The start of the 1977 TLL season has been inauspicious for coach Cheap Catch, last season’s reigning Super Bowl champion. While it was to be expected, Cheap Catch opened the season by getting routed by his former championship team, the Washington Ethnic Insensitivities 28-7, while using the lackluster New Orleans Saints. In game two, again against Dead Faulkner, Cheap Catch was able to locate the win column, but at a high price. Last season Otis Armstrong was the heart and soul workhorse for the Denver Bronco offense, compiling 1,553 rushing yards and 26 TDs, good for second and first in the league, respectively.

Armstrong, however, was cut down hard in the 1977 opener against the Steelers, after just two carries, which netted 5 yards. The Broncos managed to pull off the 22-12 victory, but the offense was anemic after Armstrong’s decampment, and it was apparent how badly the Broncos running game suffers when Armstrong’s services are unavailable.

In 1976, Armstrong made it through the entire regular season without an injury. Strangely, Armstrong was eventually knocked out in similar fashion to this year, suffering an injury early on in the AFC Divisional game against the same Pittsburgh Steelers. Currently, Armstrong is serving 12 weeks in the infirmary with a concussion, after getting crunched by vicious Steeler LB Jack Lambert.

The question then is: Can the Broncos legitimately vie for a playoff spot without their star running back, and with seemingly no steady body to fill his role? Early word from Bronco land is that the team is, certainly concerned, although (they) are not at a point of panic. After one week the Broncos are still (1-0), but one must wonder how long that can last. The Broncos are now going to have to employ a running back by committee style, exhausting the extent of their resources in order to remain competitive and continue to keep opposing defenses off balance, so that they cannot merely dig in and rush QB Craig Morton. And, an Oh, by the way (Chris Berman style), Morton was 2/12 in his Bronco debut after arriving from the New York Gents.

It remains to be seen what the Broncos can accomplish without Armstrong, but the early storyline seems to have transformed from visions of the promised land to a promising opening for Denver’s AFC rivals.

No Movie (Yet)