European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 16,1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 23 acc championship Elway a magic not in his numbers by Ken Denlinger the Washington pos. Once More John Elway made plays sunday that cause even the quarterback gods of Yore to offer a nod of admiration. Once More after Elway a numbers and presence lifted the Broncos to the super bowl for the third time in four years came the thought this Man has something to prove Here was Elway on the run Midway through the second Quarter of the acc title game flushed from the pocket by Cleveland Sclay Matthews. What to do on third and 10? take the Safe run route for a possible first Down or try for something grand almost always Elway will shoot the works a. Attitude that creates both High noon excitement and something of a contradiction. When Elway pulls Oft a Man Euver almost no one else would even consider As happened with an All pro linebacker bearing Down on his Back it lifts him to Hall of Fame level. On the run Elway threw the Ball 40 Yards. Into his sight an instant earlier Michael Young had slipped free from the Cleveland comeback who had slipped backing off the line. Open by 10 Yards. Young gathered in the pass and easily completed a 70-Yard touchdown play. By defying the percentages so often Elway also fails to Complete enough passes or throws too Many interceptions to be ranked As highly As he should be among his contemporaries. That and being part of the same quarterback generation As Joe Montana hurts. Bill Walsh the coach tuned commentator is among those who feel Elway is Joe Namath minus the Llama coat. You have to Sec the Home runs and the Home run swings to understand that numbers arc not the meaningful measure of All passers. Elway was All the quarterback you would want sunday a lot of Namath and a touch of High  Boomer Esiason. With their Only running threat Rookie Bobby Humphrey Idle most of the game with two cracked ribs the Broncos once More became one dimensional. Elway a  and he delivered completing 20 of 36 passes for 385 Yards and three touchdowns. Elway also ran five times for 39 Yards a and later smiled in embarrassment for not catching running Back Steve Sewell s pass near the end zone. Elway twice put the Broncos comfortably ahead by 17 Points with 4 19 left in the third Quarter and by 13 Midway through the fourth. That allowed him to express immense satisfaction a and touch on what is necessary for him to ascend into quarterback immortality. Yes he said this was the game of his career. Quickly Elway added �?o1 Hope it s second Best. I want to have the game of my life in two weeks in the super bowl Quot no quarterback perhaps no athlete Ever has experienced the sort of 24-hour, 365-Day attention Elway endures in football mad Denver. Now he is decently at Home in two pockets a on the Field and during Percsi a Colial size news conferences. Denver coach Dan Reeves posed a question a can there be any doubt in anybody s mind How great an athlete John Elway is Quot almost As soon As those words had left the coaches lips the answer became an enormous and unspoken no. In the end of a tent opposite Reeves Elway suddenly appeared a and nearly everyone who seconds earlier was hanging near the coach and his every thought scurried toward the quarterback. Elway s most impressive athletic move was not the 70-Yard pitch and run with Young but an 18-Yard completion to Ricky Nattiel that kept a breathing room drive alive. Scrambling to his left Elway threw the Ball at about a 45-Degrcc Angle across his body. Think about Brooks Robinson going into the Hole and whipping the Ball to first without planting his feet to understand that the degree of difficulty on a scale of 10 is about 14. Quot and i put some touch on it Quot Elway said. A believe it or  that was a sly Jab at critics who insist Elway is on a fast Ball Pitcher that he hums passes whether receivers Are 5 Yards away or 50. This time. Elway lofted the Ball Over one defender and Nattiel caught it in front of another. The Broncos had much adversity losing tight end Pat Kelly in addition to Humphrey to injury but also some unexpected Good Fortune. Many times Browns quarterback a comic Kosar either  gel the Hall near his receivers or had them drop it when he did. Sadly familiar to Clev Elanders was the sequence tha followed an Elway to Sammy Winder touchdown pass and a 31-21 Denver Lead Reggie Lang Home dropped the Ball on second Down and Kosar threw an a i for grabs pass to a Bronco on third. That and another Kosar interception put matters out of reach for the Browns. The Denver crowd with a surprisingly High 41 no shows had been worrisome enough for league officials to talk with both coaches before the game. It also was a Factor but nowhere near decisive. A so loud we even had trouble a couple of times Quot Elway said. Quot i can to imagine How it affected the  at this