Terrell Davis

SAN DIEGO -- The Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis is a star running back who doesn't conduct himself like a superstar.No designer clothes. No flashy jewelry. No custom shades. There isn't an entourage, and the only slight hint of extravagance is a suburban home that is within minutes of his mother's apartment and a home-cooked meal.His favorite night out includes playing Madden Football '97 on Sega Video. His image is so clean that Nike, Reebok and ESPN were just a few of the companies that participated in a poll that selected Davis as one of the top 10 athletes in the country that sports agencies would like to be affiliated with.

Ray Rice used to be the solution to whatever ailed the Ravens. If quarterback Joe Flacco was having a bad day, the offense would go through Rice. If there was nothing open down the field, Flacco would find the diminutive yet durable running back and watch him pick up positive yards. If the Ravens needed to pick up a key third down - or if it was fourth-and-29 - they'd get the ball to Rice and take their chances. But more than a third of the way through this season, the Ravens search for a competent running game remains mystifying and Rice, their three-time Pro Bowl back, has provided far more questions than answers.

Terrell Davis sees the Denver Broncos as a much smarter team this time around. He sees the Broncos savoring their postseason run with too much urgency to experience a letdown like the one Davis thought caused their shocking demise in last season's wild-card round."

Super Bowl XXXII Steve Svekis Sun Sentinel The star-crossed John Elway had much of America in his corner for Super Bowl XXXII against Brett Favre and the two-touchdown-favorite Packers. The Broncos icon had been routed in three previous Super Bowls. This time, however, he had running back Terrell Davis. Davis, despite missing a quarter of the game with a migraine, carved up Green Bay for 165 total yards. It was Elway, though, who made the game's most memorable play.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- His big, toothy smile, which he flashes at least a dozen times during the course of a half-hour conversation, comes free and easy. That may be the most remarkable fact about Terrell Davis.For the second-year running back out of Georgia, adversity has been a constant companion for a decade now, dating to the moment his father succumbed to lupus when Davis was a teen-ager.It was the beginning of tough times on a bumpy ride to NFL stardom with the Denver Broncos.Barely through the early part of the mourning process after his dad's death, Davis, born and raised in San Diego, accepted a scholarship to nearby Long Beach State, a program that wound up being pulled out from under him.Effectively a free agent, Davis then chose UCLA, but ran into problems with his high school transcript.

During the Denver Broncos' 2000 training camp, Mike Anderson was a nice human interest story. Here was a soon-to-be 27-year-old rookie who had spurned high school football, choosing instead to play drums in the school band. Here was a 6-foot, 235-pound running back who learned life's lessons not running between the tackles but crawling through the underbrush at Marine boot camp on Parris Island, S.C. No doubt about it, Anderson made for good copy during the dog days of August. But no one, not Anderson or Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, could imagine what fate had in store for the unheralded sixth-round draft choice.

Meet Terrell DavisDenver Bronco running back Terrell Davis ran for three touchdowns in the 1998 Super Bowl and was the game's Most Valuable Player."Terrell is a great runner," says New York Jet running back Curtis Martin. "He can run over tacklers."Terrell graduated from the University of Georgia. The Broncos picked him in the sixth round of the 1995 NFL draft. Terrell soon made other teams sorry they skipped him in the draft! We asked Cammi Granato what sport she can't playThere is no way I'd be able to figure skate.

Welterweight Victor Davis, a Bowie resident who often trains in Pasadena, will headline tomorrow night's Round One Productions dinner-boxing show at La Fontaine Bleu in Glen Burnie.Davis (22-8-1), who stopped Nick Parker in the fifth round in his most recent fight Nov. 14, will meet Sammy Gervin of Columbus, Ohio, in the 10-round main event.Also appearing on the card is Cliff "The Hammer" McPherson, a kick-boxing champion from Glen Burnie, who faces Reggie Hunter in a four-round cruiserweight bout.

N.Y. Jets (13-4) at Broncos (15-2)Time: 4: 05 p.m. todaySite: Mile High Stadium, Denver.TV: Chs. 13, 9.Radio: WBAL (1090 AM)Line: Broncos by 9.Vs. spread: Jets 13-4; Broncos 10-7.Vs. common opponents: Jets 6-0; Broncos 5-1.Last week: Jets beat Jaguars, 34-24, in divisional playoff game. Broncos beat Dolphins, 38-3, in divisional playoff game.Series: Broncos lead 13-12-1.Last meeting: Broncos won, 31-6, on Sept. 1, 1996, in Denver.Postseason records: Jets 6-6; Broncos 14-11.Notable: Jets coach Bill Parcells is the first to lead three franchises to the conference championship game.

AFC: N.Y. Jets (13-4) at Denver (15-2)Why Denver should win:The home-field advantage at Mile High Stadium is compelling for the Broncos. But they'll compound the noise factor with eight-man fronts that seem certain to rattle Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde. And Testaverde will need to make a lot of big plays because the Broncos have the second-ranked run defense in the league.Why New York could win: It's up to coordinator Bill Belichick's defense to keep the Jets in striking range. One of the NFL's best schemers, Belichick's big challenge will be to clog Terrell Davis' cutback lanes.

