AKRNA Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Just in case you guys missed it John Ralston died last week. He's the guy that finally brought this franchise respectability and built the team Red Miller took to the SB. It was an exciting time when we hired him. https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-mourn-loss-of-former-head-coach-john-ralston 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Never thought about it but how the hell is Ralston not in the Ring of Fame? His run of drafts were pretty phenomenal. Red probably gets a lot of revisionist credit for things John Ralston and Joe Collier accomplished. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncofan Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, BroncoBruin said: Never thought about it but how the hell is Ralston not in the Ring of Fame? His run of drafts were pretty phenomenal. Red probably gets a lot of revisionist credit for things John Ralston and Joe Collier accomplished. Ring of Fame was created how long ago? I can imagine they probably wanted to work through all the players that deserved it...and then he kinda got lost in the shuffle. Either way, his passing probably highlights the omission in a big way. Until Pat Bowlen shows up, Ralston is the guy who started the turnaround. 16 of the 22 starters for the first Super Bowl team we had were drafted by Ralston IIRC. Definitely deserving of a spot on the Ring. EDIT: 1984. Edited September 19, 2019 by Broncofan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRNA Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 10 hours ago, BroncoBruin said: Never thought about it but how the hell is Ralston not in the Ring of Fame? His run of drafts were pretty phenomenal. Red probably gets a lot of revisionist credit for things John Ralston and Joe Collier accomplished. Before Ralston there was no such thing as a "spoiled" Bronco fan. It was a bit shocking to win a game, let alone a winning season. He totally turned it around. He hires Collier ( who lasts almost 20 years) and assembles a SB roster. He brings the first winning seasons in team history, topping out at 9 and 5 his last year. Then gets fired because we didn't make the playoffs, replaced by Red Miller who takes the team to the SB his first year. I think the only thing Miller did was bring in Craig Morton. Outside of that the roster was Ralstons. Ring of fame? Ralston and Collier both should be in it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7DnBrnc53 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 8 hours ago, AKRNA said: Before Ralston there was no such thing as a "spoiled" Bronco fan. It was a bit shocking to win a game, let alone a winning season. He totally turned it around. He hires Collier ( who lasts almost 20 years) and assembles a SB roster. He brings the first winning seasons in team history, topping out at 9 and 5 his last year. Then gets fired because we didn't make the playoffs, replaced by Red Miller who takes the team to the SB his first year. I think the only thing Miller did was bring in Craig Morton. Outside of that the roster was Ralstons. Ring of fame? Ralston and Collier both should be in it. Good points. Miller did provide better motivation in 1977, but he was a horrible personnel man. For example, his trade for Matt Robinson in 1980 (backstory: He actually wanted QB Marc Wilson from BYU, but he thought that Wilson would be a top-3 selection. Denver was picking 20th, so he traded that pick, a second-rounder, and Craig Penrose to the Jets to get Matt) was a big mistake. The O-line and RB were way bigger problems than Morton was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRNA Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 56 minutes ago, 7DnBrnc53 said: Good points. Miller did provide better motivation in 1977, but he was a horrible personnel man. For example, his trade for Matt Robinson in 1980 (backstory: He actually wanted QB Marc Wilson from BYU, but he thought that Wilson would be a top-3 selection. Denver was picking 20th, so he traded that pick, a second-rounder, and Craig Penrose to the Jets to get Matt) was a big mistake. The O-line and RB were way bigger problems than Morton was. Thinking back on it ya gotta laugh. Firing Ralston was my greatest WTF moment ever as a Bronco fan. The greatest season by far the franchise had ever had and we fire the coach/GM? What was nuts was how many fans supported it. Lots of the reasoning was we got swept by the Raiders (that years SB Champs) in two close games. Elevating Ralston to VP/GM and hiring Red for the sidelines would have been the right move. Oh well, RIP John. