SUPER BOWL XXXIII RUNNER UP 1998 ATLANTA FALCONS

January 27, 2016 by The Chancellor of Football

What a ride….What a nice ring too!! Some teams are like machinery that keep chugging along and others are like comets…not to be seen again. This 1998 Atlanta Falcon team was not a comet, however they did get in the way of one.

Were they one of the best that didn’t win a Super Bowl? It’s debatable. The Falcons rode a workhorse in Jamaal Anderson and channeled a “win one for the Gipper” emotion after Dan Reeves open heart surgery, to make the most magical season happen in Falcon history. To go from 7-9 in 1997 to 14-2 in 98 was quite an accomplishment. In taking down the Minnesota Vikings 30-27 in overtime for the NFC Championship, they are seen as pulling off a monumental upset when if you look at the tale of the tape, maybe it wasn’t such a big upset after all.

Upon further review, the 1998 NFC Championship pitted the best records EVER to meet for a conference title. The Minnesota Vikings at 15-1 were hosting the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons in the Metrodome. The combined 29-3 records was equaled in 2004 by the Patriots and Steelers. The Vikings were the sexier team since they broke the scoring record (556 pts. breaking Redskins record of 541) which included HOF Randy Moss’ electrifying rookie season with 1300 yards and 17 TDs. Couple this with NFL Comeback Player of the Year in NFL MVP Randall Cunningham. Add future Hall of Famer Cris Carter, HOF John Randle and Robert Griffith (All Pro Safety) wow…the Vikings were a meteor.

Yet you have to understand where the spirit of the Atlanta Falcons came from. To do that let me welcome you to “The Second Chance Saloon”. All the principles of this football team were retreads that were unsuccessful at becoming a champion elsewhere yet combined with others in the same position, & melded into a tremendous fighting force.

First you had Chris Chandler, a career journeyman who played for 5 teams before landing in Atlanta. Outside linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who had been a pro bowl player and perennial Super Bowl runner up with the Buffalo Bills, found new life in Atlanta once his tenure ended with the Bills. Wide receivers Tony Martin (66 rec. 1,181 yds 6 tds) and Terrence Mathis (64 rec. 1,136 yds 11 tds) were castoffs of the Chargers and Jets respectively. Martin was the deep threat that scored the deciding touchdown in the Charger’s 94 AFC Championship win over Pittsburgh. Mathis was a serviceable 3rd receiver for the Jets who finally became a starter in Atlanta.

Morten Anderson the Saints all time leading scorer. Ray Buchanon, the cornerback who had spearheaded the ’95 Colts run to the AFC Championship, he brought a spirited attitude along with Colt teammate CB Ashley Ambrose. Eugene Robinson the veteran safety had played in the last two Super Bowl seasons with Green Bay was a steadying force at FS.

Rich Brooks the former St. Louis Rams coach who replaced Reeves as the interim coach during his time away recovering from heart surgery. Reeves? Well…

The casual football fan will remember Reeves as coach of the Denver Broncos for most of John Elway’s career. He had come from the Tom Landry coaching tree after his playing days with the Dallas Cowboys. After failing to win it all in 3 attempts with the Denver Broncos the team took a new direction in 1993. His former QB Coach then Offensive Co-ordinator was Mike Shanahan.

The Falcons rode a bruising running game by Jamal Anderson, who had over 1,700 rushing yards that year, to bludgeon defenses. Chris Chandler played efficiently, new deep threat Tony Martin coupled with Clarence Mathis to form a complete offense. They were more steady than spectacular.

As many sporting events and teams go…emotion and playing for a cause greater than themselves propelled them into the playoffs where they ran into Minnesota and one team HAD to lose.

The most important play of the game came during the late 2nd quarter when the high flying Vikings got too greedy. Up 20-7 the Vikings, at their own 20 with just seconds left in the first half, decided to come out passing. Chuck Smith had a sack and forced fumble that kept the Falcons within striking distance at the half, down 20-14. The Falcons would go on to win 30-27 in OT

“Dirty Bird” at the podium in a quiet Metrodome.

Two great stories approached the 1998 NFC Championship Game with the winner to take on the defending champion Denver Broncos, in Super Bowl XXXIII. One of the greatest NFC Championship games took place and an upset that may have kept a sexier matchup of high powered offenses from meeting in the Super Bowl but wasn’t as big an upset as others make it out to be.

