Broncos greatest games, round 5

Round 5. Same as before, vote in the comments. Looking like we should wrap up on Thursday.

1 CLE 23-20 01/11/87

The Drive.  After a 48 yard TD pass by Bernie Kosar, the Broncos found themselves trailing 13-20 in Cleveland, with 5 minutes to go and the ball on their own 2 yard line.  The Cleveland fans were quite rowdy, but Elway did, what he does best.

“I suddenly flashed on something I was thinking about before the game,” Elway said later. “Great quarterbacks make great plays in great games. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”
Elway marched the team down the field, on a 15 play drive, including a 3rd and 18 conversion, and a 3rd and 2 conversion to get their first first down.  Elway found Jackson from 5 yards out on 3rd and 1 to tie the game at 20. The Broncos would go on to win the game in OT, and send both Elway and Bowlen to their first super bowl. Elway finished 22/38 for 244 yards, with 1 TD and 1 INT, and Sammy Widner had 83 yards rushing.  The Broncos D forced 3 turnovers, including two picks.

HOF write up   Complete Drive on youtube.

 

17 PIT 24-23 01/07/90

The Broncos entered this game as 10 point favorites, yet endured quite a scare in the first game of this super bowl run.  The Broncos had a dominant Wade Phillips lead D that year, finishing 1st in points allowed.

Bubby Bristor started this game for the Steelers.  Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead, and the Broncos were fighting to catch up all game long.  Down 23-17 with 7 minutes to go, Elway lead the team on a 71 yard TD drive to take the lead.  Bristor had his chance, but the Broncos forced a bad snap on 3rd and 10 and recovered to seal the win.

Continue reading Broncos greatest games, round 5

Von Miller and Sacks Trivia

As we continue to celebrate the Von Miller extension, here’s some light weekend trivia questions for you:

  1. There are four teams that Von Miller has yet to play.  Name them.
  2. In addition to the four teams above, and excluding the Broncos, there are only four other teams that Miller has yet to sack.  Name them.
  3. As far as I can tell, there is only one player in NFL history that has sacked all 32 teams.  Name him.
  4. As far as I can tell, there is only one player in NFL history that has sacked 31 teams, excepting the one team he’s been with his whole career.  Name him.

UPDATE: Congrats to Kndh19 for working through and answering all four questions correctly!  The answers are now posted at the bottom of this article.

Continue reading Von Miller and Sacks Trivia

Analyzing The Impact Of Von Miller’s Extension

UPDATE (2:30 PM MT): Miller actually got a $17 million signing bonus and $6 million roster bonus in 2016.  This post has been corrected to adjust accordingly.

Per contract details reported by Mike Klis, the breakdown of Von Miller’s new six-year, $114.5 million extension will looks similar to this:

Year  Salary/Roster Bonus*
(Gtd)
Prorated Bonus Cap Number Dead Money
(pre 6/1)
Cap Savings
2016 $8,000,000 $3,400,000 $11,400,000 $42,000,000 ($30,600,000)
2017 $17,000,000 $3,400,000 $20,400,000 $30,600,000 ($10,100,000)
2018 $19,000,000 $3,400,000 $22,400,000 $29,800,000 ($6,800,000)
2019 $17,500,000 $3,400,000 $20,900,000 $15,800,000 $5,100,000
2020 $18,000,000 $3,400,000 $21,400,000 $3,400,000 $18,000,000
2021 $18,000,000 $18,000,000 $0 $18,000,000

*Klis did not specify the breakdown between base salary and roster bonuses in his report, but for purposes of the salary cap this is irrelevant.  What it will mean is that Miller gets more money in his pocket before each season starts from whatever money is assigned to the roster bonus in question.

Let’s take a look at the facts, and then I’ll cast some opinions on what it could it could mean for the Broncos’ future:

Continue reading Analyzing The Impact Of Von Miller’s Extension

How Lucky Are We?

Now that this is out of the way and while we all wait for @Nick full break down, I thought it was worth taking a moment to reflect.