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 It really would have been nice to keep stacking talent, they were drafting 2-3 studs every year from 72-76, the next few drafts after Ralston was fired were pretty rough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7DnBrnc53 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 1 hour ago, AKRNA said: Thinking back on it ya gotta laugh. Firing Ralston was my greatest WTF moment ever as a Bronco fan. The greatest season by far the franchise had ever had and we fire the coach/GM? What was nuts was how many fans supported it. Lots of the reasoning was we got swept by the Raiders (that years SB Champs) in two close games. Elevating Ralston to VP/GM and hiring Red for the sidelines would have been the right move. Oh well, RIP John. Tom Jackson said that they made a mistake when they had Ralston fired, and that they got to SB XII with his team. 36 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said: It really would have been nice to keep stacking talent, they were drafting 2-3 studs every year from 72-76, the next few drafts after Ralston was fired were pretty rough. Ralston really got good hauls in 1973 and 75: 1973: Otis Armstrong, Barney Chavous, G Paul Howard, Tom Jackson, DT John Grant. 1975: Louis Wright, DE Charles Smith (second-round pick from NC Central. Was kicking butt in camp, but he tore both knees, and was out of the NFL by 76), Rubin Carter, Rick Upchurch, Steve Foley, Bob Swenson (college FA from Cal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRNA Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 37 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said: It really would have been nice to keep stacking talent, they were drafting 2-3 studs every year from 72-76, the next few drafts after Ralston was fired were pretty rough. Great point. There was no combine then and limited scouting but Ralston seemed to draft an all pro or two every draft. 75 brought us Louis Wright (still the best CB I've ever seen) Rick Upchurch (best return man I've ever seen) Rubin Carter and Steve Foley. The year before was Claudie Minor and Gradishar and 73 was probably the best draft class the franchise has ever seen with Armstrong, Chavous, Paul Howard and Tom Jackson. Anyway guys, love the nostalgia. Thanks for participating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7DnBrnc53 Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 17 hours ago, AKRNA said: Firing Ralston was my greatest WTF moment ever as a Bronco fan. Since I was a little kid when Ralston was fired, my biggest WTF moment as a Denver fan was the Maddox draft pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullsandBroncos Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Since I was only 13 at the time, going on 14, my biggest WTF moment was when we drafted Jarvis Moss. All I know about Ralston was on the Broncos History DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncofan Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 (edited) I was only 7 when I saw the first SB loss. So my biggest WTF moment was John Fox sitting on the ball with PFM at our 30 with 35 secs left and 2 TO’s in the 2013 AFCG. One only need to look at last week (with a road team and a much worse O) to wonder what might have been. Edited September 21, 2019 by Broncofan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebestever6 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Broncofan said: I was only 7 when I saw the first SB loss. So my biggest WTF moment was John Fox sitting on the ball with PFM at our 30 with 35 secs left and 2 TO’s in the 2013 AFCG. One only need to look at last week (with a road team and a much worse O) to wonder what might have been. Wow man this Is a great one might be mine too. Not only because the moment, but because the guy who was Manning our offense destroyed us in the 03' 04' wild card playoffs. Even if he lost some skill from 04- 12. I still think he had some magic left for that moment. Edited September 21, 2019 by thebestever6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) That game still sucks and can you imagine how much it would suck now if that 2015 run doesn't happen? I could not have been more confident in that team winning 3 playoff games. #2 defense in the league, Peyton looking more and more comfortable every week and a return threat. That team was actually less talented than the 2013-2015 teams but for like the last half of the season they just dominated in every phase. In fairness, they also really didn't play anyone and basically fed on cupcakes for two months before a team hit them in the mouth. Edited September 22, 2019 by BroncoBruin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebestever6 Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 1 hour ago, BroncoBruin said: In fairness, they also really didn't play anyone and basically fed on cupcakes for two months before a team hit them in the mouth. Is that why Demaryius Thomas looked unstoppable on screen plays that year? Seriously, haven't seen a wr break a screen since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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