Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

The Soul Of The Game: 1986 Conference Championships

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Article reissue from 11, August 2012

When we say “The Chancellor never sleeps”, we mean there is always football on. Whether we’re talking about the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, or a former landmark game, there is always football on in the imagination. Although I’m writing a football book based upon the Super Bowls, my favorite week are those of the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.

86TaylorWhen the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.

In 1986, the Championships were two tightly fought games. The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-0 and did so based upon good field position with a fierce wind in the first quarter. In Cleveland a defensive battle gave way to John Elway coming of age with “The Drive”. From there the Broncos, who had gained 216 total yards throughout the first 54:00 of the game, drove 98 yards to the tying score. Then won it in overtime.

These fiercely contested game made Super Bowl XXI anti-climactic. They had intensity that bordered on the Hatfields and the McCoy’s and all four defenses played terrific football that day. The two games before the Super Bowl are normally better games than the Super Bowl and my love for the conference finals started with these fiercely fought games.

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Broncos 33-32 Over Giants: Nix & Dart Come Of Age

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It was so frantic and we havent seen this before from Dart and only once before with Nix against the Eagles. Yet each score and we all felt “Hey __, you have to answer!” Each did and seriously Dart in his 2nd start on the road in Mile High of all places did not get overwhelmed. He threw on time and wasnt scared to take his shots.

Incredible Game

Nix matched him blow for blow and in an era of “scared check down quarterbacking” it felt like we were watching the 87 AFC Championship with Elway & Bernie Kosar all over again. Downfield second level throws. It ended on a high because neither made a mistake to cost his team the ballgame. Best game I have seen all year.

Each will grow from this as within each team’s psyche a sense of “we’re never out of a game with THIS quarterback” has to be coursing theough everyone’s minds. Its now muscle memory and these teams will recall in future moments when this confidence is required.

2025 AFC West Preview!

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Its amazing how week 1 looked a lot like Super Bowl LIX with Patrick Mahomes running for his life against the Chargers. To be fair their gameplan changed when they lost Xavier Worthy to injury but it’s a microcosm of what they will face in 2025.

AFC West 2025 Predictions

1 Denver Broncos 12-5 *

2 Los Angeles Chargers 11-6 +

3 Kansas City Chiefs 9-8

4 Oakland Raiders 6-11

Do you realize the Broncos defense finished ranked 7th but just 101 yards from finishing 2nd?? With twin OLB Nick Bonito (13.5 sacks) & Jonathan Cooper (10.5 sacks) speeding quarterbacks clocks into ’24 NFL Defensive POY Patrick Surtain II, this defense will be even more disruptive this year.

They led the NFL with 63 sacks last year and their two main pass rushers are just 25 & 26 years of age respectively. Now add in 24 yr old 2nd year QB Bo Nix and this team is growing into a winner right before your eyes. Nix broke the late Marlon Briscoe’s 55 year old Broncos rookie TD passing (14) record with 29. He improved throughout the season and played well early in the Wildcard playoff loss in Buffalo. This team is on the rise and watch for RB RJ Harvey as the season wears on.

The Kansas City Chiefs have fatigued and ran into a wall early in Super Bowl LIX which still lingers. Patrick Mahomes has his 5th starting Left Tackle in 5 years and his RT Jawaan Taylor  hasn’t improved has been struggling and could have had 30 false starts in 2024 has yet to improve. The officials are going to watch him closer and these penalties will sink a team that had 10 wins in 1 score games.

Having lost G Joe Thumey to the Bears, 2 of Mahomes 5 Offensive Linemen have been replaced since the Super Bowl.

With Xavier Worthy injured and Rashee Rice suspended for the first 6 games, the Chiefs have to lean on the running game with Isiah Pacheco & Kareem Hunt more. The issue is will Pacheco still run with the abandon he did before his latest injury.

Replacing KC in the 2025 playoffs will be Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers who just outdueled the Chiefs in week 1. Justin Herbert finally pulled off a win vs a quality opponent. He was 1-9 in his last 10 matchups with playoff teams. The win in Brazil over KC can go a long way to his maturing into the QB most of us thought he was on the way to being back in 2023.

