Man for man, player for player, the Broncos of the Reeves era were usually never among the most talented in the AFC.
You look at those rosters from about 1986-1992: Denver usually seemed to face teams with more roster talent in the playoffs- Houston, Cleveland. Yet it was always the Broncos who found a way.
I've always maintained that Reeves and those rosters were carried by Elway and the Mile High Mystique- god knows how many good teams have been spooked by the old stadium and Elway's 'HOW did he do that' ability.
Dan Reeves Era Broncos
Re: Dan Reeves Era Broncos
I think the Joe Collier/Wade Phillips defenses on those Broncos teams were probably underrated. They got blown out in Super Bowls, but they had some very good players in Mecklenburg, Rulon Jones, Dennis Smith, Mike Harden, and later Steve Atwater and Simon Fletcher. I think both Collier and Phillips were both great D coordinators.
Steve Watson had bad timing...he led the NFL in receiving in 1981 and IIRC was the first player to have two 90+ yard receptions in a season. By the time 1986 came around, he had turned into a possession WR. Never liked "The Three Amigos" thing...just three guys who benefited from Elway. Was never impressed by Sammy Winder, but thought Gerald Willhite was underused. As you said, Elway made everything work and could play at a high level against top opponents.
In that era of AFC football, I think Houston clearly had the most talent. I think the Browns were more like the Broncos than the Oilers...a great QB, an effective defense with some good players, but not really overwhelming. For whatever reason, I always saw the Browns as being a bit more talented than the Broncos and figured they would win in both 1986 and 1987. The weird thing is that the Browns played pretty well in both games, Kosar did great, yet they lost both times. In 1989, I think the Browns had regressed a bit (no running game) and it wasn't surprising that Denver beat them.
Steve Watson had bad timing...he led the NFL in receiving in 1981 and IIRC was the first player to have two 90+ yard receptions in a season. By the time 1986 came around, he had turned into a possession WR. Never liked "The Three Amigos" thing...just three guys who benefited from Elway. Was never impressed by Sammy Winder, but thought Gerald Willhite was underused. As you said, Elway made everything work and could play at a high level against top opponents.
In that era of AFC football, I think Houston clearly had the most talent. I think the Browns were more like the Broncos than the Oilers...a great QB, an effective defense with some good players, but not really overwhelming. For whatever reason, I always saw the Browns as being a bit more talented than the Broncos and figured they would win in both 1986 and 1987. The weird thing is that the Browns played pretty well in both games, Kosar did great, yet they lost both times. In 1989, I think the Browns had regressed a bit (no running game) and it wasn't surprising that Denver beat them.
Re: Dan Reeves Era Broncos
I think that their 1991 and 92 defenses were better than the ones that they lost three Super Bowls with. They had more talent and depth. The defenses that they had for the last few years that Joe Collier was there were smoke and mirror-type units. A very knowlegable person I talk football with said that they were exposed in 1986 when Collier stopped stunting his D-linemen later in the year.
Their offense, however, was at it's weakest for those last two years of Dan's tenure in Denver. For starters, their O-line wasn't very good. The decline started when G Jim Juriga left football after the 90 season (probably to become a Veterinarian), and Gerald Perry was traded for Gaston Green because of legal troubles:
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-04-22/ ... rald-perry
They started a guy named Darrell Hamilton at LT on opening day 91, and brought in vets during the season like Harvey Salem and Sean Farrell. Neither came back the next year. They also started an undrafted rookie FA by the name of Russell Freeman at LT in 92.
The skill positions were lacking as well. The best WR's they brought in from college those two years were Derek Russell and Arthur Marshall. They could have had Carl Pickens in 92, but instead, Dan drafts a QB that they didn't need (it may have been Dan saying "screw you" to Elway). At RB, Bobby Humphrey's holdout didn't help things. Gaston Green had a 1,000 yard season in 91, but he was a downgrade. They also were without the services of the versatile Steve Sewell after the 91 season due to injury.
Their offense, however, was at it's weakest for those last two years of Dan's tenure in Denver. For starters, their O-line wasn't very good. The decline started when G Jim Juriga left football after the 90 season (probably to become a Veterinarian), and Gerald Perry was traded for Gaston Green because of legal troubles:
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-04-22/ ... rald-perry
They started a guy named Darrell Hamilton at LT on opening day 91, and brought in vets during the season like Harvey Salem and Sean Farrell. Neither came back the next year. They also started an undrafted rookie FA by the name of Russell Freeman at LT in 92.
The skill positions were lacking as well. The best WR's they brought in from college those two years were Derek Russell and Arthur Marshall. They could have had Carl Pickens in 92, but instead, Dan drafts a QB that they didn't need (it may have been Dan saying "screw you" to Elway). At RB, Bobby Humphrey's holdout didn't help things. Gaston Green had a 1,000 yard season in 91, but he was a downgrade. They also were without the services of the versatile Steve Sewell after the 91 season due to injury.
Re: Dan Reeves Era Broncos
The stats show the 1987 Broncos defense was very good against the pass, as opposing QB's threw 15 TD's and 28 INT's. The stats weren't just because of the strike...in the 12 regular games, the defense allowed 13 TDs and 24 INT's. The undersized defense was much less effective against the run. But they were devastated by injury in the playoffs and Doug Williams picked them apart, or the Hogs bulldozed them.
The 1989 defense allowed the fewest points and fewest TD passes in the league. Just a shocking meltdown in the Super Bowl with an absolute masterpiece by Montana.
The 1989 defense allowed the fewest points and fewest TD passes in the league. Just a shocking meltdown in the Super Bowl with an absolute masterpiece by Montana.