Pritchard's 'super' ties makes for tough pick

Super Sunday will be super strange for Mike Pritchard.

When the Rancho High grad settles in to watch Super Bowl XXXIII between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, memories will no doubt flood his mind. Pritchard, now a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, played for both Denver and Atlanta.

"I think I'm a piece of trivia," Pritchard said, noting he believes he and former UNLV cornerback Charles Dimry -- now of the San Diego Chargers -- are the only two active NFL players who played for both Super Bowl teams without appearing in the big game themselves.

Pritchard, who still lives in Las Vegas, isn't sure which former employer he wants to win.

"I have friends on both sides," he said. "So it's kind of hard. I don't know who to root for yet."

Pritchard was drafted by Atlanta out of Colorado in 1991. He played for the Falcons for three years under Jerry Glanville before joining the Broncos. He signed with the Seahawks in 1996. The Broncos won the Super Bowl the next season.

While the Falcons' personnel has turned over almost completely since he left them, the Broncos look very familiar to Pritchard. He played one year for Wade Phillips and one year for current Denver head coach Mike Shanahan.

"The team was almost the same as it is now," Pritchard said. "I have a lot of friends on the team. In a competitive situation, it's natural you don't like them. But off the field and during the off-season you get along with the guys."

Pritchard's two best games this season came against the Broncos. He caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in a 21-16 loss at the Kingdome, and caught eight more for 88 yards and a score in a 28-21 loss at Mile High Stadium in the regular-season finale.

In breaking down the big game, Pritchard thinks Atlanta can upset the reigning champs. Denver is a 7-point favorite.

"If Atlanta can come out and establish a game plan, get their running game going and keep Denver off the field, they have a good chance of winning," Pritchard said. "But if they make mistakes as a first-time team in the Super Bowl, Denver can explode on them with their offense.

"It all depends on how (both teams) start. In the first quarter, if Atlanta is still around, they have an excellent chance of winning."

Most of the talk about the Broncos' talent centers on quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis. But after facing their defense six times in the past three years, Pritchard said the Denver "D" is underrated.

"Denver's defense is better than people think it is," he said. "People think because of the couple games they lost, their defense is weaker. But I don't see that. They have a very aggressive defense. They fly around."

When it comes to Atlanta, however, Pritchard knows only what he saw on television this year. But he did play with a handful of current Falcons, including linebacker Jessie Tuggle and tackle Bob Whitfield.

"It's a completely new staff and a completely new philosophy," Pritchard said. "When I was there, we ran a run-and-shoot under Jerry Glanville. It was flamboyant. With (Dan) Reeves coaching them now, they're much more run-oriented and conservative."

Pritchard's three seasons with the Falcons were the most productive of his career. He grabbed 50, 77 and 74 receptions in his three Atlanta seasons. It was the fifth-highest three-year total in NFL history. He also scored 14 touchdowns in that span.

When he left for Denver, he was supposed to be one of Elway's biggest targets. He had 119 yards and a score in his Denver debut and followed up with a nine-catch, 100-yard game a week later.

But a weird injury after the third week curtailed all that.

"It was very freakish," Pritchard said.

It happened in practice during a two-minute drill. Pritchard dove for an Elway pass, caught it and brought it into his body. But the point of the ball was directed at his midsection. When he hit the ground, the force shoved the ball inward and he lacerated a kidney.

"It was serious enough for me to lay off for eight months," he said. "I couldn't do anything. But it wasn't serious enough where it was career threatening."

Pritchard is about to enter his ninth NFL season. He claims it could be his most exciting one, now that Seattle has hired former Green Bay boss Mike Holmgren.

Pritchard is comfortable with never having played in a Super Bowl now that Holmgren is around. Holmgren coached the Packers to Super Bowl appearances the past two years.

"I got an opportunity to win the national championship at Colorado," Pritchard said. "So it would be really nice to win a world championship. I miss the feeling of being a champion. We have an excellent opportunity to do it with Mike Holmgren."

Pritchard also enjoys his relationship with teammate and fellow Las Vegan DeShone Myles. The linebacker from Cheyenne High and Nevada-Reno recorded 43 tackles in his rookie season.

"'We come out of the locker room talking about representing Las Vegas and the 7-0-2," Pritchard said of the Las Vegas area code. "He played tremendous for us. You're going to be writing a lot about that guy. In his first year he was tremendous and he'll only be getting better and better."

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