"In the AFC Championship Game, in Buffalo, it was a game we ended up winning 10-7. I caught a little hitch on the sideline and whoever the corner was kind of spun me around, and Steve came and hit me flush in my face. Didn't knock me over and the next guy tackled me. We're running the no-huddle offense, so I get up. And I'm lined up right near our sideline, and everybody's yelling at me. I just run the play, [and then] line up for the next play, and I hear, 'Loft, stop!' I go, 'What are they talking about?' Then I felt something, and blood was just dripping down my nose onto my shoes. He had broken my nose. ... This little hump right here, the reason I can't smell is because of Steve Atwater. ...

"[My admiration for Steve] was already there. It's funny how you are drawn to players you are competing against because of a kind of a quirk. My wife is from Arkansas. Where'd he play? University of Arkansas. So when he comes into the league, I'm not playing the Broncos every year, but I watch him play and I watch how physical he is. I had a coach in Green Bay that when we played against somebody like a Steve Atwater — we played against Doug Plank with the Bears and a couple other big hitters — Lew Carpenter would say, 'You better get one of those chin straps and double up with the double straps on it.' That's the type of player that Steve Atwater was. You knew when you got off the bus that he was going to be coming after you. And I just thought — and I've been a Hall of Fame selector, this will be my third year. He's just one of the guys that is always high on my list. I think hopefully this year he has another shot at it. I just have a lot of admiration for him as a player. He was big, he was fast, he was strong. He could do everything that today's outside linebackers do, and he did it when he was playing safety. ...

"[Back then, safeties] were enforcers. Steve, now, with the way he played the game probably would not earn any money every week because he'd have to dole it out in fines. ... But he was just a tremendous player. He had great speed, great tackling ability, great ball skills. He was everything that you wanted. ...

"When I look at guys [for Hall of Fame induction], I look at three loose criteria:

"Did he have a 10- or 12-year career?

"Check that off, yes.

"For four or five of those years, did you consider him one of the two or three best at his position in the league?

"Check that one off again, yes.

"Did he give his team a chance to play for championships — not necessarily did they win championships, but did he give his team the chance to play for championships?

"You check that one off again.