The 1-0 Raiders looked solid in their win against the Patriots on opening day but lets face it, Geno Smith beat 2nd year starter Drake Maye. He won’t have the luxury of playing a rebuilding team every week. He does have 1st round pick Ashton Jeanty who The Chancellor believes will have a super rookie season. The Raiders without serious weapons at wideout must rely on the running game when they face better teams.

Geno’s history shows once teams have a bead on what he does he really struggles which will come back to haunt against the Broncos, Chargers, & Chiefs. Right now he doesn’t have enough offensive help outside Pro Bowl TE Brock Bowers. A steady performer but not specacular enough to win more than 6 games.

How far will Denver go in 2025? Well… stay tuned. Thanks for reading and please share the article.

How Did Colin Cowherd Survive The FS1 Purge? Always Arguing QBs Need Offensive Coaches Which Totally Is NOT True!

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FS1 decided to shake up their lineup and cancelled Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak which was disappointing but somehow Colin Cowherd survived the purge. In listening to The Facility it was fun to hear the opinions of players with their own stories they could offer in dealing with past colleagues and coaches. It mirrors what you hear now in Podcasts and when I speak to players away from public social media venues to what they believe and see.

I’ve always been a fan of Stink Schlereth and Carton grew on me with his silly antics covering New York teams. It was fun, a little analytical and very opinionated.  Yet Carton and Stink were like talking sports with your friends. Hell thats what Taylor Blitz is… but somehow Cowherd survived the purge.

Year after year and show after show I’ve listened to Cowherd give opinions that help shape the narrative around the country. The one that I’d hear from him on a consistent basis thats totally wrong are QBs need an offensive coach. He’d scoff and put down any team that brought in a defensive coach insisting the league has passed them by. He couldn’t wait to tout the new offensive wizard every chance he had which shuts the door on former defensive players becoming head coaches in impressionable GMs minds and the sporting opinion lexicon. Ohhh… don’t think they’re listening?? Look around… First a little housekeeping on the inaccuracy of that mindset:

Did you know Peyton Manning set the NFL record for points scored (606 points) passing yards (5,554) & touchdowns (55) while playing for defensive coach John Fox in 2013? Fox was the Defensive Coordinator for the NY Giants in 2000 when they went to Super Bowl XXXV.

Yet 13 years later he returned to Giants Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII with a record setting Manning as his QB. Yet every time I turn around I hear Colin Cowherd & ESPN talking heads state QBs have to have Offensive Coordinators as Head Coaches to get the most out of them. This has never been true & I’ll prove it to you and no… “that was a different era” argument is just a copout for the person losing.

Keep in mind all these Head Coaches were defensive position coaches with most rising through as Defensive Coordinators. Not only this but wait until I show you the NFL offensive records these coaches were a part of:

  • Peyton Manning from 1998-2001 played for Colts HC Jim Mora (Linebacker & DB Coach) then Tony Dungy (DB Coach) 2002-2008.
  • Tom Brady from from 2000-2019 played for Patriots HC Bill Belichick (Giants DC & LB Coach) winning 6 Super Bowls.
  • Warren Moon in The Run N Shoot rose to PFHOF status with HC Jack Pardee (former Charger DC & long time NFL Linebacker)
  • Dan Marino shattered NFL records for TDs (48) and yards (5,084) in ’84 playing for Don Shula (Former DB Coach Baltimore Colts)
  • Josh Allen just won NFL MVP in ’24 playing for Sean McDermott (Eagles DC & Panthers DC) accounting for 40 touchdowns.
  • Jayden Daniels won ’24 NFL Rookie of the Year taking Washington to the NFC Championship with Dan Quinn (DC Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas)
  • CJ Stroud won ’23 NFL Rookie of the Year & beat Cleveland 45-14 in the AFC Wildcard Game for HC DeMeco Ryans (DC 49ers)
  • Cam Newton won ’15 NFL MVP throwing 35TDs and rushing for 10 more taking HC Ron Rivera (DC Bears, Chargers) to Super Bowl L.
  • Lamar Jackson won ’19 & ’23 NFL MVP with Ravens HC John Harbaugh (DB & Special Teams Eagles).

