Now a Bronco, Knighton finally a winner

NEWARK, N.J. - No one is more thrilled to be playing in Super Bowl XLVIII than Denver Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton.

Until he signed with the Broncos last March, the former Temple product had known nothing but losing. It was on his skin, in his lungs and headed for his heart.

During his 4 years at Temple, the Owls lost 37 of 47 games.

Then, as bad luck would have it, he got drafted by the NFL equivalent of Temple: the Jacksonville Jaguars, who took him in the third round of the 2009 draft. Four more years and still no winning season. His last 2 years in teal and gold, the Jags were a miserable 7-25.

"When I was at Temple, I experienced the lowest of lows," Knighton said yesterday at Super Bowl media day. "[We went] 0-11, and talking about the football program being taken away, and things like that.

"It was very frustrating. Looking back now on my 4 years at Temple and my 4 years in Jacksonville, it makes me cherish this moment even more. Adversity builds character. A lot of times, people try to forget about the downs in their career. But I remember them at times like this."

Losing is a sickness, sometimes a terminal one. You can get used to it, and it can poison your play.

But that didn't happen to Knighton. When he became a free agent last March, he wanted to escape the losing. He wanted to play for a Super Bowl contender.

As luck would have it, Jack Del Rio, who was the Jags' head coach for 3 of Knighton's 4 years there, is the Broncos' defensive coordinator. He encouraged them to sign Knighton.

"You can't pass up the chance to play for a Super Bowl contender," Knighton said. "To play next to a Von Miller. To have guys like Champ Bailey and Wesley Woodyard behind you. You can't pass that up. I had the opportunity to play here and jumped at it."

After Knighton signed with the Broncos, Del Rio sat him down for a short film-watching session.

"He showed me a couple of plays from my career and said, 'This is the Terrance I want;, this is the Terrance I don't want.' "

For the most part, Knighton has given Del Rio the Terrance he wanted. He started every game and was a big reason they finished seventh in the league against the run. He also had three sacks, plus a critical one in the Broncos' 26-16 win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Trailing, 20-3, late in the third quarter, the Patriots had a fourth-and-3 at the Denver 29. Knighton used a swim move to get past Patriots six-time Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins and sacked Tom Brady for a 10-yard loss.

"As a coach, we spend a lot of time trying to define players," coach John Fox said. "Basically, our approach is, 'Don't let us define you. You're going to be held accountable. Where you are on the depth chart, how much you're going to play, it's going to be based on your performance.' Guys either take heed of that or they don't.

"In Terrance's case, he worked very hard. He lost 30 pounds [from 365 to 335]. He worked hard to get his weight in order. He changed his physical look as far as his body content with our strength and conditioning people. Everything Terrance has done, he did [himself].

"You can have all kinds of talks. You can talk until you're blue in the face. But until you start seeing actions, they basically make that decision. In his case, he definitely did. He's been a real stalwart up front, especially inside against both the run and the pass. We're pleased with the growth and development he made this year. And I attribute it to him."

Knighton, whose nickname is "Pot Roast," said he had no objections to the Broncos' request to drop the weight.

"It was in my best interest," he said. "So I had nothing against it. They felt it would allow me to play my best football. Obviously, it worked."