The Lead
In the year since DeBorah Little lost her husband, former Broncos great Floyd Little, she has turned the focus of her life to helping others who have lost loved ones to honor his life and legacy.
Floyd, who passed away on Jan. 1, 2021 following a battle with cancer, was a first-round draft pick by the Broncos in 1967 and spent nine seasons with the team. Known as "The Franchise" because he was the Broncos' first first-round pick to play for Denver, Floyd became the team's first superstar and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Since Floyd's passing, The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler learned, DeBorah has devoted herself to honoring Floyd's legacy by helping others as they process their grief.
"This past August, during Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend, DeBorah partnered with LaTresa Doleman and Tara Greene, widows of Hall-of-Fame defenders Chris Doleman and Kevin Greene, to collaborate with the YWCA Canton on a 'Women Empowering Women' panel," Keeler wrote.
DeBorah has also honored Floyd's NFL connection by working directly with other widows of NFL players.
"[DeBorah] started regular Zoom calls with fellow NFL widows, giving advice she had to learn the hard way," Keeler wrote. "Sharing tips she wished she'd known years earlier."
DeBorah has learned a lot about grief in the year since Floyd passed, and she is channeling that experience into help for other women who have lost husbands.
"DeBorah recently spearheaded a short cruise on Lake Las Vegas for roughly 30 widows such as herself — a chance to get some fresh air, to love, to learn and to listen," Keeler wrote.
The holidays are still a difficult time for DeBorah, who lost Floyd on New Year's Day 2021. But she told Keeler that she is determined to push through it all and to keep his memory alive in every way possible.
"What I will tell you is that with every fiber of my being, I will be doing everything I can to be keeping the spirit of Floyd alive, his memory alive, his legacy alive," DeBorah said. "I do not want people to forget him easily.
Below the Fold
As the regular season enters its final two weeks, rookie guard/center Quinn Meinerz can reflect on his impressive transition from a special teams contributor to a full-time starter.
With a sixth consecutive start under his belt after Week 16, Meinerz is still hungry to get better and to make the Broncos better.
"After a game, I love getting my corrections and I write down every single thing," Meinerz told 9NEWS’ Mike Klis. "And as soon as we get ready for our first practice of the week on Wednesday, I'm already looking to keep improving on some of the things I did not do so well in the game.
Meinerz has earned attention from Broncos Country as a contributor on a handful of big runs this season, including some that involved Meinerz propelling one of Denver's running backs through a pile of defenders for big gains.
"Our backs, we've got a great 1-2 punch in the backfield," Meinerz said. "We definitely enjoy running the ball with them. They keep their feet moving, they break tackles. And that gets us on the offensive line super excited to make sure we get that extra push and extra shove because our running backs are going to break through those arm tackles and they're going to keep moving their feet and fall forward."
Whether it's contributing to the run or protecting the quarterback, Meinerz just wants to get better, and he wants to help the Broncos win games.
"My goal is to keep improving every single week," Meinerz said. "I want to have no missed assignments. I want to have great technique. And most importantly, I just want to win. There's no better feeling than getting into the locker room after a game with a nice win especially when you get 30 rush attempts and you see on the scoreboard you've got 150 yards rushing. Those are the things that get me excited."
