In his press conference on Thursday, Head Coach Josh McDaniels said there will be a change in the offensive line, with Russ Hochstein replacing Ben Hamilton.
McDaniels said he made the move in hopes of doing “what is best for our team.”
“If there is something we feel like may give us a better opportunity to have success, wherever it may be, then we would not be opposed to doing anything,” McDaniels said. “We’re going to see how that goes and evaluate it ongoing. This is not an anointment of anybody or anything tremendously negative about Ben Hamilton. We’re just going to see if this makes the situation any better, and if it does, great.”
As multidimensional as they come, Hochstein has made starts at both left and right guard this season. He also started at tight end in the team’s Week 9 Monday night contest with Pittsburgh. The ninth-year veteran has been an important part of the team’s goal line and short yardage packages, lining up at H-Back — a hybrid position between fullback and tight end — to provide an alternative look on rushing downs.
That type of versatility has made Hochstein a valuable commodity to McDaniels.
“He’s obviously played a lot of spots, and he’s tough, physical — not dissimilar to the rest of our linemen,” McDaniels said. “He’s very versatile and can do a lot of different things, moves decent, plays with great effort, (is a) smart player that’s going to be able to be in the right spots and help us up front. Most of our linemen would fit the same description. We feel like he’ll be competitive in there. We’ll see how it goes.”
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy said the offensive staff made the decision collectively, thinking the move could “give us the best opportunity to win.”
Like McDaniels, McCoy said the team can get creative while using Hochstein in the starting group, possibly moving him from left guard to other spots from time to time depending on the situation.
“When he got here, having known the system and everything coming from New England, he had a lot of flexibility,” McCoy said. “He came in and was able to play a number of different spots … Moving him around and certain things in different personnel groups — the position flexibility (he provides), it’s great to have that up front.”
INJURY UPDATE:
There was one change to the Broncos’ Week 10 Injury Report on Thursday. After he did not practice on Wednesday, Brandon Marshall (back) was a full participant in Thursday’s practice session.
For the Redskins, RB Clinton Portis (concussion) and T Mike Williams (ankle) were listed as out on Thursday. After being a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, QB Jason Campbell (ankle) participated in full on Thursday. P Hunter Smith (right groin) did not participate, while P Stephon Heyer (knee), who was not listed on Wednesday’s report, was a limited participant for Washington on Thursday.
-Zach Eisendrath, DenverBroncos.com
Here are some pictures from the onset of Thursday afternoon’s practice session:
Tags: Ben Hamilton, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Russ Hochstein, Washington Redskins, Week 10
WoW this is getting sad. Someone was saying they wanted him back. Who was that by the way?? lol
this is a big game for us. we need a big game from orton and the offense and i think we’ll get it. And i think our defense will have a field day. Broncos win 27-10
Interesting to read what Rod Woodson said about Cutler. “At this point in his career he’s not a franchise QB”. Keep throwing the picks Jay!
rbf1, I like Rod Woodson, he makes more sense than most on the NFL channel.
Greatness007, true!!!
Anyhow, I see a glaring need in the O-line. I wouldn’t have said that last year at this time. Culter made the O-line better with his mobility.
one more pick for Jay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haha, you are right Baylin..this is the week we are gonna have to establish the run and even tho Redskins have number 1 pass defense…..You know I always think Marshall will have a big game lol
But honestly….who have the Redskins played worthy of mentioning besides the falcons I guess but they are a run first pass second team anyway…..Roddy white didnt do too much last week which should tell us that Brandon wont but Roddy aint THE BEAST lmao…..I just always think The Beast will kill it but to win yes…we must kick but on the ground but hopefully that will open up the passing game….
Ps: Sure Cutler is throwing interceptions but damn his pretty passy are purty….still kinda miss him….yea yea, whoever whats to gimme flack for taht can tell somebody who cares LMAO
Oh what your going to blame the interception on the referee? Thats a new low.
baylinor- Yes he does.
