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Sunday, September 24, 2000

It doesn't seem to matter who the Broncos plug in at tailback, success follows. Terrell Davis rushed for 1,538 yards in '96, for 1,750 in '97 and for 2,008 in '98.

After Davis was injured and missed most of last season, Olandis Gary played the final 12 games and ran for 1,159 yards.

With Davis and Gary both hurt now, rookie Mike Anderson moved into Denver's comfy tailback spot and has rushed for 131 and 187 yards in his first two games. He has become only the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 100 yards in each of his first two games.

"This is unbelievable, unbelievable," said Anderson, who played in college at Utah.

No one has made it three in a row.

"I don't want to wake up yet," said Anderson, like Davis a sixth-round draft choice. "If it's unreal and I'm dreaming, let me stay in this dream. It's a nice dream."

Mile High salute

As with Three Rivers Stadium, Denver's Mile High Stadium is in its final season. The Broncos, who have played in the 52-year-old stadium since they were born in the AFL in 1960, will move to a new stadium next season.

Most of the Kansas City Chiefs are thankful today will be their final game in a place that has not been friendly to them.

Chiefs center Tim Grunhard feels differently.

"Mile High had lot of tradition . . . the horse running around. It's a neat place and I'm sure a lot of the old Broncos hate to see it go.

"They make the new stadiums try to look old and feel old, but they're never the same. I've had my fun and exhilaration and pain [in Denver], which is what football's all about in Mile High Stadium."

Polish Popgun

They're calling Sebastian Janikowski the Polish Popgun in Oakland.

The Raiders' first-round draft choice has made just 2 of 5 field-goal attempts. He also fell on his fanny when he slipped and his opening kickoff traveled only 30 yards.

"My confidence is down right now," Janikowski said. "I am not happy."

Smart or ...

Did Seattle cornerback Shawn Springs come to praise Ryan Leaf or bury him?

It was hard to tell when Springs said this about Seattle's troubled quarterback:

"You know why I like Ryan Leaf? Because Ryan Leaf will talk trash the whole time and try to throw at you. He's not smart enough to know after you pick him off a couple times. He'll keep throwing at you because he's so competitive."

Or, stupid.

Experience counts

What do the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys have in common, besides their roots in Texas? They're the only two NFL teams with two quarterbacks who are among the top 10 best winning percentages in the league.

Tennessee's Steve McNair ranks No. 8 (30-21, .588) and Neil O'Donnell ranks 10th (53-44, .546). The Cowboys' Randall Cunningham (80-51-1, .611) ranks sixth and teammate Troy Aikman (90-65, .581) is ninth.

Happy Birthday

With all the talk about how the Steelers are such a young team, the average age of their starting lineup falls in the middle of the pack in the NFL.

The Steelers ranked 14th in the 31-team NFL with a starting lineup on opening day that averaged 27.31 years old. Cleveland, which is 2-1, had the youngest starting lineup with an average age of 25.54. Carolina had the oldest at 29.36.