Dec 4, 2007 5:00 am US/Mountain
Broncos' Hall Hopes To Return Sunday Vs. Chiefs
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By Pat Graham, AP Sports Writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) ―
Broncos running back Andre Hall can walk on his sprained ankle without pain or a limp.
That's good enough for him.
Hall plans to return to practice this week in hopes of playing Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I'm feeling pretty good. I'm going to give it a go," he said.
Hall suffered a high ankle sprain on the first play against Chicago, but played on, gaining 98 yards and scoring a touchdown.
However, Hall hobbled around on the gimpy ankle all last week and was inactive for Denver's 34-20 loss to Oakland on Sunday.
The Broncos could certainly use even a quasi-healthy Hall. Denver was thin at running back against the Raiders after Selvin Young left the game with a bruised arm.
Denver was forced to give more carries to Travis Henry, who was back after missing three games with a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Henry finished with 49 yards on 15 carries and had two touchdowns. He also had the ball stripped away from him on a hit, and had the football bound away when he and Jay Cutler messed up a handoff exchange.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said he was concerned about giving Henry too many carries given his knee problems and conditioning level. Shanahan thought Henry wore down in the later stages of the game.
"Our plan going in was not to play Travis that much," Shanahan said. "I thought that might come back to haunt us, and it did. Maybe we should've dressed out another running back. If I had to do it over again, I probably would've had another back (available)."
Like Mike Bell, who was inactive for the game. But the Broncos' trust in Bell is waning. Bell carried the ball once against the Bears and fumbled.
Shanahan was mum on Young's latest injury. Young had seven carries for 28 yards against Oakland, all in the first half.
Young missed the Chicago game with a knee ailment.
NO COMMENT: Shanahan was asked his thoughts on an illegal contact penalty on defensive back Domonique Foxworth in the final quarter. It appeared the receiver ran right over Foxworth on the third-down play. The penalty kept the Raiders' game-sealing touchdown drive alive.
"That's one I think I'll let pass," Shanahan said.
Shanahan also didn't want to talk about whether Oakland quarterback Josh McCown was over the line of scrimmage on his touchdown throw to Jerry Porter in the third quarter.
"I'll bypass that one, too," he said.
BOWL BID: Tight end Daniel Graham was pleased to see the Colorado Buffaloes invited to the Independence Bowl, where the team will play Alabama on Dec. 30.
Graham had a standout career for Colorado, catching 106 passes for 1,543 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named the nation's top tight end his senior season.
"It's a really good experience for them," Graham said.
So, what's his prediction?
"We're going to get a victory, of course," Graham said with a grin.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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