Broncos report: Lynch wanted a title with Broncos to match one with Bucs

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 17, 2008 at 9:20 p.m.

Text size

Photo by © The Rocky

John Lynch.

Poll

Should John Lynch be added to the Broncos’ Ring of Fame?

Broncos quick links

Drew on the NFL

Scores and statistics

Broncos inbox

Submit a question for Jeff Legwold's inbox and look for the answer each Wednesday morning in the Broncos 24/7 blog.

More Denver Broncos

More stories »

In the end, former Broncos safety John Lynch said a 2007 season when the Broncos missed the playoffs, then parting ways with the team in the summer, was a major step toward his retirement.

Lynch formally ended his playing career Monday in Tampa, Fla., announcing his retirement after 15 years in the league.

Lynch played the last four of those seasons with the Broncos.

"I started thinking about retirement at the end of last year," Lynch said on a conference call. "You get up there in years and you ask yourself just kind of logistically, 'OK, do I want to do this again?' And always there was no question. Last year, there was a question.

"Could I summon the focus that it takes to really play at a high level . . . and for the first time in my career, there was a question in my mind. I think back to the way some of things went down in Denver, and I think those things all played a big part in that."

Lynch, who was on the 2005 Broncos team that lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game at Invesco Field at Mile High, said his only regret was not being able to win a Super Bowl in his time with the Broncos.

Lynch was on the Buccaneers team that won the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

"I expected to win a championship (in Denver). . . . I really had a great feeling in Denver and really thought we could win a championship," Lynch said. "And that's my only regret, that we didn't get that done."

Lynch, who was looking at a drastic cut in playing time this season - he did not work in the Broncos' third-down package during training camp - asked for his release, which was granted Aug. 1.

He signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots on Aug. 15 but was released Aug. 31, just before the start of the regular season. At the time, Patriots coach Bill Belichick called him "one of the league's classiest professionals."

And Lynch said Monday it was his last meeting with Belichick that was the final nudge into retirement.

"I knew the day I left New England . . . ," Lynch said. "Coach Belichick offered me an opportunity to be on the team but kind of painted a worst-case scenario of what might happen, (being a game-day) inactive and things of that nature. And I said, 'You know what, coach? I think I'm going to go home and be with my family.' And that night, (wife) Linda and I talked and I said, 'You know, I think I'm done.'

"There was a perception that I was waiting around. . . . But I wanted to make sure when I retired, I wanted to make sure I was done."

Lynch said he didn't want to coach at any point in the near future. He will have an audition of sorts for Fox, working as an analyst for the network on Sunday's Minnesota-Jacksonville game as well as perhaps one other game before the end of the season.

NFL Network also has contacted Lynch.

Lynch said he will continue to work with his foundation in Denver and said the city is the "place we may call home the rest of our lives."

"He's what you look for in a player. . . . I've never been around a guy who was more of a pro than John," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "Did everything you want to do on the field, did everything you want to do off the field, a coach in the locker room. They don't come around very often, and that's why I believe he'll be in the Hall of Fame."

Lynch's nine Pro Bowl selections were second all time at the position only to Hall of Famer Ken Houston.

STILL WAITING

Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, who has missed the past three games since injuring his groin against New England, continued to jog some last weekend and received treatment Monday.

Bailey practiced on a limited basis last week but was not ready to play Sunday in Atlanta. "Won't know until Wednesday," Shanahan said. "We'll see how he looks."

The Broncos are trying to be careful with Bailey because he suffered what Shanahan classified as a "third degree" muscle pull, with the muscle tearing away from the bone. It is easy to aggravate the injury if a player comes back too soon, and the Broncos could lose Bailey for the remainder of the season if he plays before the muscle has healed enough to support the movements he has to make.

Shanahan said he is relying on Bailey to say when he believes he's ready for more work in practice.

"He's got to go out there and feel good . . . ," Shanahan said. "Until he does football-related drills, you don't really know for sure."

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Fullback/linebacker Spencer Larsen, who played on offense, defense and special teams Sunday - he was the first player in franchise history to start the same game on all three units - said he didn't expect the attention that came with it.

Larsen, Bailey and Deion Sanders are among the names on the list of players to accomplish the feat in recent years.

"It's cool to be part of history, but I'm more excited about winning," Larsen said. "It's just a cool thing for the coaches to let me do it.

"I didn't expect it all, and if we didn't win, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Since we won and everybody's happy about it, you can put a good light on it. I didn't expect it. I figured guys had done it before."

Larsen played in the Broncos' two-back offense, the base defense and on several special-teams units. He did not have a carry on offense but was credited with seven tackles.

"He doesn't know anything other than 100 percent," Shanahan said.

TIME SWITCH

As part of flex scheduling, the Broncos' game Nov. 30 against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., has been switched from 11 a.m. MST to 2:15 p.m. The game still will be televised on CBS 4.

He said it

"That's why we put on the pads, to get better at tackling."

Mike Shanahan, on why the team has worn shoulder pads three days a week in practice instead of one day since the 41-7 loss in New England.

Etc.

* Shanahan said Niko Koutouvides, who had competed for the starting middle linebacker job in training camp and went into the Cleveland game for the injured Nate Webster at the position, has been moved to weak-side linebacker, where he will back up undrafted rookie Wesley Woodyard.

Larsen started at middle linebacker Sunday. Asked what it meant that Koutouvides did not start in the middle in light of all of the injuries at the position, Shanahan said: "I think Niko's still a good linebacker. (But) we've got some guys who are playing very special."

* Two penalties in the defensive line that kept Falcons scoring drives alive drew more than Shanahan's usual ire about mistakes.

Dewayne Robertson was offsides on a fourth-and-1 play at the Falcons 48-yard line in the second quarter. The penalty gave the Falcons a first down, and they scored a touchdown four plays later.

Jarvis Moss was called for offsides in the fourth quarter, nullifying an incomplete pass on third-and-8 with the Broncos protecting a 17-13 lead. The Falcons, then facing third-and-3, converted the first down and went on to score five plays later to take a 20-17 lead.

"We gave them a fourth-and-1, and there's no excuse for it," Shanahan said. "You've got to keep your concentration. I think everybody in the stadium (knew) they weren't going to run the football except us. We jumped offside. . . . They turned into 14 points."

* Running back Peyton Hillis said his right shoulder felt "good." Hillis was sent for an X-ray after the game and was sporting ice as well.

"I can move it all around; I just got a little dinged, that's all," Hillis said. "It's fine."

Numbers game

11-2 record for the Broncos against the Raiders in Denver during Shanahan's tenure as coach.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News