Stephen Dennis "Assassin" Atwater (born October 28, 1966 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. Atwater and Dennis Smith made up a Broncos secondary that was known for their ferocious hits on opposing players. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection.

[edit] Early life

He attended Lutheran High School North in St. Louis, Missouri and was the school's top scholar-athlete.^[1] Atwater was selected all-conference and league Most Valuable Player as a wishbone formation quarterback. He credits his coach there, Karel Wegert, as serving as a mentor for him both as a football player and becoming an exemplary citizen.

[edit] College

Atwater signed with the University of Arkansas, where he was moved from quarterback to safety. He was named to the All-Southwest Conference team three times and named as an All-American twice.^[2] Atwater finished as the Razorbacks' all-time leader in interceptions with 14.

Helping Atwater's stock as a pro prospect was his appearance in the Senior Bowl, where he logged two interceptions. He was also named defensive most valuable player in the 1989 East-West Shrine Game.^[3]

In 1994, Atwater was named to the Razorback All-Century Team and the All-Decade Team for the 1980s. He was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1998.^[4]

[edit] Professional career

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[edit] Denver Broncos

Atwater was drafted out of the University of Arkansas by the Broncos with the 20th pick in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft. The Broncos began the draft with the 13th overall pick and were hoping to upgrade their defense which had ranked 27th (out of a possible 28) against the run the previous year. Knowing that Atwater would be available in the later parts of the first round, the Broncos traded down to the 20th overall pick owned by the Cleveland Browns who selected Eric Metcalf with Denver's 13th overall pick. Atwater was projected by most as the second-best safety in the draft behind Louis Oliver who was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 25th overall pick. However, then-head coach Dan Reeves selected Atwater over Oliver because of his leadership skills which Reeves felt were badly needed following the defense's let downs during the 1988 season.

New defensive coordinator Wade Phillips employed Atwater close to the line of scrimmage in order to fortify Denver's run defense and he led the team in tackles, finishing with 129 tackles his rookie season. Denver's defense jumped an 20 spots to finish 7th against the run and tied for 3rd best in yards per carry with a 3.7 yard average. That same year, Atwater finished 2nd to Kansas City's Derrick Thomas in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The additions of rookies Atwater and Bobby Humphrey, along with key free agent signings, helped Denver rebound from 8-8 in 1988 to AFC Super Bowl representative in 1989.

Atwater's second season marked the first of seven consecutive Pro Bowl selections (1990-1996), tied for most in franchise history. Over his career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times, second most in franchise history. Early in his career, Atwater teamed with fellow Broncos safety Dennis Smith to form one of the best safety tandems of their generation. Both would later be inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame. During his 10-year career in Denver, Atwater started in 155 games, tying him for seventh in franchise history for games started. He also started in 14 post-season games.

In Super Bowl XXXII, he posted one of the better performances by a safety in a Super Bowl and one of the greatest games of his career. In that game, he is credited with six solo tackles, one sack, two passes defensed and a forced fumble. His presence near the line of scrimmage kept Green Bay's running game at check. His sack and forced fumble resulted in three critical points in the second quarter when the Broncos offense had stalled without star running back Terrell Davis. Near the end of the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 24-24 and Green Bay had the ball on a third down with eight yards to go for a first down. Atwater knocked down a critical pass on a blitz where the receiver was left wide open, forcing the Packers to punt. Then on Green Bay's final drive, Atwater's vicious hit (which nearly knocked out two players, a Packers player and a Broncos player) with less than a minute remaining left the Packers in 4th and 6 situation without any remaining timeouts due to NFL rules regarding injuries to players in the final two minutes of a game. Many argued that Atwater should have been the MVP of the game and the ensuing article in The Sporting News pictured Atwater and noted the impact of his hits on the game.

Super Bowl XXXII was Atwater's last great game, and 1997 his last great season. In 1998, he was relegated to only playing on 1st and 2nd downs and replaced on 3rd downs. Nevertheless, because of the viewership of the Super Bowl from the previous year, he was voted as an AFC Pro Bowl starter for an eighth and final time. Following the Pro Bowl voting, the Denver Post noted that Atwater's selection to the Pro Bowl was due play in the previous year's Super Bowl. Denver went on to win the Super Bowl for a second consecutive year, marking Super Bowl XXXIII as Atwater's final game with the Denver Broncos.

[edit] New York Jets

Atwater left the Broncos following the 1998 season, signing with the New York Jets as a free agent for his final season in 1999. In his book Think like a Champion,^{[citation needed]} coach Mike Shanahan wrote about Atwater's departure:

"The toughest decision I've ever had to make as a head coach happened a mere two weeks after we beat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. We were getting ready to leave for the annual college scouting combine in Indianapolis...when our eight-time Pro Bowl safety and defensive captain Steve Atwater dropped by our training complex. He visited our defensive coordinator, Greg Robinson, and defensive back coach, Ed Donatell, inquiring about his future. Steve was smart enough to know that we were scheduled to pay him $3 million in 1999 and that we were pressed up against the NFL-imposed salary cap...He asked Greg and Ed 'Am I going to be here? What's my status for next year?'