Marino’s stats in 84 courtesy of CBS.

Aside from the 7 Super Bowls won from this list, you have 22 conference championship appearances, 12 NFL MVPs, and the last 3 single season passing TD record holders. Dan Marino ’84 (48TDs) Peyton Manning ’04 (49TDs), Tom Brady ’07 (50Tds) and as mentioned earlier Manning ’13 (55TDs). Keep in mind this isn’t accounting for Peyton’s Super Bowl XLIV run where he won league MVP under offensive HC Mike Caldwell and not Tony Dungy. Nor does this account for Brady’s 7th Super Bowl win with Bruce Arians.

So 3 of the last 5 NFL MVPs have played for defensive coaches and 2 of the 3 winningest coaches of all time Don Shula and Bill Belichick were defensive coaches. On top of that these two accounted for the only undefeated regular seasons in NFL history in 1972 & 2007. There were over 100 NFL records before counting 4 Super Bowl MVPs. Of those records the undefeated ’07 Patriots (589 points) & ’13 Broncos (606 points) are the highest scoring teams in NFL history. Not these so-called offensive gurus Colin mentions.

The Super Bowl champion Eagles & Kansas City Chiefs withstanding, the Bills, Ravens, Washington, and Houston Texans are all predicted to have late playoff runs. In fact the Bills and Commanders, on the strength of their offenses were in last year’s conference championship games with a defensive coach.

The issue is media laziness that pushes this narrative setting the climate where NFL Execs believe the noise they need the next “offensive mind”. A young innovative play caller with 800 pick plays that don’t work. I can remember Steve Spurrier “The Old Ball Coach” who was going to conquer the NFL. He got laughed out of the league in 2 years. Urban Meyer? Marc Trestman? Chip Kelly? All these gurus, even Sean McVay and his wizardry fell in Super Bowl LIII 13-3 to Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Remember that?? They lined up in the “I” Formation and ran it down the Rams throats.

Championship Gatorade Bath in ’21

Its cheating the game as defensive coaches know that balance is what wins football games. Taylor Blitz is pulling for Aaron Glenn in New York to have a great career with the Jets. I want to see and hear the pathway for former Jet Linebacker Marvin “Shade Tree” Jones to move up to the NFL ranks. He is head coach of the Tulsa Oilers just a few seasons removed from winning the ’21 Indoor Football League Championship with Omaha Beef. This is a league with a wide open style of offense and showcases his chops to adust philosophy to a different style of play then what he emerged from as a player.

This isn’t new as I mentioned Houston Oiler Coach Jack Pardee earlier. Keep in mind he was a 15 year Middle Linebacker in the NFL. As a coach he ushered in The Run & Shoot offense in the NFL that eliminated the position he played for most defenses that faced his Oilers! Opponents routinely deployed 7 defensive backs and no Middle Linebacker.

One aspect of this issue is this is being done to keep the NFL coaching ranks from having too many black coaches. I’ve written about this before back in ’22 “The Media’s Role Selectively Omitting Genius of Black Coordinators” where media is a willing partner nefariously working toward this narrative. In the same manner we saw Shedeur Sanders name tainted in NFL circles before the draft, we saw this with the way 2 time Super Bowl champion Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy was “sidelined” with his coverage in his head coaching search.

So the next time you hear the b.s. narrative and why defensive coaches don’t win, remind whoever the highest scoring teams in league history and all the NFL’s passing records came from QBs led by defensive coaches. The reigning NFL MVP & the last 2 Rookie of the Year recipients are quarterbacks on defensive coach’s teams as well.

If I hear Colin start in on this again, I’m throwing a brick through my television and suing FS1 for damages.

Are we saying crazy takes because we believe what we’re saying with context or spouting what corporate wigs want discussed?? It could be just about ratings but you can’t have me pull out all these NFL records and MVPs and even glean this is an honest truth. We also don’t want this to be the squashing of black voices & points of view in the media as well…

Anyway, we at least have Schlereth still in the booth during games although this allowed us to get to know his basketball likes and appreciation for athletes from multiple sports.

