"It was just a matter of staying in the game"
By Scott SymmesNFL.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Nov. 5, 2000) - As well as running backs Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson have played over the last season-and-a-half, there was never a time when the Denver Broncos no longer needed Terrell Davis.
Davis' presence, as retired future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway would attest, was the biggest reason the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997-98. His prolonged absence has been one of the biggest reason the team has fallen back to mediocrity.
Davis' career-threatening knee injury in Week 4 against the New York Jets last year sent the Broncos spiraling to 6-10 finish. They entered Sunday's game against the Jets with an uninspiring 4-4 record. Their most recent setback was a humiliating 31-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, a game in which they allowed a single-game NFL record 278 rushing yards to the Bengals' Corey Dillon.
But the Broncos had a huge reason to feel good about their chances Sunday. Davis, who has been nursing a left foot and ankle sprain since Week 1 and has spent the last four weeks watching in street clothes, was ready to make his return to the starting lineup.
Davis showed no ill effects from his latest injury. He was dropped for a one-yard loss on his first carry, but resembled the old "T.D." on his second, busting through tacklers for a nine-yard gain. The Broncos never stopped feeding Davis the ball.
By the time Denver's defense secured a 30-23 victory, Davis had 33 carries for 115 yards and his first touchdown of the season, a one-yarder in the second quarter. It was Davis' first 100-yard game since Denver's victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII.
"Now that I'm back, it feels good. It's a great start for me." - Terrell Davis
"It really felt like a normal game for me," said Davis, who had only 99 yards on 24 carries in Denver's first eight games. "I didn't come out of the game as much as I thought I would. It was just a matter of staying in the game and trying to get in the flow of things."
"I really wasn't sure how many times he was going to carry," added Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan. "But I really felt good about his conditioning and way he handled himself over the last couple weeks."
Even for quarterback Brian Griese, the AFC's highest-rated passer, Davis' return was monumental.
"Terrell was a big lift, and I'm really happy to have him back," Griese said. "He's a great player for us and he's a spark on offense, somebody we need if we're going to go to the Super Bowl."
Davis isn't ready to talk about Denver's Super Bowl chances. He isn't even ready to talk about reclaiming his role as the team's workhorse back. After facing so much adversity over the last two seasons, Davis will relish every opportunity he receives and every game he finishes unscathed.
"I feel great; it's been a long time coming," Davis said. "The one thing I wanted to do was come in here and finish the game. I accomplished that, so I'm happy."
Davis did admit he was tired of watching from the sideline as Gary, a 1,000-yard rusher a year ago, and Anderson, this year's rookie sensation who currently leads the team in rushing, carved their own niche within the Broncos offense.
"I've been anxious for a year now," he said. "It was frustrating going into that first game and having a foot injury that kept me out. Now that I'm back, it feels good. It's a great start for me."
How Much Can I Push Myself?
Overcoming Surgery Has Become a Game Within the Game for Schlereth
By Mark SchlerethAs Told To Jim Armstrong
Mark Schlereth owes his NFL career to his parents, who taught him the virtues of getting out of bed and going to work, and the doctor who invented the arthroscope. Without the scope, Schlereth wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the first place. He has endured 27 surgeries. Twenty-seven surgeries? It hurts just typing the number.
Name the body part and Schlereth has had it repaired. He's had 13 surgeries on his left knee alone, the latest coming during the Broncos' training camp last summer. In 1996, he underwent five surgeries from the beginning of camp to the end of the season. How many games did he miss? Two. The amazing part of Schlereth's story isn't so much that he's still playing, but that he ever made it.
He's the first Alaska native to play in the NFL. He played in college at Division I-AA Idaho before Washington selected him in the tenth round of the 1989 draft. From those humble roots has emerged a player who has been on three Super Bowl winners and played in two Pro Bowls.
Schlereth, 34, could be playing the last of his 12 NFL seasons. He won't be going to the Hall of Fame, but, after what he's endured to keep playing — including a full recovery from a neurological disorder called Guilian-Barre syndrome, which forced him to miss half of the 1993 season — maybe they should send his medical records to Canton.
Everybody asks me about all the surgeries, but, to tell you the truth, I don't think about it. To me, it's a game within the game. How much can I push myself? How well can I perform despite all the things that have gone wrong? My motivation is to get out there and play as hard as I can for my teammates, but I also want to win the game within the game. I've found that, if you keep pushing yourself, it's amazing what you can do.
Sure, I've had more than anyone I know, but injuries are a part of this game. You've got to line up and play. That's in the job description. They call us players, don't they? This is our job. We're getting paid to line up and play as hard as we can. That's just the way I feel about it. Maybe it's the way I was raised. If my mom and dad instilled anything in me, it's that if you're going to do a job, do it well.
"Considering all the surgeries I've had on my left knee, it's amazing I can still play on it." - Mark Schlereth
I don't know if I can finger any one surgery that was harder to endure than the others, but if I had to pick one, it would be my back surgery in '97. They removed a disc and, for about a day and a half, I was about as miserable as you can get.
