Can the Falcons play David to Denver’s Goliath?
The invitations to Super Bowl XXXIII said "Broncos vs.
Vikings." But Minnesota forgot to R.S.V.P., and Atlanta crashed the party.
The Falcons stunned the football world and put the kibosh on what some
people were referring to as a "dream" Super Bowl matchup by beating the heavily
favored Vikings in the NFC championship game. Atlanta’s 30-27 overtime win in
Minnesota put the Falcons in the Super Bowl for the first time in team history and set the
stage for what figures to be billed as a David vs. Goliath matchup in Miami.
The part of Goliath will be played by the defending-champion Broncos,
who earned a second straight Super Bowl appearance by beating the Jets 23-10 in Denver.
It’s certainly a role reversal for the Broncos, who were cast as the underdog in last
year’s Super Bowl while the Packers were regarded as the bully.
If Super Bowl XXXIII is to be a David vs. Goliath affair, it’s
only fitting that the storyline involve the throwing of stones. In this instance, the
stones were hurled several years ago, when John Elway took aim at Dan Reeves.
Reeves coached the Broncos for 12 seasons, guiding them to five
division titles, four AFC championship games and three Super Bowls. But, when Reeves and
the Broncos parted ways following the ’92 season, Elway said that playing for Reeves
had been "hell." Imagine if Reeves were to win his first Super Bowl at
Elway’s expense in what figures to be the quarterback’s final game. Talk about
payback.
It should also be noted that Reeves once fired current Denver head
coach Mike Shanahan, who had been serving as a Bronco assistant, and the word in NFL
circles is that Reeves feels Shanahan undermined him in Denver.
It looks as if David vs. Goliath has the makings of a grudge match.
When the Broncos have the ball:
Elway is a mortal lock for the Hall of Fame, but the Bronco offense now
revolves around the cutback running of Terrell Davis, who won the NFL rushing title this
season with 2,008 yards.
The Falcon run defense, which did a terrific job of bottling up Viking
RB’s Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard in the NFC championship game, is led by MLB Jessie
Tuggle and weak-side ’backer Cornelius Bennett, who between them have 24 years of pro
experience. In order to establish the inside-running game, Denver must consistently lock
up an inside blocker — either C Tom Nalen, OLG Mark Schlereth or ORG Dan Neil —
on Tuggle. But Falcon DT’s Travis Hall and Shane Dronett have done a good job of
clogging the middle, freeing up Tuggle to make tackles. Both Bennett and strong-side
linebacker Henri Crockett are adept at fighting through traffic to reach opposing
ballcarriers, and Falcon SS William White has been very good in run support. Bronco FB
Howard Griffith is an unsung hero whose lead blocking is critical to Denver’s ground
game.
While the Broncos are a run-first team, Elway’s presence
discourages opponents from putting extra defenders in the box to stop Davis. But Elway
appears to be beaten up, and the Broncos would rather not put him in a position where he
has to throw an extraordinarily high number of passes and, consequently, absorb additional
hits.
Hall is a lethal inside pass rusher, and DE’s Chuck Smith and
Lester Archambeau have provided consistent pressure from the outside. Bronco OLT Tony
Jones, a Pro Bowler, will be responsible for keeping Smith off Elway’s back. Bronco
ORT Harry Swayne, who isn’t as reliable as Jones, will battle the underrated
Archambeau.
As the season wore on, Falcon defensive coordinator Rich Brooks began
reaching deeper into his bag of tricks to give the Atlanta pass rush added punch. Brooks
started calling more blitzes late in the season as he grew more confident in the
man-on-man cover skills of CB’s Michael Booker and Ronnie Bradford. Brooks had his
defensive linemen do more stunting, and he started dabbling with the zone blitz. When
Smith went five games without a sack at one point, Brooks devised a look that had the end
lining up at middle linebacker, and Smith ended his drought by sacking Dolphin QB Dan
Marino on a rush up the middle.
The Broncos have an outstanding trio of pass catchers in WR’s Ed
McCaffrey and Rod Smith and TE Shannon Sharpe. McCaffrey is a reliable possession receiver
who runs crisp routes and has deceptive speed. Smith is a home-run hitter who can fly when
he turns on the jets. Sharpe causes major matchup problems for opponents because he can
outmuscle defensive backs and outrun linebackers, and he’ll sometimes line up wide of
the formation. The Falcons likely will cover Sharpe with an array of defenders, including
Bennett and White, but none of the matchups bode well for Atlanta.
Elway will occasionally throw to Griffith (who caught a TD pass vs. the
Jets in the AFC title game) or Davis out of the backfield. The Falcons’ Crockett has
struggled when trying to cover running backs, so Atlanta will often replace him with Craig
Sauer in passing situations.
Falcon CB Ray Buchanan has had a tremendous season and is capable of
keeping either McCaffrey or Smith in check, but Bradford and Booker aren’t as
reliable. Booker, who started opposite Buchanan vs. the Vikings, has improved rapidly in
his second season after a poor rookie year. But Booker gave up a lot of big plays early in
the season, and it won’t be surprising if Elway tests the youngster early. Bradford,
who’s been playing nickel corner after starting for much of the regular season, is a
smart, feisty player who makes the most out of limited ability.
