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
..what a bunch of clowns…if we bench orton the seasons done… a wins a win last i checked and even though our defense might have helped us get those 6 wins or at least keep us in the close ones…our qb wasnt giving the other team the game by throwing 5 pics…im not making excuses for kyle orton but seriously how can you look at 6-2 and complain?? thats crazy!
Hopefully the change at LG can be a good one. Like many have said he is very used to the zone blocking scheme since that’s all he’s ever known. Just having a hard time adjusting and maybe will get back in there.
Lets beat the Redskins..soundly. This could be interesting, this is really the first QB this season that we’ve played that has really good scrambling ability. Ben does too, but he’d rather throw the ball. Campbell is a very elusive QB, it will be interesting watching our D get after him. Let’s put him on his back all day baby. Should be a good one.
Go Broncos!!!!
Oh and does Martindale have a dip of chew in?
Really? You people want to bench Orton?
First off, lets look at the last 2 games. We played the Raves, who have always been known for their beast of a defense. Then we played the Steelers. Last I checked they were the defending super bowl champions. And I heard they have this safety, troy polamalu, who is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. Now, Troy is absolutely everywhere on the field. He changes teams game plans.
Now, if we are going to blame the 2 loses on anything, lets blame it on the lack of a run game. We had 27 rushing yards which forced the Broncos to only pass. Orton is a good quarterback, but he has to have a running game to help him out. If Simms starts we will have the same problems. We need to give Hillis the ball. He is a power runner.
Orton also needs to grow a pair and throw the deep ball. But besides that I dont see what else Orton has done wrong. I mean, he threw 3 INT’S against arguably the best defense in the NFL right now. Lets just be glad he didnt throw 5 against an o.k. defense in the Falcons.
gracegunner, no body is complaining about 6-2, rather us fans are seeing our season go down the tubes if other teams play our offense how the steelers and ravens did. So others say how physical the steelers and ravens are, well we could see either one of these two teams again in the post season, then what? If the offensive scheme is not tweaked to stretch the defense, then there will be no run game cause the corners, safeties and Linebackers are all playing the short routes, therefore they are closer to the line of scrimmage to assist against the run. Take away the run and force Orton to throw the ball, has not proven to be a recipe for success. Realistically, this season could be our best in a very long time with the talent we have. I just don’t want another playoff berth and the QB (Jake Plummer) be the one to cost us the game, because he has limitations.
All us fans are being realistic when it comes to Orton, I have never seen anyone on this blog site rave about Ortons style of play. True he does not make many mistakes with the football, but he does not take chances either. When the Broncos are behind and we need a score, ask yourself one thing, do you believe Orton has the special abilities necessary to lead our team from behind? This team has so much talent and it’s a shame to watch the many suffer for a coaches pride with regards to a trade he made and must make it work. I support the Broncos and I always will, however in my 30 years at watching this team play, I can see the writing on the wall with this QB. If you all think the Redskins D is a pushover, think again, and SD is studying game film to play our Offense exactly like the Ravens and Steelers.
I hope Coach McD has a few more tricks up his sleeve with Orton, lets hope the change at the Guard position is the answer. If not make the change at QB. GO BRONCOS!!!!
It could be worse, we could have Cutler…
**I meant a o.k. defense in the 49ers not the Falcons. i dont know what I was thinking.
orton did lead this team to two come from behind wins i think it was dallas and new england
This talk about Orton this week is irrelevant, this is the week we must re-establish the run, the Skins are #1 against the pass, but 25th against the run. Keep your Orton issues for next week and concentrate on the running game for this week, is my recommendation. Hopefully that’s what the team is doing, we are going to need it.
Wow, did I ever laugh out loud and cheer watching Cutler throw that 5th pick! hahaha As great of an arm he has, he is still a choker in the red zone, something he proved game in and game out last year. I don’t miss him one bit!
As for all this talk about benching Orton. Come on people……that’s a sure fire way of tanking the season. I blame it just as much on the schemes and playcalling than Orton himself. The O-line gave him hardly any time…and with D’s like the Ravens and Steelers, without great protection, every QB is susceptible. Plus our running game was non-existent so we pretty much became one dimensional. Do I wish Orton would play better? Of course…..he could play a lot better. But we’re only half way through the season sitting at 6-2. He’s obviously done some good things too. If the losses continue, then I think it may need to be addressed…….but give him a break here and let’s see how he responds against the skins.
GO BRONCOS!
