of the season doing
what he called "dirty
work
Jared Veldheer
Jersey ," which mostly amounted to carrying the ball late in games as the
Kansas City Chiefs tried to run out the clock.The Chiefs didn't really need the
NFL's reigning rushing champ the way Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the offense
was sizzling. So there he was, one of the breakout stars of last season, getting
brutally tough yards when the entire opposing defense was stacking the box.He
never complained. Never seemed down.In fact, the second-year pro insisted all
along that he would have his opportunities, once the rest of the league decided
they'd better pay attention to the Chiefs' passing game.And lo and behold,
that's exactly what has happened the past few weeks, when the Chiefs have been
able to pry open massive holes for him in the running game and Mahomes has been
able to find him in the passing game."We don't count touches," Chiefs offensive
lineman Cam Erving said. "We have a lot of weapons and when a team schemes for
one thing, we have another one to pop it back with. Kareem has just done a great
job of being patient and waiting for those moments to come."He grabs those
moments," Erving added, "and he finishes."He certainly lets the woebegone
defender that gets in his way know, too. Rarely does the bruising, Walter
Payton-esque running back go down on first contact. Often not second or
third.Take his most impressive run last week against Cincinnati, when he
appeared to be bottled up near the sideline. Hunt made a nifty spin move to
shake one defender, darted to his left to avoid a few more and then hurdled ¡ª
without getting any head of steam ¡ª yet another before finally going down.It was
the biggest highlight on a night Hunt scored three touchdowns."I probably made
the wrong read," Mahomes said of the run-pass option, "and then I handed it to
him. It should've been a tackle for a loss and then he broke a tackle and jumped
over a dude. This is a very talented (Bengals) defense who have a lot of guys
who are built to stop the run, and it just speaks to the strength and the power
he has when he runs the football."Those raw physical skills have been on display
the past four weeks, beginning with a win in Denver when Hunt ran for 121 yards
and a touchdown and caught three more passes for 54 yards.He followed up with a
touchdown against Jacksonville, had 185 yards from scrimmage and another score
against New England, and had 86 yards rushing and three touchdowns total against
Cincinnati."(Hunt) makes it all go because you can't simply ignore the guy,"
said Broncos coach Vance Joseph, whose team gets another shot Sunday at
Arrowhead Stadium. "Our first game, he made most of the big plays, honestly.
He's a guy that runs downhill and he catches the ball in the pass game."In other
words, he's the perfect running back for a system that is predicated on
misdirection."He did well last year, too," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, "but
he's playing as well as any running back in the National Football League. He's
not only running the ball like crazy, he's also catching the football. I
actually took him out before he broke the 100-yard mark last week."He's
punishing people right now," Reid added with a
grin
Connor McGovern
Jersey , "and it's something to watch."Yet just like Hunt took his
relative lack of production the first few weeks in stride, he's done just the
same with his sudden surge of success. He heaped praise on his offense line,
showered Mahomes and the rest of the offense with accolades and complemented his
coaches on getting him the ball."I'm just a guy who is going to come in and try
my best to make every effort possible to score a touchdown," he said. "It's not
even about me. It's about the team winning. Whatever I can do to help the team
win, I'm a team guy. I'm down to do whatever."Hunt did finally let his bravado
show a little when Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris, who was dressing nearby,
described him as "a bull." Hunt thought for a moment and decided that was a
pretty good label, then he realized that bulls don't really carry much
workload."I like to be an ox, too," he said.Notes: Free safety Daniel Sorensen
(broken leg) returned to practice Wednesday. He'd been on the IR since early in
training camp and is eligible to play in games beginning Week 8. ... Strong
safety Eric Berry (heel), Linebacker Justin Houston (hamstring) and center Mitch
Morse (concussion) did not practice. ... Linebacker Terrance Smith tore his ACL
on a kick return against Cincinnati, Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said. He
went on IR earlier this week. The Broncos may be on a break this week, but here
at the Ultimate Fan Guide, we never take breaks because we can always talk about
our favorite team - EVEN when they aren¡¯t playing our favorite way (which, if
you haven¡¯t been paying attention, is the WINNING way).But enough bad vibes
talking about losing. We¡¯ve got a feisty, crochet-making Vietnamese-born,
Texas-raised Broncos fan here to remind all of Broncos Country that there are
much worse things than a couple of losses. Like, Texas for one. Or Cowboys fans
for another one.JUST KIDDING!!!! (love Texas, dad, really!!)So before we talk
about the Broncos (since we can¡¯t watch them today), let¡¯s all give a huge Mile
High Salute to our Veterans - thank you for what you have done and continue to
do to keep our country safe.Week 10: BYE WEEKMHR ¨CThe game against the Texans
brought out A LOT of Monday morning quarterbacks and John Elway noted that
hindsight is always 20/20. What were your thoughts on the coaching decisions in
that game?The Provider:My knowledge of the intricacies of football can be
written on a postage stamp, but even I know to try to give my kicker better
field position. MHR ¨C John Elway also said he feels a lot more confident about
the team this season than he did about the team at this point last season. Do
you agree with his assessment there? What do you like about this current team?
