Here are a few well-said comments and observations about John Elway and his importance to the game:
But Elway’s career has been about more than just winning. It has been about escaping defeat a half page from the end of the novel, leaping over pits of fire with the microdot hidden in his cigarette lighter. On first down Elway was ‘pretty average,’ his Stanford coach Paul Wiggin once said. But when the elementary school kids are being held hostage and the detonator reads 00:03, who would you rather have clipping the wires than Elway? He may be the only quarterback in history who could stand on his own two-yard line, trailing by five with less than two minutes to play, no timeouts left, windchill –5, and cause the opposing coach to mutter, ‘We’re in trouble.’” --Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, qtd. in Austin Murphy’s The Super Bowl: Sports Greatest Championship
A quarterback passes, but that is only a part of his job. A good and efficient passer isn’t by definition a good quarterback. Only Miami’s Dan Marino has thrown for more yards than Elway. Only Marino and Tarkenton have thrown for more touchdowns. Neither Marino nor Tarkenton has won it all. Marino made it to only one Super Bowl.
A quarterback inspires. In Elway’s case, he awes. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls apiece.
. . . But Montana and Bradshaw had better teams, and (Otto) Graham played in the days before playoff tournaments required more than one victory to reach the title game. None of them threw as far or ran as well or loomed as large as Elway, who was expected to win from the start and rarely let anyone down. Nobody ever scrambled and threw off balance like Elway.
Of all the attributes that characterize Elway, Marino hits on the one that he most admires, the one that puts him over the top: “His ability to create on his own. The one thing that goes with John is his ability to come back and bring a team up from defeat. It’s something very special that a lot of players don’t have.”
The lingering image of Elway in his Super Bowl victory over the Packers is not of him standing in the pocket, patting the ball, waiting for a receiver, ducking a rusher, or snapping off a deep out-pattern. It is the run he made to keep that touchdown drive alive, when he was hit and spun like a top.
No quarterback ever had more ways to beat you by himself than Elway. He never had Jerry Rice or a Steel Curtain and only recently got his Franco Harris and Tony Dorsett.
While other quarterbacks deserve to be revered, Elway was the one most to be feared.”--Don Pierson, MSNBC
All had the quality that defines great athletes - -the ability to perform best under adversity.
'When the game was on the line, he was like Michael Jordan, he wanted the ball,' says Dan Reeves, who coached Elway for his first 10 seasons. 'I think he thrived on pressure. In those clutch situations, I don't know of anyone who did a better job of handling that like John did.'
Says Marty Schottenheimer, who coached Montana late in his career and lost 15 games to Elway: 'All things being equal, John may have been the best because of the ability to improvise and the ability to do all those different things.'
NOTHING DEMONSTRATES THAT BETTER than The Drive by Elway.
Not Montana's drive that beat the Cowboys in the 1981 NFC title game and sent the 49ers to the first of their five Super Bowls, nor his 92-yard drive that beat Cincinnati in the 1989 championship game.
No, the drive of the last two decades is Elway's 98-yard march in Cleveland that sent the 1986 AFC championship game into overtime and eventually sent the Broncos to the first of three fruitless Super Bowls.
It included one lucky play that also showed how well Elway could improvise.
With 1 minute, 47 seconds left, the Broncos moved from their 2-yard line to the Cleveland 48, where they faced third-and-18. Elway was in the shotgun and Steve Watson went in motion.
But the ball was snapped a count early and hit Watson and bounced high in the air. Elway leaped, snagged it with one hand, and found Mark Jackson for a 20-yard completion and a first down.
'In all the losses I had to John, the only thing that has stayed with me is that drive,'says Schottenheimer, then the Cleveland coach.
Schottenheimer's career record against Elway with the Browns and Chiefs was 8-15. He was 142-81 against everyone else, and were it not for that drive, Schottenheimer might never have carried the stigma that he couldn't win the big playoff game.
Staubach, the quarterback most often compared with Elway for his ability to improvise and late-game heroics, watched that game with the admiration one great athlete can have for another.
'I just marveled at it,' Staubach says. 'After that, you knew when you watched him that he'd never quit, even if he was playing a bad game.'"--quoted from the Associated Press
There aren't enough good quarterbacks to go around.