All this Orton talk is the same stuff we hear every week. Maybe we should work on getting the running game going. Orton isn’t going to be the next #7 for us but he has the skills to lead us from behind like against DAL and NE. Orton really shines when we have our ground game going. Like he said in his press conference the ground game will help the passing game, get some looks or converages to take the shots downfield. It all starts with running the ball, then the PA gets set up and the secondary will try to jump a short route or take a step up to defend the run that’s when the “Beast” gets unleashed for a big gainer. Everyone thinks just throw the ball downfield, yeah that’ll work even if it is incomplete. However if all you do is throw incompletes the secondary will still sit on the short underneath routes. I believe in Orton he has the skills, he just needs some help from his supporting cast. I also like how he handles himself in his press conference, he doesn’t act like a spoiled child like some other QBs.
All that matters is a W against WAS this week. This is a great game to get the O really rolling.
Broncos4Life!!!!
baylinorcrush_ I agree. this week we need to establish the run.
On Orton, I beleive that we simply need to work on his mobility. Develope some plays that get him out of the pocket alittle more. Teams like the Ravens and Steelers will thrive on pocket QBs. McDaneils did have some check downs ready for him; but Orton could get a clear shot to them most of the time. and Ben Hamilton was just geting beat. Sad to see. He has been quite a staple around here. Maybe he needs a little break. Either way, go Broncos!
Orange Crush me some Skins!!!!! The ground in washington will turn red this Sunday!!!!
Cutler who????????
Regardless of where one stands on Orton, the way I see it, we are in a better position at QB than most teams. How many teams have two back up QB’s that could be a viable option if the starting QB goes down. Not very many would be my guess. So I am not real worried about that position, at least not to the extent some people here are.
However, I am very worried about our O line and the running game. Using the McD power blocking scheme over the old zone blocking scheme has been nothing short of a disaster so far, perfectly illustrated by our inability to convert on short downs. Moreno has been a big disappointment to me but I’m not that surprised, he his a rookie trying to learn his way into the NFL, a totally different animal. In college he could rely on his athletic skills alone to make big plays, and he is finding out it’s not enough at this level. You need to utilize your line and their blocking to find and exploit the holes, you are not going to explode into holes on your own, players are way too fast and way too smart at this level to be able to do that. So he has to learn and couple that with the fact he can’t block and fumbles frequently and you got yourself a nightmare. He is not the guy who will get us out of our slump at this time.
Bucky is the guy who needs to come through and Hillis is the one who should share the load with him, with Moreno in and out as a third wheel, that is what I would do. I believe McD knows he has hit a brick wall with the running game, he said in Wednesday press conference (I believe it was), that running the ball (or not being able to) has to be one of his major concern, hence the Hochstein for Hamilton change. Good. But he cannot stop here. If he wants to use the power run scheme, use a power runner to execute it, my choice is Hillis, and as a second option I wouldn’t mind seeing what Ball could do (6″1″, 228), as we all have seen what Jordan can do… very little. When we want to hit the outside or if we use the zone blocking scheme, give it to Bucky, he is twice as productive as Moreno as far as yards per carry, he secures the ball much better and he can block here and there. Sorry Moreno fans, I know they are a lot of you out here, but just because he his our #1 pick doesn’t warrant how much McD uses him.
Obviously, I am just a dumb sideline fan who doesn’t know squat about how to run a pro team, but nevertheless that’s the direction I’b be leaning to to try to fix our ailing running game. This game maybe just what the doctor ordered, because running against the Skins has been fairly easy all year, but even if we are succesfull at it, I hope it’s with a different approach than what we are doing now, because it won’t be enough when we will be playing much tougher D’s against the run later on. We need to UPGRADE our running game, not just execute better what we are doing now, like McD always preaches. In this instance, I think it’s a bunch of crock. A mid season re-assessment of our running game is necessary, AND I DEMAND IT. LOL.
Have there been any rumblings on possibly ditching Berger? I don’t know if I can stomach another brutal punt. He needs to better in a hurry or just retire. His leg is pretty dead.
It doesn’t even look like Berger is getting his foot on the ball. Those really bad punts last week looked like he shanked them off his shin. Bring back that Colquitt kid, he was descent, and better than Berger.
2 losses is hardly a season “down the tubes”…eesh…the fans in the city sometimes…
gracegunner, why don’t you address that to broncomania56, rather than referring to “the fans” in general. We are all different you know…
Who is this Cutler you speak of?
