Or, Golf and the Gridiron

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In the game of professional football, being a quarterback, running back or a wide receiver is very much akin to baseball: You try to accumulate stats.  You could say that a 5-yard run is like a single. Pulling in a pass for a 1st down is kind of like a double. A 35-yard play is a triple for all involved and if it breaks an invisible plane, it's a home run. Increasing your stats is a positive. The quarterback even accumulates the ultimate stat - wins and losses. No other player has this ability and in many ways it emphasizes the way that we have chosen to portray and perceive this position.

If you're an offensive lineman, much like those who play golf, your purpose is to have the score of your statistics be as low as possible. No penalties. No sacks. No mistakes. The trained lineman, perhaps especially the left tackle, is one who excels by being invisible. Also much like a golfer, the game for a lineman is greatly about your hands and your feet.

The game of golf idolizes the grip. The position of the hands, the movement of the arms, the shift of the weight as one follows the course of the ‘play' - this case, of course, it is the shot, the swing - will inevitably precede the way one will play the game and whether or not one will win. One swing follows the next, leading the golfer across the landscape of the course with precision.

The positioning of the hands is equally central to the left tackle. The violent punch and the tight grip are the basic tools for controlling the power of the defensive lineman, the blitzing linebacker. The ability to maintain one's center in terms of the weight is essential. The feet also move, sifting the weight smoothing but constantly  Only, for the tackle the feet must move swiftly yet in constant but very small steps.

In both sports, there is an art to movement, an almost mystical collaboration of all the parts of the body, forging them into a singularity of power. One needs to be able to move with the grace of a ballerina and yet hit with the force of a martial artist. But the left tackle needs long arms, wide hips, height, weight and a powerful upper body to fight with, a powerful lower body with which to anchor. Golfers come in all shapes and sizes.

The left tackle at the hightest level chooses to see the onrushing power of the defender as a gift. He turns it aside, letting it flow past the course of the play, or he reaches out and pulls it to himself, always keeping the gift of it's energy for himself. He knows how to lock himself into it this time, thrust it away, breaking the rush on one play on the next. His feet never stop moving until the key moment is past, the ball released or the ball carrier away.

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Back on the Ring of Fame trail again this week as we take a look at the sole player honored in the Class of 1987.  While I don't think this former Bronco is quite Hall of Fame-worthy, he still makes my All-Time Broncos team as a Safety - just edging out Dennis Smith.

Billy Thompson was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1969 draft.  He would play his entire thirteen-year career in Denver and become an instrumental part of the long, arduous journey the franchise made from laughingstock to championship stock.

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Yet another Ring of Fame class has been completed. The Class of 1986 was an important one as we honored three men who each played a significant role in shaping the identities of their respective teams. They may not have been the best Broncos ever to don a uniform or even close to being Hall of Fame-worthy, but those things don't matter when it comes to the impact on Broncos history each had.

The first two years since Pat Bowlen instituted the Ring of Fame, the Broncos inducted four of the greatest Broncos Legends of our early history, as well as an owner who stepped in to keep the Broncos in Denver back in the 1960's. 1986 became the Class that would honor the less-heralded Broncos whose impact may have been greater on the team's success during their times than the legends who were honored before them.

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More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

3 months ago: In this Nov. 2, 2008, file photo, Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler rolls out for a pass against the Miami Dolphins in an NFL football game in Denver. The Broncos have agreed to trade Cutler to the Chicago Bears. The Broncos announced the deal Thursday, April 2, 2009, and said terms would be disclosed later. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)

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Denver Broncos history forever changed directions with the departure of Jay Cutler.  Though many of us have been severely wounded by this disaster, it is time to review and reflect on our former first-round draft pick's short and tumultuous tenure with our beloved Broncos.

Drafted #11 overall in the 2006 draft, Jay Cutler immediately placed Jake Plummer on the chopping block.  Plummer wouldn't have to wait long as he was benched after leading the Broncos to a 7-4 record, but only 17.7 ppg and an offense that lacked explosiveness.  We cannot really blame Plummer as he was in a no-win situation.  He had mistakenly thought all he had to do was win football games, but what he didn't know was that Mike Shanahan wanted something Plummer would never have - God-given physical gifts.  Jake Plummer was a working-man's quarterback and I can't fault him for anything.  He won a lot of games for us.  That said.......

Jay Cutler would struggle out of the gates, but also gave fans flashes of greatness. In his first start (Video), he would throw one of the worst passes anyone has ever seen that was picked off and returned for a touchdown only to have Cutler and Brandon Marshall connect on a 70-yard touchdown pass late in the game to tie it up. The Seahawks would win on a last-second field goal, but the rocky start for Cutler would improve over the next few games.

After a blowout loss to the Chargers, Cutler would put together a string of two impressive victories over Arizona and Cincinnati. Sitting at 9-6, the Broncos only needed a win over the lowly 49ers to secure a playoff berth. The Broncos would fail to punch the ball into the end zone on three separate drives, allowing the 49ers to stay close enough to secure the upset win in overtime, 26-23 (Video). The fans had even gotten so frustrated that they cheered Jake Plummer when he came in to replace Cutler, who was shaken up early in the game. He subsequently threw an interception and the Jake Plummer era officially ended for all eternity.

