Milburn’s Feat Paled By Hawks

Glyn Milburn had little trouble running past Seattle Seahawk defenders on Sunday.

All the while, though, on his darting rushes, his quicksilver kick returns, and his elusive receptions out of the backfield, Milburn was also racing past the ghosts of Red Grange, Gale Sayers, Jim Brown and all the other great runners who have played in the NFL during the past 76 years.

And on this unseasonably warm Dec. 10 (56 degrees at Mile High Stadium), the little-used Milburn picked up more yardage than any of them.

Milburn, who had only 90 yards on 15 carries all season, came on to replace injured rookie starter Terrell Davis in the middle of the first period.

He finished with 131 yards on 18 rushes and had 45 yards on five receptions. It was his kick returns, though, that continually gave Denver favorable field position as he returned five punts for 95 yards and brought back five kickoffs for 133 yards.

That adds up to 404 total yards, easily cracking the 1961 record of 373 yards set by the Houston Oilers’ Billy Cannon - a Heisman Trophy winner and convicted counterfeiter.

But the Broncos’ 31-27 loss dulled any joy Milburn could take in the mark.

“The thing is, any time I do well individually, I want the team to do well,” the Stanford graduate said. “Later on, when I look back, I’ll appreciate it more, but right now, this loss is tough to swallow.”

The output, Milburn said, was simply a matter of “repetitions and opportunity.”

And his 5-foot-8, 177-pound size should not be considered an impediment, he said.

“The size of a man’s heart is what matters the most,” he said. “This was great for me individually, but with Terrell hurt and the team losing, it makes it a very tough loss.”

Interestingly, the Bronco record for all-purpose yardage was owned by the renowned Shane Swanson, a 1987 strike-replacement player who picked up 290 yards against Kansas City.

“Milburn’s a heckuva player,” Seattle coach Dennis Erickson said. “Our special teams didn’t play great today. Milburn just made us miss; he had some great runs.”

Sleep easy Tom Dempsey

Milburn might not have been the only NFL record-setter Sunday as Denver kicker Jason Elam attempted a 66-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

During warmups, Elam made several from almost 70 yards, but he did not come close during the game.

“I didn’t hit it well, but it was fun to try,” Elam said of the attempt to break Tom Dempsey’s record of 63 yards.

“It was great that coach Shanahan had the confidence to let me try a field goal that long,” Elam said. “I hit a couple in warmups, including one from 68 yards, and he must have seen them.”

Elam and Shanahan played roles in a controversial segment of the game in the first half when the Broncos did not capitalize on all their opportunities.

With the Broncos stopped at the Seahawks 1 and facing a fourth down, Elam booted through a 19-yarder that gave Denver a 10-0 lead with only seven minutes gone in the game.

But Seahawks Corey Harris was penalized for running into Elam and the ball was moved half the distance to the goal line, roughly two feet from the goal.

Instead of taking the points and declining the penalty, Shanahan decided to remove the points from the board and try to punch it in for a touchdown.

Instead, Hawks linebacker Terry Wooden sliced through a gap and stopped Aaron Craver for no gain.

“It was one of those plays where we missed an assignment,” Shanahan explained. “I would do that every time inside the 1, but obviously, it didn’t work out today.”

Notes

Despite a sprained left ankle, Chris Warren finished the game with 101 rushing yards and scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to up his season total to 13.

Warren apparently did not appreciate coach Clarence Shelmon calling him to the sidelines for occasional breaks during the game.

“Chris Warren is a warrior,” Shelmon said. “He was getting angry at me when I pulled him out for a break even though he was hurt. I’m always on him about ‘you be the guy, you be the leader,’ and that’s what he wanted to do, he wanted us to put the team on his back and take it to a win.”

Seattle had a strange offensive output, gaining 0 yards in the first period, 110 in the second, 6 in the third and 210 in the fourth.

Several Seahawks had big days statistically on defense.

Safety Eugene Robinson had 13 tackles, an interception and two pass deflections, while Robert Blackmon totaled nine tackles, a sack, an INT and a forced fumble.

Joey Galloway, with four catches for 49 yards, broke Steve Largent’s rookie receiving record of 54. He has 56.

Galloway needs just 119 receiving yards in his final two games to become the 10th rookie in history to crack the 1,000-yard barrier in receptions.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo