ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . -- 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." Sam Mills Jersey .C. -- Kevin Harvick won his first career pole at Darlington Raceway on Friday as he looks to chase his first Southern 500. Sam Mills Panthers Jersey . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-jordan-scarlett-panthers-jersey/ . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone.CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a one-year contract with Swedish forward Dennis Rasmussen. The deal was announced on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Rasmussen had a team-leading 40 points (16 goals, 24 asssists) in 52 games this season with Växjö of the Swedish league. Jordan Scarlett Womens Jersey. A native of Vasteras, Sweden, he had 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists) in 149 games with Vaxjo from 2011 to 2014. ' ' '