Kidney-stone surgery wasn't very pleasant, either. I woke up on a Sunday morning [in 1995] with the kidney stones and I thought I was going to die. I spent the whole day at the hospital. Finally, at about nine that night, the doctor said, "Hey, if you're going to have any chance of playing tomorrow, you need to have this done." So they wheeled me down to surgery, knocked me out and took out the stones. I checked out of the hospital at 11 the next morning and played that night.
It would be easy for me to sit here and ask, "Why me?" but I've never gotten to that point. As crazy as it might sound, I'm just used to it. It's been this way my whole adult life. Basically, you get to the point where you accept it. Once I stop playing, I'm probably going to have withdrawals. I'll probably show up at the surgeon's office every six months and ask, "Hey, what can I get fixed"?
Considering all the surgeries I've had on my left knee, it's amazing I can still play on it. But even if I hadn't had all these problems, you lose your physical skills over the course of 12 years. I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to adjust my game so I can still play at a very high level.
At this point in my career, I'm taking things a year at a time. I'm pretty sure I'll finish my career with the Broncos. I was a free agent after we won the Super Bowl in '97, and I talked to several teams. But I told them, "Hey, don't waste my time flying me in for a physical I won't pass." The bottom line is I couldn't pass a physical anymore. I failed physicals for Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Chicago before I signed with the Broncos, and that was five years ago.
Do I consider myself an inspiration to other players? Sure. I can't tell you how many times guys have come up to me and said, "I was thinking about not practicing today, but then I saw you getting dressed and ready to go. I know I don't feel as bad as you do." I've gotten that forever. It kind of takes some of the pain away.
Leading the way
Denver's foundation rests up front
By Brian PetersonNFL Insider OAKLAND, Calif. (Sept. 17, 2000) — The hottest show in Denver right now is "Who Wants To Be a Star NFL Running Back?" One of the reasons it's so popular is that nobody seems to lose. First it was Terrell Davis, then Olandis Gary, and now rookie Mike Anderson, a former Marine, who followed his 131-yard and two touchdown effort in his first NFL game against the Falcons last week with 187 yards on 32 carries in Denver's 33-24 victory over the Raiders. It's getting to the point where 80-year-old grandmothers are standing at Broncos' headquarters, begging for a chance to play. So what is the key to this game? The common denominator to everyone's success seems to be the offensive line — the second lightest in the league. Starters Tony Jones (left tackle), Mark Schlereth (left guard), Tom Nalen (center), Dan Neil (right guard), and Matt Lepsis (right tackle) may average only 288.6 pounds per player, but they are a polished and cohesive group that moves as if it were one solid block of granite. "Some people have said that we are quicker, but I wouldn't say that," said Nalen, who has been selected to the past three Pro Bowls. "I think our scheme works well, and we make good adjustments each week. "We run a zone-blocking scheme, looking inside and outside. We work on a lot of combination blocks. Film study also is a big part of what we do. We study film, whether by ourselves or as a group, every day during the week." "We enter each game with a lot of running plays, but once we figure out which ones will work best, we'll concentrate on those. Repetition helps because plays become second nature during a game." "Their offensive line has a lot of good athletes," Raiders linebacker Greg Biekert said. "The most impressive thing is how well they work together, not always having the biggest guys. They can outhustle a big defensive line and outquick a smaller defensive line. They are extremely good at adjusting." Although Denver head coach Mike Shanahan has been known as an innovator when it comes to the passing game, he also has instilled a run-first mentality in his skill players. The wide receivers have been schooled to carry out blocks downfield until the whistle blows. Fullback Howard Griffith knows he will rarely carry the ball — he had one carry against the Raiders. "The success of our running game is because we all are on the same page," Griffith said. "We study all week long and we're ready when the game comes to make necessary adjustments. "Nobody is naturally a good blocker. You have to have the determination and desire to do it. It's a thankless job. There are few players in the league who take pride in their blocking. Fortunately, we have a lot of them on this team."
JOHN ELWAY RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT TRANSCRIPT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, May 02, 1999
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MODERATOR: I'd like to introduce the president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, Pat Bowlen.
PAT BOWLEN: Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thanks for coming out this afternoon. I'd like to have us all have a moment of silence here for the victims and the families of the Columbine High School tragedy. (Moment of silence observed.)
You know, there's not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said about John's career as a football player, but I want to tell you a funny little incident that I think you all ought to know about.
Last night John went downtown to have dinner with some of his teammates, well-known restaurant that will remain nameless. There was no parking around the restaurant, but there was a stall there that said, "Nobody can park here," except John Elway, I guess.
He came out, and believe it or not, they towed his car (laughter), the King's car. He couldn't get a cab. He had to walk three miles in the industrial area of Denver to pick up his car. When he got there, a lady said, "Can I see some ID, please? And I need $100."
