THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: What Darnold could learn from watching 'Elway'

I noticed two things at once. 

Funny, they really don’t have all that much to do with each other. 

I was watching “Elway,” the documentary about the Broncos’ legendary quarterback. 

It was released in December, with Netflix certainly leaning into the upcoming NFL playoffs and Super Bowl. 

There’s almost no end to the storylines you can build around Elway, including his refusal to play for the team that drafted him (Baltimore, now Indianapolis); his role in “The Game,” the crazy match between Stanford and Cal in 1982 that ended with five laterals on a kickoff and a trombone player flattened in the end zone; and “The Drive,” a last-ditch, 98-yard series of magic tricks authored by Elway at Cleveland in the 1986 AFC championship game. 

Still, for all of Elway’s time and heroics in the spotlight, the two things that drifted through my mind were far less spectacular. 

The first was the opening of the documentary, showing several views of John’s house and then shots of him coasting on his boat across Lake Coeur d’Alene. 

Plenty of you will recognize scenes from that introduction. 

Note: Elway outbid me for that house. 

LOL. 

ITEM TWO requires a good long look at Elway’s career. 

The Hall of Fame quarterback is connected forever with success. 

He was a phenomenal high school athlete who chose Stanford as his college destination – despite the fact that his dad, Jack, coached San Jose State at the time. 

There was never a question that John would be the first pick in the 1983 NFL draft, even though he made it clear he would not play for the Colts (who had the No.1 pick). 

Elway’s refusal was something of an embarrassment for the league, which feared that he might set off a chain reaction of players choosing specific teams and places they would (or wouldn’t) play. 

It took some work to engineer a trade between the Colts and Broncos, who wound up with Elway as their iconic quarterback for the next 16 years. 

Ironically, Elway wound up as “Mr. Denver,” not only bringing glory to the city on the field, but then moving to the front office – where made more excellent calls. 

The classic in that group was bringing Denver another Super Bowl by acquiring Peyton Manning to quarterback a roster full of stars. 

BACK AT the start of today’s chat, I mentioned that the “Elway” documentary was full of memorable events. 

I also said that two of them were not in the “famous” category. 

First was the cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene. 

Gorgeous. 

Next was Elway’s frustration and failure – and yes, I know those descriptions don’t exactly match up with the Hall of Fame. 

But that’s the point. 

Despite his unbelievable throwing arm and all-around athleticism, Elway was not an immediate success. 

He suffered from a problem that scares pro scouts, a conviction that he could turn any play into heroism. 

In his first three seasons, John threw for 47 touchdowns – but that was offset by 52 interceptions. 

Even when he’d become a full-fledged star and was leading Denver into the drama of postseason play, Elway still got tagged as a QB who couldn’t make the right decisions. 

At the height of his career (he ultimately threw 300 TD passes), Elway led the Broncos to the Super Bowl in 1987, ’88 and ’90 – but lost all three. 

In fact, the 1990 fiasco was a 55-10 loss to the 49ers, the most one-sided rout in Super Bowl history. 

But Elway learned the game. 

He came to understand the difference between leading and just throwing. 

When he stepped away from football in 1999, he was celebrating back-to-back Super Bowl victories – and a personal MVP to top off the finale. 

John Elway’s talent, and all those staggering numbers, aren’t what drew me back to his career during that documentary. 

I actually thought of Sam Darnold, and other quarterbacks who struggle to master the game despite rocket arms. 

The great ones piece it together with their minds, which is the challenge facing Darnold now. 

He’s got the other tools. 

Sam should sit down sometime soon and watch “Elway.” 

It can’t hurt.

Email: [email protected] 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”