For a franchise as historic and successful as the Denver Broncos, there’s no denying that they’ve long been snubbed by the NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
When an organization has seven Super Bowl appearances, two Lombardi trophies and only six losing seasons in the last quarter century, it’s hard to justify having just four Hall of Famers, especially when there are 14 franchises with over 10. And it’s not like there haven’t been worthy candidates, either. Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis and Karl Mecklenburg aren’t just Broncos legends; they’re all-time greats.
But year after year, Broncos Country is left stunned as the Hall of Fame Selection Committee leaves the orange and blue out of football’s most sacred hall once again.
Hopefully, this year will be different.
On Thursday night, the NFL announced their 15 Hall of Fame finalists, and while Brett Favre and Terrell Owens may have headlined the class, the Broncos dominated it; Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis and John Lynch all made the cut.
Davis (twice) and Lynch (three times) have both made it to this point in the selection process before, but for Atwater, this is the first time he’s made it to the finalist stage. The Selection Committee will again meet in San Francisco before Super Bowl 50 to determine the Class of 2016.
Following the news, all three Broncos legends spoke to the media. Here’s what they had to say:
Atwater on making it this far:
“I was really excited. I’ve never gotten this far before. This is really the first time that I actually watched it on television, as well. It was super exciting for my family and I. Watching a lot of guys who have actually gotten into the Hall of Fame, it can be a long wait. I’m happy to be here at this point. Hopefully I’ll move on, but just being at this point, I’m really quite happy for that.”
Atwater on having three Broncos make it this far:
“It says a lot. It says that we’re good in that we earned that respect. We’ve got quite a few guys in already, and hopefully we’ll have some more going in here soon. I think the Broncos are the best organization in football. Of course, I’m a little biased, but I’ve had a great experience right from the start up until this very day. It’s been one of the greatest parts of my life being affiliated with the Denver Broncos.”
Atwater on the lack of safeties in the Hall of Fame:
“I look at that all the time and I just find that extremely odd. It’s like we’re not even a part of the team. We’re out there and we play, but they don’t give any of the accolades. At least in terms of being recognized in the Hall of Fame, at least it’s been that way. I think here, if not this year, the next several years, I’m sure a pure safety will be going in. If not me and [Hall of Fame Class of 2016 finalist] John [Lynch], it will be some other guys coming right up in a few years. I think that’s going to change.”
Davis on making it this far a second time:
“I think the difference from last year is I didn’t expect it last year. I think this year I was hoping that the same results would happen this year, so I kind of had a little bit more sense that it would happen. I felt a little more, I guess, encouraged that I would make it at least back to this point. Slightly different than it was last year, but make no mistake about it, both times it’s been ones that I just can’t help but smile. It feels like it’s one step closer to obviously eventually being enshrined.”
Davis on his Hall of Fame case gaining momentum with each year:
“I really do. There was a time when I retired, I think the first year I was eligible, I made the semifinal [list] and there was just nothing out there. There were a few people that said, ‘Hey, congratulations, you made it to the list.’ I didn’t really know how significant it was to be on that list or not. I didn’t know. It was 25 people, but then I saw all the names on the same list had been on that list for a long time. I couldn’t figure out—you make this list, I thought it was you normally go the next list, and that wasn’t the case. In 2007, I think that was my first year and then every other year that passed, it seemed like, yeah, I was making the list and I was getting some congratulations and stuff, but there was really no talk. When I would watch reporters and someone would say, ‘Hey, who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,’ no one said me. I was like, ‘OK. Alright.’ There wasn’t a huge ground swell of support because there was obviously other people that deserved to be in at that time. I just didn’t feel like it was ever going to happen. I just felt like I was going to be a guy that was going towards the senior committee or a guy that was heading toward being one of those guys that just gets left out because so many people are coming in each year that the fresh new names and the guys that just retiring were getting a lot of the love, and I wasn’t. That’s true, but the last three years, for some reason, I felt like it just became—and I don’t know where it came from, but I started to feel like more and more people started to talk about me more on TV. More articles were being written. This year, I don’t know if you guys saw, but the guy gets a billboard in Canton. That just blew me away. That was cool, by the way. I like that. Yeah, that was sweet. That was the best thing that happened to me. You have guys with billboards and someone was talking about flying an airplane over the Super Bowl saying that I need to be in the Hall of Fame and that means a lot to me because these people, who are fans, feel like they’re vested in my journey. They feel like they’ve walked with me and traveled with the Broncos through all the championships. Now, they feel like if I go in, I certainly believe they feel like they’re going in as well, which they will be. That’s been a tremendous amount of support and love that I have not seen prior to two or three years ago. I definitely feel like there’s this momentum right now, which is good. I think that’s the key word, is momentum that we have right now. Hopefully, within the next year or two, it happens. It feels like—before, I wasn’t worried about it, but now that I’m getting close and now they’re letting me taste it. They’re starting to talk about it more. I think I understand how [Hall of Fame WR] Cris Carter felt. I understand how people feel like [Hall of Fame WR] Tim Brown, who was getting in the room every year and he wasn’t making it. I certainly start to feel that way a little bit. I feel like, you start to feel a little bit more—I don’t want to say intrigued is the word—but I watch it more. I follow it more now. That’s what I’m doing now. I see the players that are going in and the guys that are not. It’s a little more interesting now.”
Lynch on if he feels momentum building:
“You sure hope so. Every time that this has happened to me, whether it be any list for the Hall of Fame, I think the feelings are more just privilege to be a part of the process. As the voters know better than anyone, at this point, I think that you have a feeling that any one of those 15 is deserving. I think, if you’ve gotten this far, that you certainly are. They have a tough decision [to make]. Again, I’m just extremely privileged. You’d hope that the more times that you keep banging on the door that, eventually, you bust right through. That’s why this thing is also a little challenging because you have nothing to do with it at this point. Your resume has already been written. There’s not a whole lot that you can do other than sit back and try to enjoy, feel blessed and privileged that you’ve been a part of those other great names that are there with you.”
Lynch on the lack of safeties in the Hall of Fame:
“I think that’s the sentiment that I feel most strongly about. I’ve communicated when asked by the Hall of Fame writers. I think this something that needs to change. That argument really doesn’t hold water with me. Maybe at one point, that position was one that wasn’t of great importance in football and on defenses. I think as anyone has seen the position evolve. That’s where I feel fairly good about being a part of that position changing. It was called safety for a reason because early in football, they were just kind of the last line of defense. I’ll never forget getting to Tampa and [Former Tampa Bay Head Coach] Tony Dungy said, ‘Hey we’re going to do some neat things and really change the way that this position has been played. We’re going to blitz you. We’re going to play you down in the box. We’re also going to play you back. We’re going to cover you.’ That’s why I think it’s such an impactful position. All you have to do is turn on the playoffs. Anytime over the last 10, 15, 20 years you tend to see a safety taking over the playoffs because you can at that position because you’re featured in so many different ways. I think it takes a great skill. When people say, ‘It’s just hard. There aren’t many safeties,’ well, I say that needs to change. Whether it’s me or someone else, I think that should be a priority for the Hall voters.”