So welcome to the world of the retired great quarterbacks, John (laughter). I think everybody in this room understands what John meant to this franchise, to the City of Denver, and to all the fans around the world. I really can't, without getting very emotional, stand up here and talk about John's career. I don't want to be the first owner ever to break down announcing a retirement of one of their great players. But I will say this, that I truly believe that John was the greatest ever to play the game, and not just because of his athletic talents and what he did on the field; I think more so for what he did as a man and a human being. A lot of people don't understand how far John went in his efforts in this community and around the world.
That, with the accomplishments on the field, qualify him in my mind, and of course I'm biased, to think that he was the greatest to ever play.
So, John, when I look back at your career, I look more at it as what you did off the field, believe me, than what did you on the field. And what you did on the field was unbelievable, the 300 wins or more, 50,000 yards, the five Super Bowls, all of that stuff. But today I'm here to thank you for what you did for this organization off the field. I really don't know much more that I can say without getting myself into a situation where I'm going to embarrass myself.
So, Mike, I know you have a few words you'd like to say.
MIKE SHANAHAN: Thanks, Pat.
The first thing, I'd like to kind of go over a story. Back in '92 after I finished my first year in San Francisco, I came back here and interviewed for the job. When I came back here, I talked to Pat, things didn't work out for one reason or another. I went back to talk to John. John said, "Why didn't it work out? What's the problem?"
I said, "John, it's just not going to work out, I can't get into it." I didn't feel it was my place at that time with me being a coach, Pat being an owner, with John staying here, to get into it.
So I said, "John, it's more over salary than anything else."
He said, "How much are you talking about?"
I said, "John, it's quite a bit." I embellished the story a little bit. I didn't want to get into the story. I said, "It's close to a couple hundred thousand dollars a year."
He said, "Well, what is it, a three- or four-year contact?"
I said, "Yeah."
He said, "That's done, we took care of that. I'll take care of that." He said, "What else?"
When I said the salary, I said there were perks involved, too. He said, "Oh, I'll tell you what, I'll give you four cars, one for you and Peggy, one for Kyle and Crystal." Kyle is 14 and Crystal is 12, and the insurance is paid for (laughter). He's dead serious.
I mean, John Elway wants to win as much as anybody I've ever been around. When I came in as the head football coach, we start talking about the salary cap. We didn't have a first, second or third round draft choice, and we were ranked 30th in the NFL in defense. I said, "John, you're going to have to help."
"Money does not matter to me. Whatever we need to do for the football team, we'll do." Not only did he do it the first year, he did it the second, third and fourth year. It's a lot easier doing this before we get up here.
But the thing to me, he was so unselfish, he would see me coming, he knew what I was going to say, he would just say, "Go ahead and do it. I don't even want to see it."
You talk about a competitor. No matter what you ever did with him, he had to beat you at. And if he did, if you were lucky enough to beat him one time, he would come back and you'd have to play him until he won, regardless of what it was.
I think Bubby Brister said it best in the paper today. He said, "You know, Mike, I've been working to finally play John in some sport and beat him at something. I finally did. I beat him at pool. What did he do? He sold the pool table the next morning." That's a true story (laughter).
Monday night game. I leave here after my fourth season. John and I are very close. I'm the head coach of the Raiders. I'm on the sideline. All of a sudden we have two wide-outs to the right and two to the left. I know the protection scheme. We send a blitz up the middle. Bump coverage on the inside receiver.
I know John, hot receiver, perfect pass, he throws it to the inside, throws it up in the air, perfect throw. The only thing is I spent four years with Denver. So I told Mike Haines on the right side to play off 20 yards. Normally he's man-to-man. He's just looking at that receiver. All of a sudden John makes a perfect throw. He sees Mike Haines come up, makes the play.
He comes over, walks over to the sideline, looks at me, flips me off in front of 75,000 people on a Monday night game (laughter).
He's not too competitive, is he?
We talk about the comebacks, we talk about 47 comebacks. We can talk about Cleveland, we can talk about Houston. The thing that was so impressive to me was the concentration level and the poise in thriving on pressure.
He knew, he believed that he was so prepared, so physically in shape, that if he was put in that situation, he would win. And that's why, as Pat just said, I believe he's the best quarterback ever to play the game.
The next thing I see when I look at John is perseverance. When I think about perseverance, I think about the first year we were with John, 13-3, lost to Pittsburgh, toughest loss at that time I'd ever been associated with. Next year we're 11-5. The next year we're playing Cleveland, obviously in "The Drive" game, but what led up to that, and I listen to the media, I listen to the critics. John was in college for four years at Stanford. They never went to a bowl game. This is his fourth year in Denver. Heck, can he really take us to the Super Bowl? Is he good enough to take us to the Super Bowl? Does he have that? The constant scrutiny and pressure that he had to live with on a day-to-day basis. Then comes "The Drive."
