I found a good article about my favourite NFL player, John Elway, the Duke of Denver. It was written by Jason Whitlock, who writes for the Kansas City Star and ESPN and it's bound to stir up some debate. Enjoy.
Forget about all the rest, Broncos' Elway was best
By JASON WHITLOCK
Columnist
HOUSTON John Elway is the greatest football player of all time.
Don't tell me about Jim Brown. He was an awesome runner. But he didn't play long enough. I don't want to hear about Walter Payton. His Bears didn't win enough games. Lawrence Taylor smoked too much crack. Sorry, Jerry Rice, but a receiver can't be the game's best player. A receiver isn't involved in enough of the action. Joe Montana, thanks for applying. But had Elway teamed with Bill Walsh instead of Dan Reeves, Elway might have won eight Super Bowls.
Nope. It's John Elway. He's the single-greatest force ever to take the football field. Elway is the Michael Jordan of football. Statistics don't define Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain scored more points. Magic Johnson handed out more assists. Larry Bird grabbed more rebounds. Oscar Robertson totaled more triple-doubles. Bill Russell won more titles. But no one compares to Jordan.
And no one compares to Elway, who combined amazing physical gifts with a bright mind, a will to win, the courage of a born gambler and a knack for making the big play. Elway posted amazing numbers. Only he and Dan Marino have passed for more than 50,000 yards in a career. Elway tossed 300 TD passes. He appeared in nine Pro Bowls. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 200 in seven consecutive seasons.
The numbers don't tell Elway's story. They aren't the reason he'll be selected to be elected today to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Elway carried the Denver Broncos football franchise for nearly two decades. He dragged Reeves' conservative coaching, The Three (Average) Amigos and an undersized, underwhelming defense to three Super Bowl appearances. He later teamed with Terrell Davis, Mike Shanahan, Shannon Sharpe and Steve Atwater and won two Super Bowls at the end of his career.
Ultimately in football, more than any other team sport, an athlete, particularly a quarterback, is defined by wins. Elway won 148 games. That's more than Montana or Marino or Favre or anybody. Each year Elway suited up, the Broncos were in the title hunt. It didn't matter that Elway never played with a Pro Bowl receiver until way late in his career. Elway made his teammates better.
The thing about John is the victories, said Tom Jackson, an ESPN analyst and a teammate of Elway's. Isn't that what it's all about? I just say look at the numbers. He won more games than anybody.
Jackson added one more dimension to the argument.
People talk about John's competitiveness, Jackson said. His will to win. And that's all true. But what really made John special was that he was an unbelievable athlete. You're talking about a guy who was drafted to play professional baseball, a guy who is a scratch golfer, a guy who was one of the best basketball players on the team. They talk about Donovan McNabb and what all he can do on the football field. He can't do anything that John couldn't do.
Elway had Marino's arm, Montana's accuracy, McNabb's legs, Peyton Manning's brain, Brett Favre's guts and Phil Simms' toughness.
And no one could improvise like Elway, said Steve Sabol of NFL Films. I'm not sure he's the best of all time. But no one could make something out of nothing the way Elway could. He was the best when a play broke down.
When he retired, Elway had a record number of fourth-quarter comebacks (47). Elway engineered the most famous late-game rally in NFL history, The Drive, which won the 1986 AFC championship for Denver. He marched the Broncos 98 yards for a game-tying TD and then won the game in overtime.
Elway's the biggest freak to ever play the game. He's No. 1 on my all-time draft board. No player in league history could kill you in more ways than Elway. He could beat you with his arm, his legs and his brain.
Despite his accomplishments, despite his five Super Bowl appearances, despite having produced more victories than any other quarterback, NFL experts seem reluctant to inject Elway's name into the debate about the league's all-time best player.
Today, as he's elected into the Hall, I'd love to hear why he's not the best.
