The 98′ Broncos are a real contender in our tournament
The Top Team Tournament is a project where I take every franchise’s best team (post-merger) and pit them against each other. This week I am analyzing the AFC West. In each blurb, I break down the team’s stats, successes, and (possible) failures. From now on, I will be including each player’s Approximate Value (AV), Pro Football Reference’s metric for a player’s value in their career. My goal is to give everyone a bit of background for each team while not diving deep into the histories of them. I will also do my best to not linger on possible heartbreak endings to these fantastic seasons. Along with my background, I will give my brief predictions for the teams in this tournament.
’98 Broncos – In such a storied franchise, picking the best was not easy. However, with some of the top offensive players ever in John Elway, Terrell Davis, and Shannon Sharpe this felt like the right choice. During the regular season, they went 14-2 with the 501 points for (2nd in the league) and 309 points against (8th in the league). They also lost QB John Elway to injury weeks 4, 5, 9, and 10. In his place, Buddy Brister took over and went 4-0 with 10 TDs and 3 Ints. In the postseason, they steamrolled the Dolphins 38-3, overcame a 10 point deficit to win 23-10 against the Jets, and tore through the Falcons in the Super Bowl 34-19. This would be John Elway’s final season as a player.
| John Elway QB (Injured weeks 4, 5, 9, & 10) | 2806 yds, 22 TDs, 10 Ints | Pro Bowl ’98, Super Bowl MVP, Hall of Fame, 203 AV |
| Terrell Davis RB | 2008 rush yds, 21 TDs, 217 rec yds, 2 TDs | 1st Tm All-Pro, NFL MVP, Hall of Fame, 78 AV |
| Rod Smith WR | 1222 yds, 6 TDs | 125 AV |
| Ed McCaffrey WR | 1053 yds, 10 TDs | 2nd Tm All-Pro, Pro Bowl ’98, 79 AV |
| Shannon Sharpe TE | 768 yds, 10 TDs | 1st Tm All-Pro, Pro Bowl ’98, Hall of Fame,104 AV |
| Tony Jones T | Pro Bowl ’98, 98 AV | |
| Tom Nalen C | Pro Bowl ’98, 132 AV | |
| Mark Schlereth G | Pro Bowl ’98, 83 AV | |
| Neil Smith DE | 1 Int, 4 Sacks, 1 FF, 20 tkls | 120 AV |
| Trevor Pryce DE | 1 Int, 8.5 Sacks, 31 tkls | 103 AV |
| Bill Romanowski LB | 2 Ints, 2 FF, 7.5 Sacks, 55 tkls | Pro Bowl ’98, 121 AV |
| John Mobley LB | 1 Int, 1 Sack, 93 tkls | 58 AV |
| Steve Atwater FS | 1 Int, 43 tkls | Pro Bowl ’98, 99 AV |
The ’98 Broncos were on another level that year and they will look to continue dominance in this tournament. Depending on the simulator, they have a chance to methodically take down opponents just like this amazing season.
’06 Chargers – This team was a powerhouse that ran through opponents during the regular season (14-2), just to fall apart in the first round of the playoffs against the Patriots giving up 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. They had the best offense in the league posting 492 points and the 7th best defense with 303 points against. This was the year they put all of their trust in the run game, Lorenzo Neal and Ladainian Tomlinson, the latter of which winning the NFL MVP award.
| Philip Rivers QB | 3388 yds, 22 TDs, 9 Ints | Pro Bowl ’06, 164 AV |
| LaDainian Tomlinson RB | 1815 rush yds, 28 TDs, 508 rec yds, 3 TDs, 2 pass TDs | NFL MVP, Pro Bowl ’06, All-Pro ’06, Hall of Fame, 157 AV |
| Lorenzo Neal FB | Pro Bowl ’06, All-Pro ’06, 18 AV | |
| Antonio Gates TE | 71 rec, 924 yds, 9 TDs | Pro Bowl ’06, All-Pro ’06, 121 AV |
| Nick Hardwick C | Pro Bowl ’06, 83 AV | |
| Marcus McNeill T | Pro Bowl ’06, 53 AV | |
| Quentin Jammer CB | 4 Ints, 2 FF, 18 PD, 71 tkls | 67 AV |
| Shawne Merriman LB | 1 Int, 4 FF, 17 Sacks, 42 tkls | Pro Bowl ’06, All-Pro ’06, 42 AV |
| Jamal Williams DT | 2 Sacks, 49 tkls | Pro Bowl ’06, All-Pro ’06, 77 AV |
Although they did not reach the Super Bowl this year, I believe that Tomlinson and the Chargers can put a good dent in this tournament. They will give opposing defenses a hard time and keep the offenses honest with their above-average defensive game.
