Bill Cowher was gracious in victory.
He stood near the middle of the Pittsburgh locker room after his team dumped Denver and discussed his respect for the Broncos, for the magnificent moment and for his owner, Dan Rooney. Cowher’s eyes glistened when he spoke of giving Rooney the chance for his first Super Bowl victory in 26 years.
Mike Shanahan was genial in defeat.
Soon after my conversation with Cowher, Shanahan appeared in the Pittsburgh locker room searching for Cowher. The two met and shook hands, and Shanahan said, “Go do it.”
Do it, as in win Super Bowl XL.
This does not always happen in the NFL, this type of sportsmanship between coaches. Not many losing coaches in a championship game visit winning coaches in their locker room afterward.
Those brief summits at midfield after the final play often suffice.
I believe Shanahan absorbed this loss well because he values class and because he knew he had ridden this edition of the Broncos nearly as well and as far as he could. Remember, the Broncos were considered an 8-8 team and even a 7-9 team in many circles before their season-opening kickoff. Winning 14 games, reaching the AFC title bout and earning the right to host it were worthy achievements, regardless of some Denver players’ emotional characterization of the season as an absolute failure – especially where the Broncos were coming from.
Remember, they had not hosted a playoff game at Invesco Field in four previous seasons.
This season, they hosted two. And built a foundation for more success.
Remember this: Pittsburgh was a 15-1 team that lost at home last season in the AFC championship game.
With fitting additions, the Broncos have a chance to duplicate Pittsburgh’s path. Not the three straight playoff road victories. Just the results – earning a Super Bowl berth a season after losing when one game away.
Looking backward …
I am puzzled by the Broncos’ offensive game plan that did not feature Kyle Johnson or Tatum Bell. Johnson did not catch a single pass in the playoffs. Yet, for the season, he grabbed 17 passes and scored five receiving touchdowns and one rushing TD. What happened? Bell averaged a running back team-best 5.3 yards per carry during the season , and against the Steelers he averaged 6.2 yards per carry. The Broncos have insisted that Bell can go the distance any time he touches the ball. He should have touched it a lot more against Pittsburgh, especially on screens and draws.
Jake Plummer was foolish in his second-quarter interception to choose a long-ball matchup of tight end Stephen Alexander versus Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor. Taylor is a budding star, a supreme athlete. Alexander vs. Taylor on the equivalent of a lobbed jumpball is like an NBA version of Linas Kleiza vs. Shaq.
Taylor said about the play: “The ball was up. I saw it good. I knew I could go get it over the tight end. It was like he threw it up there for me.”
The Broncos should have more frequently employed the art of rerouting receivers against Pittsburgh. In the NFL today, regardless of a team’s blitz potential, defenses must occasionally bump and reroute receivers, especially in a timing passing game like Pittsburgh featured. When you let receivers run uninhibited from the line of scrimmage like the Broncos did against the Steelers, you are asking cornerbacks who are playing deep to give up yards too easily in front of them. The Broncos’ defensive scheme in this area was much too soft and costly.
Looking ahead …
One of the Broncos’ first needs is an offensive coordinator, someone to replace Gary Kubiak, off to coach the Houston Texans.
It appears Mike Heimerdinger of the Jets is Shanahan’s first choice. Heimerdinger must first find a way to shake loose from his Jets contract after only one season there.
Why not Bobby Turner, here already as the Broncos’ running backs coach?
He has been here for all 11 Shanahan seasons. He is the lone Broncos offensive expert who has been in the same role for 11 seasons.
He is knowledgeable and shows sound football instincts. You say he has never been an offensive coordinator before?
I say there were seven NFL head coaches just hired, including Kubiak, who have never done that job before.
We know change is inevitable for the Broncos. That is good.
Last season Shanahan finished it by saying his team was not that far away from a championship. Many laughed.
With proper tweaking, that idea is not so funny now.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