Is it me or was that the same INT that Or ton threw. Since they linked, they blamed it on the refs too. lol
Orton*
Will you people stop with your flack-a-phobia. lol
Funny, McDaniels needs to look in the mirror while making his statement. “If there is something that we feel like may give us a better opportunity to have success, wherever it may be, then we would do anything”. I say make the switch at QB, this is the week we can do it and get away with it. The line is not the problem, its the man behind the line. Pat Bowlen stated he did not expect to go the SB this year but was committed to doing what is necessary to compete at that level year in and year out. So if Bowlens expectations are not to go to the SB, then this year McDaniels your free to formulate a winning recipe. We all no to perfect a recipe you have to try different seasonings. The current recipe is almost perfect, just missing one main ingredient, a QB. This would give you greater opportunity for success.
Sorry guys, but I won’t stop till the offense produces a better product. There is way to much talent on that side of the ball to produce the results we have viewed lately. 6-2 is a decent start, however our offense is killing us!!! Offense needs a jumpstart!!!!
TRB, the Redskins did play the Giants (early when they were doing well), the Eagles and the Falcons, not exactly bottom of the well teams. I tell you, I think they are better than their record and it won’t be as easy as many think. IMO.
It looks like Jay just hurt his pinkie.
Let’s play devils advocate and say something does go wrong against the Skins. He will then put in Simms against the SD, so he can look bad. Then everyone will want his Orton back. Smart and calculate move. That’s why he said what he said.
I know it wont be as easy as most think…almost scared we might lose and we will if we keep playign the way we have been playing….but if all goes well we got this, and they are pretty banged up as well…and i cant take another loss to a MD team…i refuse it lol
….only reason I say they played bototm of the well teams was i remember when their first 6 opponents were all teams taht hadnt had a single victory yet (exception of the giants cuz that was week 1 and no one has a win) and Steve Smith did his thing lol
When we traded Cutler. Maybe we should have got the 2 picks and Gould and there punter. lol
Why is everyone so worried about how Cutler is playing, he’s not a bronco anymore. I wish you people would stop making excuses for Ortin. Ortin can’t detect the rush, does’nt know how to get away from a rush because he can’t move. I’m 58 & can probably move better. The offense needs to open up now not next year, if we want to get to the playoffs, but with a different QB. Simms can’t do any worse. Some of the passes that Ortin threw to Marshall were bad passes, but a good effort by Marshall. So lets worry about now not next year.
I am running out of superlatives, so I’ll just say, Cutler’s 4th pick.
broncofan2639, I’m 55 and I can hardly move at all, serious. You are a very lucky man.
OK OK 4INT”S He gonna get Lubbie fired and Shanny hired.
We gotta play with a since of urgency this week. To get our(team mainly) confidence up on that side of the ball. You want your coach to want to open up the playbook.
wow 4th pick? he is really stinking up the joint like that???? lmao
Were not worried with how Cutler is playing, its thurday night football so its the only game on and theres nothing really else to watch on thursday nights.
Second its Orton, not Ortin. Third could Simms do better mmmm probably. Could Brandstater play better? He certainly cant do worse than how Cutler playing right now lol 4 interceptions, Really its all going to come down to Sunday. They changed the guard, so hopefully Orton will have better protection and be able to set his feet and throw some completions. If not, than yeah I think they’ll consider benching Orton but everything depends on what happens on Sunday.
TRB, almost just threw his 5th. No joke.
Deify I think you just wanna see Brandstater. So you can see if we need to use the pick we got from the Bears on a QB. IF we pick a QB. It will be only 3 to pick from for McD standards. Tony Pike, Jake Locker,or Clausen.
And with no time left, Cutler throws the 5th INT in the end zone. 49ers win!
I’m going to sleep good now, good night all…
WOW 5 INT’s!!!!! Well we now know Shanny’s next stop. Hamilton and Sheffler might be there too. That’s if we don’t get him under contract after this season. McD did say we are dealing with alot of dead money though.
