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Rocky mountain low Broncos' Davis out for season with knee injury
Posted: Tuesday October 05, 1999 06:17 AM
DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Broncos were bracing for the worst. That's exactly what they got. The winless Broncos, already reeling from an 0-4 start, learned Monday that MVP running back Terrell Davis will miss the rest of the season after tearing two ligaments and cartilage in his right knee. "Right now, my spirits are high," Davis said in an interview on ABC's "Monday Night Football." "I know I'll be back 100 percent and I'll be as good as new. The type of person I am, my mentality, I'm a workhorse and I just want to get back and play with my teammates." Davis tore the anterior cruciate ligament, the medial collateral ligament and cartilage while making a tackle after an interception in the first quarter of Denver's 21-13 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. Broncos trainer Steve Antonopulos suspected the ligaments were torn and an MRI on Monday confirmed the injury. Davis is scheduled for surgery within 10 days and will be out 4-to-6 months. "Knowing the young man like we all know him, I don't think there's any question, with his work ethic and his mindset that he'll be back performing at the same level, if not better," Antonopulos said. Davis' injury is the same one suffered by Atlanta running back Jamal Anderson in the first week of the season, leaving the NFL's two top rushers from a year ago out for the season. "Obviously, he's working through it right now," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "I said, 'Hey, I love you. You've done everything we've asked you to do. Just hang in there.'" After becoming the fourth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a season last year, Davis was faced with the challenge of succeeding without quarterback John Elway, who retired in May. He had 211 yards on 67 carries in Denver's four games. He averaged 3.1 yards per rush, 1.7 yards below his career average. In Davis' absence, the Broncos will turn to Derek Loville, whose last stint as a starter was with San Francisco in 1995. "I didn't want it this way," Loville said. "I'd rather be 0-6 and have Terrell in there. That's my man. ... I spoke to him earlier today when he was getting a little treatment. He said, 'Hey, you've got to be a soldier.'" The soldiers may be operating under a different platoon leader this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. After watching quarterback Brian Griese struggle through the first four games, Shanahan said he is contemplating a change. He said he will decide by Wednesday whether to stick with Griese or replace him with either Bubby Brister or Chris Miller. "We're going to have to do something since we're 0-4. Exactly what we're going to do, I can't tell you because I don't know right now," Shanahan said. "We'll definitely look at a few different things to shake the team up and see if we can get back on the right track." Brister, who went 4-0 as an emergency starter last year, was Elway's anointed successor in training camp but lost his job to Griese in the preseason. He said he felt blindsided by the move at the time and had no comment Monday on a possible promotion. Miller spent the last three seasons out of football after a series of concussions. He said he supports Griese but would welcome a chance to help the Broncos as they try to salvage their season in the wake of consecutive Super Bowl championships. "I think the main thing is we all just want to get a win," Miller said. "That's the bottom line. "I was hoping I could come in and kind of just jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride and be in the hunt for a playoff run and maybe a three-peat. It's just kind of come down to the fact that we've had some key injuries and haven't built any early leads." The unstable quarterback situation and Davis' injury are the latest obstacles that have impeded the Broncos since they won their second straight Super Bowl in January. Elway's expected retirement announcement came in late April, and linebacker John Mobley was charged with drunken driving two months later. Mobley's season ended in Week 1 when he tore the ACL in his right knee. Denver's off-field problems continued in September when linebacker Bill Romanowski was named as a subject in an investigation into illegal drug prescriptions. And, of course, the Broncos are off to the worst start for a defending Super Bowl champion in a non-strike year. "When it rains it pours," Loville said. "It's been tough. It's been tough this whole year -- losing John [Mobley], now losing Terrell. It's rough"
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