State Your Case: 'Silent' Tom Nalen was Broncos' Hall of Fame Blocking Machine.

Tom Nalen spent 14 years opening holes for others but he hasn’t been able to open one for himself.

Nalen went to five Pro Bowls, was named first-team All-Pro three times, was the starting center on two Super Bowl champions in Denver and has been added to the team’s Ring of Honor yet hasn’t come close to having his resume reviewed by the voters at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Exactly why is difficult to fathom.

In 1994 Nalen was the 218^th pick in the NFL draft, the third of Denver’s three seventh-round picks. The Broncos thought so little of him they waved him two days before the first game of the season. When no one claimed him, they doubled back and signed him to their practice squad and months later, after injuries struck their offensive line, he was activated to start one game – at guard. His future did not look bright.

Undersized in the opinion of many around the NFL at around 285 pounds, Nalen spent his offseason getting not only stronger but quicker. The next season he surprisingly to some started 15 games as the Broncos’ center after which he did not miss a start for 6 ½ years. After his body healed from an injury he returned to the huddle in 2003 and did not miss a start again for four years despite battered knees, in the end starting in 188 of the 194 games he played. But Tom Nalen did more than play.

Nalen was the unwavering anchor of one of the best offensive lines of his era, one that opened holes so wide that six different running backs ran through them to each rush for over 1,000 yards. One, Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis, would top 2,000 yards, but the real measure of the abilities of Nalen and his counterparts was 1,000 yard seasons out of backs like Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson. Reuben Droughns and Tatum Bell.

Gary replaced Davis in 1999 when injuries cut Davis’ career short and rushed for 1,159 yards. When injuries slowed Gary down a year later, Anderson stepped in and ran for 1,487 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2000. This parade of unknown 1,000-yard rushers would continue through players like Droughns (1,240 in 2004) and Bell (1,025 in 2006) as well as Clinton Portis in 2002 and 2003. And then the running came to a halt. Why?

The anchor tore loose, or at least his bicep was.

Nalen tore his right bicep in 2007 and played in only five games. The following summer a reinjured knee ended his career. In his absence no Bronco running back rushed for more than 400 yards. Coincidence? Not likely.

“Tom Nalen was the anchor of that line,” quarterback Jake Plummer said once. No one ever argued otherwise because during his career Nalen was the constant along a line that saw 25 starters at guard and tackle while he stood alone at center for 13 of his 14 NFL seasons.

Because of his relative lack of size, Nalen became a master of technique and the devilish use of leverage, using both to move mountainous interior defensive linemen where they didn’t want to go. Nalen not only did it better than his peers, he did it without often using the offensive lineman’s best friend – grasping hands. In 188 starts and 194 games Tom Nalen was flagged for holding only 27 times and flagged overall only 44 times (including declined penalties).

Perhaps one reason Nalen has gone unnoticed by the Hall’s voters since retiring 14 years ago is that he played his career with a silencer attached. Nalen adopted the vow of silence ordered by Broncos’ offensive line coach Alex Gibbs to be observed by all his linemen. Nalen was a loyal, silent monk when it came to public commentary and thus went all but unnoticed except by his peers. The only time he broke that vow was at the Super Bowl, where league rules mandated he speak.

He did but he spoke softly…and not for long.

Should following a monk’s code of silence keep Tom Nalen off the Hall of Fame’s radar? Not if the voters look at his resume, his ring collection and all those different runners who ran for 1,000 yards behind him.