Nalen can see finish line with Broncos

[SoCalBronco]

Nalen can see finish line with Broncos
Center expects this year to be his last with team

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
August 4, 2005

ENGLEWOOD - Tom Nalen's public speaking engagements are like birthdays, once-a-year events. And on Wednesday, it was the media's rare turn to discover what the five-time Pro Bowl center is thinking.

They might have been famous last words, since he won't be talking again any time soon.


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Nalen said it's his belief that his 12th season with the Denver Broncos likely is his final one, even though he's still having fun playing football, and retirement isn't something he wants to consider.

"I'm a free agent after the year. I doubt I'll be back here, and I don't want to play anywhere else. So you can draw your own conclusions," he said.

[SoCalBronco]

Nalen later backtracked a bit, saying that if he was to go elsewhere, "It would have to be the East Coast somewhere," close to his family in Foxboro, Mass.

But forced to leave the Broncos, family considerations likely would keep him in Denver, where he anchored the offensive line for the organization's two Super Bowl champions. At this juncture, Nalen also can't envision himself wearing another team's colors.

"It kind of taints your career. If you play 12 years somewhere and one somewhere else, it's not me," he said.

Nalen, 34, is held in as high regard within the organization as many past stars.

He was a first-team All-Pro selection twice and the league's lineman of the year in 2003. His five Pro Bowl selections are the most by any offensive lineman in Broncos history, and during the past decade he has helped anchor a running attack that has become almost as synonymous with the franchise as John Elway.

But Nalen said the team's plan to shift Ben Hamilton from guard to center and sign or develop a guard to take Hamilton's place is the scenario he expects for 2006. The timing fits because the final three years of Nalen's contract already have voided because he has played more than 20 percent of snaps in a single season.

But general manager Ted Sund- quist insisted no decision regarding Nalen has been made.

[SoCalBronco]

"Tom's been an integral part of our team for a long time, and his play has directly affected our success over the years. I see no reason why that won't continue to be the case; we'll evaluate everyone's play at the end of this season as we always do and put together our plans for 2006," Sundquist said.

Nalen is coming off what he, and some NFL personnel men, consider a down season. Yet he's still considered one of the best centers in the league.

Nalen has had his share of injuries, with eight in his 11 seasons. But he rarely has been out of the lineup, starting 16 games eight times since Denver took him in the seventh round of the 1994 draft. Seven times he has completed 100 percent of workouts in the Broncos' off-season program.

His only major in-season setback was a torn left anterior cruciate ligament in October 2002 that also required a microfracture procedure to repair. Hamilton, a college center, replaced Nalen for the final nine games of the season and Denver went 4-5.

Hamilton, a college center, eventually will return to his natural spot. He'll be patient, until, as he expects, Nalen leaves on his own terms.

"He's playing well and if he wants to stay here, he's going to play here as long as he wants to stay here," Hamilton said. "Whatever he decides, he decides, and I'll be playing guard until then. He's playing great and helping us win games, so I'm happy with the situation now."

Nalen made it clear that should the Broncos fail to retain him next off-season in free agency, he could be content with his accomplishments, particularly if he can remain healthy this season, and especially if Denver can recapture the playoff form it once enjoyed before six seasons without a postseason victory.

"I definitely want to win a Super Bowl. It's been awhile. And once you taste it, I think, you want to get back to it, because it's a great feeling," he said.

Then again, if his career did end after his 12th season, he's not sure how he'd spend his time.

"At this point, I'm not qualified to do anything else. It's what I do," he said. "I feel like I play at a decent level most years and I have fun at my job. It's a fun job. Training camp's certainly not fun, but hanging out with the guys on the team, there's no other job, other than the military, where you can get away with the things that we do, being politically incorrect and all that. And I get six months every year to hang out with my family."

The Broncos are bringing back the same line this season, other than Cooper Carlisle replacing Dan Neil at right guard. Any future changes are just speculation now.

Nalen's goal now is to "end the year healthy, and go from there."

"If I feel good at the end of the year, I'd like to play more," he said.

[SoCalBronco]

Reading that was sad. Man you gotta love Tommy Nails.

[Kaylore]

The last lineman of the Super Broncos. That is kind of sad.

[watermock]

Nalen is the ultimate warrior. So was Neil, but the gig is almost up. We have Hamilton and Myers in the wings, so we should be ok, but you can't replace that guy. Still, he's smart enough to see the end of the road.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Myers at center instead of Hamilton, but who knows. Hamilton has quite a bit of experience at guard now.

[fontaine]

"It kind of taints your career. If you play 12 years somewhere and one somewhere else, it's not me," he said.

Damn, what a stone cold old school player. One of the last of a dying breed, I'm afraid.

[kent156]

i didn't need to wakeup and find this

[fontaine]

i didn't need to wakeup and find this

I'm inclined to believe that they'll find a way to keep him. Especially considering we don't have the backups there at Guard to come in and replace Hamilton if he were to slot over to Center. I like how Clabo is coming along but we haven't drafted any Guards recently.

I think Nalen will be kept for another year while they wait for Clabo and Meyers to develop.

[Drek]

I'd love to see Nalen kept as a player coach like Jimmy Spencer was. The guy flat out knows how to get the job done. Meyers and any other OGs or Cs we bring in could use to have Nalen around.

