In matchup of coaches, Billick gives edge to Shanahan

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) _ Brian Billick has to hope that coaching experience won't be a huge factor in Sunday's playoff game between the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. <br><br>Denver coach

Thursday, December 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) _ Brian Billick has to hope that coaching experience won't be a huge factor in Sunday's playoff game between the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.

Denver coach Mike Shanahan owns two Super Bowl rings and has a 7-1 record in the playoffs. Billick, now in his second season, has never before been a head coach in a playoff game.

``If this game comes down to Mike and I standing toe to toe at the 50 yard-line throwing resumes at one another, we are going to come up way short,'' Billick said Wednesday.

It's not that Billick has never been a part of the postseason. In 1998, he was the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator when the team reached the NFC championship game. His success in Minnesota got him the job in Baltimore, and shortly after accepting the position, he decided to observe the work of Shanahan.

``When I took the job, one of the things I did was look very hard at what they were doing in Denver,'' he said. ``I looked at what Mike was doing, how he started up there, the people he brought in. I tried to emulate a little of what they have done.''

The Broncos went 8-8 in 1995, Shanahan's first season as their head coach, the same record the Ravens had in Billick's debut last year. Denver made the playoffs in Shanahan's second season, but was ousted in the first round.

Billick hopes the Ravens avoid a similar fate.

``We would certainly like to leapfrog that learning curve,'' he said.

Billick was regarded by some as an offensive genius in Minnesota, but the Ravens have struggled to score points this year. Baltimore went five straight games without a touchdown in October and managed only five first downs Sunday in a 34-20 win over the New York Jets.

Shanahan also is known as an offensive whiz, and he's delivered this year under trying circumstances. Despite playing without Terrell Davis and with two injured quarterbacks, the Broncos have put together a potent offense that should provide a stiff test a Baltimore defense that set an NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season.

``You've got to get there some way, just like I did when I first got started. The main thing you do is work to get this opportunity,'' Shanahan said. ``Once you get in, anything's possible, which we've proven.

``It doesn't matter if you have home field or are on the road, whatever the scenario, you've got a team that's hungry to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. That's what you play for, that's what you coach for.''

One thing Shanahan and Billick have in common is tight end Shannon Sharpe, who starred for 10 years in Denver before signing with Baltimore as a free agent last February. Sunday's game will be a reunion of sorts, and the Broncos expect him to be yapping at them on almost every play.

``Shannon's going to be Shannon. I expect him to do a lot of talking on the field, but I also expect him to do a lot of playing, too,'' Denver tight end Byron Chamberlain said.

It just won't be the same, with Sharpe directing his barbs at the Broncos instead of trash-talking on their behalf.

``We're used to laughing with him, not him laughing at us, so it's going to be a little different,'' Broncos defensive tackle Trevor Price said.