Then all of a sudden, the next three out of four years, we're in the Super Bowl. He takes us to that game, and without him we don't get to the Super Bowl.
But the great part about that story is things didn't work out in the Super Bowl. But he persevered for seven years, I mean seven tough years, off-season program, doing everything he could in the organization to make things work. Then all of a sudden the last two years, obviously the Super Bowl win and the MVP.
But when I go back to that Green Bay game, when he does that whirly-bird, I'm looking at a situation, I kind of want to set the tone for everybody, because to me that's one of the most memorable plays in his career. Third down and six on the 12 yard line. He's got to get to the six yard line. We've got this play in. We have two wide-outs to the right, two wide-outs to the left. John is in the shotgun formation. We're telling each inside guy to run quick slant routes, and if you're covered, stop and go outside. Really, those two inside guys will always be open unless they're double covered.
So John says to me during the week, "Mike, how about those guys are bracketed, double covered, who do I go to then?"
I said, "John, the corners. We've seen a hundred percent on film they're always in bump coverage so if you see the bracket, anywhere in bump, throw the fake." He said, "What if they're off?"
I said, "Then that's what you get paid those big bucks for, you make a play. But they've never done that."
So what happens? The two inside guys are bracketed, the corners are way off on the outside, and I know what's going through John's mind. "Oh, Mike, you said this wouldn't happen." So what does he do? He takes off, he knows he's got no chance for a play. I'm thinking about those 14 years at the NFL, four in college, he's not going to be denied.
He takes that thing, most quarterbacks are going to hit the ground. Right at that time I knew we had won the game. That perseverance, that drive, everything that he stood for, he did it on that play. We had won the game.
Hungry? That's what he is. He's hungry to be the best at what he does. I don't care if it's football, I don't care if it's his family, I don't care if it's golf, business world, he's got it, but he wants to be the best at what he does.
In closing, I don't think I've ever been around a guy that has had expectations as high as John Elway. Everybody that has expected him to be the best on the football field, he's exceeded those expectations; in the locker room, he's exceeded those expectations; with his family, those expectations have been exceeded; throughout the community, what he's done.
We've got one of the best that's ever played the game, in my opinion the best that's ever played, John, we love you.
PAT BOWLEN: Well, here is Johnny.
JOHN ELWAY: Thank you.
It said "no parking," it said "postal customers only." Now, it's nine o'clock at night and there's others cars parked in there. I said, "You know, this must be okay." I walked three blocks to the restaurant. You know, I'm coming out, I'm coming home, thinking, "I'm going to go to my car." You know how you think about something, you look up, you go, "Oh, no, car's gone."
Now I'm looking for the number to call the towing service. I find it. "Hello, where are you?" "Three blocks east of Coors Field." I'm thinking, that's probably 12 blocks. I start walking. If I run into a cab, I run into a cab. What do I run into? I run into six limos of high school students on their prom. They're all going (pointing). "What's he doing down here walking downtown in the middle of nowhere at 11 o'clock at night with no car?"
So needless to say, I got to the tow lot. It was about a three-mile walk. I got there, the guy is still sitting in his truck that towed my car. I said, "It was you."
He said, "You know, we figured it was a brand-new car, we figured it was somebody with money, but we didn't think it was going to be you."
Anyway, this is hard. There's an over/under in the locker room from what I heard last night on how many times I'm going to cry. So I'm trying to bet on the under.
It's been great. It was tough. It was a tough decision, but it wasn't. I really don't look at it as retirement, I look at it as graduation. We all graduate from high school. We graduate from college. I'm just graduating from pro football.
Any other questions (laughter)?
It's time, it's time for me to move on. I can't do it physically anymore, and that's really hard for me to say.
Are there any other questions?
I don't know what the line is, but I've lost my bet (laughter).
I've got all these thank-yous. I'm not going to make it through them. Do you have any water, Janet? Thank God for Janet.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Denver because Denver has been great, Colorado has been great to us, to me and my family. Kind of took us under their wing. We couldn't have asked for anything better. The fans, the support that we've had have been unbelievable.
But as I guess I said, physically, and it's really hard for me to admit, but I couldn't do it anymore. As I said last year, I never want to stop competing; I just can't compete at the level in this game that I want to compete anymore. That's really bottom line what it came down to.
Secondly, it came down to family. They've been great for 16 years, and since the kids have been born, the family life has focused around me and football. It's time that it focuses around them.
I couldn't have asked for a better mom and dad, a better wife, a better wife that put up with everything, and I mean it was a lot. I mean, you're talking about a temperamental guy, you're looking at him. I'm tough to live with. Thank God she's still with me.
And the kids, God has blessed me with a beautiful family. I mean, I can't count all the blessings. That's why I'm so thankful.
I guess it's hard to walk away because I cannot explain in words how much Denver and everybody's meant to me, the fans, the support, Janet, my mom and dad. If I could be the parents that my mom and dad were to me to my kids, I'll have been real successful in that area.