[PatsWin2002]

I found this one too:

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20050804/SPORTS/108040054

Staying in the shadows

Matt Schuman, (Bio) schuman@greeleytrib.com
August 4, 2005

BY MATT SCHUMAN

ENGLEWOOD -- Denver Broncos center Tom Nalen likes to remain a man of mystery.

While professional football players often bask in the glow of adulation and attention from fans and the media, the Broncos 12-year veteran would just as soon hope nobody notices he was around.

It's one of the reasons why the eloquent, yet soft-spoken Nalen hardly ever speaks to the media and even more rarely shows his face on television. He doesn't want to be noticed.

"I can't imagine John Elway going out to eat," Nalen said. "It is probably a hassle. And I would just rather avoid that. I can go anywhere I want right now, to be anonymous."

Where he can't be anonymous is on the football field where Nalen is one of the best in the game at his position and the leader of one of the top offensive lines in the NFL over last decade.

With Nalen in the middle, the Broncos offensive line has produced a 1,000-yard rusher nine of the last 10 seasons, including in 1998 when Terrell Davis became only the fourth back in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards.

Still, the five-time Pro Bowler remains something of an enigma because he chooses to remain out of the spotlight.

Even when asked if there is anything that fans might be surprised to know about him, Nalen politely declined to divulge even the slightest detail.

"I wouldn't want to share that with them," Nalen said. "I wouldn't want people to know me that well. My personal life and my football life, I want to keep separate."

What is clear is that Nalen is a devout family man who enjoys spending time with his wife, Denise, and his three children, daughters Delaney and Ainsley and son Kyle.

Nalen admits his football career wasn't always easy on his children when they were younger and when they didn't understand why he had to leave them behind when he went to work.

"They didn't understand when they were younger why dad was going to (training) camp in Greeley for a month," Nalen said. "Now they understand that their dad plays football. They go to the games and enjoy it and know someone on the field. It gives them a different perspective than going to a Nuggets game and watching the Nuggets. It gives them a different perspective and I think they enjoy it like that."

What's unclear is how much longer they may get to watch their dad play. Nalen is in the last year of his contract with the Broncos and at age 34 is getting old by NFL standards.

"This is the last year of my contract, and if I feel healthy at the end of the season, then I think I would like to keep playing, but it would have to be the right circumstances for my family," Nalen said.

Nalen has been one of the most durable players for the Broncos. He has started every game the last two seasons after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2002 and is tied for eighth all-time in career starts for the Broncos with 151.

He also enjoys the game as much as he ever has even though he doesn't like losing, especially in the playoffs in which Denver has been beaten badly by Indianapolis the past two seasons in the first round.

"I appreciate the good years we had when I was younger and all I knew was that we would win. I can appreciate what we did back then, and I'd like to get that back," Nalen said.

Quietly, without fanfare, as he always has.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Will be sad to see him go. I have always appreciated his effort and his loyalty. I'm sure he could coach, but it sounds like he just wants to take his money and become a hermit. Good for him if that is his goal.

[Phantom]

Time to send another Broncos legend out on top, with trophy in hand!!

[SouthStndJunkie]

Nalen said it's his belief that his 12th season with the Denver Broncos likely is his final one, even though he's still having fun playing football, and retirement isn't something he wants to consider.

"I'm a free agent after the year. I doubt I'll be back here, and I don't want to play anywhere else. So you can draw your own conclusions," he said.

Props to Nails...always underrated in my book.

SSJ

[Broncoman13]

You have to respect a guy that wants to be anonymous off the football field. So many players act like the city or state or country owe them something b/c they are a star football player in the NFL. Not Nails, he'd just assume you didn't recognize him and give him the same service as you would any other Tom, Dick or Harry. It will be sad to see him go, just like it was with Elway, Atwater, Eddy Mac and unfortunately soon enough Rod.

[Play2win]

NAILS is something special, thats for sure. Over time, has become one of my all-time favorite Broncos, because he always brings it, and he is a REAL football player. Props to NAILS!!

[ludo21]

GOOOO Nalen, man im sorry to see him go, but as he stated, he may be back again if his health is alright and his family is ok with it. But we gotta move on eventually, hopefully with that Redskins pick Ferguson is an option where we pick at.

[DB-Freak]

Third HOF to be in with Sharpe and Elway.

Or at least should be in my opinion.

[Atlas]

Third HOF to be in with Sharpe and Elway.

Or at least should be in my opinion.

He won't be a HOF. But that's OK a place on the ring of fame is reserved for him. I hope he comes back for one more year. Our depth at gueard is very suspect and I would just like to keep Hamilton there.

[DBroncos4life]

At sometime Zimm will go into the hall won't he? I would think he would go in a Bronco and not a Viking. What about Mark S? Should he get in? I really don't know how hard it is for Oline guys to get in so I cant make that kind of call.

[Atlas]

At sometime Zimm will go into the hall won't he? I would think he would go in a Bronco and not a Viking. What about Mark S? Should he get in? I really don't know how hard it is for Oline guys to get in so I cant make that kind of call.

Zim has a chance but it will be awhile. No way Schlereth gets in.

[brncs_fan]

Nalen is a hell of a player and a hell of a guy. It will be a sad day in Denver when he leaves.

Hopefully he will get to come out of the final home game early for a standing O