Peyton Hillis is Josh McDaniels' Worst Recurring Nightmare

Peyton Hillis didn't fit in the Broncos' system under Josh McDaniels.  Really?  I wonder how McDaniels sleeps at night, considering the fact that he's haunted by the decision to trade one of the league's baddest, most intimidating runners for a quarterback who hasn't played a single down.

How McDaniels didn't see the potential in this player is baffling.  Through the first ten weeks of his NFL career, he had just 11 carries for 38 yards.  Then, injuries forced Mike Shanahan to play the under-appreciated fullback as his primary runner and over a four-game stretch he went off for 305 yards and five touchdowns on 57 carries.

Hillis then went down with an injury, and missed the Broncos last three games of the 2008 season.  Denver lost all three of those games, coughed up the division title, and Shanahan was fired the following offseason.

The Broncos hired the now infamous Josh McDaniels to replace the two-time Super Bowl winning Shanahan.  Despite Hillis's great success as a rookie, under McDaniels he had just 13 carries in 14 games during his second season in 2009.

As a Broncos fan, I can't begin to tell you how angry the treatment of Hillis made me.  Heading into the '09 campaign, the young running back was one of the only things I could get excited about.  I could not believe the organization wouldn't utilize this great talent.

When Denver traded Hillis and a draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for Brady Quinn I was livid, at first.  Then, I began to look for the bright side, and I found it.  I thought perhaps Hillis would finally get the respect he deserved.

As was the case during his rookie year, injuries were prerequisite to Hillis truly becoming the feature back this season.  I didn't understand why, but Hillis was splitting time with Jerome Harrison for the first few weeks of this year.

When Harrison missed some time due to an injury, Hillis quickly emerged as the NFL's Chuck Norris.  He was an intimidating back who ran over and through the defenses of the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in weeks three and four.

He then played through an injury for three straight weeks leading up to Cleveland's bye. His reduced production during this stretch led some to speculate whether he was just a two-week flash in the pan.

I refused to buy into that nonsense, and it's hard to imagine anyone still thinking "fluke" after Hillis dominated the New England Patriots in week nine.  He had 184 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries during that game.

When he's healthy, I believe Hillis is the best running back in the NFL.  The Browns beat the Carolina Panthers today, and Hillis had 131 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.  He also had six receptions for 63 yards.

On the year, he has 905 rushing yards, 414 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns.  He also leads his team with 46 receptions.

If you combine the numbers of every running back on the Denver Broncos' roster, they still don't add up to the productivity the Browns have gotten out of Peyton Hillis.

I don't care what anyone in that organization says, they have to regret trading Hillis.  He was a fan favorite, a hard worker, and the most talented running back on Denver's roster in 2009.  Week after week, he's proving it was a mistake for Denver to trade him.

The person who must be filled with the most "what ifs" in the Broncos organization right now has to be Josh McDaniels.  "What if I hadn't traded Jay Cutler?"  "What if I had used some draft picks on defensive players?"  "What if I hadn't traded Brandon Marshall?" "What if I had played Peyton Hillis in 2009?"

With each great Hillisian performance, and each Denver loss, I imagine McDaniels nightmares getting more intense.  I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to lay down at night, knowing that the 6'1", 240 pound Hillis is about to run rampant all over your subconscious mind.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio would be frightened to enter that dream world to try to plant or extract any thoughts.

Can you imagine the kinds of things that happen in McDaniels nightmares?  Let me know in the comments section.