Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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Now is the time when NFL teams are putting together their rosters for 2020 and beyond, every team seeking the common goal of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Fans are quite familiar with the great Denver Broncos team constructed by John Elway that went on to win Super Bowl 50, but I thought we might look back to that era in the 1990s when the Broncos' roster combined talent with all other necessary ingredients to eventually win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998.
For starters, before head coach Mike Shanahan returned to the Broncos in that capacity, we already had two key ingredients: leadership and drive at the very top.
Our owner was future Hall of Famer Pat Bowlen, whose mantra of "I want us to be number one in everything" was more than just words on paper.
Even though we did not win that elusive title before Mike, the team drafted future Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, future Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater, and of course had in place future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway and future Hall of Fame tackle Gary Zimmerman, both from trades.
Players play. Players win. So the roster is everything.
And as President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway is showing now, you have to have the quarterback, and when you do, you can fill in the other pieces far more rapidly.
When Mike Shanahan arrived in 1995, he already had Elway, and had a previous relationship with him. Right now, Elway has Drew Lock, and to quote our GM, "The sky's the limit for him."
Shanahan came back to the Mile High City with a plan, having just won the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, and he inherited the aforementioned roster pieces that were so vital. So he could focus on what he did not have, knowing what he had in place.
Shanahan quickly set about gathering players who would join the others in forming the core of a team that would consecutive world titles in 1997 and 1998, making the Broncos one of NFL history's legendary franchises.