My dad has been my mentor, and I guess I should blame him for this because he's the reason why I'm up here crying in front of you. It's all your fault (laughter). But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. I wouldn't -- without his tutelage and advice, he was always great about advice. They always said, "Talk about it with your dad." I could never get dad to give me an answer. He'd always direct me in the way he thought I should go, which was great. He asked me all the quality questions that would take me to the best decisions I could make.
Even when it came down to retiring, I asked him, because he was always the guy that I said, "If I start going downhill and physically my abilities are eroding and I can't do it anymore, you better be the first one to tell me."
He said, "You know what, I can tell you that I don't believe that right now, but" he said, "you're getting more prone to injury," and he's right. I found that out last year because it was a tough year. I never had to go through so many different things just to get ready for practice. That's what made it tough.
We're down in Miami, and it was nice and warm and everything was great. I told Danny Marino, "No wonder you're planning on playing another 20 years, if you practice in warm weather all the time, I'm liable to play another five years." Getting out in that cold weather, it's tough. I just couldn't do that anymore.
I think as we took the family vote that we had last year, they all voted for me to come back. This year, you know, the two oldest daughters kind of left it up to me, even though they were going to miss playing on the field after the games and those types of things. Really kind of left it up to me.
Jack wanted me to play. He can't figure out, you know, "We're going to miss training camp? What do you mean we're not going to training camp?" I mean, he loved training camp. I took him up there the last two years. He wanted me to play. I said, "Do you want me just to go to training camp? We can go to training camp." Then Julianna is worried that Jack has to fill my shoes right now, that little Jack is going to be the next quarterback of the Broncos as soon as dad leaves. That's the first time she's ever showed concern for her older brother. So that's why that was even a bigger shock. But I think they're all in line.
On top of that, thank you to the Bronco fans. Edgar Kaiser, thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be with the Broncos. You made that happen for me.
Then we got a guy that came in here that I think is the best owner in professional football and professional sports, a guy that wants to win. That's what it's all about. He goes beyond his means and does everything he can to win. As a football player, that's all you can ask for. The guy at the top wants to win. Because as a football player, if he wants to win, you got a chance to win. If he doesn't care about winning, it's tough to win at the player level if we don't have that from the top. The organization, I mean, I can go through Mr. Bowlen, not only a great owner, but I consider him a great friend.
Fred, the bulldog, Fleming, saved my life the last three years, been an unbelievable help to me.
Jim Saccomano, there's the guy that never brings good news (laughter). I love him. He's had to deal with me, which is tough. He's been great.
Bill Harpole has taken care of us. Doug West, those guys that work behind the scenes that have just been buddies of mine and helped me so much.
Steve Antonopulos, 16 years has kept me in one piece. He's kind of like -- he's kind of like my mother. My mom always used to say when I started playing football, "You know, I raised you and I tried to take so good care of your body, fed you well, all this stuff, now you turn around and go do something where all you do is beat it up." So that was my mom. She loved the game but didn't like me getting beat up.
That's where Greek came in because Greek was always putting it back together. For 16 years, he's a guy that is your best friend when you're not hurt and a guy that you can't stand when you are. Then as soon as you're not hurt, you love him again. But he's a guy that is a great trainer, a guy that does everything he can to get you back on the field, but bottom line, he has the players' best interest in mind. You can't say that about all trainers in the league.
After 12 surgeries, a lot of rehab time, Greek, I'm going to miss you. I don't know why I'm crying, because I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be able to see you (laughter).
Gary, my room dog for nine years. Great coach. I mean, the only thing I'm not going to miss about Kube is when he was my roommate up in Greeley, his family was usually down in Texas, so we'd have the weekends off and Gary usually stayed there. So I'd come home because Janet and the kids were home. I'd go back there Sunday night, I'd walk in and Gary would be in front of the TV. We'd have two separate rooms. Gary would be in front the TV. I'd see him all wrapped up in my blanket. The bed was nice and made and everything. I'd go look at my room, look at his room, his room was perfect, bed is made and everything. He's ripped my room up, took my blanket, taken my blanket out there to sleep with, then he leaves it out there and never put it back. So, Kube, I'll never forgive you for not putting my blanket back (laughter).
Great friend, great coach, and a guy that made my job easy because of his knowledge of the game and him knowing me. You think this is the first time I've retired. Kube's talked me back into retirement 12 times-back into playing 12 times, because I've quit 12 times prior to this. Kube always talked me back into it until this time.
Then last but not least, this guy (indicating Mike Shanahan). He's the best. He is the absolute best at winning football games. Thank God I got a chance to play for him before I was done. If I had one wish, I wish I -- I'd have two wishes: I'd keep my kids and my wife and I'd be 28 because I think it would just be beginning. That's what I'm going to miss is that I can't hang on and be around because the Denver Broncos are going to be around a long time because of Mike Shanahan and his ability to coach football teams.
And the relationship we had. He came in my second year, you know. He tells me this today. He says, "I was only 30 years old when I came." I said, "If I would have known you were 30 years old when you came out, I would have never listened to you." Not that I . . . (Laughter).
But you know, as our position coach and my personal coach, what he did teaching me the game and just making me the player that I am today, I couldn't have done it without him. As I said, he's the best.
And the Denver Broncos are going to be winners for a long, long time because of these two guys up here and the type guys that they have on the team right now, and that's the best thing is that the quality of guys that are on that football team that have been really in this organization.
Feb. 1 - MIAMI - Welcome to 7's heaven, with all of Colorado feeling as high as the Broncos quarterback. Welcome to Denver's dynasty, with the Broncos becoming only the NFL's sixth team in history to do a doubletake.
Back for seconds, back for glory, the Broncos devoured Atlanta's Dirty Birds, and all the trimmings that came along with it. So start clearing space in the happiest place on earth - Denver's training facility on Broncos Parkway in Englewood - for another Vince Lombardi Trophy to go along with the one that shined there last season.
The Broncos are ahead of the Falcons 34-19 forever.
Two-che.
Inside the Broncos' locker room, as players filed in wearing light brown Super Bowl XXXIII champion baseball caps, Denver coach Mike Shanahan assembled his team in one final huddle and, with a championship-smile, announced, "Off-season workouts start tomorrow, because we're going for three!''
Cheers erupted, like the Broncos' offense that scored 17 fourth-quarter points to put away the Falcons and all the foolish guarantees they made the past two weeks. Then Shanahan walked over to Super Bowl XXXIII MVP John Elway, placed his hand atop the quarterback's head, and issued one final order to the team that carried out every one of them in this championship season to remember.
"Don't know if it's this guy's last game,'' Shanahan told his players, who were kneeling and getting ready to say the team prayer. "But let's just keep the pressure on him, guys.''
More cheers, and why not. If life with former Broncos and current Falcons coach Dan Reeves was hell for Elway, the Broncos quarterback returned the favor Sunday night with 74,803 at Pro Player Stadium and 800 million or so around the world watching.
Elway completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards and one touchdown. It earned him his first Super Bowl MVP award and his choice of a 1999 Ford Mustang or Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition, either one of which Elway can throw on to a show-room floor at a no-haggle price.
Against the Falcons, Elway performed like he could play forever, like it would be no problem trying to help the Broncos accomplish the three-peat that no other team in NFL history has. If only he decides to author one more patented comeback.
"This throws a kink into the thinking on what I decide to do next year,'' Elway admitted after he saved his finest Super Bowl performance for his record-setting fifth Super Bowl start. "But I'm not even going to cross that bridge for a while. I'm going to enjoy this win.''
For Elway, nothing could be more enjoyable than executing a play he and Shanahan scripted only in their dreams. It was the old quarterback draw, one of Reeves' all-time favorite plays, a staple from his 12 seasons in Denver. And when Elway ran it 3 yards into the end zone and into Reeves' face, John's father Jack pumped his fist from his press-box seat, as if the final blow in the game and the infamous feud had been struck. It had.
Denver had a 31-6 lead, and in a statistic that hardly saddened Elway or Shanahan, Reeves glumly ended the night being outscored as a head coach in his four Super Bowls losses 170-59.
"Congratulations to the Denver Broncos,'' Reeves said in words straight from, but probably painful to, his heart. "What a great football team.''
What made Denver a great team was that it had more than headliners such as Elway and Terrell Davis, who recorded his NFL-record seventh-straight 100-yard rushing game. It had unheralded superheroes such as fullback Howard Griffith and cornerback Darrien Gordon.
Griffith - not Davis, not tight end Shannon Sharpe, not wide receiver Ed McCaffrey - was Denver's biggest scoring threat against the Falcons. He had two touchdown runs Sunday night - matching the total he produced during the first 99 games of his six-year NFL career.
The first came in the first quarter and gave Denver a 7-3 lead, the next came in the fourth quarter and gave Denver a 24-6 lead, and both came on the "jab play,'' when Davis and the offense flowed right and Griffith powered his way left.
It became Griffith's own little deja-two.
"Just because I scored a couple of touchdowns in this Super Bowl doesn't mean I'll be in there asking for the ball 25 times a game,'' Griffith said with a grin.
Denver's other unheralded superhero was Gordon. He picked off two second-half Chris Chandler passes, which sandwiched Griffith's second 1-yard touchdown run. The first interception, which Gordon returned 58 yards to the Falcons 24, came with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. His second, which Denver defensive tackle Keith Traylor tipped and which Gordon brought back 50 yards to give him a Super Bowl record 108 interception return yards, set up Elway's quarterback draw.
It became Gordon's own little deja-two.
"This secondary took a lot of criticism that we weren't able to make big plays,'' said Gordon, who made two of them Sunday night. "We took that to heart.''
