During his tenure with the Broncos, Steve Atwater was one of the most-feared safeties in the National Football league; in 10 seasons in Denver he earned eight Pro Bowl nominations and was a two-time First-Team All-Pro. His thunderous hit on Christian Okoye still stands as one of the greatest in not only Broncos, but NFL history. Opponents feared him and teammates revered him. Now, a very humble Atwater awaits his Hall of Fame fate as one of 15 finalists for the 2016 class. In fact, he had to see it with his own eyes to even believe that he was indeed a finalist.
Atwater’s humility was on full display when he joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro on Mile High Sports AM 1340 to discuss the news that he had been named a finalist for the Hall of Fame. The Broncos third-leading tackler of all-time was waiting at home on Thursday before the announcement was made, when he received a text from a member of the Bowlen family congratulating him on becoming a finalist. Atwater was watching on ESPN and had not yet seen the news come down via Twitter, where it first broke.
Not believing the news, Atwater told himself “I’m going to sit here and watch, just to be sure.”
What’s perhaps more unbelievable is that it has been now more than 15 years since Atwater retired and that he is just now a finalist for the first time. Having logged five consecutive seasons with 100-plus tackles and more than 150 in three of those seasons, it’s been a bit of a mystery as to why Atwater is just now a finalist. But for Atwater, earning such an honor is less urgent than it may be for avid Broncos fans. As he told Goodman and Shapiro, he’d “like” to go in, but it’s not “important” that he get in. He feels proud of his career regardless of the outcome of the final vote.
Much of the credit to his success can be attributed to current Broncos defensive coordinator, who has reprised that role from Atwater’s playing days, Wade Phillips.
“I have to give Wade and Charlie Waters and Dan Reeves a lot of credit,” Atwater said, “allowing me to play up close to the ball, to have the ability to make plays near the line of scrimmage.”
That famous hit on Okoye happened at the the line of scrimmage, where Atwater made so many of his 1,074 career tackles. They’ve talked in the years following the hit, Atwater told Goodman and Shapiro, “but we didn’t bring that up.”
Atwater also spoke fondly of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who has been sidelined over the past several years with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I have so much love in my heart,” he said, “for Mr. Bowlen, Annabell and the family … He was the best owner. I don’t think anyone even comes close to him.”
Few safeties came close to Atwater during his playing days, and as one of only three defensive players in the final 15, there’s a good chance Atwater will hear his name called at Super Bowl weekend to join teammates like John Elway and Shannon Sharpe in Canton. No doubt, he will want to hear that news firsthand, for himself.
Listen to the full interview with Steve Atwater in the podcast below…
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