I don't think there are 10 who can play the game the way it's set up to be played. There's Brett Favre and Steve Young, obviously, and Elway and Dan Marino. Elway and Marino make an interesting pair; they sort of belong together. They were both number one draft picks in the same year, and they've both been great for a long time.
Now, I don't think Elway needed to win those two Super Bowls to prove that he's a great quarterback, but the fact is, now he can say he's done everything there is to do in the game. He's done it all.
Dan Marino's what I call a 'Yeah, but . . .' guy. As great as he is and as great as he's been, people will always say, 'Yeah, but he never won a Super Bowl.' I think Marino's going to have to live with that for a long time.
People used to talk about all the Super Bowls Elway lost. Well, I called a few of those games, and what people seem to forget is that those teams weren't that good. John Elway was the sole reason why those Bronco teams were playing in the Super Bowl. He was the closest thing to a one-man gang I've ever seen. Elway absolutely thrived under pressure. When you got down to the end of the game and his team was behind, he knew what to do. He was one of the few quarterbacks to play the game who really knew the game. He knew what to do, how to move the ball, how to save time. And he relished those decisions.
A lot of people say they want the ball to take the last shot, but there's not a lot of them who really want it.
John Elway wanted the ball."--John Madden
Sometimes it just amazes me. He's lying on the ground, in obvious pain, but then he just picks himself up and calls the next play. He doesn't look for sympathy; he doesn't blame anyone; he doesn't look to the sideline to say, 'What's going on?' He just calls the next play."--Shannon Sharpe, Denver TE, qtd. in Latimer, John Elway: Armed and Dangerous
1. He receives about 40,000 autograph requests a year.
2. In his first football game, he ran for six touchdowns -- in the first half. Not bad for a fourth-grader.
3. During a six-week stint with the New York Yankees' Class A team in Oneonta, N.Y., Elway finished with a .318 average, a team-leading 24 RBI and no errors in 42 games.
4. During his NFL debut, a preseason game in 1983, Elway guided the Broncos on a game-winning, 10-play drive at Mile High Stadium, completing five of six passes against Seattle.
5. In 1987, following threats on Elway's life, 12 police officers were stationed behind Denver's bench. Seven accompanied him off the field.
6. In 1988 stories about the Broncos appeared in the newspapers on all but three days.
7. When Stanford's punter skipped a practice, Elway filled in by "throwing" punts that sailed as high as real ones.
8. In 1981, Jack Elway's San Jose State team beat John Elway's Stanford team 28-6. John completed only six of 24 passes for 72 yards, threw five interceptions and was sacked seven times.
9. Stanford didn't play in a bowl game during Elway's tenure.
10. Elway's right arm doesn't look imposing: It's 34 inches long, and his biceps are a modest 12 inches unflexed.
11. He missed only 10 starts in his first 14 seasons because of injuries.
12. At Washington State's basketball camp, John, a ninth-grader, caught the eye of Cougars coach George Raveling. "George said if John was going into football, he was going into the wrong sport," Jack Elway said.
13. Before Super Bowl XXI, Raveling fired off a telegram to Elway: "Dear Shotgun: I still think you should've played basketball."
14. Elway earned a degree in economics from Stanford with a 3.0 grade-point average.
15. He hit .419 during his final high school baseball season.
16. He hit .269 in his freshman season at Stanford.
17. In a little more than a half, Elway completed 15 of 20 passes for 245 yards and three TDs during Stanford's 63-9 win over Oregon State.
18. In 1982, Elway led Stanford to a 43-41 win over No. 1-ranked Washington and finished second to Herschel Walker in the Heisman Trophy voting.
19. In the famous Quarterback Class of 1983, Elway was the first pick by Baltimore; Penn State's Todd Blackledge, seventh by Kansas City; Miami's Jim Kelly, 14th by Buffalo; Illinois' Tony Eason, 15th by New England; Cal-Davis' Ken O'Brien, 24th by the New York Jets, and Pittsburgh's Dan Marino, 24th by Miami.