I’m going to miss those guys on Breakfast Ball, listening to former players James Jones, “Shady”, Chase Daniel & Acho. I didn’t get into Speak as much once the crew broke into 2 shows. I’d be listening to it from the other room while working. Joy will rebound and Keyshawn has his All Facts Podcast

So we’ll see Key around…and no you did not have better hands than Marvin Harrison.. yet I digress…  FS1, if you fill the studios with blowhards who didn’t play and have a certain “milk toast personality”, count me out as a fan. I’ll still have First Things First (Cogent Analysis lol ) on in the background while working afternoons but the rest? Sigh… I’ll have on podcasts and ditch network tv like so many others.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

By the way… I didn’t even bring up Mike Tomlin (Tampa DB Coach) 18 non-losing seasons in Pittsburgh, Jimmy Johnson HC in Dallas (DC and Defensive Line Coach) or Bill Cowher 16 seasons in Pittsburgh (DC with Chiefs/Special Teams Browns) which brings you another 4 Super Bowl championships in 6 appearances. Now if I throw in Tom Landry HC in Dallas (DC New York Giants) it goes up to 6 more Lombardis and 10 total Super Bowl visits.

Ok… I’m done… bring your argument… wait Chuck Noll of the Steelers was DC for Baltimore Colts who lost Super Bowl III.

Now… I’m done. Walk your weak ass argument on over.

The Truth Behind Russell Wilson’s Benching

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The Broncos tried to make Russell Wilson restructure his contract and he didnt want to. They asked him in October and were trying to force his hand. This is why all the tension between Payton and Wilson aside from I dont think he cared for Wilson.

We never heard or saw sideline rants & tension when he had Taysom Hill or Tedy Bridgewater after Drew Brees.

Broncos brass tried to make him waive his injury clause so it would be easier to move him and they’d only owe the $37 million in 2024 guaranteed. Not the $33-37 million also due in 2025 if he gets injured. This is to make him tradeable but this press makes him less tradeable in my eyes.

Its a black eye for everyone involved and I think we’ll see a dispirited team hit the field. Players are human and know when it comes to business & the disrespect Wilson is being shown: “If it can happen to you ($250million) it can happen to me.” After this would you want to sign a big free agent contract in Denver?
You better believe players will be talking.

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Sean Payton… Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

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Tell the truth Tuesday: The NFL is an arena that humbles successful coaches in 2nd tenures in new places. Most forget Hall of Fame Coach Jimmy Johnson’s last game was a 62-7 playoff loss to Jacksonville in ’99.
In 1989 Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll began 0-2 when he lost the opener at home 51-0 to Cleveland. Then fell 42-10 to the defending AFC Champion Bengals.
In 1990 Chuck Knox “Ground Chuck” in an attempt to modernize switched the Seattle Seahawk offense to “The Run n Shoot” and promptly began the season 0-3 and the club appeared lost on offense. Seattle was Knox’s 3rd Head Coaching gig.
While Johnson retired, both Knox and Noll rebounded with great in season turnarounds. Noll went 9-7, won a wildcard game in Houston before falling 24-23 in a divisional playoff in Denver. Just inches from the AFC Championship Game.
In one of the greatest coaching moves ever, Knox threw out the Run n Shoot playbook completely and went back to the playbook and formations they had been using for a decade plus. Yes… in week 4 scrapped everything!! The Seahawks went 9-4 the rest of the way to finish 9-7.
Payton will have to take solace here. His reputation is on the line and has to prove he still has the winning edge. A formula for success. Unlike Johnson he still has a lot of season left to make an imprint in 2023. It will not be easy. Losing 70-20 was a historic drubbing.
Well…. since 1960, Tuesday is film exchange day in the NFL, and right now the projectors are on in the Bronco facility. What changes will be made and what will be asked of the team?? Asked of Russell Wilson??
Professional reputations are on the line