SPORTS-(BRONCOS)

01/10/06
Sports hacks around these parts like to toy with jinxes and curses. The Broncos haven't won a playoff game since a certain Guy Who Sells Cars was playing quarterback and invoking his name will only doom the 2005 squad. I don't believe in such bull harkey-- rather, I believe the Broncos haven't won a playoff game since 1998 simply because they wasted 4 seasons on a shitty lead-footed, near-sighted quarterback with poor decision making skills and a crappy arm. So there's no harm in taking this bye week to jump down into the eStragand Video Bowels and uncork another long-forgotten video: John Elway's Greatest Comebacks (there, I said HIS name).

Sponsored by local grocery chain King Soopers, this video was released in the Fall of 1993. In 1992, Elway had four amazing comebacks that ignited the town. In January 1992, he beat the Oilers in an AFC Divisional Playoff game and followed it up with 3 regular season acts in the ensuing '92 season, victimizing the Raiders, Chiefs and Oilers (again). With 10 seasons under his belt, the time was right to release a "comeback retrospective".

The video opens with the famous "Drive" from the 1986 AFC Championship. The story of that game is covered in NFL History 101. In fact, no less than the Pro Football Hall of Fame has an exhibit dedicated to it. No doubt, this is when Elway put his mark on the NFL and proclaimed that he and the Broncos were to be taken seriously. The only embarassing clip from the game is Pat Bowlen's presence on the sidelines, clad in his floor-length Aunt Ester fur coat. Elway narrates a few key plays, including the biggies to Steve Sewell and Mark Jackson. He points out how, while in the shotgun, an in-motion Steve Watson ran in front of the snap and accidentally tipped it. Another fact that's usually forgotten outside of Denver is that "The Drive" only tied the game. The Broncos eventually won in overtime after Rich Karlis kicked a VERY questionable field goal. Sad to say, but if it had been the modern NFL, the winning field goal might have been reviewed, overturned and nullified.

The show then jumps back to Elway's rookie year, with a few clips of his Stanford days. He's shown walking outside of Mile High Stadium with a plaid shirt and a bowl haircut. Suddenly, the video makes everyone in Denver feel OLD. Digging deep, several clips from a 1983 preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons are shown. Including Elway's first pass to Steve Watson and complimentary soundbytes from Falcons players. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson sounds prophetic when he says of Elway: "he'll leave a mark on the NFL".

Elway's tumultuous confrontation with the Baltimore Colts is included. No reason is given WHY he didn't want to go to Baltimore, but the old rumor is that someone in the Colts front office (I want to say Robert Irsay, or one of the coordinators) had a previous sour relationship with John and his dad, Jack Elway, well before the 1983 NFL Draft. Two games against Baltimore from the 1983 season are shown. In the first, Elway looked terrible and was benched in favor of Steve DeBerg. In the second game, played in Denver in December, Elway got his act together and led the Broncos to his first fourth quarter comeback. Elway again narrates very humbly and points out how the win was set up by the defense. He compliments his team, including Louis Wright's key interception, and downplays his role in the win. He points out that his touchdown pass to Clint Sampson wasn't legitimate. Sampson is clearly shown having only one foot in-bounds. Elway responsed with two more TD tosses; to fullback Jesse Miles (now THERE'S a name we've forgotten) and Gerald Willhite. Turns out, Willhite was actually supposed to be blocking on the play. Instead, Elway threw it to him, he scored and performed a back flip.

After a quick look at a 1985 comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the tape focusses on the Kansas City Chiefs-- frequent Elway victims. Comeback wins in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 are highlighted. The last three were all notable for different reasons. The 1990 game was the famous Steve Atwater on Christian Okoye hit. But the game ended on an even bigger event, as Elway hit Vance Johnson on 4th and 10 to set up the winning field goal. 1991 featured a signature Elway play: he rolled to his right, dodged pressure, then threw back across his body to find Mark Jackson for about 35 yards. Doesn't seem like much on paper, but fans and sportshacks alike have estimated that the ball was thrown about 70 yards. A 70 yard throw across the body? Stuff like that is not supposed to happen.

