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nfc-afc championship games thread...

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by shockey, Jan 18, 2011.

  1. Gutter

    Gutter Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    This thread was better when it was a Revenge Of The Nerds-jack.
     
  3. Chef2

    Chef2 Well-Known Member

    The Airplane jack was pretty good as well.

    Could you call that a hi-jack?
     
  4. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Sammy Winder made the Pro Bowl one of those Super Bowl seasons (1986), so I guess it's a wash between him and Willie Parker. Bobby Humphrey (1990) and Gaston Green (1991) made Pro Bowls not long after that, too.

    Also, for Elway's first three Super Bowl trips, here's how the Broncos defense ranked:

    1989 -- 3rd yards per game (275.4), 1st in points allowed (14.1)
    1987 -- 9th yards per game (320.9), 7th in points allowed (19.2)
    1986 -- 9th yards per game (309.2), 14th in points allowed (20.4)

    So while the Steelers' defenses have been significantly better, I think it's safe to assume Elway wasn't working with a sieve for a defense. Karl Mecklenburg, Rulon Jones, Dennis Smith and Steve Atwater all made Pro Bowls during those years.

    Something else to take into consideration: The landscape. Elway never went through another quarterback like Brady or Manning during those years, or defenses like the Steelers and Ravens. In 1989, the Broncos were the only AFC team to win more than nine games (Cleveland won the AFC Central at 9-6-1, Indy the East at 9-7). And in 1987 (granted, scabs in three games), only the Broncos and Browns reached double digits for wins. Those two years in particular, a good quarterback and a better-than-average defense probably should've been enough to get the Broncos into the Super Bowl. Not until the Bills emerged to make four straight Super Bowls could you again say there was a real heavyweight to contend with in the AFC.

    Granted, the counter to that argument is that the Steelers haven't had to face a team like Simms' Giants, Williams' Redskins or Montana's 49ers in the Super Bowl.
     
  5. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    In the 80s, the NFC was infinitely better than the AFC. Hell, there wasn't a team in the AFC as good as THREE of the teams in the NFC East, the Giants, Redskins and Buddy Ryan's Eagles. A better measure of the Broncos defense would be the combined score of their three Super Bowl losses: 136-40.
     
  6. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Good point. Compared to the bulk of the league, Broncos have typically been undersized.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    OK, that made me laugh... You should hear the story about what pushed Janet Elway to finally file for divorce though...
     
  8. Herbert Anchovy

    Herbert Anchovy Active Member

    Antonio Cromartie: Improbable union leader.

    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/27/players-rally-around-union-after-cromartie-comments/
     
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