Heading into the preseason finale, Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno's hold on a Broncos roster spot still appeared tenuous. But a 49-yard game in which he averaged 7.0 yards per carry cemented his place and also proved that he finally has recovered some of the burst he had before tearing his right ACL last November.
"I feel like I'm back to my old self somewhat," Moreno said Monday. "There's still some little things I've got to get over, but as far as going out there and playing hard and being able to cut and to the old things that I used to do, I feel pretty good."
That wasn't the case after the Broncos' first two preseason games, when Moreno gained 19 yards on 6 carries, good for a mere 3.3-yard average. In the last two preseason games, he improved that pace to 5.4 yards yards per carry and averaged 11.3 yards on three receptions.
"The first game I was pretty tentative. It was the first time being hit. The second game was the same way," Moreno said. "I think around the third game and the fourth game was when I kind of got my rhythm back and I was like, 'OK, I'm fine. Go out there and just play.'"
Where Moreno ends up fitting among Denver's running backs by the regular-season opener remains hazy. During the preseason, he was listed fourth on the depth chart behind Willis McGahee, Lance Ball and Ronnie Hillman; all made the 53-man roster. The Broncos never had more than three running backs active for any games last year.
Further, Ball is prominently featured on mutiple special-teams units, while Hillman ended up leading the Broncos in preseason rushing despite missing the first two games with a hamstring injury. Hillman said Monday that he feels "a lot better" since putting the hamstring issues behind him.
Moreno has made the roster -- but that doesn't mean he has recaptured a prominent place in the Broncos' ground game just yet.
Dungy visits: Former Colts coach Tony Dungy watched practice and visited with three ex-Colts players afterward: QB Peyton Manning, WR Brandon Stokley and TE Jacob Tamme -- but they weren't talking much about football when they conferred on the field.
"It's always great to see him. When you see someone like that and you haven't seen them in a long time it's just catching up on some old times, how his family's doing," said Stokley.
Injury report: RG Chris Kuper was the only player who didn't practice; he'll miss at least one game -- and likely two or three -- because of a fractured forearm suffered Aug. 14.
For up-to-the-minute Broncos updates, follow Andrew Mason on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLDEN and @MaxBroncos.
