It’s a two family reunion weekend for Steve Foley.
The long-time Broncos defensive back and linchpin of the Orange Crush defense will be reunited with his football family on Sunday when the club not only honors the 1977 defense but also officially welcomes Foley and Riley Odoms into the Broncos Ring of Fame.
That’s just the start for Foley, 70, who was born and raised in New Orleans as one of 13 children. He’s got a training camp roster’s worth of family coming to town for the celebration, too.
“We’ve got a boatload. About 90 family members,” Foley told The Denver Post. “Just nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, spouses. Well, from a family of 13 and everybody’s still alive and I was right in the middle of the pack.
“So they wanted to make this like a family reunion, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
These are the types of weekends that don’t get taken for granted. The Broncos are going all-out to honor the 1977 team, debuting their near-replica uniforms from that year, recreating the way the field was painted and much more. The team is unveiling Ring of Fame pillars for Foley and Odoms at 11:30 a.m. and then their names and numbers on the facade in the stadium at halftime.
Oh, and there’s the opponent, too.
“It couldn’t coincide with playing a better opponent than the Raiders, who were our nemesis when we played,” said Foley, who logged three of his team-record 44 career interceptions against the Raiders. “That’s going to be a great game. And then the celebration of the 1977 team, that’s just going to be a great chance to see all your teammates come back. For me, it was always a team. We played for the love of the game and the love of your teammates.
“And to me, everybody is as good as I was to get to go into (the Ring of Fame). That’s the way I feel about it. I’m very blessed and honored to be going in, but there’s a whole lot of guys who could be going in as well.”
Turns out, Foley and everybody else in the building this weekend also gets to watch a Broncos defense that is playing, well, if not at Orange Crush levels, then at least like one of the better units in the 2024 NFL through the first quarter of the season.
In a league driven by quarterbacks and offense, you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody enjoying the defensive clampdown from fellow New Orleans native Vance Joseph more than Foley.
“They’re playing at a high level. They’re hungry and they play like it,” Foley said. “And there’s a difference when you’re playing hungry and when you’re satisfied somewhat. Not saying that the other group was, but you had injuries on and off. This group is playing very good. Our whole defense is. I mean our pass-rush from the front line, it’s really been good.”
Foley, of course, knows all about playing on a defense that’s in harmony pretty much all the time. The pieces fit together, the rush helps the coverage and the coverage helps the rush. If one guy misses a tackle, the next man makes it.
This 2024 group has a long way to go to be considered in a similar light to the Orange Crush, but Foley put his finger on what makes groups like his so special.
“Boy, it’s magic,” he said. “Everybody’s running to the football, everybody’s taking care of their assignments. There are no gaping holes. We were at the top in terms of preventing rushing yardage and so we shut down the run pretty good. You had to pass and we had really good players. Fast linebackers in Tom Jackson and Bob Swenson on the outside and a great rush from Rubin Carter, Barney Chavous, Lyle Alzado and Brison Manor, John Grant on that 1977 team. Then you had Louis Wright on one side and he was really your shutdown corner and then Billy Thompson.
“We had some great defensive players and it was just fun. It was fun. We went into every game expecting to play great and expecting to get turnovers and expecting to win. It’s magical when you’re expecting it and everybody is expecting that and then it happens.”
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