On this night, it was Denver's defense, not Reeves, that showed more heart. In its three postseason games, Denver's defense allowed a mere 25 points - 14 of which came off special-teams blunders, with the New York Jets blocking a punt in the AFC Championship game and the Falcons' Tim Dwight returning a fourth-quarter kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. In the end, it turned out to be a defense that was built for January and championships.
"Great teams just keep getting better," said defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, the Mr. January of coaches. "That's what we did. We kept improving."
The Broncos knew this outcome was coming, the way they knew they were headed back to the Super Bowl all season. At last Wednesday's two-plus hour practice - even though Elway had to take a pain-killing injection in his left scapula to help him recover from the hit he absorbed in the AFC divisional playoff win from Miami linebacker Zach Thomas - the players were so on, that not a single ball touched the ground.
It was the first time since the Thursday before San Francisco played San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX, also in Miami, that former 49ers offensive coordinator and Broncos coach Shanahan had seen such a spectacularly perfect practice. After their picture-perfect practice, the 49ers pummeled the Chargers 49-26, just as the Broncos pummeled the Falcons.
The Broncos were hardly as flawless as the 49ers. Denver kicker Jason Elam missed two third-quarter field goals, one from 38 yards on the Broncos opening third-quarter possession, and another from 48 yards, wasting an interception that Denver cornerback Darrius Johnson returned 28 yards to the Falcons 42 yard line.
But this team became the standard not just for excellence, but style and strategy. And when Colorado remembers this season - the path to perfection that ended abruptly in Giants Stadium, the playoff run that turned out to be as perfect as they once hoped the regular season would be - it will remember a season of football when just about every Bronco found a way to be big.
Think of a name, think of a moment.
There was Elway, whose career glittered like the Vince Lombardi Trophy, throwing for his 50,000th NFL yard and a super victory over Atlanta that now means he almost assuredly is gone with the win, even if the sign that hung above the Broncos' locker room read: "JOHN, ONE MORE YEAR, PLEASE!"
There was Davis, who ran for individual glory during the regular season when he won the NFL's most valuable player award and team glory during the postseason when he was the one player opponents could not stop. There was Sharpe, who even though he had to leave Sunday's game in the first quarter with a sprained left knee, now has something to talk about.
There was McCaffrey, who now, after five catches for 72 yards in Sunday's second half, is on the verge of becoming a bigger pitchman than Ed McMahon. There was wide receiver Rod Smith, who had five catches, for a game-high 152 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch against Falcons safety Eugene Robinson, who went from Miami's Biscayne Boulevard right into Super Bowl lore.
There was linebacker Bill Romanowski, who fed off vitamins, minerals, championships and Falcons. There was safety Steve Atwater, who like an aging singer, still found a way to deliver his greatest hits. And there was Griffith, Gordon, and every member of a Broncos team that now needs to be refitted for its crown.
Once again the Broncos produced more names, moments and memories, all to match the ones from last season's Super Bowl. Now, this Broncos season has turned out to be one big doubletake.
In an NFL season when there was such an outcry to bring back replay, the Broncos did. They replayed their run to the Vince Lombardi Trophy. They finished their remarkable run with the best three-year record in NFL history - 47-9.
And as jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie once noted, "The professional is the kind of guy who does it twice.'' These Broncos - professionals that they are, champions that they are - did it twice.
Two-che.
Adam Schefter
Denver Post Sports Writer
I've gone for the Broncos ever since I was about eight, when they played in their first Superbowl under Elway. Well by the third I was a little peeved, but seeing them win last year was one of the best days of my life. I could barely stand to watch. Walking in circles, jittering, going out of the room were all remnants of one day that I will never, and never hope to, forget. It made my year, and sparked a change in me, "98 was Great!!!" and nothing was going to stop that. And nothing did. With this attitude throughout the year, it made 1998 the best year of my life by far, everything worked out, almost such as Elway's fairytale career! So then the 1998 season had started, Denver still yet to lose a game, Elam yet to miss a kick. Then on a day that had to come, in early December 1998, Elway's "Hail Mary" eluded his offense. Denver had lost. Elam missed a kick. One week on, Elway played his worst game since 1985, Davis only ran for twenty something yards, Denver's year was beginning to be over. The next day, as I walked down Kuhio Avenue in Honolulu, I walked without the memories of Elway on my back, his number was left in a cupboard, away from the world to see. As I entered an ABC store, I met a guy who was wearing an Attwater shirt, who said he was humbled by the defeat. I gained confidence from that conversation, meeting a man who had a pass to the playoffs (and I believe offered one to me, if I could have gone to Denver), a man from Colorado itself. The next week I wore the number seven on my back once more, and from that day on, Elway, Shannahan and the whole Denver Broncos organization, never looked back, up until this day are yet to lose. The day will come, I've been humbled before, but at this time, let Bronco fans rally together, let us unite as one, and celebrate this magnificant triumph!