20. In the strike-shortened 1982 season before Elway was drafted, the Broncos went 2-7.
21. The 1987 Cleveland-Denver AFC Championship Game attracted what was believed to be the largest share ever measured by A.C. Nielsen and Co. to that point in Denver -- a 61 rating and 89 share.
22. At the height of the drama -- the last hour of Denver's 23-20 victory -- the game attracted a 65 rating/90 share. In other words, 90 percent of the TV sets turned on in Denver were tuned in to the game.
23. Elway's quarterback rating his rookie season was 54.9, worst in the AFC.
24. Before Denver's victory in Super Bowl XXXII, the Class of 1983 had a combined record of 0-9 in the Big Game.
25. In his regular-season debut, Elway completed only one of eight passes for 14 yards, was sacked four times and had to limp off the field and watch Steve DeBerg lead the Broncos to a 14-10 win over Pittsburgh.
26. Fifty-three media members were on hand for Elway's first day of training camp in his rookie season.
27. After a Granada Hills (Calif.) High School practice, Elway and some teammates headed to the 35-yard line, where they took turns trying to strike an upright with a pass. Elway hurled two perfect strikes.
28. He was voted Southern California Baseball Player of the Year after his senior season at Granada Hills.
29. At Stanford, he lived in a 9-foot-by-9-foot fraternity house room.
30. He was on the losing end of the infamous game against California in which the Stanford band charged the field, allowing the Bears to return a kickoff all the way as time ran out.
31. New York Yankess owner George Steinbrenner signed Elway in the fall of his junior year with a $150,000 bonus.
32. Some of the signs that greeted Elway during his rookie season when the Broncos played in Baltimore: Kill Elway and Union Memorial Hospital Awaits John ''Wimp'' Elway.
33. In 16 seasons Elway started games with 33 different running backs and 22 different receivers.
34. One of Elway's favorite authors: Tom Clancy.
35. His favorite golfer: Greg Norman.
36. His favorite actors: John Wayne and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
37. Janet, his wife, set an American record of 4:52.95 for the 400-meter individual medley in a 25-meter pool during her junior year of high school in Tacoma, Wash.
38. In 1996, Elway and Jeff Hostetler chatted on the Internet in preparation for a Monday night game. Reeves was on their minds, even in cyberspace: "Preparing for you this weekend, our defense decided to bring in Dan Reeves as a consultant," said Hostetler, who didn't re-sign with the Giants after Reeves became coach in 1993. "We figure he did such a good job of holding you down before, he could do it again."
39. Jack Elway had to convince his son to play quarterback instead of halfback during John's Pop Warner days.
40. During his high school summers, he threw up to 300 passes per day.
41. One of the few sophomore quarterbacks ever to earn All-American honors, Elway threw for three touchdowns and ran for another during a 31-14 upset victory over Oklahoma.
42. Math was his favorite high school subject.
43. He set an NCAA record at Stanford for lowest career interception rate (3.13 percent).
44. Elway was named the Offensive MVP in the 1982 East-West Shrine Game. The West coach? Jack Elway.
45. After his disastrous rookie season, Elway headed back to California, where he married Janet, who said he was so dejected he even mentioned quitting the NFL.
46. He has played without an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He completely tore the ligament while making a cut during a high school football game.
47. In most polls of America's best-known jocks, Elway ranks among the leaders along with Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, etc.
48. A couple of days before Elway's first Super Bowl appearance, he took a limousine to see Eddie Murphy on the set of Beverly Hills Cop II.
49. He became active in community affairs with the Elway Foundation, which he started in 1987.
50. He bench-pressed 275 pounds four times three years ago, which is the equivalent of lifting about 350 pounds once.
-- Clay Latimer, for The Denver Rocky Mountain News
The wave of sentiment for the grizzled quarterback might have created an Elway backlash, but it was hard to dislike the guy. Everyone has flaws, but Elway never gave would-be detractors much to hang their hats on."--NFL Insider
1. Value of a Mobile Quarterback
Before Elway entered into the NFL, the quarterback position was known and
revered for the drop back passer. Quarterbacks such as Joe Montana were
leaders who threw pinpoint passes from a three or seven step drop.
Quarterbacks were not meant to scramble and run for yardage.