14TD-17INT, just had to look it up before I hit the sack.
Guys at least Cutler started the game the same way he ended it, with an interception in the Red Zone.
yea i was able to tune in for the 5th and final pick…well he is breaking INT records this season aint he….But don’t laugh, Announcers said it, Orton was the last Bear to throw 5INTs in one game….a QB is only as good as his supporting cast…..and Orton has a damn good one so he better shape up or ship out
RoyalBeast, Orton threw 5 cuz Rex was hurt. They couldn’t go to anyone else. Trust they would have benched him for the 3 he threw last week. They gave Cutler all that money and praise. They can’t take him out.
greatness, well we are in the same but different predicament…in McDs eyes…we traded Jay Cutler for Orton so we cant bench him either lol
TheRoyalBeast yeah we can. Just say we wanted the 2 1st rounders. WE got them. Gave Orton a chance to see if he was the guy. I signed Simms to more money in the offseason that cutler at that time. So I have complete confidence in him.
The problem is not MCD looking at us or the media. It McD telling Bowlen that he wanted Orton and the 2 first rounders. That Orton would have similar stats. Like we see now the system he runs giv you misleading stats. He is a winner even though. I don’t attribute it to him being a take ova player. He won in college. So he is a opportunistic QB. This is his last ride though. He don’t make it here. It’s gonna be nowhere.
I feel the same for Orton…if he doesnt make it as a starter here…the rest of his career is gonna be as a back up more than likely…either hear or another team (more than likely for another team with QB problems which will give him occasional starting possibilities)….maybe he will get to be a Brown lol….still believe in you orton
lmao
Well my fellow Bronco fans, I will be at the game on Sunday and I will definitely make sure that I represent our team and make my voice heard! This is a very important game for us to get us back on track because we still have quite a few hard teams on down the road and the Chargers are only a game behind us.
With Faith,
GOOOO BBBRRROOONNNCCCOOOSSS!!!
where is the faith people???? give orton the chance he needs! i bet when we were 6-0 u were like orton is our savior…ppsshh
No, we traded Cutler (and his “interceptionship” hehehe) for 2 first round picks. Orton came as a plus. But it happened that he was the fastest to got into McD’s system, and he does exactly what McD asks, sometimes with good results, and sometimes with the last 2 games results.
Cutler sukz. The only thing that’s different is that last year with us he had a lot of players to save his a$$. But even with them, he couldn’t take us to playoffs. Now he went to a team that had a winning record, and where his playing is taking this new team? Right to where we were last year. I said it last year and many fans said I was not a “true fan”, but Cutler isn’t a Pro bowl QB. He was in one just because the voting is in the middle of the season, and as much as I hate Rivers, he deserved that place better than Cutler.
And now I’m off with a bad taste in my mouth for saying something nice about Rivers.
Go Broncooos!
go wash ur mouth out…cry me a river rivers can’t do anything
“EXCUSE ME”! Orton not Ortin. How ever you spell his name he still needs to be benched!
Champ no one as far as I know has said Orton needs to be benched, everyone is just wondering how well Simms or Brandstater could do since they have stronger arms and since Brandstater could very well be our franchise QB in the next few years. Orton plays well when he’s not under pressure, McDaniels has seen this, made the change (Hochstein for Hamilton) so we’ll see how well Orton plays otherwise as I said in my other post that we may need to bench Orton, not because he’s not playing well, but since he only doing 5-10 yard passes and it seems defenses know what to do. Orton needs to either throw the ball down field 20+ yards or give the ball to someone who can make those plays. This is a Super Bowl caliber team, it would suck to go this far and lose because all we have is a short yard offensive attack and a below average running game. Orton’s a game manager, thats fine, but unless your scoring on nearly every drive even if its just a field goal then it doesnt matter how many minutes he takes off the clock if you have 0 pnts.
