The bigger the game, the bigger the legends. At the Super Bowl, Gilbert Brown weighs at least 400 pounds.
“He’s not 400. He’s 300, um, something,” Packers defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said.
“Next question,” the Packer defensive lineman said.
“He knows he cannot be moved,” safety LeRoy Butler said.
That’s myth No. 2.
“I know a couple times I’ve been moved, because I get yelled at in meetings,” Brown said.
Brown confirmed last year’s revelation that despite his size, he is a mama’s boy.
“My brother talked me into playing football. I wanted to stay at home and be a mama’s boy. You don’t want to go out and play something as hard and physical as football.”
Don Pierson
Short practice
The Packers practiced Tuesday and the Broncos took the day off, but Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren cut his workout short 15 minutes because he was afraid a soft field might wear out his players. Tuesday is a normal off-day for NFL teams.
“It’s pretty spongy, soft. And it takes your legs away and we have three big days coming up,” Holmgren said.
Cornerback Tyrone Williams, bothered by tightness in his back, did not practice at all. Holmgren expects him to be ready for normal Wednesday, Thursday and Friday practices.
Don Pierson
Lighten up
Broncos guard Mark Schlereth, who has undergone seven in-season surgeries (six knee and one ankle) over the last two seasons but still only missed two games, lauded coach Mike Shanahan for his conservative approach to practice.
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“If you look at the four teams in the championship–us, Green Bay, 49ers and the Steelers–three of those teams don’t practice in pads,” Schlereth said. “So all of you coaches out there who beat up your players, take note, you don’t have to.”
Melissa Isaacson
Left is all right
As the Packers prepared for the Super Bowl a year ago, one of their concerns was pass blocking–specifically at the left tackle position, the most important one on the line, because he must protect Brett Favre’s blind side. Green Bay got through the Super Bowl quite well but spent its first-round draft choice on tackle Ross Verba from Iowa.
Verba will be the first rookie to start at left tackle in a Super Bowl. For him, confidence is not an issue.
He was asked if he had to make any major adjustments.
“No, not really,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any different than I thought it would be.”
Figuring he would quickly become a starter, Verba held out until Aug. 1 for a contract befitting the 30th pick in the draft. “I worked my tail off when I was holding out,” he said.
Verba became a starter in Week 6. In the NFC championship game, he kept San Francisco’s Chris Doleman from getting a sack. Doleman had 12 during the regular season.
Terry Bannon
Elusive dream
Denver cornerback Ray Crockett was like a lot of young players when he was with Detroit in 1991. The Lions reached the NFC championship game where they fell to the Washington Redskins.
Crockett, in only his third season, figured that was only the beginning for a good young team. It wasn’t. The Lions never again came that close and subsequently were largely broken up in free agency. Now he appreciates where he is far more than he did back then.
“It was my third year, Barry Sanders’ third year, it was Herman Moore’s second year, Rodney Peete’s third and Erik Kramer’s fourth years,” Crockett recalled. “We had such a young team and you go 12-4 and win the way we did–beating the Cowboys, who were coming into their own–I thought we were going to have a pretty dominant team for the next couple of years. Then we went 6-10.”
John Mullin
Mixed blessing
Denver’s offensive line achieved a rare distinction this postseason when it was named AFC Player of the Week for its play in a 42-17 wild-card victory over Jacksonville in which the team rushed for 310 yards.
It was only the second time in the 14-year history of the award that an offensive line had won the award. The first? The Bears’ line, for its performance in a 26-6 victory at Tampa Bay during the 1990 season.
The Broncos were not necessarily overjoyed with the honor.
“At first I thought it was kind of neat,” said guard Brian Habib, “but the next week we were going into Kansas City, into the worst place you could possibly play with the noise and the kind of defensive team they have, and that just gave them added incentive to come out and kick (our butts). So we really were not that thrilled after we thought about it because we knew that we were going to have to pay the price for that. We were glad it all died down after a week or so.”
Melissa Isaacson
Long shot
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dan Issel, a native of Batavia with family still in the Chicago area, doesn’t like the Broncos’ chances.
“I think Green Bay probably wins by 10 or so,” said Issel, a longtime Denver Nuggets player and coach. “Something could happen; the Broncos have a good team. But Green Bay’s awesome.”
Issel, a talk-show host with a Denver all-sports station, has a unique personal perspective on one aspect of the Broncos’ Super Bowl situation. Issel played his early years with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association, regarded with disdain by the older, established NBA the way the AFL was by the NFL and the AFC is by the NFC after 13 years of Super Bowl mastery.
“I can certainly understand the disrespect,” he said. “The only difference was that once the ABA got a chance to prove it, we won the Midwest Division the first two years we were in the NBA in Denver. But I can appreciate how (the AFC is) looked at like the redheaded stepchild.”
John Mullin
Leroy knows
The Packers’ Butler loves matching up against Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe.
“I like being the guy on center stage. The whole defense circles around what I do.”
As for Sharpe, Butler said: “He’ll be seeing something he never has seen before, which is me.”
Don Pierson
Pro-active
Last year, rookie Derrick Mayes was one of the Packers declared inactive for the Super Bowl. Mayes, a second-round pick from Notre Dame, caught only six passes during the regular season and had bruised ribs Super Bowl week. “I watched the game from the sidelines,” he said. “But I was on the team and I had my Super Bowl ring.”
When the Packers let Andre Rison leave as a free agent, Mayes moved up to be Green Bay’s No. 3 receiver. Injuries limited him to 12 games (he started three), and he finished the regular season with 18 catches for a 16.1-yard average.
Terry Bannon
A song in his heart
Two years ago, Denver defensive end Alfred Williams was one of the most sought-after free-agent defensive linemen. Among the teams he visited was the Bears, who were concerned about losing their own free-agent defensive lineman, Alonzo Spellman.
“When I was there, their coaches were talking about Alonzo Spellman and how much they liked him,” Williams said. “When I left there, I knew I wasn’t going to be signing with the Bears. My heart was telling me to stay in Cincinnati. But I wanted to get somewhere where I could win.”
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The Bears wound up matching Jacksonville’s four-year, $11.6 million offer to Spellman; Williams signed with Denver.
Tuesday, Williams joked that he’s putting together some songs for an album to be called “Unforgettable.” “And I have 10 1/2 done already,” he said.
Williams, who arguably will be the best pass-rusher on the field Sunday, has 10 1/2 sacks, including two in the playoff victory over Kansas City.
Terry Bannon
High praise
Broncos defensive coordinator Greg Robinson made Brett Favre sound like an assassin Tuesday when discussing the Packers quarterback.
“His ability to improvise is what kills you because you’re trying to defend their offense and he suddenly changes it into a street game,” Robinson said. “You have to deal with that. You also have to deal with his ability to run. When he runs, he runs with an attitude, so it isn’t like he’s just moving here and there. He moves around the pocket and he’s looking to strike you dead deep, or he’s going to take off and try to get 20 yards on you.
“He reminds me a lot of what John Elway was about years ago. They try to stay alive not to get a completion, but to strike you dead.”
Melissa Isaacson
Lingering illness
The Packers estimate wide receiver Don Beebe has about only a 50-50 chance of playing Sunday because of a lingering hamstring injury. He was injured in practice Dec. 17.
“I probably made a mistake trying to come back early,” Beebe said. “But because it’s the playoffs, I’ve tried to come back every week and I’ve reinjured it. I practiced Monday and ran great, so hopefully it will last the rest of the week. If it does, I will be out there Sunday.”
Terry Bannon
Not so funny anymore
Denver’s new uniforms, once a source of amusement for opponents and embarrassment for the Broncos, now actually are starting to grow on them.
“I really like them now,” said center Tom Nalen. “But when they first came out, it seemed like opponents were laughing at me. They were saying, `Ooh, it looks like you have suspenders on.’ They were like a big joke.”
Melissa Isaacson
Helping hand
Bears director of administration Tim Lefevour is serving as AFC liaison for the NFL, helping with myriad details facing teams trying to focus on Super Bowl preparations.
“The team has so much going on that it’s nice to have an operations guy from another team,” Lefevour said. “We can help them, give them a hand, rather than somebody who wouldn’t understand how to coordinate a hotel or set up meeting rooms, bus schedules and all that.”
John Mullin
Girl talk
There’s no shortage of speculation about Elway’s future. But the Broncos’ 37-year-old quarterback has been given the word by his 10-year-old daughter, Jordan.
“She says if we win, I can retire. But if we lose, I have to come back,” Elway said.