SUPER BOWL XXXIII CHAMPIONSHIP 1998 DENVER BRONCOS

January 25, 2016 by The Chancellor of Football

Talk about a curtain call. How many of us had a former boss that we wanted to show them what we were about?? Super Bowl XXXIII was John Elway’s last game and it came courtesy of Dan Reeves…yikes.

I still thought the 98 Vikings were the best team that year but guess what? History doesn’t care what The Chancellor thinks so after a 34-19 win over the Falcons; this was the crowning jewel for becoming back to back champions! And just like what happened with the early 90’s Cowboys we’re left with the glut of never ending questions when we’re drinking and talking football…”Would they have three-peated if___?” In this instance had John Elway come back….would they have? Well that wasn’t rhetorical, what do you think?

After 36 seasons and 4 other failed Super Bowl appearances the Broncos were champions. Elway was now a champion and didn’t have to answer those questions anymore. The organization, city, everyone celebrated the triumph in XXXII over the Packers. They were supremely ripe for a letdown. Yet once the press conference to announce Elway’s return for his 16^th season came, it seemed like the Broncos would be a good defending champion. Who knew they would go on to be one of the strongest ever??

They leaned on their celebrated running game that had matured thru the previous post season. Terrell Davis came into 1998 running strong. The Achilles heel from the season before was stopping the run, the best thing to do was to get an early lead and impose your running game on your opponent while forcing them to pass. The Broncos did this with great aplomb as Davis became the first 2,000 yard rusher in the AFC since OJ Simpson in 1973.

So the Broncos went from defending champion to a team that threatened to run through the season undefeated. The champagne on ice the ’72 Dolphins put away until the last team loses was ice cold as the Broncos raced out to a 13-0 record. There was a strange feeling when the Broncos entered Giants Stadium during that 14^th game. They had already wrapped up the AFC West Division where they had been a wildcard entrant the year before.

For the first time in the latter half of 1998, Denver faced a team that was not intimidated by them. The Giants pulled off the upset when Kent Graham hit Amani Toomer with a late game touchdown 20-16. The dream of the undefeated season had melted away, and after a Monday night loss to the Dolphins, there was concern the Broncos had lost their edge. The playoffs beckoned yet Shanahan started resting his players. Countenance turned to anguish as some Denver fans remembered the ’96 finish and upset to the Jaguars at home in the playoffs.

Uh….well Denver faithful didn’t need to worry. Something about that embarrassing loss brought the fire out of the Broncos who ran roughshod over the Jags 42-14. Next up were the Cinderella New York Jets, who came in with Bill Parcells trying to become the first coach to take 3 teams to the Super Bowl. In Elway’s last game at Mile High Stadium they prevailed 23-10 in a defensive struggle.

Next up, Super Bowl XXXIII and an old ally in former coach Dan Reeves. In the end, Elway threw for 336 yards in an MVP performance in his last game. Elway retired 4 months later and left us to ask that proverbial question…Would they have three-peated had Elway played another year??

What do you think??

Davis Ring of Honor Ceremony after brief HOF career.

Is Mike Shanahan Overrated??

May 4, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Too often we give a coach or player a pass for bad decisions because they have won a championship. Look at how Mike Shanahan is handling the Donovan McNabb situation in Washington. This is a quarterback he hand selected then traded for. He benches him for Rex Grossman,whom the Chicago Bears deemed expendable for single handedly losing a Super Bowl and regressing. What is he doing? Is there a psychological edge to what he’s doing?

No this is an ego-maniac who fell in love with his genius mantle and is personally affronting McNabb with benching him and embarrassing him. You know what? We’ve seen this before…

Mike Shanahan is one of a long list of coaches who fell into some good situations and were given more credit than they really deserved. He was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos when John Elway led them to the Super Bowl yet this was a Hall of Fame talent already in tow. What is missed during those years is everyone forgets that the 1986 Denver Broncos were #1 in the AFC in defense and were highly ranked in 1987.

We tend to forget that when we remember those defenses collapsing in the Super Bowl against the Giants, Redskins, and 49ers respectively. When he finally was given a head coaching job with the Los Angeles Raiders, his results were terrible. He had a losing record (8-12) and was fired mid season. Funny thing is 1 1/2 years later Art Shell had those same Los Angeles Raiders in the 1990 AFC Championship Game in Buffalo playing for the right to go to Super Bowl XXV. So don’t sell me on his expertise.