No Whitebronco. Redskins offered 2 first rounders and Campbell. We said we’ll think about it. Chicago offered 2 first and swapping of the 3rds. We told them to throw in Orton and we have a deal. That’s the truth of the matter at hand. We wanted Orton. He was not just thrown in there. Why do you think McD is so attached to him?? He wanted him.
Rod Woodson is no dummy, he knows his stuff. I also liked the NFL Network broadcast team for tonight’s game. Papa and Millen work well together and I give the Niner defense all the credit in the world for taking advantage of Cutler’s stupidity. It bears mentioning (pardon the pun) that we saw Orton’s worst on Monday and he’ll do well for us against the Redskins in bouncing back. Furthermore, Cutler’s worst beats Orton’s by a forest mile. He’s lucky he only had five interceptions, but I digress. Let’s dominate the Skins and go 7-2. GO BRONCOS!!!
I don’t wanna be the barer or(bearer lol) Of bad news. Pitt is Orton’s worst this yr. The last person to who threw 5 ints for the Bears was??? _ _ _ _ _ I’ll let you fill in the letters.
I know one thing. If we dont run the ball and Orton has to put it up 50 times. We won’t have to discuss if he will or should they look else where. Haynesworth will hit him late. Put all his weight on him to remove him. If he hhit Orton like he hit Brady in the preseason. It’s a rap with his throwing shoulder.
Ya orton is a good qb, but he isn’t a downfield guy…i agree that we can have brandstater as our franchise qb…but i think that with this season already going…we need to stick to orton, continue to groom him, and see where we end up. but brnady would be a good qb lata.
MCD needs to give Hillis some carries against this Redskins rush defense
Let’s stick with orton broncos fans…we don’t want instability right now.
Also champ,
I am almost 100 percent sure that even when Orton was at his best with us none of us called him “Our Savior”
As was stated earlier we are just curious how well simm or (for me) Brandstater would do because Ortons good stats are decieving cuz the sheme is a low risk, high percentage sheme that Just about Any QB can pull off but all QBs dont have an arm, and not all can improvise (ask alex smith, he admits this is his ultimate problem)…not to mention mobility (not scrambling)…also he locks into recievers…the reciever he starts off loooking at 99.9 percent of the time ends up getting the ball….thats a field day for ball hawks….plus a pump fake or two wouldnt hurt….look at BIG BEN…Mobile, with an Arm, can improvise and is the king of pump faking lol…qualities of an elite QB (along with reading schemes and all that ofcourse)…thats all we are saying lol
point being, we know he is ok but sooo not our savior…anyway, goodnight all
In order to win this next game The Broncos will have to run the ball Early and Often.
The only way to beat a physical Team like Baltimore or Pittsburg is to be more physical then they are, The Broncos did’nt do that. 14 running play’s in a whole game is not going to get it done. Buckhaulter should be getting 20+ touches every game Himself let alone all the running backs. Calling 14 running play’s over the length of a whole game is not establishing a running game. You have to pound it often and early no matter what kind of yardage you get in order for the opposeing defense to respect you! This is establishing a running game and as the game progresses you will be succesful.
Now as far as Big Ben is concerned I feel for the guy. The TEAM has changed so much I think they may be leaving him behind, and part of that is the lack of establishing the running game. Every O-Lineman loves to run block, They love to move forward not backwards. So when you pass early and often the O-Line is constantly moving backwards where they can trip, fall, and get beat by bigger guy’s moving forward at full speed. It’s a no win situation for them and the whole TEAM if they get beat enough. Truth is Ben has played poorly the last two games and I hope He can overcome this challenge, good luck Mr. Hamilton.
I havent posted the last couple of games because I felt The Broncos would lose and I didn’t want to sound like I’m not “a true fan”. Mamma alway’s said “If you dont have something nice to say keep it to yourself”.
Truth is The Denver Broncos are exactly were I thought they would be in the preseason. This week I expect The Denver Broncos to come out and dominate with a very good rushing attack and solid D.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !