ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Montee Ball acknowledges he was "a little bit" intimidated by Peyton Manning last year, something he says contributed to his slow start. Trying to please the famously meticulous quarterback is enough to unnerve any rookie, even one who ran for an NCAA-record 83 touchdowns at Wisconsin. "He did a great job of calming me down, though, keeping me comfortable, working with me after practice," Ball said. "But Im still a little nervous, of course. Im only human." A jittery Ball failed to win the starting job last year after he whiffed on Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner in the preseason and Manning got squished. Then, after fumbling just twice in 924 carries in college, he matched that total in his first 31 runs in the NFL. Again, butterflies. "I was nervous, trying to do too much," Ball said. That Ball was a bundle of nerves around Manning came as somewhat of a surprise to offensive co-ordinator Adam Gase. "You dont usually hear anybody saying anything when theyre going through it. Now that were a year removed, Im sure hes kind reflects back and says, man, I felt like this. But if he was like that, he hid it pretty good," Gase said Friday. "I just kind of looked at it like he was a rookie and there were a lot of things going on and he just locked up a little bit. "And I watch him now and I feel like he can just play football now." Ball finally settled down and by December he had a tight grip on both the football and his role in Denvers record-breaking offence. He finished his rookie year with 559 yards rushing and four TDs. "The first half I was a little shaky in there," Ball said. "Im man enough to admit that I was making terrible mistakes early on. But it finally came along. Like they say, better late than never. And I took off from there." When Knowshon Moreno took his 1,586 all-purpose yards, 14 touchdowns and balky knees to South Beach this off-season, Ball assumed the featured role in the Broncos backfield. Money, health and Balls emergence all played a role in letting Moreno leave even though none of the Broncos remaining running backs had started an NFL game. Running backs coach Eric Studesville shrugged off the notion that heading into a Super Bowl-or-else season without any starting experience in the backfield is risky business. "Oh, the whole starting thing is hard for me, because really the guys that start the game are either on kickoff or kickoff return, you know?" Studesville said. "Thats kind of inconsequential to me." Gase also called it a non-issue, suggesting he could even start bruising tight end Virgil Green, who had a 6-yard run in the playoffs: "I never even think about it. Ill put Virgil out there. These guys are NFL players." Ball downplayed any concern, too, noting that by last seasons end, "it was pretty much 1A and 1B, Knowshon and me." "We felt good about both of them at the end," Studesville agreed. "We felt like we had two really good backs that we could trust in there at all times, and they were kind of interchangeable." Joining Ball in the backfield are third-year pro Ronnie Hillman and second-year C.J. Anderson, who have one combined career touchdown run, along with undrafted free agents Juwan Thompson, Brennan Clay and Kapri Bibbs. This youth movement has forced Studesville to alter his coaching style. "You cant say this is a veteran guy whos seen this for six years, so he knows what this is. No. Weve got to talk about everything from Square 1," Studesville said. "And that makes it fun to go back to the beginning because now youve kind of got to defend all of your techniques and all your philosophies and everything. And its good for me. Its rejuvenated me as a coach in a lot of ways just because I love going back and teaching the basics." Notes: LB Von Miller (ACL) is increasing his workload at practice. "My knee is not my issue when Im out there," he said. "Its just connecting the mind with the body and getting that reaction time down." Fake NHL Jerseys . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. Fake Baseball Jerseys . The New York Rangers centre had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators ending a 13-game goal-scoring drought. http://www.fakejersey.com/.com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Wholesale Fake Jerseys . That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. Fake Jerseys Outlet . Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were left fretting over an MRI on the stars left knee. Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and the Pacers used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 91-76 on Tuesday The Pacers (25-5) have won eight in a row over Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent.Petr Cech defended his role in Crystal Palaces equaliser, as he could not keep out Yannick Bolasies strike as Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. The Gunners seemed to be cruising to victory after Alexis Sanchezs first-half header had given them an advantage they rarely looked like relinquishing.However, Bolasies rasping strike squeezed past Cech to snatch an unlikely point for the Eagles, leaving the Gunners looking over their shoulder in the race for the top four. Should Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech have kept out Yannick Bolasies long-range shot? Cech believes that it was two points dropped, but was adamant he could do nothing about the equaliser.He [Bolasie] fired it along the floor, the ball skidded very fast, Cech told Sky Sports. I got a touch but the ball was already behind me. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left disapointed with his team performance after they drew with Crystal Palace We had chances to score the second goal but didnt find the back of the net.ddddddddddddThey had several counter attacks but we were dealing very well with them. They have been waiting for a counter attack all game, but unfortunately they managed to find one with a goal.We should have seen the game off. This is two dropped points. Arsene Wenger also refused to criticise Cech in the aftermath of the draw, but hinted that he felt his keeper should have done better.I have to look at it again, Wenger added. It didnt look unstoppable but he will know that better than I do.Maybe we could have stopped the shot, but I will have to see it again. 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