The NFL may never again enjoy such dynasties as the Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the 1970s or the 49ers of the 1980s and 1990s.
Not that a new era of financial restrictions means sustained success is impossible.
A case can be made that the Broncos and New England Patriots, who meet Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., have figured out the league’s new economic system better than any other teams.
The Broncos have an NFL- most 123 wins, including playoff games, since Mike Shanahan became their head coach in 1995. Next are the Patriots and Green Bay Packers with 122. And the Packers are reeling for a second consecutive year.
The trick to maintaining dominance, if not a dynasty, through a parity-favored economic system?
“Coaching and front-office stability,” said Ted Sundquist, the Broncos’ general manager. “Stability has allowed us to develop players, sometimes take chances – and that leaves a risk and reward where you can reap great benefits from the reward aspect, but one mistake won’t necessarily cripple you.”
The Broncos heard it again this week when Maurice Clarett, whom they drafted with the final pick of the third round last year, was sent to jail for a minimum of 3 1/2 years. No doubt, Mighty Mo was a big bust.
Yet Denver finished second in the NFL in rushing last year with a tailback tandem of Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell and is fourth this year with a rotation of Tatum Bell and Mike Bell.
“Sometimes what happens with other clubs, the owner perceives: ‘Wait a minute, you screwed up a third-round pick,”‘ Sundquist said. “‘Therefore you guys don’t know what you’re doing, therefore we’re going to pull the reins in on you, therefore you guys are out of here.’ Stability kind of eliminates that house of cards.”
Sundquist and Shanahan have been making personnel decisions for 12 years in Denver. In New England, coach Bill Belichick and top executive Scott Pioloi have been together for seven years.
Known for building depth and, in turn, overcoming injuries, the Patriots used an NFL championship-season-record 42 starters in winning their second title in 2003.
“I don’t think there’s any magic wand or necessarily a rule of thumb,” Belichick said. “In the end, the key to winning games is players making plays in pressure situations. That’s what it’s always been about and that’s what it will always be about, regardless of whether a guy has been with you for a year or 15 years.”
What might have been
Another common denominator between the Broncos and Patriots is their player preference. Had the Broncos not traded up from the No. 15 spot to No. 11 in the recent draft and selected Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, they might have selected running back Laurence Maroney from Minnesota. Maroney went to New England at No. 21.
Maroney is averaging 16.5 carries and 75.5 yards rushing per game with the Patriots while splitting time with Corey Dillon.
“The thing about him was Minnesota ran a very similar running game to what we run,” Sundquist said of Maroney. “But when the opportunity presented itself, we decided to go get a guy that we felt was a franchise-caliber quarterback and do it in a situation like ours where we could groom him and not rush him. Usually you have to lose 13 games before you get an opportunity like that.”
Footnotes
Bradlee Van Pelt is on the job prowl. The former Colorado State and Broncos quarterback worked out with the QB-starved Kansas City Chiefs Wednesday. He auditioned with Seattle on Tuesday and meets with the New York Giants next week. … During his Wednesday news conference, Patriots QB Tom Brady was asked about his playoff loss at Denver last season. “I’ve talked about that a bunch in the last six months,” he said. “I’m looking forward to this week, and seeing what we can accomplish.” … Broncos practice squad running back Damien Nash led the team’s breakdown Wednesday with a standing backflip.