But in 1983, when the NFL saw its most talented and influential crop of
quarterbacks drafted, the position was forever changed. John Elway had a
flare that few others have ever had or will have. From his days playing in
high school in the San Fernando Valley of California, Elway carried the
distinction of being one who could change the game at any moment with the
most bizarre and amazing of plays.
His success in high school translated into him being the most sought after
recruit for colleges. Elway chose Stanford, and proceeded to carry that
moniker of being the "Against All Odds" playmaker into the PAC-10.
His now famous comeback on the USC Trojans, simply known as "The Play"
further gave him the distinction of being a game breaker. Elway, who had
scrambled some 30 yards in back of the line of scrimmage, ran around defenders
like they were cones and threw a 60 yard strike to his receiver over USC
Trojan safety Ronnie Lott for a game winning touchdown. Elway used his
mobility and poise to guide his teams back from almost insurmountable
deficits.
When the 1983 NFL Draft took place, Elway was drafted by the Baltimore Colts
with the first overall pick. Elway, who had stated he would not play for the
Colts, chose to pursue his baseball career with the Yankees instead. Backing
down to Elway's claims, the Colts traded him to the Denver Broncos. Elway
signed with the Broncos, and his NFL career began, but not without the
grueling growing pains of a rookie thrown into the starting role of
quarterback.
The demanding position of quarterback always takes its toll on rookies. In what
was already a bad system, Elway took the blame for the poor play of the
Broncos. It was safe to say he was not ready to shoulder the burden. Elway
was outright horrible in his rookie campaign, amassing a 54.9 quarterback
rating while only completing 47.5% of his passes. He threw twice as many
interceptions (14) as he did touchdowns (7).
But what turned Elway toward his path of greatness was his remarkable
comeback against the Baltimore Colts late in his rookie season. After being
roughed up for four quarters in Denver's previous meeting with the Colts earlier
in the season, Elway took much of the same abuse in the first 58 minutes of
this game as well. It was the last two minutes, however, that defined
Elway's character and ability.
Down 19-6, Elway guided the Broncos back from a sure loss with 2 touchdown
scores in one minute and 58 seconds to win 20-19. It would be his first of
47 now dubbed 4th quarter comebacks. Elway did it with his mobility, his
desire, and his ability to make things happen when they most mattered.
Today, quarterbacks are judged on their ability to scramble and run, more so
than ever. Elway set the new standard for which quarterbacks are judged. He
proved to the NFL that a quarterback who could move out of the pocket was
far more valuable than one who could not run.
Now in 1999, after Elway has retired, the quarterback position is now played
more of the way Elway played. Passers are now runners, athletes with speed
and ability to throw. The days of the strict drop back passer are slowly
being numbered. If you are a college quarterback who cannot run, you might
not even be considered for a top pick, unlike before Elway came into the
NFL.
2. Desire and the Will to Never Give Up
John Elway showed us all that it is desire and character that ultimately
define a winner. Elway, who made his living coming back from the
impossible, did the ultimate comeback when he guided his team on a 4th
quarter drive in Super Bowl XXXII against the heavily favored Green Bay
Packers.
Elway, who had appeared in three Super Bowls prior to this one in 1998, had
lost all of them by large margins. Without a supporting cast and matched
against superior NFC teams, Elway was not able to capture the big prize.
Entering the 1997-1998 NFL season, with the clock winding down on his
career, Elway would take the Broncos on a drive to the Super Bowl that
defined his career.
Tied at 24 with less than 4 minutes to play, Elway and the Broncos were
backed up deep in their own territory, seemingly destined for another Bowl
loss with field position and time not in their favor. What they did have,
that no one could measure, was confidence, desire, and character.
Elway took his team on his shoulders, using every weapon in his arsenal on
the drive that would forever make him a legend. With the power running of
Terrell Davis, and with poise and a precise passing attack, the Broncos
found themselves controlling the game with time ticking away.
With just over two minutes to play, on a 3rd and long, Elway scrambled out
of the pocket and with fire and determination in his eyes, ran down field,
knowing just how far he needed to go for the first down. Elway dove head
first where most quarterbacks slide for protection into two Packer
defenders, spinning a full 360 degrees laterally in the air, landing hard
with ball in hand and a first down with goal to go.
