PDA

View Full Version : Why the **** isn't Meck in the Hall??



beachb0y
08-24-2009, 09:18 AM
He should have been a first ballot HOFer. He's the most versatile LB in Broncos history, he did EVERYTHING that Dan Reeves asked him to do and then some. Yes, it can be argued that he was on a bunch of SB teams that got blown out but it certainly wasn't his fault; not just one man makes a team. If if weren't for him, we would have not even made them SBs to begin with. We probably would have still made the playoffs in each of those years, but we would not have been top-seeded but instead a measley wild-card team of sorts which would gotten eliminated first round. Hell, if Big Meck would have been with our Championship squads in the late-90s we would have been a TOP-SEED and not just a wild card in '97 and in '98 instead of starting 13-0, we would have STAYED undefeated throughout. Why ARE the single-purpose greats always given more love than the diversified multipurpose greats anyway? Give Karl that yellow jacket and place his bust in Canton already! :defense:

CoachChaz
08-24-2009, 09:22 AM
He should have been a first ballot HOFer. He's the most versatile LB in Broncos history, he did EVERYTHING that Dan Reeves asked him to do and then some. Yes, it can be argued that he was on a bunch of SB teams that got blown out but it certainly wasn't his fault; not just one man makes a team. If if weren't for him, we would have not even made them SBs to begin with. We probably would have still made the playoffs in each of those years, but we would not have been top-seeded but instead a measley wild-card team of sorts which would gotten eliminated first round. Hell, if Big Meck would have been with our Championship squads in the late-90s we would have been a TOP-SEED and not just a wild card in '97 and in '98 instead of starting 13-0, we would have STAYED undefeated throughout. Why ARE the single-purpose greats always given more love than the diversified multipurpose greats anyway? Give Karl that yellow jacket and place his bust in Canton already! :defense:

Someone got a little carried away

Dirk
08-24-2009, 09:23 AM
............. :rolleyes:











singing to the choir :coffee:

Shazam!
08-24-2009, 09:34 AM
Sorry. The same can be said of Simon Fletcher then for that matter.

Although it is a thread not bashing Kyle Orton or Josh McD, so I'll give you credit for that.

Shazam!
08-24-2009, 09:35 AM
__________________________________________________ __________

Where are they now: Karl Mecklenburg
By James Weiner

No one believed Karl Mecklenburg would turn out to be an All-Pro linebacker in the NFL while he was growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis. But that's exactly what happened.

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/abcsports/mnf/1108/photo/s_mecklenburg_i.jpg

Karl Mecklenburg made 79.5 sacks during his 12-year Denver career.

After spending two years at tiny Augustana College in Sioux City, S.D., Mecklenburg transferred to Big Ten school Minnesota for a chance at the big time.

Mecklenburg caught the eye of Denver Broncos scouts his senior year in a game against Northwestern. While going through film of Wildcat Chris Hinton, the scouts saw Mecklenburg get two sacks off the All-American tackle. The Broncos wound up taking Hinton in the first round with the fourth overall pick. In the 12th and final round, with the 310th overall selection, the Broncos took Mecklenburg.

Hinton did not play a game for the Broncos and was traded to the Baltimore Colts as part of the package for the rights to John Elway. Mecklenburg played with the Broncos for twelve seasons, was a six-time Pro Bowler, recorded 100 or more tackles in five consecutive seasons, and finished with 79.5 sacks, second in team history. He also played in three Super Bowls.

Today, Mecklenburg lives in Littleton, Colo., with his wife and three children.

MondayNightFootball.com: What are you doing now?

Karl Mecklenburg: I coach football at Kent Denver High School here in Denver. I enjoy that. I have a number of different promotional things I am doing here in town. I also do a lot of motivational speaking for businesses.

MondayNightFootball.com: You retired in 1994 and were not able to win a Super Bowl. Were you envious watching the Broncos win it all in 1997 and 1998?

Mecklenburg: No, I really wasn't. I felt like I had a part of that. We had some good teams, but just personnel-wise, they were better than we were. They deserved to win. They had a dozen guys who could start on any team. We had maybe six guys who could start on any team. That makes a difference when you get in that type of game. The type of teams we had, everyone who was a Pro Bowl-caliber player had to play his very best for us to win. And that doesn't happen every single game.

MondayNightFootball.com: What was the single fondest memory of your NFL career?

