TIGHT HOLD ON JOB
With his return from offseason knee surgery still a few days away, Knowshon Moreno sauntered over to the sideline one hot August afternoon in training camp to watch two young running backs who were having trouble picking up first downs and blitzes.
Asked who he thought would win the featured role in the Broncos’ backfield, Moreno, a former University of Georgia star, nodded and flashed a sneaky smile before heading back to the trainer’s room.
Enough said.
Neither Ronnie Hillman nor Montee Ball would pry the football from his grasp, something nobody’s been able to do since Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas stripped him Sept. 17, 2012. That resulted in Moreno’s two-month banishment to the scout team.
That penance left Moreno determined to let neither another opportunity nor the football slip through his grasp again.
Willis McGahee’s injury gave Moreno a chance at redemption, and he’s lived up to that pledge. Moreno hasn’t lost a fumble in 479 touches since he gave one away against the Falcons.
“He plays this game in a way that I absolutely love because it’s every bit of who he is, and he gives you every bit of what he has,” Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville said. “He’s so amped up and hyped up before the game because he’s so excited for it, and then he plays with that intensity and that energy and that effort.”
TOUGH TICKET
The Seattle Seahawks say their decision to limit ticket sales for the NFC Championship game to certain states was because of concerns over ticket brokers and not an effort to limit fans of the visiting 49ers.
The Seahawks sold out a small allotment of available tickets — less than 3,000 — and have taken heat for excluding fans with billing addresses in California.
The team said that when tickets went on sale for the playoff game against New Orleans, brokers found a way to manipulate the system and acquire most of them, then increased the price on the open market.
Seattle announced its decision to limit sales to those with billing addresses in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Alaska and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta after Saturday’s win over New Orleans and before the Seahawks knew their opponent.
RARE DOGS
For the first time in 12 postseason games, the Patriots are underdogs, with Denver favored in Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
The last time the Patriots weren’t favored in the playoffs was in another conference title game against Manning, when he was with Indianapolis in 2007. The Colts rallied at home for a 38-34 win after trailing 21-3 in the final minute of the first half.
That also was the Patriots’ most recent playoff road game. Since then, they’re 7-2 at home and 0-2 in Super Bowls.
HE SAID IT
“I think (49ers coach Jim) Harbaugh gets away with murder myself. If I ever did that it would be a penalty.” — Former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren on Harbaugh running onto the field to celebrate a touchdown during Sunday’s 23-10 victory at Carolina.
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