You can't name another modern-day player who had a 16-year, sustained stretch of dominance. Elway ended his career playing as well as he did when he entered the league. Five years ago today, Elway walked off the field MVP of the Super Bowl.
Forget about all the rest, Broncos' Elway was best
By JASON WHITLOCK
Columnist
HOUSTON John Elway is the greatest football player of all time.
Don't tell me about Jim Brown. He was an awesome runner. But he didn't play long enough. I don't want to hear about Walter Payton. His Bears didn't win enough games. Lawrence Taylor smoked too much crack. Sorry, Jerry Rice, but a receiver can't be the game's best player. A receiver isn't involved in enough of the action. Joe Montana, thanks for applying. But had Elway teamed with Bill Walsh instead of Dan Reeves, Elway might have won eight Super Bowls.
Nope. It's John Elway. He's the single-greatest force ever to take the football field. Elway is the Michael Jordan of football. Statistics don't define Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain scored more points. Magic Johnson handed out more assists. Larry Bird grabbed more rebounds. Oscar Robertson totaled more triple-doubles. Bill Russell won more titles. But no one compares to Jordan.
And no one compares to Elway, who combined amazing physical gifts with a bright mind, a will to win, the courage of a born gambler and a knack for making the big play. Elway posted amazing numbers. Only he and Dan Marino have passed for more than 50,000 yards in a career. Elway tossed 300 TD passes. He appeared in nine Pro Bowls. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 200 in seven consecutive seasons.
The numbers don't tell Elway's story. They aren't the reason he'll be selected to be elected today to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Elway carried the Denver Broncos football franchise for nearly two decades. He dragged Reeves' conservative coaching, The Three (Average) Amigos and an undersized, underwhelming defense to three Super Bowl appearances. He later teamed with Terrell Davis, Mike Shanahan, Shannon Sharpe and Steve Atwater and won two Super Bowls at the end of his career.
Ultimately in football, more than any other team sport, an athlete, particularly a quarterback, is defined by wins. Elway won 148 games. That's more than Montana or Marino or Favre or anybody. Each year Elway suited up, the Broncos were in the title hunt. It didn't matter that Elway never played with a Pro Bowl receiver until way late in his career. Elway made his teammates better.
The thing about John is the victories, said Tom Jackson, an ESPN analyst and a teammate of Elway's. Isn't that what it's all about? I just say look at the numbers. He won more games than anybody.
Jackson added one more dimension to the argument.
People talk about John's competitiveness, Jackson said. His will to win. And that's all true. But what really made John special was that he was an unbelievable athlete. You're talking about a guy who was drafted to play professional baseball, a guy who is a scratch golfer, a guy who was one of the best basketball players on the team. They talk about Donovan McNabb and what all he can do on the football field. He can't do anything that John couldn't do.
Elway had Marino's arm, Montana's accuracy, McNabb's legs, Peyton Manning's brain, Brett Favre's guts and Phil Simms' toughness.
And no one could improvise like Elway, said Steve Sabol of NFL Films. I'm not sure he's the best of all time. But no one could make something out of nothing the way Elway could. He was the best when a play broke down.
When he retired, Elway had a record number of fourth-quarter comebacks (47). Elway engineered the most famous late-game rally in NFL history, The Drive, which won the 1986 AFC championship for Denver. He marched the Broncos 98 yards for a game-tying TD and then won the game in overtime.
Elway's the biggest freak to ever play the game. He's No. 1 on my all-time draft board. No player in league history could kill you in more ways than Elway. He could beat you with his arm, his legs and his brain.
Despite his accomplishments, despite his five Super Bowl appearances, despite having produced more victories than any other quarterback, NFL experts seem reluctant to inject Elway's name into the debate about the league's all-time best player.
Today, as he's elected into the Hall, I'd love to hear why he's not the best.
You can't name another modern-day player who had a 16-year, sustained stretch of dominance. Elway ended his career playing as well as he did when he entered the league. Five years ago today, Elway walked off the field MVP of the Super Bowl.
