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Time heals all wounds: Elway, Reeves make peace

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  • #1

    Time heals all wounds: Elway, Reeves make peace

    July 9, 2004
    SportsLine.com wire reports

    DENVER -- With his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame approaching, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway has reconciled with former coach Dan Reeves, with whom he famously sparred.

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    The healing began after Elway invited Reeves to the induction ceremony Aug. 8.

    "It never crossed my mind not to invite him," Elway told the Denver Post. "Time heals everything. Those types of things, those little problems, you just can't let them linger. They add up. Bitterness is no way to go through life. There are absolutely no ill feelings on my part toward Dan. I'm looking forward to seeing him."

    Reeves coached Elway for 10 of the quarterback's 16 seasons in the NFL, but their relationship was strained after three Super Bowl losses from 1987 to 1990.


    John Elway and his former coach Dan Reeves have put their differences behind them.(Getty Images)
    Elway said he felt inhibited in Reeves' offensive system. Their relationship worsened after the 1990 season, when Reeves attempted to trade Elway without first telling him.

    So it was an emotional moment when Reeves received an invitation to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony, Reeves told the Post.

    "I was thrilled, to say the least," said Reeves. "I had no way of knowing. I don't care about the past. You've got to move forward. I've always felt that way. I can't wait to see a great player going into the Hall of Fame."

    Reeves said he called Elway after receiving the invitation to make sure it was OK for him to attend.

    "He told me he made the list and he wanted all the people who played a part in him getting there to be there, and he certainly wanted me there," Reeves said. "It definitely felt good to hear that. I was just elated."

    Under Reeves, Elway completed 54.7 percent of his passes for 158 touchdowns, compared to 60 percent completions and 142 touchdowns in the six seasons after Reeves left.

    Elway said he sometimes wonders how Reeves affected his career statistics but that he has come to appreciate his former coach over time.

    Winning two Super Bowls also helped.

    "Once I did that, it helped me feel different about things," said Elway, 44. "I don't hold any grudges, any ill feelings toward him. The bottom line is we won a lot of football games when he was here. We didn't see eye to eye, but I still think he's a great football coach."



    AP NEWS
    The Associated Press News Service

    Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Time heals all wounds: Elway, Reeves make peace

    Maybe there's hope for Warner and Martz after all!
    Clannie Nominee for ClanRam's Thickest Poster

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Time heals all wounds: Elway, Reeves make peace

      Originally posted by Yodude
      Maybe there's hope for Warner and Martz after all!
      I wouldn't hold my breath.
      The more things change, the more they stay the same.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Time heals all wounds: Elway, Reeves make peace

        I don't remember hearing anything remotely close to the Reeves/Elway situation for Martz/Warner.

        Comment

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        • DJRamFan
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          "It's like coming home," said Theismann, who 34 years ago played just five minutes away, at Notre Dame.

          Among the 17 players enshrined Saturday were late USC tailback Ricky Bell, Pittsburgh tackle Jimbo Covert, SMU receiver Jerry LeVias and Georgia quarterback John Rauch. Five coaches were also enshrined, including Doug Dickey, who coached at Tennessee and Florida, and Hayden Fry, who coached at SMU, North Texas State and Iowa.

          Theismann said at the banquet Saturday night that he had been both lucky and blessed.

          "Every one of us seated here is humbled by this experience," he said. "We're honored to grace this stage where so many men have come before us and done so much."

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          "I'm thinking his stats have incredibly improved over the years," Sanders said.

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        • DJRamFan
          Obscene gesture has Plummer under scrutiny again
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          Dec. 13, 2004
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          DENVER -- Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer probably lost more than just his cool when he made an obscene gesture toward the stands.

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          The NFL is reviewing Plummer's actions under its long-standing policy that prohibits public displays of profanity, a review that will likely lead to a fine.

          Plummer didn't do himself many favors in a city that is already a little fed up with his performance this season.

          Plummer was not available for comment Monday, the day after a shaky 20-17 victory over lowly Miami that kept the Broncos (8-5) tied with Baltimore for the AFC's final wild-card spot.