’76 Raiders – From Legendary Owner Al Davis and Coach John Madden came the wild ride that was the ’76 season. QB Ken Stabler was able to put together last minute wins time and time again putting up great passing stats along the way. The defense was young and hungry, if still learning, and regularly stifled offenses before holding the Vikings to 14 points in the Super Bowl. The only loss in this season was to the Patriots in week 4 (17-48), a loss that was avenged in the Divisional round (24-28).
| Ken Stabler QB | 2737 yds, 27 TDs, 17 Ints | 2nd Tm All-Pro ’76, Pro Bowl ’76, Hall of Fame, 119 AV |
| Mark van Eeghen FB | 1012 yds, 3 TDs | 76 AV |
| Cliff Branch WR | 1111 yds, 12 TDs | 1st Tm All-Pro ’76, Pro Bowl ’76, 108 AV |
| Dave Casper TE | 691 yds, 10 TDs | 1st Tm All-Pro ’76, Pro Bowl ’76, Hall of Fame, 61 AV |
| Art Shell T | Hall of Fame, 121 AV | |
| Gene Upshaw G | 2nd Tm All-Pro ’76, Hall of Fame, 151 AV | |
| Phil Villapiano LB | 1 Int | Pro Bowl ’76, 80 AV |
| Ted Hendricks LB | 1 Int | 2nd Tm All-Pro ’76, Hall of Fame, 147 AV |
| Willie Brown CB | 3 Ints | Hall of Fame, 144 AV |
| Jack Tatum S | 2 Ints | 77 AV |
| Ray Guy P | 67 punts, 2785 yds | 1st Tm All-Pro ’76, Hall of Fame, 44 AV |
This team was full of magic and hype in their time, and I feel that they will need that to translate in order to keep up in this tournament. Compared to other teams in the tournament, this defense may be a bit suspect and could cost them their spot in the next round.
’69 Chiefs – Although the offense was incredible (2nd in the league), it was the defense that was truly dominant (177 points against, 1st in the league). After going 11-3 in the regular season, they made the postseason look like a cakewalk. They beat the Jets 13-6 in the Divisional round and then they beat the team that beat them twice during the regular season, the Raiders, 17-7 in the Conference Championship. Finally, they took out the Vikings in fantastic fashion 23-7.
| Len Dawson QB | 1323 yds, 9 TDs, 13 Ints | Pro Bowl ’69, Hall of Fame, Super Bowl MVP, 144 AV |
| Mike Garrett RB | 1164 all-purpose yds, 8 TDs | 77 AV |
| Robert Holmes FB | 878 all-purpose yds, 5 TDs | Pro Bowl ’69, 31 AV |
| Otis Taylor WR | 696 yds, 7 TDs | 95 AV |
| Ed Budde G | Pro Bowl ’69, 1st Tm All-Pro, 98 AV | |
| Jim Tyrer T | Pro-Bowl ’69, 1st Tm All-Pro ’69, 126 AV | |
| Buck Buchanan DT | Pro Bowl ’69, 1st Tm All-Pro, Hall of Fame, 122 AV | |
| Curley Culp DT | Pro Bowl ’69, Hall of Fame, 104 AV | |
| Bobby Bell LB | 3 Fum Rec | Pro Bowl ’69, 1st Tm All-Pro, Hall of Fame, 133 AV |
| Willie Lanier LB | 4 Ints, 1 Fum Rec | Pro Bowl ’69, 1st Tm All-Pro, Hall of Fame, 108 AV |
| Emmitt Thomas CB | 9 Ints, 1 TD, 2 Fum Rec | 2nd Tm All-Pro ’69, Hall of Fame, 88 AV |
| Johnny Robinson S | 8 Ints | 1st Tm All-Pro ’69, 118 AV |
This team feels like the complete opposite of the ’76 Raiders, insanely stacked defense and an alright offense. Even though they are incredible on defense, it is going to be interesting to see how they stack up against the newer, pass-oriented offenses of later seasons. I believe that they can make it past the Raiders, but it will be hard for them to progress further.
This is part of an ongoing project that I have been and will be updating for the coming months. Let me know your predictions and any critiques I should make!
Next week I dive into the AFC North including the ’78 Steelers, ’86 Browns, ’00 Ravens, and ’88 Bengals.
Thank you for stopping by and reading!
Devyn Smith Twitter: @smithdev002
Instagram: devyn5mith
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- AFC West
- Top Team Tournament’
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