level football More and More becomes a matter of the heart. Cleveland s was broken by the Broncos in the acc title game for the third time in four years. Curiously Many Broncos fans looked Forward last week to their hearts being broken two weeks hence in new Orleans by the 49crs. A poll by a local television station showed that 1,500 Denver ites figured the Broncos might As Well lose to the Browns if they were going to be embarrassed again in the super bowl 1,300 insisted the Broncos ought to try to tackle mount Montana. Quot you be got to go to Bat Quot Elway said. Quot you be got to go to Bat and give it your Best shot. It could be a disaster but there s Only one other team with a  the one also trying to climb among  from Page 21 and three As head Man in Denver. Quot people Don t realize How great an athlete he  the Browns certainly do. Every time hey pressured Elway he scrambled and found a receiver. His biggest such play they pressured Elway he scrambled and found a receiver. His biggest such play came on a 70-Yard touchdown pass to Michael Young making it 10-0. A part of the defensive plan was to put a lot of pressure on Elway the Way you want to pressure any great quarterback Quot linebacker Clay Matthews said. Quot the pressure worked. We pushed him out of the pocket a few times. Quot but being As great As he is he managed to make the great plays even with the pressure on him. It was frustrating having Guys breaking through looking like they were ready to make a sack but he d slip away and Complete a Long pass on the  Elway also hit Young for a 53-Yard gain that set up a 5-Yard scoring pass to Orson Mobley in the third period. The other touchdown pass came on a 39-Yardcr to Winder who replaced the injured Humphrey two broken ribs in the second Quarter. A Michael Young is a great player Quot Elway said of the plan b free agent Sig Nee. Quot i had a lot of Confidence in him going into today s game but after his performance today i have even More. He is a big part of this  Winder decidedly was not this season. He rushed for 800 fewer Yards than Humphrey and did t expect much playing time sunday. But he made the Best of his final Opportunity in front of a Home crowd a the 8-year Veteran has said he will retire a with his to catch after Cleveland pulled to 24-21, and a 9-Yard scoring run. �?o1 Haven to lost Confidence All year a Winder said. Quot this is simply Sweet to come in Here and play today. This win today is by far the sweetest i Hope to  it was yet another bitter defeat for the Browns who have never been to the super bowl. Denver a defense held Crnic Kosar to l9-for-44 for 210 Yards three interceptions and sacked him four times. His Only starring moments came on to passes of 27 and 10 Yards to Brian Brennan. The other Browns to was on a 2-Yard run by Tim Manoa after Felix Wright returned a Fumble 27 Yards to the i Quot much has been written about the Broncos improved defense and they deserve credit for it Kosar said. A i Don t think any of us played up to what is expected of us. There Isnit one area where we need to Point the Finger. It is All of us that i think have to accept the  the responsibility of avoiding Minnesota s unenviable super bowl record Falls on a group of Broncos conditioned to Victory on other Levels. Quot we have players on this team that weren there two years ago that expect to win Quot pro bowl safety Dennis Smith said. A Bobby Humphrey is from Alabama and he expects to win. Melvin Bratton is from Miami. He expects to win. In a from us. I expect to win. A when we step on the Field we expect to  even against the defending champions whose Road Back to the super bowl was a lot easier than in past years against a team that routed Minnesota and los Angeles both solid squads Quot we have played consistently Well for 18 games Quot Reeves said. A we did that again today so i think we have a Chance to compete in the next ballgame. We done to just want to go Down there to new Orleans we want to go Down there and win. A this time in a going to get the big  deniers Mike Young beats Cleveland a Frank Minnifield on a 70-Yard to  championship at a glance Denver apr a glance at sunday s acc championship game Between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns key play Sammy Winder caught a 39-Yard touchdown pass from John Elway. Giving Denver a 31-21 Lead after the Browns had rallied from a 24-7 deficit. Key stats Denver had the Ball for 36 minutes 53 seconds and had 497 Yards in total offence. Cleveland had the Ball for Only 23 07 and gained 256 Yards. Hero John Elway had a career playoff High 385 Yards passing. He completed 20 of 36. Three for touchdowns and ran for 39 Yards. Golf Browns comeback Frank Minnifield was beaten for touchdowns of 70 Yards by Michael Young and 39 Yards by Sammy Winder. Quote Quot i think its the Best we be played All year. We came  a John Elway on the Broncos Overall dominance of the Browns