Columnist Tim Graham: Meyer says Super Bowl decided by running backs

Tim Graham's media notebook appears Wednesday. His page 1 column appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4078.

It's what Ron Meyer gets paid for, but he still can't do it. Not yet anyway.

The CNN pro football analyst just can't bring himself to pick a winner for Super Bowl XXXIII. The Denver Broncos play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

"I haven't really decided," Meyer said from Miami, the site of this year's big game. "I think it's going to be extremely close."

Meyer, who coached at UNLV before eventually moving on to the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, has been reporting on the Falcons this week for CNN and CNN/SI, while colleague James Lofton handles the Broncos.

In analyzing the game, Meyer claimed the end result will come down to the running backs: Denver's Terrell Davis and Atlanta's Jamal Anderson.

"In this game we have the two best runners in the NFL today," Meyer said. "Whoever can maintain their running game and stay two-dimensional -- throw when they want to and not when they have to -- will have a tremendous advantage.

"Both defensive coordinators know that their main emphasis is to stop Terrell and Jamal."

Meyer noted Atlanta may have a harder time stopping Davis than Denver will have containing Anderson.

"When you talk about Denver it's hard to find a weakness in their offense," Meyer said. "I was talking to Atlanta's defensive coordinator, Rich Brooks, and he said there's no question in his mind Denver is the best holding offensive line in football. They get away with murder. So it will be interesting to see how that plays out."

Three weeks ago, Meyer picked the San Francisco 49ers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta. But he correctly predicted the Falcons would upset the Minnesota Vikings on the road in the NFC title game.

As kickoff approaches, Meyer finds himself leaning toward an upset again.

"Sentimentally, I'd like to see (Atlanta head coach) Dan Reeves win the thing," Meyer said, alluding to Reeves' 0-3 Super Bowl record with the Broncos. "So I may go out on a limb and predict that. Denver has the better team, but crazy things happen."

Meyer also will be rooting for Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler. When he was head coach of the Colts, Meyer drafted Chandler, who eventually was traded for the draft pick that brought Jeff George.

"To see (Chandler) really blossom and mature into a gifted quarterback has been nice to see," Meyer said, "especially since he's been let go by five teams."

Meyer's reports can be seen every day at 5:30 p.m. on CNN/SI. CNN's Super Bowl preview show starts Sunday at 7 a.m. The all-news network will offer a wrapup show immediately after the game.

* INTERACTIVE THUNDER: The Las Vegas Thunder has added an intriguing element to its radio broadcasts on KENO 1460-AM. During the second intermission of road games, play-by-play man Tim Neverett opens up the phone lines for listener questions and comments.

"I think it's great," Neverett said. "We're trying to improve on the broadcast, make it different. We've tried things in the past, but the interactive stuff is the best way to go.

"And you can't do this during a football game or a baseball game."

Listeners can call 876-8585 during the intermission. They also can e-mail Neverett at

[email protected] whenever they want, and their messages will be addressed during the segment.

* STATIC: Fox Sports West carries its biggest Pac-10 basketball game so far this season when No. 3 Stanford visits No. 9 Arizona tonight at 7:30. ... Dennis Rodman will be Jim Rome's guest on "The Last Word" Thursday at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports West. ... The ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews) are combining for more than 150 hours of Super Bowl XXXIII coverage this week with nearly 80 programs from Miami. ... On Super Sunday, Fox Sports will air seven hours -- twice the time it will take to decide the winner -- of pregame coverage. ... TNT will air "Friday Night at the Super Bowl" at 10:30. The 90-minute special features team breakdowns and a John Elway retrospective. ... ESPN plans to debut yet another made-for-TV sporting event with the Great Outdoor Games in 2000. The four-day competition will include stuff like fishing, shooting, wood chopping and sportin g dogs.

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