…meant no dissrespect…just frustrating to hear some of the ignorant things people say sometimes…guess i should remember that the outspoken bandwagoners are not the majority…just saying its not helping orton having all the negativity…its bad for business…look at cutler..
Agreed 100%, I just don’t like it when people are thrown into a group which they are not part of in the first place, hence clarification is important.
5 INTs in one game…he’s playing like Mark Sanchez. LOL!!!!!
Mark Sanchez is a rookie.
Meaning, Cutler is playing way worse than Sanchez.
Yeah, that’s my point… sorry that was kind of an incomplete thought. LOL!!
get the running game going and all will fall into place! thats all im going to say about that!
oh and my prediction is 24-10 denver!
Go Broncos
“DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS”
brian, you don’t have to apologize to me about anything, you are always nothing but a gentleman and a scholar.
rayjr26, heck, I wish I would of thought of that, instead of posting my long a$$ post. LOL.
The Broncos did not adjust well after half time…I think that running scheme the Steelers employed was confusing as well as the no huddle Nolan should have had the Men better prepared perioid.As far as offense I think we should have sent a FB in through the gap and had Payton Hillis gash them once or twice just as we should have done against the Ravens,to make them respect the run.They won the toughness battle on the O-line.To run the Ball you must have grit.
One of the problems with the no huddle is then we switch to a very basic D. Usually a shallow zone with some over the top help. Also it doesn’t allow for subs and we get fatigued and stuff. That’s why we need to stuff them if the no huddle is not effective they won’t use it. Once we show that we can handle the no huddle teams won’t use it as much. Obviously. Our D uses so many different personel and packages that it really puts our D on it’s heels when they run the no huddle. Same on offense, I thought that we should use it but we have so many packages and different personel that we would go to a very basic package.
alot of yall sound like some fair weather fans, all that damn crying, and broncomania56, just for your info, jake plummer didn’t cost that play-off game. Wasn’t it the Steelers that won that superbowl, with arguably the BEST “D” in the league! How bout the word “TEAM” doesn’t that mean anything. There are 52 other players on the team. I would have shot the finger at you too, why be a fan, if it’s only part time? BOOOOO to you fake ass fans, “This message was sent out by a true “DIE HARD”
Is that certified? LOL.
BAYLINOR did you get my pick for the week?
Just wanted to weigh in on the Orton talk. RELAX! It is only 2 games. We still have another half a season to go. So all the bench talk is a little premature. As most everybody else, I had hoped for a better outcome the last two weeks. But realistically, we werent going 16-0. McDaniels awarded Orton the starting job for a purpose. Lets give him the benefit of the doubt, as we stand at 6-2. With 2 more wins we match last season’s output. Playoffs are a serious possibility as well. To those who doubt-I encourage you to watch the replay of the two 90+ yard drives against New England. For the believers, Don’t Stop Believing!!! Lets see how the remainder of the season plays out and we can all reevaluate Orton at the conclusion of our season!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
We don’t need to play musical QBs…look at what it has gotten Cleveland…nothing.
thats the spirit..hahaha
Benching Orton would not improve anything. The last two games were not his fault in any way. This is a team sport and no single player should be held 100% accountable for a win or a loss. Sure Orton made some bad throws last game, but he has proven to an asset to this team despite what some may think. The last two losses are due to poor execution as a whole. If we play either Baltimore or Pittsburgh down the road it doesn’t mean a automatic loss. Sometimes often one learns more from a loss than from a win. I think the team is now aware of their weaknesses which is always better than not being aware of it. They are still a very good team and only need to find that will and intensity they had before the bye. Things like that don’t just vanish. They should be just fine.
Go Broncos!
Orton has flaws like every other QB does. Some QB’s in this league have ego’s you can see from earth’s orbit without anything to back it up. Orton is modest and knows what he has to do to win games. Orton or no Orton, I’m supporting this team rather than complaining from my living room while the REAL football minds do the job.
Sure I think I know football, but I’m not coaching in the NFL. Whole different division of real estate, think about it.
baylinorcrush: Thanks for the comment. D’ja here that I’m a scholer. Ok so I said I wasn’t going to pick this weeks score but I changed my mind. 31-17 Broncos. This is the week we get the O rollin’.
People have been discrediting Orton, that is redic! This guy is good, these last two games have been lost because of a team effort, our defense is worrying me, we have given more points these past two games then we really have all season. We lost these past 2 games because of team effort, the broncos seem to have lost a little bit of the fire, the D is not playing with the same intensity as they were earlier in the season. The whole TEAM needs to set up this week, a very winnable game for us, but we could fall if the team doesnt step up.
