ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — At this stage, Mike Anderson is a better story than Kurt Warner was last season.
Warner sacked groceries and paid his dues in obscure professional football leagues. Anderson sacked up, joined the Marines and paid tribute to his country by serving in obscure countries like Somalia.
Warner was a star quarterback in high school. Anderson was in the band.
Warner was Trent Green's backup entering the St. Louis Rams' magical run, which meant he was one play away from being an NFL starter on a young, talented team. Anderson was one of a handful of no-names trying to beat the odds in training camp, looking up the Denver Broncos' depth chart at a determined former league MVP (Terrell Davis), a former rookie sensation (Olandis Gary) and a former first-round pick (John Avery).
It will be hard to top the ending to Warner's story: A Super Bowl championship and MVP trophy, a fat new contract and Campbell's Chunky Soup ads with mom. But each page of Anderson's rookie diary gets better.
Last Sunday he ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns, including the 80-yard game-winner late in the fourth quarter, to help Denver beat Seattle 38-31. Anderson now has 971 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games.
"Back in training camp, I was just looking to make the team. Now it's getting close to that time; I'm close to 1,000 yards. A big turn of events," Anderson said after conducting his typical Monday morning routine that includes self-pinching. "It just happened overnight. It's taking me a while to take it all in."
Mike Shanahan, no surprise, knew what Anderson was capable of. After all, the Broncos' head coach was the one who drafted Davis in the sixth round and Gary in the fourth round.
"No, that was never a possibility," Shanahan said when asked if he ever thought about what would have happened if he would have kept Avery instead of Anderson, a sixth-round afterthought. "Because Mike helped us so much in special teams, and he was a football player that could help us out if Terrell Davis or Olandis Gary weren't healthy. And that's what you are looking for. . . . He was pretty impressive, and right from the start we knew we were going to go in that direction."
After Davis and Gary were injured on opening night, the stage was set for Anderson. And without him, it's doubtful Denver would be 8-4 and in the playoff mix.
"What I was truly happy about was just making the team. When I made the team, that was the first step," Anderson said. "Then I thought, if I have to play special teams, that's okay, I'll do my best at that. Maybe that will allow me in the near future to get a chance to play and try to achieve some things. But it just happened so fast, quicker than what I expected."
Anderson thought his one shining moment would be his 187-yard day in Oakland. He played even better in the Seattle rain and was the hero after showing off speed he didn't even know he had on the long touchdown.
"I got to see (the replay) at home. I see myself out there, but at the same time, I'm like 'Where did I get that extra gear from?' I see Shawn Springs coming across the field, and that guy's fast," Anderson said. "I came across the line of scrimmage untouched, and it was just a footrace. Me up against a guy like Shawn Springs. But I just didn't know if I would have the extra gear for him. But it kicked in at the right moment, and I ended up in the end zone."
If Anderson and Springs met on a track, it would be a much different story.
"I don't think it would be that close," said Anderson, who knows he is only faster than Springs with the help of football adrenaline.
Before Anderson was the hero in Seattle, he was the goat. His fumble was returned for a 10-yard touchdown by Chad Brown to swing the scoreboard and the momentum in the Seahawks' favor. But he turned the page.
"After I dropped the ball, I went back to the sideline and more than anything, I was just mad at myself for losing the ball in a crucial situation and giving up a touchdown to Seattle," he said. "I just got mad and just took it upon myself not to drop the ball again and to try to make the play."
Anderson's big day came a week after the wild win over San Diego, after which Shanahan praised the rookie's ability to block. And during Rod Smith's critical 50-yard touchdown run at Husky Stadium, Anderson was doing the dirty work again.
"He's a team guy, and he wants to do his part," said Shanahan, who likely will have three different backs run for over 1,000 yards in the last three seasons, something that has never happened in the NFL before.
In a few weeks Davis could return and close the book on Anderson's remarkable season. But even if it doesn't have a Hollywood ending set in Tampa, Fla., no one can erase this incredible regular-season story.
"I guess at first some people thought it was a fluke," Anderson said. "But I kept pushing and kept plugging, and ever since I got in there, I tried to do the best I could. Everything just kept happening for me. The yards just kept adding up. I guess people can't say it was a fluke."