Veteran FS Eugene Robinson could be a key figure for the Falcons.
Robinson may have lost a step over the years, but he’s almost never out of position,
and he is rarely put into situations where his lack of speed can be exploited. Robinson, a
former Seahawk, has faced Elway many times and should be familiar with the
quarterback’s tendencies. But Shanahan and Bronco offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak
may put extra effort into scheming against Robinson, who, as a member of the Packers,
picked off one of Elway’s passes in last year’s Super Bowl.
When the Falcons have the ball:
Although his numbers aren’t quite as gaudy as those of his Denver
counterpart, RB Jamal Anderson may have been more valuable to the Falcons this season than
Davis was to the Broncos. Anderson’s running has taken a lot of heat off QB Chris
Chandler, who tends to be more effective when he isn’t taking a lot of hits. After
change-of-pace RB Byron Hanspard sustained a season-ending injury in an exhibition game,
the Falcon running game essentially became a one-man show, and Anderson has been up to the
task. He ran for 1,846 yards during the regular season on a record 410 carries (an average
of 25.6 carries per game).
Bronco DT’s Trevor Pryce and Keith Traylor have been outstanding
against the run, so Falcon OG’s Gene Williams and Calvin Collins and C Robbie Tobeck
may be hard-pressed to create inside running lanes. Bronco OLB’s John Mobley and Bill
Romanowski are good at tracking down ballcarriers, and Romanowski seems to have a knack
for forcing and/or recovering fumbles. The Falcons suffered a blow late in the season when
FB Bob Christian was injured. Christian, whom Reeves has called the best pound-for-pound
blocker he’s ever coached, has been replaced by Brian Kozlowski, a tight end who has
moved into the backfield.
The key to the Falcon offense in this game might be how well the
offensive line adjusts to the DL slants and stunts the Broncos so frequently use, even
when they’re expecting the run. Atlanta’s offensive line has done a good job of
opening holes for Anderson, but its pass blocking can be inconsistent. The Broncos will
test Falcon OT’s Bob Whitfield and Ephraim Salaam with a four-man DE rotation that
includes Maa Tanuvasa, Neil Smith and Alfred Williams. Tanuvasa, who starts at right end,
has the sort of quickness that gives a lot of offensive tackles problems, but Whitfield is
a very solid pass blocker. Denver may give Smith plenty of snaps at left end, where his
years of experience could come in handy against Salaam, a rookie. But Salaam, a
seventh-round draft pick, has started every game this season and has made major strides.
When Falcon QB Chris Chandler is on, he throws as pretty a ball as any
quarterback in the league. Chandler bounced from team to team earlier in his career
because he was maddeningly inconsistent, but he has been much steadier with the Falcons.
Chandler, a fine play-action passer, is at his best when opposing defenses are geared up
to stop Anderson. Chandler’s deadly on 1st-and-10 and 2nd-and-short, but he
isn’t as effective when he’s put into situations where opponents can unleash a
heavy pass rush. The Bronco defense tends to play conservatively when the game is close,
but it becomes much more aggressive when Denver is playing with a lead. If the Broncos
jump on the Falcons early, Chandler will find himself under a heavy pass rush, and he
isn’t mobile enough to buy extra time with his feet.
The Falcons have a fine pair of receivers in Tony Martin and Terance
Mathis, proven veterans who both exceeded the 1,000-yard mark in ’98. Falcon TE O.J.
Santiago is big and talented, but he’s used only sparingly as a pass catcher. Bronco
CB Darrien Gordon has tremendous athletic ability, but his penchant for gambling sometimes
gets him into trouble. CB Ray Crockett is more technically sound, but he doesn’t have
Gordon’s size or speed. Bronco FS Steve Atwater is still a bone-jarring hitter who
makes receivers nervous when they go over the middle. Rookie SS Eric Brown started for
most of the season but has been out with a groin injury. The Broncos are fortunate that
they can replace Brown with either the crafty Tyrone Braxton or the capable Darrius
Johnson.
The Broncos must be wary of rookie WR Tim Dwight, whom the Falcons like
to use on reverses and other gadget plays.
Special teams:
Atlanta appears to have the edge in this area. The Falcons are much
better at covering kicks, and the Bronco punting game looked terribly out of sync against
the Jets, when a blocked punt led to New York’s only touchdown of the game. The
Broncos’ Gordon is an explosive punt returner, but the high, arcing punts of Falcon P
Dan "the Hangman" Stryzinski might nullify Gordon’s punt-return skills. The
Falcons’ Dwight is always a threat to return a kickoff or punt for a touchdown.
Atlanta’s Morten Andersen and Denver’s Jason Elam are both accurate,
strong-legged placekickers.
Game preview and depth charts were compiled as of Jan. 17 |
