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1 question about Williams in comparison with Neil Smith

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
We always hear about how much the offense should improve with the new scheme and Gary Kubiak. We hear how our running game should be up to par and how Carr should do alot better.

If memory serves me correctly, Elway did very well for a long time and he did it without a running game but won the Super Bowl once he got the running game he needed. However he never had slackers back there either though prior to Terrell Davis.

My question is, how much did the Broncos improve once they got Neil Smith from KC?
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
I remember them having one of the better defenses in the league and that catapulting the Broncos into a champion.

It's funny because if you recall, during all the losing Super Bowl years they didn't have a standout DE and then once they got one they won the thing twice.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
I guess I am asking for someone who is familiar with the Broncos to expand on this a bit more. I am just saying that it could be that Kubiak may have remembered what having a pass rushign DE did as far as bringing a very good team and turning it into a force.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
That does help. I was thinking about that guy Neil Smith and just thought for a second that hopefully Williams will give us that kind of impact.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
El Tejano said:
We always hear about how much the offense should improve with the new scheme and Gary Kubiak. We hear how our running game should be up to par and how Carr should do alot better.

If memory serves me correctly, Elway did very well for a long time and he did it without a running game but won the Super Bowl once he got the running game he needed. However he never had slackers back there either though prior to Terrell Davis.

My question is, how much did the Broncos improve once they got Neil Smith from KC?
The Broncos went 13-3 the year before Smith got there and got upset in their first playoff game by the Jags. Smith arrived in 1997 and the Broncos went 12-4 and 14-2 and won 2 consecutive Super Bowls, then after Elway's retirement and Terrell Davis' injury in the 4th game of the next year the Broncos went 6-10, then Smith left to San Diego for one year before retiring.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
So would it be safe to say that as long as the offense was good enough, having this DE to bolster the defense is what helped them be a championship team?
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
El Tejano said:
So would it be safe to say that as long as the offense was good enough, having this DE to bolster the defense is what helped them be a championship team?
I don't know how many (if any) other significant additions they had or what kind of production Neil Smith had for those two Super Bowl seasons, but having a good DE definitely helps a defense out.

In 1996 the Broncos had the 13th ranked passing offense, 1st ranked rushing offense (1st overall), and had the 10th ranked passing defense and the 1st ranked rushing defense (4th overall).
In 1997 the Broncos had the 10th ranked passing offense, 4th ranked rushing offense (1st overall), and had the 5th ranked passing defense and the 16th ranked rushing defense (4th overall).
In 1998 the Broncos had the 6th ranked passing offense, 2nd ranked rushing offense (3rd overall), and had the 28th ranked passing defense and the 3rd ranked rushing defense (12th overall).

It doesn't appear from these numbers that Neil Smith had much of an overall impact on the defense, so it's difficult to really say.
 

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
MorKnolle said:
I don't know how many (if any) other significant additions they had or what kind of production Neil Smith had for those two Super Bowl seasons, but having a good DE definitely helps a defense out.

In 1996 the Broncos had the 13th ranked passing offense, 1st ranked rushing offense (1st overall), and had the 10th ranked passing defense and the 1st ranked rushing defense (4th overall).
In 1997 the Broncos had the 10th ranked passing offense, 4th ranked rushing offense (1st overall), and had the 5th ranked passing defense and the 16th ranked rushing defense (4th overall).
In 1998 the Broncos had the 6th ranked passing offense, 2nd ranked rushing offense (3rd overall), and had the 28th ranked passing defense and the 3rd ranked rushing defense (12th overall).

It doesn't appear from these numbers that Neil Smith had much of an overall impact on the defense, so it's difficult to really say.

Stats are funny. Sometimes bad passing defense is a result of the fact that the team is playing so well that the other team is behind so much that they have to pass to try to get back into the game. (And bad running defense is sometimes a demonstration that your team is behind a lot in games). You never really know that unless you watched the games and didn't just rely on stats.

Defense feeds offense and vice versa. A good offense keeps the defense off of the field and fresh and gives them long fields to defend. A good defense gives offenses better field position.

I guess that is obvious, but just wanted to say it. Interesting Neil Smith/Elway article.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
Texans_Chick said:
Stats are funny. Sometimes bad passing defense is a result of the fact that the team is playing so well that the other team is behind so much that they have to pass to try to get back into the game. (And bad running defense is sometimes a demonstration that your team is behind a lot in games). You never really know that unless you watched the games and didn't just rely on stats.

Defense feeds offense and vice versa. A good offense keeps the defense off of the field and fresh and gives them long fields to defend. A good defense gives offenses better field position.

I guess that is obvious, but just wanted to say it. Interesting Neil Smith/Elway article.
Indeed they are, I don't remember the Broncos well enough back then to know how much of an impact Neil Smith had other than these stats I pulled up.
 

aj.

All Pro
Without looking at stats, I can say that Neil Smith helped sustain a good defense - he may have even made a Pro Bowl - but it wasn't like he was the difference... that one player to put them over the top or to take them to the next level..... no. His best years by far were at KC.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
aj. said:
Without looking at stats, I can say that Neil Smith helped sustain a good defense - he may have even made a Pro Bowl - but it wasn't like he was the difference... that one player to put them over the top or to take them to the next level..... no. His best years by far were at KC.
Smith made the Pro Bowl in 1997 for the Broncos, just wanted to throw that out there and I agree with the rest of your post, although I admittedly didn't pay as close attention to the whole NFL back then as I do now.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
El Tejano said:
Thanks for the insight. Is there any record of Kubiak making any comparisons of Williams to Smith?
Not that I have heard or read, but I don't read as much of the local media stuff as others do. Williams definitely has the size and strength but is more athletic than Smith, but beyond that I haven't heard anything in those regards.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
cincyTEXAN said:
i could've sworn smith was a tackle not an end..........and sixty percent of the time,i'm right everytime.
Neil Smith might have played some DT but he was mainly a DE.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
Well when you say that and realize that Williams can play DT also then you start to see how much more useful he will be to us then.
 
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