The Captain e-mailed me a link to this ESPN.com article. It's worth a read, but I'll give you the gist of it right here: Denver Broncos don't make the Hall of Fame.
It's still true that the Broncos, a team that's played in six Super Bowls, really have just one Hall of Famer they can call their own: John Elway.
Tony Dorsett, the runner who starred for the Cowboys, and Willie Brown, a cornerback who did the same for the Raiders, both played briefly for the Broncos and made the Hall. As for Brown, I've always wondered why the Broncos picked up a star Raider at the end of his career. I never really felt good about it. So I consulted Wikipedia, and guess what? Turns out Brown actually started his career with the Broncos and was awesome from day one (All-AFL his second year). Turns out we traded him to the Raiders. No wonder the Broncos used to suck.
Another fun Wiki fact is that Brown held the record for the longest interception return in a Super Bowl until Kelly Herndon, another former Denverite, broke it for the Seahawks. No wonder the Broncos suck now.
Hall of Fame debates always remind me of Larry Walker, my favorite baseball player of my lifetime. Walker had some fantastic years, but his Hall status was always in doubt because of his constant injuries. Well, that and his classic Coors Field splits, when he'd hit like .800 at home every year. Anyway, I saw an article in Sports Illustrated once (I think it was in 2001) where Walker said he didn't really care if he made the Hall of Fame. And you know what, I didn't care anymore after reading that.
Whether or not a group of voters wanted to recognize Walker's greatness years after he retired, he was still an awesome force at the plate. He still had an incredible arm, and he could still run the bases better than anyone. And he still didn't back down from anyone, even on a team that never really played up to the standard he set. It sounds cheesy, but why do I care if he's in the Hall of Fame? His legacy's secure in my book.
The same goes for all the former Broncos, perhaps none of whom will reverse their team's trend soon. I do think Shannon Sharpe will make it pretty quickly once he's eligible. I think Terrell Davis should make it, but even if he doesn't, he was still the best football player on the planet for a few years, he still was as clutch as any runner ever, and he still helped the Broncos (and Elway) pick up two championships. What else matters?
It's still true that the Broncos, a team that's played in six Super Bowls, really have just one Hall of Famer they can call their own: John Elway.
Tony Dorsett, the runner who starred for the Cowboys, and Willie Brown, a cornerback who did the same for the Raiders, both played briefly for the Broncos and made the Hall. As for Brown, I've always wondered why the Broncos picked up a star Raider at the end of his career. I never really felt good about it. So I consulted Wikipedia, and guess what? Turns out Brown actually started his career with the Broncos and was awesome from day one (All-AFL his second year). Turns out we traded him to the Raiders. No wonder the Broncos used to suck.
Another fun Wiki fact is that Brown held the record for the longest interception return in a Super Bowl until Kelly Herndon, another former Denverite, broke it for the Seahawks. No wonder the Broncos suck now.
Hall of Fame debates always remind me of Larry Walker, my favorite baseball player of my lifetime. Walker had some fantastic years, but his Hall status was always in doubt because of his constant injuries. Well, that and his classic Coors Field splits, when he'd hit like .800 at home every year. Anyway, I saw an article in Sports Illustrated once (I think it was in 2001) where Walker said he didn't really care if he made the Hall of Fame. And you know what, I didn't care anymore after reading that.
Whether or not a group of voters wanted to recognize Walker's greatness years after he retired, he was still an awesome force at the plate. He still had an incredible arm, and he could still run the bases better than anyone. And he still didn't back down from anyone, even on a team that never really played up to the standard he set. It sounds cheesy, but why do I care if he's in the Hall of Fame? His legacy's secure in my book.
The same goes for all the former Broncos, perhaps none of whom will reverse their team's trend soon. I do think Shannon Sharpe will make it pretty quickly once he's eligible. I think Terrell Davis should make it, but even if he doesn't, he was still the best football player on the planet for a few years, he still was as clutch as any runner ever, and he still helped the Broncos (and Elway) pick up two championships. What else matters?
Comments
I am the first guy to say that those early Elway Super Bowl teams were made up of the Duke and a bunch of conscripts, but I still find it a great injustice that more Broncos aren't in the Hall. We never have been as well-regarded nationally as we deserve to be, for reasons that entirely escape me.
Anyway, of course Sharpe deserves to make it and likely will be a first-balloter when his time comes. In my mind, Gradishar and Jackson, the anchors of the Orange Crush, should be in as well. And I still don't get why Atwater doesn't merit more consideration. Another name that comes to mind is Gary Zimmerman - I remember thinking he was already a shoo-in when he came over from the Vikings, and he did nothing but continue his stellar play in Denver.
Zimmerman was on two NFL all-decade teams, so yeah, you think the decision would be made right there. I certainly support him.
Talking about Zim makes me wonder if Tom Nalen has a chance. Not really, because he doesn't. But he's been to like five Pro Bowls and anchored a really good line almost every year of his career. Atwater's sort of like the Nalen of safeties-though he made eight Pro Bowls, he somehow manages to fly under the radar. It's a shame, because he was held in very high esteem his whole career, and he was absolutely fantastic in Super Bowl XXXII against the Packers. Best Super Bowl by a safety I've seen, anyway.
I get what you're saying about young Elway teams, but on the other hand, if they'd been on, say, the Cowboys, you'd probably hear about Karl Mecklenburg and maybe even Rulon Jones deserving enshrinement from time to time. Dennis Smith, too.
The Broncos, historically, don't get the national respect. (I mean historically as in "when looked back on as a franchise"-I don't think, say, our Plummer-era teams got the shaft any more than they deserved.) Why is that? Is it a holdover from the old AFL days, or is it because the national media are just now coming around the idea that the AFC can compete?
You make a great argument for Jones, Mecklenburg, and Smith. Those guys at least deserve some consideration.
I do think that the Broncos not getting respect is a holdover from the old AFL days, coupled with the fact that unlike the Steelers and Pats we have never had a dynasty . . . while we have always been good, we have never been counted among the historically good, and, thus, have been relegated to second-tier status.
i was discussing terrell with collin. we both agreed that he should make it because of greatness. somehow along the way longevity got thrown in as a de facto qualifier, and then as the only rebuttal people throw out gale sayers.
obviously, i think you have to last more than three seasons.
but winning two superbowls, a super bowl mvp, league mvp (wasn't he?), and being the best at your position (bar none) over the course of six years, doesn't that mean anything?
i think it does, i'm curious if the writers agree
TD set a league record for combined regular season and postseason yards in 1997, then broke it in 1998.
And he averaged 142.5 yards per playoff game for his career, running for at least 100 in all seven playoff games for the two Super Bowl championship teams.
Davis was way above and beyond a level that most Hall of Famers peak at. He was only healthy and productive for four years (his first four) and was pretty good in limited time in 2001, his seventh and final season. He had a really short career, but how can he not make the Hall? He was better than almost every runner in there.
(And yes, Sharpe does hold the career tight end receiving mark.)