JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The Broncos are here because of 9/11.
Peyton Manning and his men would have earned their trip to the Super Bowl on their merits. But the Super Bowl is not in its usual host city of Miami or New Orleans. This Super Bowl celebration is in the New York area because of the tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Roger Goodell and I started talking about New York right after 9/11,” said former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. “We had to cancel a week in the season and we had to move everything back and New Orleans had an automobile convention there. For a while, it looked like we couldn’t play in New Orleans. So Roger and I started talking. ‘If we can’t do it in New Orleans, let’s do it in New York as a tribute to the nation and a tribute to the resilience of the people of New York in the aftermath of the tragedy.’ That was sort of the first public discussion of the Super Bowl in New York.
“Everyone in New York said great. New Orleans didn’t like the idea, so they ended up moving the car dealers. But that was the beginning of the conversation.”
Once the Giants and Jets decided to help build a $1.6 billion, open-air stadium, New York had both the emotional energy and the venue to host the Super Bowl.
There is something fitting about Denver playing in the first New York-area Super Bowl. The Broncos came through with this nation’s last victorious moment before everything changed. They beat the New York Giants and a defensive coordinator named John Fox 31-20 on Sept. 10, 2001, in the first game played at Denver’s Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
It was a subdued celebration because popular Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey suffered a gruesome broken leg.
About eight hours later, terrorists coordinated the hijackings of four U.S. commercial jets, crashing two into the World Trade Center’s twin towers that were across the Hudson River from where the Broncos’ Super Bowl XLVIII hotel is located.
McCaffrey is at this Super Bowl in various media capacities, including doing the Broncos’ game analysis on KOA radio.
Super swan songs. For many key Denver players whose contracts expire March 11, this Super Bowl will be their last game in an orange jersey.
The Broncos will try to re-sign wide receiver Eric Decker, but the leverage of free agency will allow him to seek a multiyear contract worth $7 million, maybe $8 million, maybe even $9 million per year.
The Broncos love Knowshon Moreno, Zane Beadles, Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie, Shaun Phillips, Robert Ayers, Wesley Woodyard and Mike Adams, among others. But do the Broncos love those players enough to pay them what they might command on the open market?
Also, there figures to be an adjustment on cornerback Champ Bailey’s $9 million salary next season and possibly the $6 million coming to wideout Wes Welker.
“I’d love to stay in Denver,” said Beadles, a starting guard. “I also want a fair deal and a deal I deserve. I love the organization, I love the city. So, we’ll see.
“I’m not worried about it right now. All I can worry about is the play and product I put on the field. If I focus on that and do well, good things are going to happen in the end. I’m just focused on winning the Super Bowl and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Denver teammates soon to be free agents said basically the same thing this past week. Not worried about anything but the Seahawks. But come on, guys.
“I’d be lying if I said I’ve never thought about it,” Ayers said. “But right now, we have a great challenge at hand: the Seattle Seahawks. That’s where we’re focused on, and I want to help us get a (title) ring. Lord willing, I’ll be here. Whatever is God’s plan, that’s what’s going to happen. We’ll see after the season.”
Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis
Spotlight on …
Michael Bennett, DL, Seahawks
When: 4:30 p.m. Super Bowl Sunday vs. the Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
What’s up: Bennett is the Seahawks’ most versatile and impactful defensive lineman on a team loaded with them. At 6-foot-4 and 274 pounds, he can play tackle in nickel situations and outside end in the base. He led the Seahawks with 8½ sacks this season, and he added another 1½ sacks — along with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries — in the Seahawks’ playoff wins against New Orleans and San Francisco.
Background: Another undrafted NFL player with a chip on his shoulder. Grew up in Houston with younger brother Martellus Bennett, who is a starting tight end for the Chicago Bears. Michael played at Texas A&M and was signed as a rookie free agent by the Seahawks. He won a season-opening roster spot until October 2009, when he was waived. Tampa Bay immediately put in a claim. He didn’t produce much with the Bucs until he broke out in 2012, his fourth year, with nine sacks. A free agent after last season, he returned to Seattle with a one-year, $4.8 million contract.
Klis’ take: This guy is hot. He’s more pass rusher than run stopper, but he has quickness and power, so he can do both. The Seahawks have a four-man rotation at defensive end — Cliff Avril (eight sacks), Chris Clemons (4½ sacks) and Red Bryant (1½ sacks, 31 tackles) — that will give Denver offensive tackles Chris Clark and Orlando Franklin all they can handle. Bennett prefers left end, so he’ll mostly be Franklin’s responsibility. Getting a step on Franklin is one thing. Getting a step on Franklin before Peyton Manning releases the ball is another.
“Yeah, I feel like I can get to him,” Bennett said at his final Super Bowl media interview Thursday. “I wouldn’t be playing in the game (if I couldn’t).”
