dragondawg
11-09-2007, 09:24 AM
By DAVID RAMSEY
THE GAZETTE
ENGLEWOOD - The Denver Broncos had dissolved into a disaster. Fans were in revolt. At the midpoint of the season, doom threatened. Mike Shanahan was scowling and grumpy.
No, we’re not talking about the aftermath of Sunday’s surrender to the Detroit Lions, which ranks among the worst losses in Broncos history.
We’re talking about 2000, when a sorry team transformed to take an unlikely journey to the playoffs. We’re talking about Shanahan’s finest hour, when he revived his flawed squad.
A repeat is required. The Broncos are bumbling around with a 3-5 record. The victories, over Buffalo, Oakland and Pittsburgh, have been of the skin-of-the-teeth variety and two of the losses have been humiliating, soul-draining poundings.
Detroit and San Diego left the Broncos in shreds.
Hope lingers. It lingers because the Broncos’ AFC West brethren aren’t very good, either.
Bill Romanowski was a snarling linebacker for the 2000 Broncos. He’s been unimpressed by this edition of the Broncos, but he’s equally unimpressed with the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders.
“It may be an 8-8 team that wins this division,” Romanowski said. “It’s that kind of a year.”
The story of 2000 doesn’t feature a happy ending. The Broncos were pounded 21-3 in the first round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens, the eventual Super Bowl champs.
Thinking back to 2000 did little to lighten Shanahan’s mood Wednesday. His frown never budged.
“They had us buried,” Shanahan said, his voice a growl as he thought back to 2000.
Will he mention the revival to his current team?
“No,” he said. “You guys probably will. They’ll hear about it.”
The 2000 Broncos were a season removed from the 1998 Super Bowl champions. John Elway had retired to his Englewood mansion. Terrell Davis was hobbled by the knee injury that eventually ended his career.
The Broncos were led by quarterback Brian Griese, who was placed on our planet to serve as a backup.
Shanahan, suffering from temporary football blindness, saw Griese as the next great NFL quarterback.
On Oct. 22, the Broncos traveled to Cincinnati to face the 0-6 Bengals. They got pounded. Bengals running back Corey Dillon ran for 278 yards, then an NFL record, and carried Cincinnati to a 31-21 win.
In their other 15 games that season, the Bengals collected three wins and averaged 11 points. The Broncos stumbled away with a 4-4 record. The scenario was every bit as ugly as Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
Shanahan was furious. He ordered the Broncos to practice in full pads. Practices grew nasty, with loads of vicious hitting and little complacency.
“At the end of the day, we were fighters,” Romanowski said. “We were close. We knew who we were.”
They weren’t dominating. The Broncos won four straight by a total of 18 points to climb into contention with the Oakland Raiders. They won seven of eight to earn a wild card berth and, ouch, the right to face the Ravens.
The Broncos had not a chance. Griese wilted under the pressure of one of the more frightening defenses in NFL history.
Glenn Cadrez started three games at linebacker for the 2000 Broncos. Speaking by phone from his home in San Diego, Cadrez disputes any notion of a revival.
“It’s all perspective,” he said. “I don’t think we revived. We lost to the Ravens. That wasn’t our standard. That might be good for half the league. It wasn’t good for us.”
Cadrez has a point. He started for the 1998 Broncos and expected another ride to the Super Bowl.
But there’s something to be said for being realistic.
The 2000 Broncos weren’t mighty. Neither are the 2007 Broncos, who don’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Any playoff run this season will be short.
Still, some pride can be salvaged. A team can turn around, bring happiness to grieving fans. The chance was there in 2000.
And the same chance is there now.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/broncos_29511___article.html/shanahan_season.html
THE GAZETTE
ENGLEWOOD - The Denver Broncos had dissolved into a disaster. Fans were in revolt. At the midpoint of the season, doom threatened. Mike Shanahan was scowling and grumpy.
No, we’re not talking about the aftermath of Sunday’s surrender to the Detroit Lions, which ranks among the worst losses in Broncos history.
We’re talking about 2000, when a sorry team transformed to take an unlikely journey to the playoffs. We’re talking about Shanahan’s finest hour, when he revived his flawed squad.
A repeat is required. The Broncos are bumbling around with a 3-5 record. The victories, over Buffalo, Oakland and Pittsburgh, have been of the skin-of-the-teeth variety and two of the losses have been humiliating, soul-draining poundings.
Detroit and San Diego left the Broncos in shreds.
Hope lingers. It lingers because the Broncos’ AFC West brethren aren’t very good, either.
Bill Romanowski was a snarling linebacker for the 2000 Broncos. He’s been unimpressed by this edition of the Broncos, but he’s equally unimpressed with the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders.
“It may be an 8-8 team that wins this division,” Romanowski said. “It’s that kind of a year.”
The story of 2000 doesn’t feature a happy ending. The Broncos were pounded 21-3 in the first round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens, the eventual Super Bowl champs.
Thinking back to 2000 did little to lighten Shanahan’s mood Wednesday. His frown never budged.
“They had us buried,” Shanahan said, his voice a growl as he thought back to 2000.
Will he mention the revival to his current team?
“No,” he said. “You guys probably will. They’ll hear about it.”
The 2000 Broncos were a season removed from the 1998 Super Bowl champions. John Elway had retired to his Englewood mansion. Terrell Davis was hobbled by the knee injury that eventually ended his career.
The Broncos were led by quarterback Brian Griese, who was placed on our planet to serve as a backup.
Shanahan, suffering from temporary football blindness, saw Griese as the next great NFL quarterback.
On Oct. 22, the Broncos traveled to Cincinnati to face the 0-6 Bengals. They got pounded. Bengals running back Corey Dillon ran for 278 yards, then an NFL record, and carried Cincinnati to a 31-21 win.
In their other 15 games that season, the Bengals collected three wins and averaged 11 points. The Broncos stumbled away with a 4-4 record. The scenario was every bit as ugly as Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
Shanahan was furious. He ordered the Broncos to practice in full pads. Practices grew nasty, with loads of vicious hitting and little complacency.
“At the end of the day, we were fighters,” Romanowski said. “We were close. We knew who we were.”
They weren’t dominating. The Broncos won four straight by a total of 18 points to climb into contention with the Oakland Raiders. They won seven of eight to earn a wild card berth and, ouch, the right to face the Ravens.
The Broncos had not a chance. Griese wilted under the pressure of one of the more frightening defenses in NFL history.
Glenn Cadrez started three games at linebacker for the 2000 Broncos. Speaking by phone from his home in San Diego, Cadrez disputes any notion of a revival.
“It’s all perspective,” he said. “I don’t think we revived. We lost to the Ravens. That wasn’t our standard. That might be good for half the league. It wasn’t good for us.”
Cadrez has a point. He started for the 1998 Broncos and expected another ride to the Super Bowl.
But there’s something to be said for being realistic.
The 2000 Broncos weren’t mighty. Neither are the 2007 Broncos, who don’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Any playoff run this season will be short.
Still, some pride can be salvaged. A team can turn around, bring happiness to grieving fans. The chance was there in 2000.
And the same chance is there now.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/broncos_29511___article.html/shanahan_season.html