Rather than wrap both arms tightly around his place in rushing history, Earnest Byner is graciously willing to welcome the 2005 Broncos into his elite circle.
Byner goes even further. Not only is he prepared to make room in the NFL’s rarefied 1,000-1,000 club, Byner offered a point that distinguishes the Broncos’ duo of Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell from the likes of himself and Kevin Mack, Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris and Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier.
“What’s different with Anderson and Bell is both of them play tailback,” said Byner, who now coaches the Washington Redskins’ running backs. “The rest of us were fullbacks and running backs. We both were pretty much always on the field. For these guys to split one position and do what they’re doing, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
Looking at it from that perspective, the Broncos would not become just the NFL’s fourth set of running backs to each rush for 1,000 yards if Bell gains 131 yards Saturday in the regular-season final at San Diego. They would become the one and only.
“For me to go out there and get the 1,000, then when we’re heading into the playoffs that would be something the commentators will all be talking about,” Bell said. “They’d be, ‘Two 1,000-yard backs, this and that.”‘
The thousand-thousand rushing feat was first accomplished by Csonka and Morris of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, repeated only by Harris and Bleier of the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, and Mack and Byner of the 1985 Cleveland Browns.
Csonka and Morris and Harris and Bleier ran out of split-back formations. With the Browns, Mack and Byner ran out various two-back sets.
The way the Broncos have done it, when Anderson is lined up at tailback, Bell is on the sideline. And vice versa.
Does that make the Broncos’ run more remarkable?
“It does and it doesn’t,” Morris said. “What’s made it a little easier today is, first of all, a 16-game schedule instead of 14, so you get two more games. And also the fullback position has changed so much. The fullback used to be more of a running back, where today the tailback is the only guy getting the ball.
“But on the other hand, when we played, the running game was the featured part of the offense. Today, with all the rules that help the receivers, the game is much more pass-oriented. The quarterback is the featured player today. So in that sense, for the Broncos to do what they’re doing in the running game, it’s quite an accomplishment.”
Meaning no disrespect to Anderson and the 1,014 yards he has gained this season, but his place in history would become considerably more indelible if Bell joins him at the milestone. There have been 278, 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the past 20 years, and the final week could add two to five more. But not once in those 20 years have there been two 1,000-yard seasons from the same backfield.
Blast from the past
As Anderson and Bell were on their milestone pace through much of this season, the names Byner and Mack appeared often in the Denver newspapers.
“Maybe 20 years (from now) people will be writing about Anderson and Bell,” Anderson said. “And make sure it’s written just like that, Anderson and Bell. Not Bell and Anderson. It’s A before B.”
He laughed as he made those statements. In a more serious tone, Anderson wants Bell to reach 1,000 yards because it would accentuate what the Broncos’ offensive system has been accomplishing for years.
“When two backs get 1,000 yards, especially the secondary back, which is what I was, it becomes a big accomplishment for the offensive line,” Bleier said.
Since Tom Nalen became the starting center, the Broncos have had 10 1,000-yard rushers in 11 seasons. Bell would make it 11 in 11, and two for one in 2005.
While this may be a big deal to Nalen, it’s not enough to get him to talk about it publicly. Apparently, guys who do nothing but block for a living aren’t motivated by history.
“I guess it would be something neat to accomplish if they do it en route to something bigger,” Broncos right tackle George Foster said. “I think it’ll amplify the feat more if we reach our ultimate goal instead of just being part of the history books that most people don’t read. If we get to the Super Bowl, then the feat will stay on people’s minds. If not, I didn’t know it had ever been done until you told me.”
Barely making it
As the Broncos try to get Bell his 131 yards against the Chargers, Morris, Byner and Bleier say they will be pulling for him. They also needed big games in the regular-season finale to reach the 1,000-1,000-yard milestones. Morris needed 86 yards in his final game against the Baltimore Colts. He got exactly 86.
“Before the game, (Colts middle linebacker) Mike Curtis walked all the way over to our end zone and came up to me and said, ‘You’re not going to make no (bleeping) record off me,”‘ Morris said.
And when he got his 1,000, did Morris let Curtis know?
“I’d never say a word to Mike Curtis,” Morris said. “Mike Curtis was nuts.”
Bleier reached the 1,000-yard mark in the second half, then lost 7 yards on his next carry before surpassing the milestone again. Byner got his yards after taking a direct snap on his final carry of the season.
“Tell Tatum I’ll be his biggest fan this weekend,” Bleier said.
“Tell those Bronco guys I’ll be rooting for them to line up right behind us,” Morris said. “Not beside us, but behind us. We will always be first.”
“It’s something where I’ll be pulling for them until we see them,” Byner said. “I want them to get it. This is something you will always have.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
