BALL’S GAME: With Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno nursing injuries, New Jersey native Lance Ball likely will be the Broncos’ feature back tonight vs. the Jets. (AP)
DENVER — The transaction page on Lance Ball’s NFL bio reads like the left side of the menu in one of those all-night Jersey diners.
The list is long and there’s a lot to choose from — in this case wondering at what moment Ball might have stopped believing his time would ever come as he was being cut five times by four different teams in three years.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment the 26-year-old Broncos running back from Teaneck, N.J., figured he was never going to get a true chance to showcase his skills in the NFL.
The fact is there was no time during his journey on and off the waiver wire when Ball stopped believing, and that’s led him to tonight’s game at Mile High Stadium against the Jets, against whom he likely will have a chance to be a major factor.
Four days ago in Kansas City, Ball, who had just 54 career carries entering this season, was thrust into duty as the feature back when Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee were injured in the first quarter.
By day’s end, Ball ran 30 times for 96 yards — both team records for a running back who didn’t start the game. He was also the first Broncos running back in seven years to carry the ball 30 or more times in a game.
With Moreno out for the season with a knee injury and McGahee hobbled by a sore hamstring, Ball figures to be a key figure in this game for the Jets defense to deal with.
It’s a place that seems so unlikely when you look at that long transaction page.
“I’m an East Coast guy who came from a place, northern New Jersey, where you’re always taught to persevere and keep working,’’ Ball said yesterday. “My family instilled that in me, to keep the faith and trust yourself.’’
Ball said part of what kept him going despite the mounting disappointments was “taking this as something that I can’t do forever and savoring every moment of it.’’
Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has a special place in his heart for Ball because of the path of most resistance he’s had to take to get here. McCoy was a journeyman NFL quarterback who was cut by multiple teams, including the Broncos, and never made it.
“I was in his shoes at one time — chasing a dream — and I never stuck anywhere, so when you have players like Lance it has special meaning to me,’’ McCoy said. “In this business, it’s being in the right place at the right time and making the most of opportunities, and that’s exactly what Lance has done.’’
Considering how well he’s performed when given the few chances he’s had, you could nickname Ball “The Opportunist.’’
He was the Rams’ leading rusher in preseason as a rookie in ’08 but was cut anyway. Later that year, pressed into duty for one game when the Colts had injury issues at running back, he rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries but never got into another game until last season with the Broncos.
After Sunday’s performance in Kansas City, Ball suddenly has become one of the popular sleeper picks in fantasy leagues.
“You really feel good for players who’ve been journeymen and when they get that opportunity they hit a home run,’’ McCoy said.
Ball’s perseverance hasn’t been lost on his teammates.
“Lance is one of those guys that’s not going to give up,’’ McGahee said.
“Some guys just have a knack for wanting it and he’s got a knack,’’ Denver quarterback Tim Tebow said. “I think it has a lot to do with what’s inside of him.”
No one knows more about what’s inside of Ball than his mother, Betty.
“He’s not a quitter,” she said yesterday by phone. “It’s very discouraging when you keep trying out and keep getting those calls to come to the office to find out you’ve been waived again. But in Lance’s mind, it’s one door closes and another one opens.
“He said, ‘I’m going to do this. I’m going to follow my dream. I know I’m supposed to be there.’ ’’