On the 1st February 1999 (Sydney time), I sat in one place for 3 hours, didn't move, didn't fidget, didn't panic. Denver had won the 1999 Superbowl three weeks before, against Miami, turning around the "performance" that eluded them in previous weeks. Superbowl XXXIII, and perhaps ironically being in Miami, was a chance for Denver to show the world a perfromance, and perform they did. They did it in style.
Robert Cade
There's only about 9.5 hours till kick off now, it's 12:41am in Sydney Australia. I sit here in the still of a warm summer's night, "We are the Champions" still ringing in my ears from one year and one week before. The joy, jubilation and ectasy is hard to forget, something never to forget. As with last year, the Denver Broncos Football team from the Mountain State of Colorado did not have a perfect season. In about the same period they cracked, losing games that should have been won, looking to be failures, written off by all as contenders for the "Big One". But as with last year, and perhaps more definitely this year, John Elway rallied his troops. He was beginning to look like failing, his worst game since 1985 against Miami must have made him think, made him realise that this year was, now, definitely his last. So, with another boost of power and strength from his already ailing body, John Elway has given his last "best". Given better than his best. Presently he must be running on 180%, putting gimpy knees and an assaulted body behind him, for one more game, for his last. His stamina is what has got him to where he is today, as he runs out into Superbowl XXXIII, he will know that this indeed is the last game he will ever play. So be it, what will happen, is up to the ages, up to two teams, not up to Elway. He will be inspired, he will not faulter, he will stand firm, as he has done in the past. Today around 7:30pm in Denver, it will be evident who won Superbowl XXXIII. The streets will tell the story, the people will finish the tale, but one thing's for certain, one player will have played beyond his best, will have outplayed every combatting force in the Stadium that day, his name is John Elway. He is already a champion.
Robert Cade
In sporting realms throughout the world many will support the underdog; some will berate him. On the 25th January this year, in the Southern Californian city of San Diego, all one could do was admire him.
The underdog was Denver Broncos quarterback, John Elway. He was at his fourth Superbowl appearance and although he had more wins under his belt than any other quarterback, he was yet to win the "big one" - the one that counted. At thirty-seven, nursing gimpy knees and Superbowl heartache, the man with the "Golden Arm", the "Comeback Kid", was indeed the underdog, but most certainly the sentimental favourite.
The task ahead seemed impossible - no one could possibly back Denver against defending champions, Green Bay, with their young and inspiring Brett Favre at the helm. It gets worse: the Broncos are of the American Football Conference and an AFC team had not won the title since 1984. Elway was too experienced to be daunted by the task ahead, however; there was only one thing on his mind. Winning.
"When you get to where I am, the only thing that really matters is winning. That's why we play the game, why I still play the game."
The stage was then set for one of the greatest and most memorable Superbowl victories in a long time, perhaps ever. Elway's game was not that of superiority to his rival's, in fact Elway's twelve completions for 123 yards sounded a lot like a loss. It may not have been vintage Elway, just victorious Elway.
"I don't care how we did it because we did it. The way this works is that quarterbacks are judged on this game. Until you win here, they say your career isn't complete. I always heard that and wasn't sure about it. But, no, if I hadn't won this, mine wouldn't have been complete either."
Denver wasn't supposed to win; Elway wasn't supposed to win. People had written him off as one of the "good" quarterbacks, who would never be one of the greats. But unlike acquaintances Dan Marino and Jim Kelly who still can't hide their unfinished seasons behind a mound of statistics, John Elway can now rest easy, assured that his name will go down, not only as vintage, but also victorious.
John Elway's whole life has been that of a story, a fairy tale. The Denver quarterback could not have scripted it better himself. His career has mounded into years upon years; wins upon wins; records upon records. And now in a grand finale of colour and emotion, his long and successful career has been supremely topped off by the greatest and most sought after victory man could possibly imagine.
So now, finally, after 15 years of incompletion (and he passed over thirty miles), John Elway can sleep restfully, without the pain, without the anxiety. He has overcome his demons to accomplish his dream. His career is now complete; his slate is wiped clean. Now the man, whose toothy grin is more famous to Colorado than John Denver's ever was, can hang up his boots. His mission at Denver is completed; he has done a State proud.
Elway may or may not return next year. He may choose to escape the hype and expectation that has enshrouded him for half his life. If he returns it will be for Denver - the fans - not his career. His career already could not be more complete and regardless, would not even be considered by the man who pasted self-blame on himself for those chilling Superbowl defeats. If we lose him, he says, it will be to his family. He has always put his wife and kids before football.
Elway, however, should not be hounded over his options for next season. Instead, let him wake up as a champion, hoist the prize in the air and wave to the cheers of the crowd like a rock star in his final performance. Admire the underdog and let the confetti rest on his shoulders.
Robert Cade
"Jesus Christ is Lord"
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