NEXT : DENVER (7-0) McCaffrey symbol of selfless Broncos "If Ed McCaffrey was black, was 6-5 like he is, and ran as fast as he runs, he'd be making $3 1 - 2 million a year." -- Shannon Sharpe
>BY RICHARD WEINER
USA TodayENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Leave it to the say-it-like-it-is Shannon Sharpe to throw down the first gantlet in a possible Super Bowl collision course between the NFL's two undefeated teams, his Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings.
Sharpe was talking about how Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey is a symbol of the defending Super Bowl champions, with his selfless approach during a career-best start: "The thing that I like most about Ed is that he might go three games and not catch a pass. But you'll never hear Ed, publicly or privately, complain.
"I don't think, in our system, we could have a Cris Carter (who stars for the Vikings). I don't think we could have a big-time receiver in this system, simply because you're not going to get the consistent, 8-9-10 passes every week. Our focus is to get Terrell (Davis) the ball. If you look down the field, on Terrell's long runs, Ed, Rod (Smith) are knocking people off him 30 or 40 yards downfield.
"I'm not so sure the big-time receivers who are making the $3-$4-$5 million go at it with the same vigor Ed and Rod do."
While Sharpe's comments may, as usual, raise some eyebrows, McCaffrey, whose contract averages $897,000 a year through 2000, refuses to look past an upcoming game, let alone talk about any dream matchup with Minnesota.
But McCaffrey does agree with Sharpe about one of the hidden successes to Denver's 7-0 start, the best in franchise history: "There's no selfishness to our team, and I think that's the key to our success," he says.
It is no coincidence that McCaffrey was one of the first players Mike Shanahan brought to Denver from Super Bowl XXIX champion San Francisco.
"You get a guy like that. All he needs is an opportunity to shine," Shanahan says.
McCaffrey was a backup with the 49ers for one season after spending his first three with the New York Giants, who made him a fourth-round pick out of Stanford in 1991.
Now, McCaffrey is drawing double coverage as John Elway's clutch receiver. McCaffrey is also one of just 13 players to earn a Super Bowl ring in both the NFC and AFC.
And he's only getting better. After missing a week of training camp with a torn tendon in his ring finger, McCaffrey led the Broncos in receiving during the first three games. His 18.1-yard average is second best in the AFC and fourth best in the NFL. He has eight touchdowns in his past 10 games -- compared to six in his previous 10.
"That's why he's had such a good first half of the season with big plays," Shanahan says. "They double team Shannon. They double team Rod. Then Ed is left one-on-one."
McCaffrey often lines up on the same side as tight end Sharpe, enabling one of them to usually break free. Yet Sharpe, who is black, says opponents still don't respect McCaffrey because he is a white receiver.
"I guess you don't look at Ed as being explosive," Sharpe says. "For whatever reason, they don't associate explosiveness with white receivers."
McCaffrey laughs off the concept, as he does the nickname "Forrest Gump" and the ribbing he gets from teammates regarding the mustard he markets.
But he has taken conditioning so seriously that he worked with a track coach this past offseason to improve his running style. It is the same conscientious approach he takes to catching balls; after what looked like a rare drop on Sunday, McCaffrey left a phone message with receivers coach Mike Heimerdinger, explaining how a defender got a hand on it.
"I think right now I'm in the best shape of my life," says McCaffrey. "I don't know if that's normal, eight years into your career."