Broncos are doing fine. No one picked them to be 6-0, few would pick them to be 6-2 at this point. Remember we were and are facing a very difficult schedule. I figured 4-4 at this stage and 9-7 overall. Now believe 12-4 or 11-5 at worst. Trust the coaches they have got us further than most would have believed. All preseason talk was 3 or 4 wins entire season by many so called experts. We will be fine. I predict 24-7 this weekend.
rayjr26, brian and danso, got it.
“As a quarterback, I put it on myself. It is my offense, and I will get it back on track”– best quote of the year by Orton. Sounds like a certain Windy City QB, doesn’t it?
Ok, this is too funny. Cutler got fined for his whining antics in the Arizona game. LOL
http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/11/13/bears-cutler-harris-fined-for-sundays-outbursts/
So now you tell me, would you rather have that guy who creates a “circus” wherever he goes plus the 5 INTs he threw last night OR would rather have a QB that maybe isn’t the best there is but at least he has class and respect? Kind of an obvious question if you ask me. Simple common sense. I’ll take Orton over Cutler any time, anywhere, any day. Cutler may have been able to do real well in this system we have but he needs to grow up. He’s becoming just like Rivers. Cry cry cry… grow up and be a man already.
Keep the faith Bronco Country…
GO BRONCOS!!!!
Brian schneider–agreed playing musical QB’s is not a good idea.
I look for our O to get the run game going and “gash” the Skins D for 130+yds with that and the D bringing back some of it’s earlier intensity we beat the Skins
27-9…..I’m thinking this D will make a statement about themselves as one of the best in the league.
As far as Hamilton being replaced. as much as I think Ben is a great linemen I think the change of pace is a good idea.
Ya’ll are some funny people!!!!
The talk about Orton is just talk. Man people act like we making the decisions. Most just really wanna see Tom. Just to see if we should use the Bears pick on a QB. You know how it is. QB doing good and we loose. It man we almost won that one. We loose and QB doing bad. It’s we could have won if he made a play or 2. It is what it is.
I’m going to try to be real this week because It’s only fun to be funny when your winning…
This is what I WISH the Broncos would do….
I would love to see the Bronco offense line up in the “I” or “splitback” formation and just PLOW the ball forward. It would be a great way to set up those play action passes and the wildhorse will be easier to disguise. It will put one more blocker in the box to protect Orton and give more time for the plays to develop. Not to mention that having a good Full Back leading the way can do a lot to help spring the runner past the first tackler.
In the passing game, McD should try to either net first downs or get BIG CHUNKS (on every play). Leave the middle of the field alone for the most part…Forget about 0-7 yard passes and go for, at least 10 yards (first downs). Use more “slant” and less “hook” patterns, get the ball to the recievers in stride. Dont rely on the YAC.
If we are going to use a screen pass, then we need to sweep plenty of blockers off the line to create space, and quit expecting our playmakers to beat the first tackler. We also need to send some running plays outside the hashmarks! Lets see if Moreno can get speed around the edges.
That will get the opposing defenses spread horizontally, open up the passing game and create space/seams for the blockers, runners and recievers to go down the field.
Alrighty then! Now what do I think the Broncos WILL do…..
We’ll probably see a lot of single back run plays right up the middle for very little gains. We will throw a lot of short passes to the middle of the field using 3-4 WR sets. Orton won’t get any time to let the big chunk plays develop because we wont leave enough blockers inside the box, and then play most of the game from behind. If we only get down by one score then the Broncos will rally to win in the 4th qtr.
If the Broncos are down by more than 10 points in the 4th qtr, then we can all kiss the baby….. again.
Broncos 10
Redskins 9
OUR BUCK’IN BRONCOS NEED TO GET BACK ON THE PONY!!!!!!AND RIDE!!!
I don’t think McD will use the Bears pick for a QB. He doesn’t roll like that, he likes the 5th or 6th round hence Brandstater, that his project QB.
They can run the wishbone for all I care….as long as they win…I’m happy.
Well said greatness…well said…
We know we aint making the decisions but I swear I wanna see Tom (because he was my ideal) and just to know…is he the future?!?!? (cuz Orton sure aint) Or are we drafting a QB with that Bears pick that is looking BETTER AND BETTER every week….theres a pretty good crop of QBs coming out next year too….