Mecklenburg: Probably winning the 1986 AFC Championship Game the first time out in Cleveland. It was us against the world. They didn't even let us sleep that night. We were in a downtown hotel that was kind of a tower with an alley around it. They drove around our hotel, honking their horns and barking all night. It was unbelievable. We would get off the bus and head into the locker room and just get pelted with dog bones. It was an experience like none I've ever had before. And to go in there, in that hostile of an environment, and win, was just an unbelievable feeling.

MondayNightFootball.com: How thankful are you that your entire 12-year career was with one team?

Mecklenburg: Players don't realize, but when they do finally have to retire, their only resume is the goodwill they have developed in the community where they've played. Having been fortunate enough to be here in Denver - where there's the best fans in the world anyway - and be here for my whole career and have the chance to develop that sort of goodwill is just an awesome situation. And it allows me to do what I'm doing now - with the motivational speaking and the promotional work. It was a great deal for me.

MondayNightFootball.com: What was it like to go from 12th-round pick to starting middle linebacker?

Mecklenburg: I felt like I was going to make it right from the start. Actually, I got an apartment before John Elway did. I was overconfident and foolish. I never lacked for confidence in my own ability. It was just a matter of getting the opportunity. And that was one of the great things about playing for Dan Reeves. If you could play, no matter whether you were a free agent or a late-round draft pick, he was going to give you that opportunity. And some situations aren't like that. You come in and if you're not one of the high draft picks, you just don't have a chance to make it.

MondayNightFootball.com: Did you have any interaction with the kids at Columbine High School?

Mecklenburg: I live a mile away from the high school. I spoke with a lot of those kids, and I got to know them fairly well. That was a horrible situation. But it's amazing, the resiliency of those kids. They're tougher than any NFL guys I know. It's an amazing thing watching them recover and get on with their lives.

MondayNightFootball.com: What do you remember about our classic game, Oct. 17, 1994: Kansas City 31, Denver 28?

Mecklenburg: I remember hitting Marcus Allen and making him fumble and us going ahead and thinking that we had won the game. Then we gave the ball back to Joe [Montana] with a minute-something left, and he did what Joe does best. He moved them right down the field. It was a game of emotions, back-and-forth, back-and-forth.

Thnikkaman
08-24-2009, 09:39 AM
Why isn't Little in the HoF?
Why isn't Atwater in the HoF?
Why isn't <insert awesome Broncos player who's been snubbed by the HoF here> in the HoF?

A: They played for the Broncos.

GEM
08-24-2009, 10:20 AM
He should have been a first ballot HOFer. He's the most versatile LB in Broncos history, he did EVERYTHING that Dan Reeves asked him to do and then some. Yes, it can be argued that he was on a bunch of SB teams that got blown out but it certainly wasn't his fault; not just one man makes a team. If if weren't for him, we would have not even made them SBs to begin with. We probably would have still made the playoffs in each of those years, but we would not have been top-seeded but instead a measley wild-card team of sorts which would gotten eliminated first round. Hell, if Big Meck would have been with our Championship squads in the late-90s we would have been a TOP-SEED and not just a wild card in '97 and in '98 instead of starting 13-0, we would have STAYED undefeated throughout. Why ARE the single-purpose greats always given more love than the diversified multipurpose greats anyway? Give Karl that yellow jacket and place his bust in Canton already! :defense:

Hang on there beachboy....Meck is my all time favorite Bronco, but Gradishar deserves to be there before Meck.

beachb0y
08-24-2009, 01:07 PM
Guys, come on....Yes, them other Broncos should be in the Hall too, but Meck was simply awesome! It's simply a classic case of diversified players not getting quite the glamour. Hell, in my opinion, Walter Peyton was BETTER than Jim Brown because Peyton DID IT ALL. He was HOF material at simply running the ball, but he blocked as well (something Brown detested doing) and even had a great record throwing TD passes when he was called to do so. Same with HINES WARD in this era being better then, say, Randy Moss or TO for the same reason. Well, same thing as well with Meck on the other side of the ball. All that Lawrence Taylor was really HOF-caliber at was rushing the passer, but Meck could do that AND all the rest! Super Bowl XXI it was BIG MECK who was the best LB on the field that day. He just wasn't on the best TEAM. Can you EVEN IMAGINE if Meck and LT switched sides for that game how EVEN MORE lopsided the game would have been!

Get Meck in the f-in Hall already!! Man!

beachb0y
08-25-2009, 02:58 PM
I am so damn suprised that not enough has been responded to about this issue. Especially when you consider everyone getting bored to death with the whole bashing of McDaniels/Marshall/Bolen. Madman Meck was the **** man. Seems like he's even underrated here in Bronco Country. Oh man.