogging 1,000's of articles a year here since 2004. And we've linked many in which the agile Hillis (who averaged over 10 yards per punt return in the SEC at 245 pounds) was outwardly angry about being stereotyped as only a lead blocker or an H-Back at Arkansas. We can imagine he'd be very upset if he saw the link above, just a few days after the Jets game, as it seems like he can do nothing to show some people he deserves a "chance" to play tailback. This kind of article makes us fully agree with Toby Gerhart's Decision to lean more towards a career in baseball than football, even though he's much better at football than baseball and has the ability to be a first or second pick in the 2010 N.F.L. draft....Also, the writer seems to have an agenda here. He (or she?) suggests Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is thinking about moving Hillis to tight end, but within the link Mike clearly states Hillis is better coming out of the backfield. Make sense of that?

smiley32.gif
bravo for always sticking up for the right thing!

PS all i want for Xmas is for Peyton to become Denver's featured tailback for the time to come!
Edited by: backrow
 

PhillyBirds

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I think this is a pretty complimentary article about Peyton. Found on ESPN Fantasy.

I just hope P. Hillis keeps up the steady improvement we have seen from him. Maybe 200 yards and 2 TDs against a lousy Kansas City defense next week? Not out of the question if Shanahan shows the same trust in Peyton that he showed against NY. No other RBs touched the ball!
 
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