While participating in the Broncos Greatest Game Tournament put on by @Jeremy (KUDOS BTW, this has been a lot of fun taking so many trips down memory lane), I had to force myself to consider just how great the last few seasons have been for Broncos Country and where it all is going to rank in NFL history.

In the last round, I made a comment that I thought last year’s regular season game against the Green Bay Packers was the “Greatest regular season game for a Defense in NFL history. ” This prompted @VonSwenson to, rightfully so, question if I really believed that (see thread here).

GOAT

After the fold, I think I can answer for Broncos Country how great not only that game was, but also just How Lucky We Are. Continue reading How Lucky Are We?

Broncos Extend Von Miller

Per contract details reported by Mike Klis, Von Miller’s contract table should look similar to this.  You can find my longer take on the deal here.

Year Salary/Roster Bonus*
(Gtd)
Prorated Bonus Cap Number Dead Money
(pre 6/1)
Cap Savings
2016 $8,000,000 $3,400,000 $11,400,000 $42,000,000 ($30,600,000)
2017 $17,000,000 $3,400,000 $20,400,000 $30,600,000 ($10,100,000)
2018 $19,000,000 $3,400,000 $22,400,000 $29,800,000 ($6,800,000)
2019 $17,500,000 $3,400,000 $20,900,000 $15,800,000 $5,100,000
2020 $18,000,000 $3,400,000 $21,400,000 $3,400,000 $18,000,000
2021 $18,000,000 $18,000,000 $0 $18,000,000

*Klis did not specify the breakdown between base salary and roster bonuses in his report, but for purposes of the salary cap this is irrelevant.  What it will mean is that Miller gets more money in his pocket before each season starts from whatever money is assigned to the roster bonus in question. Continue reading Broncos Extend Von Miller

Broncos Greatest Games, Round 4. Playoff games added

On to Round 4. I decided to keep it simple and reseed the regular season games based upon their vote count in the last round. The 8 regular season games that get to advance are: NWE 30-24 11/29/2015; OAK 30-7 10/16/1977; RAI 22-19   10/28/1984; GNB 29-10 11/1/2015; SDG 35-24 10/15/2012; CHI 31-29 11/16/1987; OAK 27-24 11/13/2000; DAL 42-23   9/13/1998.

I did not make another spreadsheet, but the bracket is in order below.

1 CLE 23-20 01/11/87 – BYE

16 HOU 34-10 01/10/88

The Broncos jumped to a 14–0 early lead by converting two turnovers into two touchdowns. On the second play of the game, Denver defensive back Steve Wilson recovered a fumbled lateral pass by running back Mike Rozier at the Houston one-yard line, setting up Gene Lang’s one-yard rushing touchdown. Then on the Oilers’ next drive, linebacker Karl Mecklenburg intercepted a pass from Warren Moon in the end zone. The Broncos drove 72 yards and scored on John Elway’s 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clarence Kay. Both teams exchanged field goals in the second period before Elway threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Kay.

In the fourth quarter, Moon completed a 19-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ernest Givins, but it was countered with Elway’s three-yard touchdown run. Broncos’ receiver Vance Johnson caught four passes for 105 yards, but he was injured in the game and had to miss the AFC Championship Game and saw limited action in Super Bowl XXII. NBC Sports’ game introduction is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjIKJHMOg08. Limited game highlights are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb5IUW9aKLk.

 

17 PIT 24-23 01/07/90

The Broncos entered this game as 10 point favorites, yet endured quite a scare in the first game of this super bowl run.  The Broncos had a dominant Wade Phillips lead D that year, finishing 1st in points allowed.
Bubby Bristor started this game for the Steelers.  Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead, and the Broncos were fighting to catch up all game long.  Down 23-17 with 7 minutes to go, Elway lead the team on a 71 yard TD drive to take the lead.  Bristor had his chance, but the Broncos forced a bad snap on 3rd and 10 and recovered to seal the win.

Continue reading Broncos Greatest Games, Round 4. Playoff games added