Here is where it gets interesting. The San Francisco 49ers offensive plays, playbook, and ALL training sessions were all on video for the incoming offensive coordinator. From Bill Walsh on down. There was no serious input and you HAD to learn how the 49ers ran their offense period to be hired as a coordinator. So when Mike Holmgren was hired away to be the Green Bay Packers head coach, Shanahan was hired on and had to learn their system.

Holmgren had just led the 1988 & 1989 Super Bowl champion’s powerful offense. Throw in the 14-2 1990 season where the 49ers made the NFC Championship Game, and then in ’91 they again had the #1 offense although Joe Montana and Steve Young missed significant playing time. So when they hired Shanahan in 1992 the 49er offense was already a juggernaut. They ranked highly through the Super Bowl XXIX triumph that made it seem as though Shanahan was some genius when he ran what was already in place in deployment and personnel.

Now we know he inherited Hall of Famer John Elway when he became head coach of the Denver Broncos in 1995. By a twist of luck they had Terrell Davis develop as a running back. He installed a running offense and signed a ton of defensive free agents to fortify the defense and he was rewarded with back to back Super Bowls. He coached well and had the pulse of his team along with defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

Yet for all his offensive acumen he hasn’t developed his own quarterback having inherited Steve Young and John Elway. He drafted Brian Griese in 1998 and that didn’t work out as well as Bronco fans would have hoped. He traded away for Jake Plummer who did play good enough to help the Broncos to the 2005 AFC Championship, yet they were upset at home. From 1999-2005, a 7 year period, he only won 1 playoff game after the retirement of John Elway.

With the help of Alex Gibbs zone blocking schemes the Broncos did provide many a 1,000 yard rusher starting with Terrell Davis. Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary were surprising 1,000 yard rushers in Davis’ absent to knee injuries that derailed a Hall of Fame career.

Then with the 2002 NFL Draft, the Broncos nabbed Clinton Portis off of the NCAA Champion Miami Hurricanes. Clinton seemed he would be a serviceable back although he had an outspoken personality. What happened?? Clinton Porits turned out to be the most prolific back, for their first two years, in the history of the Denver Broncos.

Where Terrell Davis rushed for 1,117 and 1,538 yards his first two seasons, Portis burst onto the scene to the tune of 1,508 and 1,591 yards. Portis also scored 29TDs to Davis 20TDs while garnering the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2002 and setting an NFL record of averaging 5.5 yards per carry for his first two years. He also became the youngest player in league history to have a 5 TD game and was a rising star.

So did he build another champion around a talented running back? Nope. He traded away one of history’s most prolific backs for CB Champ Bailey. Not only did the Broncos not improve on their defensive statistics in terms of touchdowns given up, guess what happened with their star cornerback in tow??

The ’04 AFC Wildcard Tilt saw Peyton Manning throw for the most yards EVER in the playoffs for a non overtime game with 457 yards passing while losing 49-24. Now thats genius!! The record is Bernie Kosar [The U] who threw for 489 yards in a double overtime victory over the Jets in the 1986 divisional round. Peyton almost did that in 4 quarters. Yikes!

So where did the genius mantle come from? He did win 2 straight Super Bowls with the NFL’s all time winningest (at the time) quarterback in John Elway, but where is the other developed talent? Where is the other quarterback he’s groomed into an elite passer whether we are talking about Brian Griese or even Jake Plummer??

So now here we are with his on again off again mistreatment of Donovan McNabb. He won’t give him a vote of confidence in being the starter yet this lockout is keeping him from trading Donovan. Shanahan is the same coach who put McNabb in the news signing him to a huge contract extension only to bench him two weeks later. Lets face it the re-signing was only to back-load the contract money to years McNabb would not see. For a reason that has not been introduced to us this seems to have gone into the realm of the personal.

Once you look at the body of work, I don’t see an elite coach. I see an old coach who is achieving what he always has: marginal years with a couple playoff years. Doesn’t really develop any of the talent he drafts and is callous to many of his players. Rod Smith and Terrell Davis the notable exceptions.

I think the sand is out of his hour glass and he won’t be coach of the Redskins after this season with a sub-par performance. I would like to word things differently Redskin fans but I call them like I see them. He is overrated and past his prime. The Albert Haynesworth debacle withstanding, what has he really done in Washington? Its hard to see the present situation with Donovan McNabb as anything other than personal. Now the NFL lockout is keeping McNabb in place to prolong the agony which is unfortunate.