ASHBURN, Va. - The numbers are impressive. Only the third running back in NFL history to gain 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons. Eighteen 100-yard rushing games during that span. One yard shy of 3,100 rushing yards, 678 receiving yards and 31 combined touchdowns. And yet Washington Redskins tailback Clinton Portis finds himself concerned about an entirely different number: that of his uniform. Portis, who wore No. 26 with the Denver Broncos during his first two seasons, slipped into a jersey with the No. 3 during Washington's first minicamp last month.

Coming in handy The Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson became the first halfback in NFL history to catch 100 passes. And he broke his own club record for combined yards with 2,370. He has four 200-yard rushing games, tying him for second place on the career list with Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. The record is six, by O.J. Simpson. Five-digit man The Titans' Eddie George is the 17th NFL player with 10,000 career rushing yards. The other active running backs over 10,000 yards rushing are Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin and Marshall Faulk.

Kelly Gregg and his fellow Ravens defensive linemen did extra wind sprints after yesterday's practice in preparation for Monday night's game against the 3-0 Denver Broncos. Afterward, an out-of-breath Gregg offered himself up as an example of how great a challenge the Ravens face in trying to contain the Broncos' running game. "Their offensive line is so good," said Gregg, 6 feet, 285 pounds, "I think I could run behind it." Denver's offensive line has been a team strength since the mid-1990s, but the unit has had a couple of its toughest days against the Ravens.

As the Ravens' minicamp ended yesterday, their title defense officially began. The Super Bowl champions are still a long way from ending their celebrations, but they weren't shy about revealing their motivation to repeat. "There's still the fact that we're underappreciated as the world champion," cornerback Chris McAlister said. "Considering that we don't get that national exposure, it doesn't really feel like we've won it. We really have to go back to prove something." While it's an overused angle, the Ravens can back it up. When they turn on the television, they often see two previous Super Bowl MVPs - the Rams' Kurt Warner and the Broncos' Terrell Davis - in soup commercials.

It's the running back factory vs. the running back's nightmare. The Denver Broncos can measure their running success in triplicate. The Ravens can prove their run-stopping ability in records. So, can the Ravens force the Broncos to become one-dimensional by stuffing the run? Or can Denver remain balanced and become the first team in two years to run the ball against the Ravens? Besides the Los Angeles Rams in the '80s, the Broncos are the only other NFL team to produce different 1,000-yard rushers in three consecutive years - Terrell Davis in 1998, Olandis Gary in 1999 and Rookie of the Year favorite Mike Anderson this season.

During the Denver Broncos' 2000 training camp, Mike Anderson was a nice human interest story. Here was a soon-to-be 27-year-old rookie who had spurned high school football, choosing instead to play drums in the school band. Here was a 6-foot, 235-pound running back who learned life's lessons not running between the tackles but crawling through the underbrush at Marine boot camp on Parris Island, S.C. No doubt about it, Anderson made for good copy during the dog days of August. But no one, not Anderson or Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, could imagine what fate had in store for the unheralded sixth-round draft choice.

Coming in handy The Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson became the first halfback in NFL history to catch 100 passes. And he broke his own club record for combined yards with 2,370. He has four 200-yard rushing games, tying him for second place on the career list with Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. The record is six, by O.J. Simpson. Five-digit man The Titans' Eddie George is the 17th NFL player with 10,000 career rushing yards. The other active running backs over 10,000 yards rushing are Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin and Marshall Faulk.

SAN DIEGO -- The difference between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos is running back Terrell Davis.Forget the offensive line. Forget the hard-hitting safeties. And forget John Elway. Terrell Davis is the Denver Broncos. Instead of the final score reading Denver 31, Green Bay 24, maybe this is more appropriate.Davis 31, Packers 24.Davis gives Denver a running game. He takes pressure off Elway, who threw for only 123 yards last night. His running ability also helps the Broncos control the clock and keep their defense off the field.

It was just a coincidence that running back Ki-Jana Carter of the Cincinnati Bengals underwent an untested type of surgery on his right kneecap two days after the NFL draft last week. Carter, who already has missed the majority of three seasons with various injuries, is an example of how there are no sure things in the draft. Five years ago, he became the only running back to be taken with the first pick in the draft in the 1990s after Cincinnati traded up with Carolina for the first pick.

Mike Shanahan actually conceded last week that his decisions are wrong on occasion.It was a painful admission for the coach who called the plays for three of the past five Super Bowl winners -- in San Francisco in the 1994 season as the offensive coordinator and in Denver the past two years as head coach -- and seemed to have all the answers.After saying he gets input from the team on his decisions (he wasn't about to take all the blame), he said: "Am I always right? No, I'm not always right.