Michael R. Montler was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 offensive lineman in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Boston/New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

.

University of Colorado

Montler played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Colorado

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

 where he was All-American

1968 College Football All-America Team

The 1968 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Central Press Association, Football Writers...

 in 1968.

Buffalo Bills

In 1973, his fifth year in the NFL, he became the starting center of the Bills, replacing Remi Prudhomme

Remi Prudhomme

Joseph Remi Prudhomme was an American football offensive lineman at Louisiana State University, where he was an All-American in 1964...

, splitting time with Bruce Jarvis

Bruce Jarvis

Bruce Jarvis was a professional American football player who played offensive lineman for four seasons for the Buffalo Bills.-Buffalo Bills:...

, centering between Reggie McKenzie

Reggie McKenzie

Reggie McKenzie may refer to:*Reggie McKenzie , offensive guard who played in the NFL, 1972–1984*Reggie McKenzie , linebacker who played in the NFL, 1985–1992...

 at left guard and Hall-of-Famer Joe DeLamielleure

Joe DeLamielleure

Joseph Michael DeLamielleure is a former American football offensive lineman who was an All-American at Michigan State. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft. He won All-Rookie Honors, after finding out a physical condition with his irregular heartbeat was...

 at right guard, for a fine 9-5 team, when O.J. Simpson became the first running back to rush for over 2,000 yards. In 1974, Montler won the job away from Jarvis, starting in all 14 games for another 9-5 season. The Bills lost ground in 1975 with a won-lost record of 8-6, despite having the best offense in the entire NFL with 420 points (30.0 points/game). For the second year in a row, Montler played all 14 games between McKenzie and DeLamielleure in the stout middle of the Bills offensive line. Although the same trio played together in all 14 games in 1976, the team sagged to 2-12, an offense worth 20th place in scoring and a defense 24th in points allowed. Things had to change. Montler was replaced by 5-year pro Willie Parker (offensive lineman)

Willie Parker (offensive lineman)

William Nolen Parker is a former American football center who played for eight seasons in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.-San Francisco 49ers:...

.

Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions

And so Montler became the starting center for the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

in 1977 for all 14 games and the Detroit Lions in 1978, but only in 4 games.