The Annual Chiefs Comeback reached a new level in 1992. Down 19-6 at the two minute warning, Elway threw late TD passes to walk out with a 20-19 win. In fact, if you'd like to start up the Marty Schottenheimer Suicide Watch, send this tape to ol' Marty Lombardi. A minor note, but as you can see at the end of this segment, the '92 Chiefs game is also when NFL Films discovered their new favorite soundbyte-- a guy named Shannon Sharpe.

The 1992 Houston Oilers game includes commentary by none other than All-Time eStragand Most Favoritest Donkey, Simon Fletcher!!! Elway finally takes some pride as he recalls a rookie linebacker from Houston (I think it was Eddie Robinson) ran past him and said "not this time, Elway". Elway seemed to resent that remark and rightfully so. Clips from a season-opening comeback win against the Raiders are also shown-- a game known by Donkey fans as "the Arthur Marshall Game". A relatively forgotten comeback from 1991 against the Phoneix Cardinals is sandwiched in here, as well.

The video concludes with a look at the 1991 AFC Divisional Playoff against the Oilers. (Arguably, the 1991 team was the best team of the Dan Reeves era... even though they didn't make the Super Bowl). The Broncos were down by 1 and pinned at their own 2 yard line, with no timeouts. Elway moved them down the field and scarmbled for a first down on 4th and 6. Four plays later, he converted a 4th and 10 by finding Vance Johnson down the left sideline. Two plays later, David Tredwell nailed a field goal to give the Broncos the lead with 6 seconds left. The video then conlcudes with the slogan "To Be Continued..."

As mentioned before, this video made Donkey fans feel OLD. We all realized "oh crap... look at that bowl haircut.. was that really TEN years ago?! Has he been here that long?! Oh man..." A few old touches are seen, like the old light tower in the southeast endzone and the canvas mural that hung over the side of Mile High Stadium for a few years. It's also a mini scrapbook as most Denver fans remember where they were and what they were doing for each comeback. For instance, I distinctly remember sitting in my buddy Frank's dorm room at CSU as a "Floor Potato" for the 1992 Chiefs comeback. I clearly remember the Oilers playoff game, cuz' I was at the game, sitting in the South Stands, screaming my nads off all day.

Throughout the video, Elway remains low-key for most of his comments. The butt-kissing and verbal blowjobs are provided by Pat Bowlen and general manager John Beake. Since this video was produced after the ugly Dan Reeves split, no comments from Reeves are included. But I'm sure you can provide your own Reeves soundbytes: "John's a tur-men-duz playurr...wid aht-standin' a-bill-tee". Perhaps on purpose, only one comment from then-head coach Wade Phillips is included. A brief chalkboard session with Phillips, Elway and offensive coordinator Jim Fassel is added, but it's nothing saucy (in it, Wade is seen wearing one of his trademark Belt Buckles!). For obvious reasons, Elway's good buddy Mike Shanahan is absent from the video. Wouldn't have too classy for the Broncos to remind Phillips that he was, in fact, their second choice for the job. Some NFL Films on-field soundbytes from Dennis Smith and Steve Atwater are included, but they aren't exclusive to this video.

Of course, as the final tagline indicated, this was continued. After this video, Elway went into the fourth quarter of his career. For the first 10 minutes of the quarter (1993-1996), he would have moments but still couldn't get the lead. However, in those last 5 minutes (1997-1998) he made the ultimate comeback and finished on top. For three quarters he would show flashes, but the opponents would laugh and call him overrated. At times he would get the crap knocked out of him and it looked like he had absolutely no chance. But when time ran out, they looked up, saw the scoreboard and realized that the toothy goofball with the limp and bad haircut had come back to win. Thus, his entire career was one giant comeback.

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2005 Season Archive
August 20 vs 49ers
August 27 vs Colts
September 02 vs Cardinals
September 11 vs Dolphins
September 18 vs Chargers
September 26 vs Chiefs
October 2 vs Jaguars
October 9 vs Redskins October 16 vs Patriots
October 23 vs Giants
October 30 vs Eagles
November 6 vs Bye Week
November 13 vs Raiders
November 20 vs Jets
November 24 vs Cowboys
December 4 vs Chiefs December 11 vs Ravens
December 17 vs Bills
December 24 vs Raiders
December 31 vs Chargers
January 10 vs Bye Week
January 14 vs Patriots
January 22 vs Steelers
YEAR-END AWARDS
2006 NFL Draft Recap