Although the loss was heartbreaking, most fans had a sense that we were in store for some great things and optimism flooded the Mile High City. Mike Shanahan went out and spent some money to bring in what he thought were proven veterans. Guys like Travis Henry, Simeon Rice and Sam Adams. The Kool Aid was strong enough to fool any Bronco fan into believing we were on the cusp of greatness.

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Charley Johnson was an interesting addition to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. When I looked at his wimpy stats and mediocre performances throughout his career, I just didn't get it. But then I realized that this perception is the fundamental problem with a fan from the next generation who examines the worth of a player who retired several years before he (the fan) was born.

Instead, I needed to look at what Charley brought to the Denver Broncos organization that went beyond the mediocre stats and lack of tallies in the win column.  Charley Johnson represented the dawn of a new era in Broncos history. Denver went through about two dozen starting quarterbacks from Frank Tripucka's retirement to Johnson's arrival. The result was as heartbreaking to the fans as it was predictable. Just like today, with Pat Bowlen taking control of his franchise, a team needs stability at the top in order to be successful in the NFL.

Johnson's career with Denver began in his eleventh year in the NFL and he was coming off a five-year stint of mediocre and oft-injured seasons. Johnson entered the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals and he played very well early in his career, but he was cut in 1969 after four consecutive years of injuries and benchings that led to his dismissal from the team. He was picked up by the Houston Oilers and had a couple of average seasons before joining the Denver Broncos during the 1972 offseason.

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The Forgotten Broncos series is part of a larger goal of mine to bring back many of the Bronco greats of the past. I am not writing about some nobody who played a game back in '64 and was never heard about again. I am writing about a player who impacted the organization in some profound way and so long as these players are not remembered in the Pro Football hall of fame, then they are forgotten in my eyes and it is our duty as fans to ensure that they are never forgotten by any of us whether we be old or young.

The next player on my list was the anchor for the fledgling Orange Crush defense of the early 70's and ended up being the first player ever to wear a Bronco uniform for more than ten seasons. He was a consummate pro and helped bridge the gap between the woeful teams the Broncos fielded in the late 60's and the AFC Champions a decade later. His name was Paul Smith, the big man at NT and DE during those critical years while coach after coach was attempting to build a winner.

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Well, since the Hall of SHAME has once again spat in the faces of all Broncoland, I have decided to resume my efforts to make the Ring of Fame the only honor of consequence that matters in the minds of all Broncomaniacs. I started this series near the end of the reloading seasons in 2008 and will continue profiling each Ring of Fame Class along with profiles for each Bronco great enshrined.

The Ring of Fame is the Bronco Hall of Fame. When Pat Bowlen took control of the organization, he set about to change the culture of disrespect in the NFL and his first big idea to change that culture was to institute a Ring of Fame to honor the great Broncos from years' past. I covered the inaugural Class of 1984 in my first post on the Ring of Fame and I will now pick up where I left off.

The Class of 1985 was one man and that man helped build this organization from a laughingstock to a championship contender.  That man was Gerald H. Phipps and he would purchase the Denver Broncos in 1961 and would run the organization for the next twenty years.

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Welcome to the first official installment of MHR Bronco's History for the 2009 reloading season.  All I can say is that I am excited to start.  For some reason the Through the Years' post became sort of a chore.  A grind of sorts during the season.  I love history, especially Denver Broncos history, but during the season I don't really care about history.  I care about what's going to happen on upcoming Sunday.  It's fine though; I got through and didn't miss too many weeks.  The reloading season really is the best time of the year for me as a blogger.  I get to pick and choose the topics I write about and more importantly, I am not locked into the grind of a weekly schedule.  Even so, I may end up posting more often now than I did during the season.  We'll see.

Here are a few series I had begun last reloading season that will be returning in the coming weeks.  Feel free to check them out if you are curious:

MHR Forgotten Broncos, Ring of Fame, and of course the traditional MHR Broncos History Lessons. 

Sheesh, looking back at those posts they seem a bit rough around the edges and going back even further it gets down right ugly, but I will endeavor to continue to improve.  For the next month or so the Forgotten Broncos will continue to be Ring of Famers as I want to profile each Ring of Famer in order to link them to my upcoming ROF posts.  There is a master plan, so please remember that when you chastise me for calling some old Bronco great a Forgotten Bronco.  Besides, if he isn't in the hall of fame then isn't he, by definition, forgotten?  

For now, with our recent hiring of Josh McDaniel, I felt a lesson on the history of coaching of the Denver Broncos was a good way to kick off the reloading season.  So I hope you all enjoy learning about our past coaches and feel free to add your own comment or experiences as I am still at a disadvantage when it comes to age and experience and many of you no doubt got to see these men in action up close and personal.

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