As part of his campaign to promote Gillette Deodorant, Terrell Davis graciously took a few minutes to sit down with yours truly and offer Mile High Report his perspective on the HOF, the 97-98 Super Bowl teams, and his career.

"Good afternoon Mr. Davis, my name is Mike Gomez. I write under the name 'Bronco Mike' for Mile High Report which is a fan blog that covers the Denver Broncos. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today"

If I'm the HOF committee and you have to make an argument on why you belong, what would it be? Make your pitch.

"I would probably bring the case, you mention, based on the big moment. I've had one of the greatest postseason records in the history of the game. To me it's a question about longevity or impact. Is it the longevity or the impact a player makes? If you base it on longevity then the conversation is over. But if you look at my career there's nothing else I could have accomplished. Look at my numbers, I think I averaged 142 yards per game in the postseason. Go back and look at the big moments, when the games were at stake my performances speak for themselves regular season and postseason. You have the tape, watch the tape--watch the games you'll see that I belong."

What drove your offensive line to dominate game in and game out?

"Our success came from how we worked together. We had a system that worked to our strengths. What they were trying to do was trying to get you to run lateral. If they could get a big person moving laterally, you take his strength away. It wasn't about brute strength. It was about using the skillset of our players."

Do you regret the way your career ended?

"I have no regrets whatsoever. I don't want to change anything because I feel if you change one part it takes away from another. For me, I didn't leave the game wanting to win a championship--There's a lot of guys that play the game and don't get a chance to win a championship, so I'm at peace I got to experience that."

Thank you for your time and candor Mr. Davis, Broncos Country loves you!

My Take

For those that submitted questions, I did the best I could. In the end, the phone interview was shortened from what was originally expected and I was told from the onset that I would have time to ask three questions. I chose the ones I felt would be best for the interview.

On a personal note, Terrell Davis is a class act. I really wish I would have had more time to speak with him. This may have been a platform for him to promote his product, but at the same time he was extremely sincere and engaged while responding to my questions.

As far as his answers, it becomes clear that winning a championship was the defining moment of his career. The MVP's, the records, the 2k season, all of those are ancillary accomplishments to winning the Super Bowl.

It was amazing hearing him address the HOF question and he nailed it. What has kept him out is longevity, and he makes it clear that if the HOF is about nothing more than longevity, he will never make it.What he pleads with the committee to do however is look at the body of his work--albeit shortened due to injury, and realize that from start to finish, Davis performed at the very highest level both in the regular season and the post season.

To be able to look at his seven year career and realize "gee I couldn't have accomplished any more" should be the only evidence the HOF committee needs to finally acknowledge that Terrell Davis does indeed belong in the HOF.

When it comes to team, Terrell acknowledges that the 97-98 teams were a perfect match of the right talent married with the right system. You have a smaller line? Zone block. Get bigger guys moving laterally and take away their straight line strength. Give your strong armed quarterback the opportunity to operate in a system that is tailor made for high percentage, high impact throws. It was all about using the skillset of the players on the roster.

To me, it's funny to hear people assess the Super Bowl teams and call them smashmouth. Back then, because of the smaller line and zone blocking system, the Broncos offense was considered "finesse."

Look at my career-there’s nothing else I could have accomplished. -Terrell Davis

Terrell Davis career accomplishments

- 3 time Pro Bowler (1996-1998)

- 3 time 1st team All-Pro (1996-1998)

- 2 time NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1996, 1998)

- 1998 NFL MVP

- Super Bowl XXXII MVP

- 2 time Super Bowl Champion (XXXII, XXXIII)

- NFL 1990's All-Decade Team

- 2,000 Rushing Yard Club

- Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team

From 1995-1998 in the regular season, Terrell Davis

- Averaged 335 carries per season

- Gained 7,594 yards from scrimmage (1898 yards per season)

- Scored 61 touchdowns

- Recorded 31-100 yard rushing games

After his injury early in 1999, Davis played in 13 more regular season games from 1999-2001.

From 1995-1998 in the playoffs, Terrell Davis

- Averaged 142.5 yards per game (8 games)

- Gained 1271 yards from scrimmage (158 per game)

- Scored 12 touchdowns

- Recorded 7-100 yard rushing games, including a record setting seven straight from 1997-1998.

Playoff records compared to other modern day HOF running backs

Player G Rush R Yards R A R TD A Rec R Yards R A TD Tot R Marcus Allen 16 267 5 1247 5 5.04 2 11 4 53 2 530 2 10.0 2 13 3 Jim Brown 4 66 15 241 15 3.65 12 1 10 8 10 99 11 12.38 1 2 8 Earl Campbell 6 135 13 420 13 3.11 14 4 7 5 11 45 13 9.00 0 4 7 Larry Csonka 12 225 7 891 8 3.96 10 9 5 4 12 26 14 6.50 1 10 5 Eric Dickerson 7 148 12 724 10 4.89 3 3 8 19 9 91 12 4.79 1 4 7 Tony Dorsett 17 302 4 1383 4 4.58 4 9 5 46 5 403 5 8.76 1 10 5 Marshall Faulk 12 165 11 602 12 3.65 12 6 2 52 3 519 3 9.98 2 8 6 Franco Harris 19 400 1 1556 2 3.89 11 16 1 51 4 504 4 9.88 1 17 2 Curtis Martin 10 182 9 795 9 4.37 6 8 6 37 6 305 7 8.24 0 8 6 Walter Payton 9 180 10 632 11 3.51 13 2 9 22 7 178 8 9.08 0 2 8 Barry Sanders 6 91 14 386 14 4.24 8 1 10 21 8 111 10 5.29 0 1 9 Emmitt Smith 17 349 2 1586 1 4.54 5 19 1 46 5 342 6 7.43 2 21 1 Thurman Thomas 21 339 3 1442 3 4.25 7 16 2 76 1 672 1 8.84 5 21 1 John Riggins 9 251 6 996 7 3.97 9 12 3 6 13 45 13 7.50 0 12 4 Terrell Davis 8 204 8 1140 6 5.59 1 12 3 19 9 131 9 6.89 0 12 4

Terrell Davis Playoff career averages vs. other modern day HOF running backs

Player G Rush A/G R Yards A/G R TD A/G R Marcus Allen 16 267 16.7 11 1247 77.9 8 11 0.69 8 Jim Brown 4 66 16.5 12 241 60.3 14 1 0.25 13 Earl Campbell 6 135 22.5 3 420 70.0 11 4 0.67 9 Larry Csonka 12 225 18.8 8 891 74.3 9 9 1.17 4 Eric Dickerson 7 148 20.1 6 724 103.4 3 3 0.43 12 Tony Dorsett 17 302 17.8 10 1383 81.4 6 9 0.53 10 Marshall Faulk 12 165 13.8 15 602 50.2 15 6 0.50 11 Franco Harris 19 400 21.1 4 1556 81.9 5 16 0.84 5 Curtis Martin 10 182 18.2 9 795 79.5 7 8 0.80 6 Walter Payton 9 180 20.0 7 632 70.2 10 2 0.22 14 Barry Sanders 6 91 15.2 14 386 64.3 13 1 0.17 15 Emmitt Smith 17 349 20.5 5 1586 93.3 4 19 1.12 3 Thurman Thomas 21 339 16.1 13 1442 68.7 12 16 0.76 7 John Riggins 9 251 27.9 1 996 110.7 2 12 1.33 2 Terrell Davis 8 204 25.5 2 1140 142.5 1 12 1.50 1

He Belongs