          Plummer threw two interceptions. After the first, he made an obscene gesture toward the stands, which was caught by TV cameras carrying the game on CBS.

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          Jake Plummer has thrown six interceptions over the past two games. (AP)
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          "It surprised me so much," defensive lineman Trevor Pryce said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, you?' I'd expect something like that from me, not from him. But Jake, he's such a fiery guy."

          His obscene gesture was front-page material in Denver and was played over and over on national highlight shows.

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        • DJRamFan
          Ex-Virginia coach Welsh headed for College Football Hall
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        • DJRamFan
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          MADISON, Wis. -- Barry Alvarez eliminated all the surprise and speculation -- his 16th season as Wisconsin coach will be his last.


          Barry Alvarez has a 108-70-4 mark in 15 seasons at Wisconsin. (AP)
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          Career Record
          Year Record Bowl
          1990 1-10 None
          1991 5-6 None
          1992 5-6 None
          1993 10-1-1 Won Rose
          1994 8-3-1 Won Hall of Fame
          1995 4-5-2 None
          1996 8-5 Won Copper
          1997 8-5 Lost Outback
          1998 11-1 Won Rose
          1999 10-2 Won Rose
          2000 9-4 Won Sun
          2001 5-7 None
          2002 8-6 Won Alamo
          2003 7-6 Lost Music City
          2004 9-3 Lost Outback
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        • r8rh8rmike
          Thomas: Is Warner A First-Ballot Hall of Famer?
          by r8rh8rmike
          Is Warner a first-ballot Hall of Famer?

          4 hours ago • By Jim Thomas

          PHOENIX • There are 25 quarterbacks in the NFL Hall of Fame, but there have been no inductees at the position since Troy Aikman and Warren Moon in 2006.

          Dick Vermeil has no doubt the nine-year drought ends Saturday with Kurt Warner.

          “I’m confident for sure that Kurt will go in,” said Vermeil, Warner’s coach on the Super Bowl XXXIV championship Rams. “It’s almost impossible to leave him out.”

          Given his unusual background and the totally unforeseen start in the NFL, Warner’s accomplishments “will never be done again,” Vermeil said. “What other qualification do you need?”

          Well, there were the two NFL MVP honors. The gaudy numbers. Guiding a pair of woebegone franchises to the Super Bowl — the Rams (twice) and the Arizona Cardinals (once).

          His playoff numbers deserve special emphasis. Warner is the only player to throw for 300-plus yards in three Super Bowls. Included in that trio of games is a record 414 yards passing in that Super Bowl XXXIV victory over Tennessee to cap the 1999 season.

          “His playoff numbers, his quarterback efficiency rating, are better than anybody that’s in the Hall of Fame,” Vermeil said. “And if you took all the quarterbacks that are gonna be Hall of Famers in the future and included his quarterback efficiency rating in playoff games, yards thrown and everything, it’s better than those guys. It’s better than Tom Brady’s, it’s better than anybody’s.”

          Mike Martz, Warner’s offensive coordinator in ‘99 and then his head coach, feels the same way about his first-ballot chances.

          “How could he not?” Martz said. “He’s a two-time MVP. Took two teams, went to three Super Bowls. Won one. How could he not? And you know, the two that he lost were lost on the final play of the game.”

          But there are some voters who wonder about the so-called “hole” in his career, specifically the 2004 season with the New York Giants that bridged the time between his Rams’ tenure (1998-2003) and his Arizona stint (2005-09).

          Warner began that Giants season as the starter and played OK, but then was benched in favor of rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Eli Manning.

          “That’s been held against him a little bit from rumors I’ve heard,” Vermeil said. “But if that’s true, then my gosh you’ve got to eliminate everybody. Then neither one of the coaches going into this Super Bowl game can go (to the Hall of Fame) because they’ve been fired before. One of them (Pete Carroll) was fired twice.

          “And (wide receiver) Cris Carter, who’s all-everything on television now, was run out of Philadelphia for criminy sakes — for bad reasons. And he’s already in the Hall of Fame.

          “So it doesn’t make really good sense. There are no legitimate negatives against Kurt going in.”

          Truth...
          -01-30-2015, 09:45 AM
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