NFL: Nebraska ties bind four players in Denver

On the last Tuesday morning in August, 20 days shy of the New England Patriots' season opener, Bill Belichick asked Russ Hochstein to come to his office.

Hochstein, a former Nebraska guard, had played for Belichick for seven seasons, three of which ended at the Super Bowl. Aside from Tom Brady and Kevin Faulk, no one had more experience in the Patriots' offense. Hochstein could line up at center, guard, tight end, fullback. He epitomized the versatility Belichick so craved.

But you know what they say about the business side of the NFL.

We're trading you, Belichick told him.

Five hours later, Hochstein was on a plane bound for Denver. He walked into the Broncos' locker room the next day and saw Le Kevin Smith, a former Husker whom the Patriots had traded just eight days earlier.

He saw Correll Buckhalter, who ran behind Hochstein at Nebraska a decade ago. He saw Seth Olsen, a Millard North grad and Iowa product whom the Broncos drafted in April.

Denver sort of felt like home.

And the winning feels familiar. The Broncos are the toast of the NFL, a spotless 5-0 heading into a Monday night showdown with San Diego, the preseason AFC West favorite.

They proved legitimacy last week when they rallied to beat New England in overtime.

Josh McDaniels, the 33-year-old head coach who last year at this time was Belichick's offensive coordinator, got most of the attention. But the win was sweet for a pair of New England transplants, too.

“That was the game I had been looking forward to ever since the trade,” said Smith, a backup defensive end. “It's like playing football in your backyard with all your cousins. You get a chance to beat them.”

“It is nice to be able to look across the sideline at my friends and say we won,” said Hochstein, who has played fullback in addition to his reserve lineman duties. “When I see them in the offseason or talk to them on the phone, I can tell them I won and rub it in a little bit.”

When Hochstein and Smith arrived in August, the idea of Denver standing above New England on the field — and in the AFC standings — seemed ridiculous. The Broncos were a laughingstock.

The new coaching hire, McDaniels, looked like another of Belichick's protégés (Charlie Weis, Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel) who couldn't hack it on his own.

In April, Denver traded its franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler, before his prime. In August, Kyle Orton, Cutler's replacement, threw a preseason pass left-handed — it got intercepted in the end zone.

At Hochstein's first practice as a Bronco, Pro Bowl wideout Brandon Marshall intentionally swatted away passes thrown to him, his most creative tactic in pursuit of a trade.

Then came opening day at Cincinnati, and Denver's season may have swung with one play. Brandon Stokley corralled a deflected deep ball in the final seconds and dashed for the winning 87-yard score.

Then came blowouts of Cleveland and Oakland — Buckhalter rushed for 108 yards against the Raiders. And then a goal-line stand to beat Dallas. And then the overtime win over New England.

The last time Denver started 5-0 was 1998. It won the Super Bowl.

Hochstein didn't imagine that possibility on his cross-country flight the night he got traded.

Why didn't New England want him anymore? Would a move derail his relatively stable career? And what was it going to be like leaving the model NFL franchise and its star quarterback?

When Hochstein reached Denver, he approached Smith for a little advice. They had battled in practice for three years. Le Kevin had just gone through the same transition.

“It's weird at the beginning,” Hochstein said. “He said, ‘You've just got to give it a couple of days and you'll settle in.'”

They weren't the only fresh faces. Only 24 players on this year's Broncos roster were on last year's team. Buckhalter and Olsen were newcomers, too.

Buckhalter came over from Philadelphia via free agency. He leads the NFL in yards per carry — 7.2 — but missed the Patriots' game with an ankle injury.

Olsen, meanwhile, is a reserve guard. He's been active for two games.

“It's just like being a backup in college,” Olsen said. “We had a slogan, ‘Next man in', at the University of Iowa. Always be prepared to go in, because you never know when your name is going to be called.”

Every day, McDaniels drives home the point that it's too early to get excited. It's a message even the newcomers recite.

“We may have made believers out of some people, but it's a long season,” said Olsen. “We're only five games into it. We have a lot to prove.”

Quickly, they look and sound like Patriots of the early 2000s, the Super Bowl teams whose worth exceeded the sum of their parts. The former Patriots have heard a lot about Denver resembling “Foxborough West.”

They aren't interested in comparisons, not when there's so much to look forward to.

“This team has its own identity,” Smith said. “It's the Denver Broncos.”

Contact the writer:

679-9899, dirk.chatelain@owh.com