Boardman’s Vallos enjoying Broncos’ playoff run
By Joe Scalzo
Boardman High graduate Steve Vallos has played for five different teams over his seven-year NFL career, but until last weekend, he’d never played in a playoff game.
“It’s something you always want to be a part of,” said Vallos, a backup interior lineman for the Denver Broncos. “You don’t understand the magnitude of it until you’re actually in it. It’s either your or the other side moving on.
“It was especially exciting to have it be a home game and it’s great to have another one this week. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Vallos (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) made the Broncos’ roster out of training camp and has dressed for 16 of 17 games, missing the regular-season finale with his first career concussion. He has played in 14 games, including last week’s divisional playoff win over the San Diego Chargers.
Today, Denver will play host to New England in the AFC championship game.
“Everyone’s excited but sometimes you get lost in the moment and don’t realize how big of a deal this is until you sit back and think about it,” said Vallos, who spoke by phone on Friday. “It’s a huge game and because it’s a huge game, you don’t want to overplay it. You want it to be just another game. If you go in nervous, you’re not going to play like you can.”
Much of today’s hype centers around quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but Vallos said that’s more of a media fixation.
“That hype is whatever it is,” he said. “You can match up whatever quarterbacks you want, but they’re never on the field at the same time. It’s not like it’s a DB against a receiver.
“They do have a lot to do with the outcome but we don’t talk about Tom Brady in our meetings. We don’t watch film on Tom Brady. We’re totally focused on their defense.”
Vallos was originally a seventh-round draft pick by the Seattle in 2007 — the Seahawks played in two playoff games that year, but Vallos didn’t dress because he was on the practice squad — and spent three years with the franchise before getting picked up by the Browns in 2010.
After rarely seeing the field over two seasons in Cleveland, he signed with the Eagles in 2012. He was released, re-signed, released again, picked up by the Jaguars, released again, then signed again. He played the final two games with Jacksonville, starting the finale, and (briefly) wondered if that might be the end of his career.
But when the Broncos lost two centers to injury in training camp, they signed Vallos, who beat out veteran Ryan Lilja for the roster spot.
Vallos said it’s been one of the most enjoyable seasons of his career.
“It’s always good when you win,” he said. “And this team is made up of a lot more older guys. A lot more married guys. I feel like it’s more of a family because there’s a lot of guys you relate to. They’ve been around and understand the league and understand the business, so there’s not as much of a learning curve.”
As for playing with Manning, Vallos said, “He is who you think he is. I don’t think there’s any surprises with him. He’s a perfectionist, a master of his craft. Him being the way he is brings everyone up to his level.”
Vallos and his wife Lindsey have two children under 3 and this year’s stability has been good for everyone, he said.
“Compared to last year, when we split time between two cities, we just have more of a homey feel here,” he said. “We’ve made friends. And just going to work every day kind of relaxes you. My wife takes care of stuff at home and has been very supportive through the whole process.”
Vallos signed a one-year deal in August and doesn’t know what the future holds, so he’s just trying to enjoy the moment.
“We haven’t talked about that [next year] at all,” he said. “We’ll just finish up the year and see what happens from there.”