GREELEY, Colo. -- Outside of the Denver Broncos' dining hall was a huge Campbell's Chunky Soup display. The weird part was not seeing Terrell Davis involved. The byproduct of his 2,008-yard season in 1998 was seeing Davis fueling his runs on Chunky Soup.

Instead of Davis, right tackle Matt Lepsis is the focal point of Campbell's promotional campaign to help fight national hunger. Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb has replaced Davis in the national advertising campaign. On the field, Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary are vying for his carries while Davis stops the swelling in his right knee.

	Terrell Davis, left, talks with Mike Anderson as he sits out Monday's practice with an injured right hamstring.

The NFL sometimes means Not For Long, and that point is driven home in Broncos camp. Mike Shanahan strives for Super Bowls every season, so no one has the luxury of falling back on past laurels. The Broncos went 11-5 last season, but lost to the Ravens in the playoffs. Gone is defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. Bill Romanowski, Maa Tanuvasa, Davis and Harald Hasselbach were asked to take pay cuts.

And competition abounds everywhere.

"If you are a person who loves football and some drama and loves competition, our team presents a very good entertaining piece for you," Davis said. "You have the running back situation. After Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey at wide receiver, there is a great fight going on. You see that everywhere. It's a good problem to have."

The Broncos are loaded, which is what Shanahan intended. The two-time Super Bowl-champion coach turned up the heat on the competition so much that he brought in only two college free-agent rookies. He imported more than 20 established veterans, including Chester McGlockton, Leon Lett, Denard Walker, Steve Beuerlein and Lee Woodall.

"I thought there were some pretty good buys on the free-agent market," Shanahan said. "It's given us a chance to get some depth and given us a chance to compete for positions."

One position which didn't need imports was halfback. Davis is a 29-year-old with a 2,000-yard season to his credit. Anderson and Gary have 1,000-yard seasons behind them. Somehow, Shanahan sets the competition in a way that players aren't at each other's throats.

"From what I learned about being around the veterans on this team, last year was last year," said Anderson, the NFL's offensive rookie of the year with 1,487 yards. "You have to think what can you do better. I can't hang my hat on what I've done in the past. That's not the way people see it. It's not about what have you done for me lately. It's what are you going to do now."

No Bronco sums that up better than Davis. Shanahan would love to give extra consideration to Davis, who carried Shanahan and John Elway to Super Bowls on his powerful legs. "I hope Terrell can come back and play at the level he's been at, and we're giving him every chance to do that," Shanahan said.

Unfortunately for Davis, his legs are betraying him. Two years ago, it was a torn right anterior cruciate ligament injury. Last year, it was a Lis Franc problem in his left foot and a stress fracture. He's missed 23 games in two seasons. Before camp started, he pulled a hamstring. Last week, he needed to have his right knee drained, preventing him from playing Saturday's exhibition game against Dallas.

Now, the competitive Denver news market is targeting him. Davis shot back at them recently for their questions about his injuries. He's proud. He's frustrated. In the camp competition, it's becoming more evident that he is trailing Anderson and Gary. The pressure is on.

	“	I hope Terrell can come back and play at the level he's been at, and we're giving him every chance to do that. ”
		— Mike Shanahan on Terrell Davis

"I'm smart enough to know if I'm not prepared to do it, I don't mind easing my way into the season," Davis said. "It's a very long season. Hopefully, we'll go to the Super Bowl. Toward late October, November and December, that's when the season really counts."

Davis expects to return to the practice field Monday, and he knows that the job will be determined by who looks best in the exhibition season.

"We'll let the cards play out," Shanahan said. "We've got guys who are very competitive. I want it to be a tough decision by the first game. I want it to be a tough call. If, for some reason, Terrell can't play, these guys will do an excellent job."

Davis isn't the only veteran fighting the tough fight. Romanowski will be the starting strong-side linebacker, but Ian Gold is expected to take some of his duties in the passing defenses. Billy Jenkins, one of the top acquisitions in 2000, is being challenged by Kenoy Kennedy. If Beuerlein speeds up his healing of offseason elbow surgery, he will challenge Gus Frerotte for the backup job.

Shanahan sometimes is called the Mastermind. He's one of the most brilliant coaches to come into the league in years. Where some can't handle the tasks of coach and general manager, Shanahan excels at it. He knows the cap. His payroll will be between $90 million and $100 million this year, but the team still has $6 million of cap room that he will use on freeing up future caps. He's locked up Brian Griese, Lepsis, Dan Neil, Lennie Friedman, Trevor Pryce and John Mobley for years.

"What I try to do at the end of the season is see which players played well and which players haven't and try to make some changes," Shanahan said. "Some of the players who were making some pretty good money weren't playing as well as we would have liked. Those players aren't with us. There have been salary reductions. And there are lots of new faces."

Perhaps the most surprising are McGlockton and Lett. McGlockton has been considered an underachiever. Lett has had problems with substance abuse in Dallas. For now, the Bronco veterans love them.

"Here, the veterans kind of run the team, and while it's still a coach's team, the veterans set the tone," Pryce said. "I don't think anybody here has any bad ideas about Chester. Chester is Chester. He's somebody I enjoy playing with. I've never seen a guy that big who never complains. Leon is a joker. He's a comedian. He's a funny, funny guy."

Said Shanahan: "I don't worry about what people say about other people in the past. I get a chance to talk to people and tell them what I expect, and if I get a good feeling, I usually bring that person in. Everybody told me not to bring in Alfred Williams. All of a sudden, he had 13½ sacks. I don't evaluate on whatever other people say."

Davis is right. The Broncos are an interesting drama to follow, one that will be followed well past the end of the regular season.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.