What part of the team deserves the cancel hole?The Provider:IF JE is talking
about the talent and player leadership, then I definitely agree with him. What I
do like about this team is they seem to be fighting and not giving up in games
like last year. I feel like there were several games that could or should have
been won. I am going to ¡°cancel hole¡± my thoughts on the coaching.MHR ¨C Case
Keenum has not been spectacular. Was (is) it fair of Broncos fans to expect him
to be? The Provider: I don¡¯t think it is fair to expect him to be Spectacular.
He is on a new team with new coaches (cancel hole my thoughts on the coaching).
He is not Peyton Manning (insert crying emoji here). I think it is fair to
expect him to be serviceable; I¡¯ll let others decide if he is serviceable or
not.MHR - Jeff Heuerman had a breakout game against the Texans. Do you like the
idea of - and hope to see - more TE plays for the Broncos offense?The Provider:I
am all for going with the hot hand. MHR ¨C John Elway¡¯s 2018 draft class is
shaping up to be stellar - Bradley Chubb, Courtland Sutton, Royce Freeman and
Phillip Lindsay are all big contributors while DaeSean Hamilton and Josey Jewell
are also helping out. What has you excited about this group down the road?The
Provider:One of the things Elway talks about is how his father Jack taught him
to look for players with heart. I think he forgot that in some of his drafts. I
am glad he remembered that lesson this past draft (or Kubes reminded him). I am
excited to watch them develop as football players and grow as leaders.MHR - What
was your reaction to the trade of Demaryius Thomas - Loved it? Liked it? Hated
it? Moving on?The Provider: All the above. I love my Broncos players, especially
the ones who were drafted and developed by the team. I hate it when they get cut
or traded (even the practice squad guys). However, I understand why he was
traded. Hopefully, with the money saved and the draft pick, the Broncos can
build a SB contender again.MHR - DT mentioned being frustrated that coaches
(primarily his WR coach) would not listen to ideas he had about what was
happening on the field. Chris Harris Jr. highlighted that same thing more
subtly. How much do you think coaches should incorporate what players want and
how much should they maintain their game plan?The Provider: Cancel hole my
thoughts on the coaching (except for Bill Kollar; you just keep being you, bear
wrestler)MHR - Matt Paradis has been an absolute
warrior
Ja¡¯Wuan James
Jersey , never missing a snap in ALL his years as a starter. How big of a
loss is it to the team for him to be out for the season?The Provider: I think it
is a pretty big loss. Isn¡¯t he one of the captains? Losing both Ron Leary and
Paradis on the O-line just makes it that much weaker. Do we sign him for this
offseason? I say yes, for continuity and because good o-linemen are really hard
to find these days.MHR ¨C If the Broncos don¡¯t end up 10-6, a lot of fans
consider anything else beside 3-13 to be a worse outcome because it would mean
no playoffs but also middle round picking in the draft. What do you say to those
fans?The Provider: I grew up a Cubs fan - any and ALL wins are celebrated. Draft
picks could all be duds.MHR ¨C The Broncos are 3-6 with seven games to go and
these teams left - Steelers, Chargers (x2), Raiders, Niners, Bengals and Browns.
How do the Broncos go 7-0 after the Bye and ensure that the famous Whorfin
Hawaiian Broncos shirt doesn¡¯t get any more washings?The Provider: 7 is a lucky
number in Broncos Country, right?Let¡¯s pray to the football gods that our team
gets it together.MHR - John Elway said he wished he had some fairy dust to use
to fix all the team¡¯s problems. If you did have fairy dust that could fix three
problems, how would you sprinkle it to have the most impact?The Provider: I
would sprinkle fairy dust on our HC and turn him to Mike Shanahan without the GM
powers. Predictions The Favorites How did you become a Broncos fan?It started
more than 33 years ago one night in Saigon, Vietnam, when my dad was able to
convince a policeman that he was just going fishing on his boat. He just didn¡¯t
bother to tell him that he was also taking a few hundred people with him
thousands and thousands of miles away, and that it was going to be a looonnng,
looonnnng fishing trip.Around 1981, my family made it to a little town called
Corsicana, Texas (Big Lou Vasquez¡¯s hometown).There were no other Vietnamese
families in this town, so we had to adjust to the American way of life through
trial and error. My dad found a Vietnamese family 40 minutes away in an even
smaller town. Just about every weekend, we would drive to their house so my dad
could hang out with his new friend. They would play Chinese Checkers and turn on
the Dallas Cowboys game (Thus, the seed of my disdain for the Cowboys was
born.)I decided to learn this crazy game of football (really football?! the foot
is not involved very much with the ball ... silly Americans!), so I would know
what I was talking about when I trashed the Cowboys, since my dad would trash my
new favorite baseball team, the Cubs.The first game I ever really watched was a
Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and the Denver Broncos. I decided to
root for the Bears just because they were from Chicago like the Cubs. The Bears
were leading late in the 4th quarter, and I thought for sure that they would
win, but it was John Elway we were talking about, so of course, the Broncos won.
I decided I didn¡¯t like this not-very-good-looking QB and his Broncos.However,
as I learned the game and understood how difficult it is for teams to come from
behind late in the game, I started falling in love with Elway and the Broncos
because I knew that as long as No. 7 was under center, the Broncos would somehow
pull it off.(for The Provider¡¯s full answer - and an entire post on why people
here became Broncos fans - check out this fabulous old Ultimate Fan Guide
extra).