Seconds later, the Broncos scored the go ahead touchdown on Terrell Davis'
third rushing touchdown of the game, and gave the Broncos a 31-24 lead with
over a minute and a half to play. As usual, the Denver defense rose to the
occasion on Elway's emotional lift, and preserved the elusive Super Bowl
victory Elway had lacked in his storied career.
It was the heart, intensity, and determination that Elway exuded, that
showed us that his will to pull off the impossible would never be
questioned.
3. Character and Class
Whether he was winning or losing, Elway was always a man of class and
character. People respected him because he was a solid man who gave
everything he had for the team. Even though his teams were not always the
best, he made them better with his leadership and his character.
While he only amassed a career quarterback rating of 79.9, he made things
happen when it mattered most. His 47 career 4th quarter comeback wins earned
him the nickname "Captain Comeback."
While other players were instrumental in their ability to change the game in
various ways, but were questionable in their character, Elway was never a
bad person off the field. He is a family man and has a heart of gold for the
community. Elway rarely ended up in the tabloid section of the paper, and
always carried himself with dignity and class. He has created the Elway
Foundation in Denver and always looks to help out his community anyway he
can.
A person of such class and dignity, in a world where many athletes are
known more for their off the field troubles than on the field successes,
Elway is a special and influential role model for young aspiring athletes of
all sports and aspects of life. It is this leadership, class, and character
that have made Elway a positive and influential person in pro sports.
4. Career Stats and Awards
Elway sits second in most passing records behind his 1983 draft classmate
and friend Dan Marino. Elway currently holds the NFL record for most
victories as a starter with 148, with Marino only six behind and still
playing. Elway states that this record means the most to him because it
means the team won games, and winning games was all that mattered to him.
He and Marino are the only two quarterbacks to throw for over 50,000 yards
in a career, but Elway, unlike Marino, rushed for 3,407 yards in his 16 year
career and holds the record for most rushes by a quarterback in a career at
774. He is also one of three quarterbacks with 300 touchdown passes, behind
Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino.
He started 231 games in his 16 years, and played in 234. He completed 57% of
his passes and 47 times he led his team back from a 4th quarter deficit for
victories. He passed for 3,000 yards in a single season 12 times, joining
Marino as the only quarterback to do so. He holds 57 Broncos team records.
Elway won the Super Bowl XXXIII MVP award and holds two Super Bowl titles to
his credit. He was the 1987 league MVP. He was 1993 AFC MVP according to the
NFL Player's Association. He was the Edge 1992 Man of the Year for his work
with the Elway Foundation and his play that season.
Elway played 16 seasons from 1983 to 1998. He threw 300 TD's and 226 INT's.
He appeared in a record five Super Bowls, winning two. He joined Marino as
being the only quarterback to appear in nine Pro Bowls.
Elway holds five NCAA records and nine PAC-10 records. He finished second in
the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1982.
5. Durability
Elway rarely missed games, yet was hit more times than any quarterback in
history, taking 559 sacks. He only missed 13 games due to injury or illness.
This durability for such a mobile quarterback places him as one of the
toughest players of all time. Elway played for a cold weather team in
Denver, and still only missed 13 starts in 16 years.
Elway is remembered for his toughness mentally and physically. His
willingness to take one for the team and his gritty hard-nosed playing style
leave little question of how great Elway is and was as a player. While Elway
may not go down as the best ever, he certainly has a pretty good argument
for it.
Elway has thrown for and amassed more yards rushing and passing combined
than anyone else in history. While he only won two of his five Super Bowls
he appeared in, he leaves knowing that he left on top and as one of the best
of all time. He is a sure lock for a first ballot Hall of Fame induction in
Canton, Ohio. Needless to say John Elway will be missed by the National
Football League, and by all of America..."--
CWCSports, http://www.cwcsports.com [all emphasis mine]
Other Related Pages
Elway was chosen the #1 QB of the 90s in NFL.com's Team of the Decade voting and is a 2004 Hall of Fame inductee.
Elway's Momentous Moments
Why Elway in 2004?
Click here to see the Elway Slide Show