"In all honesty, our initial plan was to wait until March 1st, when we would have asked Steve to take a salary reduction to give us more flexibility under the salary cap...but the more I thought about it, and the more I agonized over it, the more I realized that...it could not wait, not when Steve had brought the issue to a head... It would have been so simple to temporarily sweep the problem underneath the rug. It certainly would have made things easier on me and the organization for a while. But that would not have been fair to Steve. So, in what was the most difficult decision I've had to make...I decided to cut Steve.

"...the decision was best for all parties. We saved money we needed, Steve had a chance to shop himself as an unrestricted free agent, and he wound up signing a three-year, $8.2 million contract with the New York Jets. Is it easy picturing Steve in green and white...? No. Was it the right thing for him and our team? Absolutely."

Atwater played for the New York Jets for one season, which was marred by injuries, then retired. He signed a one-day ceremonial contract with the Broncos before announcing his retirement from football. "This is the way I wanted to go out," Atwater said "I bleed orange and will always bleed orange and blue." Atwater left as one of the most popular Bronco players in the history of the franchise. His jersey remains one of the most popular items among Broncos memorabilia and can frequently be seen at Broncos games and in the Colorado area.

[edit] Legacy

Atwater is remembered and celebrated for both his play as well as his leadership. Atwater was the captain of the Broncos defense for both Super Bowl-winning years of 1997 and 1998. For the majority of his career, Atwater was used by Denver much like a linebacker as an eighth defender to stop the run. His impact on the rushing offense of opposing teams is shown by the following statistic: prior to his arrival in 1988, Denver's defense was ranked next-to-last in rushing defense, surrendering 2538 yards that year and a league-worst 4.6 yard average. In 1989, Atwater's first year, Denver's defense jumped 20 places to tie for 7th against the run, surrendering only 1580 yards and tied for 3rd best with a 3.7 yard average.

Because of his unusual role as an eighth defender against the run, Atwater achieved extraordinary numbers in terms of tackles by a free safety averaging 149 tackles from 1989-1993, successive seasons from before shifting to a more traditional safety role in 1994 under head coach Mike Shanahan. Over a 10-year Bronco career, Atwater totaled an astounding 1,038 tackles. He was named to the NFL's All Decade Team for the 1990s.

On October 9, 2005, Atwater was enshrined into the Broncos Ring of Fame at Invesco Field at Mile High. When asked about his fondest memory, Atwater spoke of Super Bowl XXXII, "That's the highlight of my NFL career, bar none," Atwater said. "People ask me, 'What's your greatest moment -- your greatest memory?' Aside from my family, that is it. I can't even explain. I still get chills when I think about it."^{[citation needed]}

Former Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Collier said. “Just one of the hardest-hitting safeties I ever saw, and one of the brightest guys I ever saw. It was a slam dunk to put his name up there.” ^[5]

[edit] Hall of Fame Candidacy

Following his selection to the Broncos Ring of Fame, Atwater was asked about his potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "If I'm selected (for the Hall of Fame), it'll be a great treat, but to be honest with you, I haven't given it a ton of thought," Atwater said. "I was really happy when John (Elway) got inducted, that we've got one person representing the Broncos. If it happens, it'll be great, I really am proud of this award here because it means so much to be recognized right here in the (city) that I played for 10 years."^{[citation needed]}

Atwater's chances for induction into the Hall of Fame are likely hindered by two factors. First, defensive players are less likely to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame than offensive players, and historically, no position has been inducted into the Hall of Fame less than the safety position with only six inductees. Offensive players of the “Live Ball Era” (1978-present) have entered the Hall of Fame at a rate of greater than 3 to 1 over defensive players (19 to 6). ^[6] The discrepancy is even greater among defensive backs: only three “Live Ball Era” (1978-present) defensive backs are in the Hall of Fame, Ronnie Lott, Darrell Green, and Rod Woodson, and only four defensive backs who entered the NFL since 1971 are in the Hall of Fame: Lott, Green, Woodson and [Mike Haynes.^[6] Of the nine safeties on the All-Decade Teams of the 1970s and 1980s, only three are in the Hall of Fame: Ken Houston, Larry Wilson and Lott.^[6]

Second, all nine of the other currently-enshrined safeties have at least 48 career interceptions,^[7] but Atwater has only 24. Although tackles were not an official stat before 2001, Atwater unofficially totaled 1180 tackles in eleven years, averaging 107 tackles per season.^[8] By comparison, Ronnie Lott unofficially averaged only 82 per season.^[9]

[edit] Statistics

Years pro: 11
Pro Bowls: 8
All-Pro: 4
Consensus All-NFL: 1991, 1992
Playoff games: 14
Super Bowl appearances: 3
Tackles: 1180 (includes 55 as a member of the New York Jets)
Interceptions: 24
Forced Fumbles: 12

Atwater returned 24 interceptions for 408 yards and a touchdown.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Steve Atwater at Pro-Football-Reference.com