You Must Look Deep, but . . . : Raiders: McDaniel’s performance is one thing that has gone right for the team this season.

This has been a season the Raiders hope to soon put behind them. From their inconsistent play to their off-field controversies, the last four months have been entirely forgettable.

But cornerback Terry McDaniel may remember this season for a different reason. It may be his first as a Pro Bowl player.

McDaniel has put himself in position to make his first postseason trip to Hawaii by having his best season in his five-year Raider career.

After gaining a reputation of being the defensive back always close to making the big play, McDaniel has turned the corner. He leads the team in interceptions with four, including two that were returned 67 yards apiece against the Denver Broncos last month.

While McDaniel was being interviewed in the Raiders’ locker room after the Denver game, his teammates walked by shouting, “Pro Bowl! Pro Bowl!”

McDaniel simply smiled and tried to downplay their support. In other years, McDaniel thought that he had earned Pro Bowl consideration but was not named. So, to keep things in perspective, he does not get excited when teammates promote him because he knows they cannot vote for him.

“In a way, that is a bad point because (teammates are) putting you up to that standard, but you are not in total control of that situation,” McDaniel said. “Just by having everyone say that this is your year is not it. They have no say-so.

“I feel that I’ve played well in past years. It is just that this year, I am making bigger plays as far as stats are concerned.”

McDaniel joined the Raiders in 1988 as a first-round draft choice from Tennessee. But, after becoming the first rookie to start the opening game for the Raiders in 17 years, McDaniel broke his leg in the second.

The next three seasons, McDaniel was a starter at cornerback and gained respect as one of the league’s best in coverage. When it came to postseason honors, though, McDaniel was overlooked because of his few interceptions.

In 53 league games before this season, McDaniel had only six interceptions. And defensive backs usually are judged on their interceptions.

“Each year I’ve grown that much more physically and mentally, probably a little more mentally where I’m now in better control,” McDaniel said. “But, except for my first year, I’ve always thought that I’ve played as well as the next guy.”

For a while, McDaniel was the cornerback that opposing quarterbacks tried to test because the Raiders had veteran Lionel Washington playing the other corner. Slowly, that has changed.

With each wide receiver route he covered and with each pass he deflected, McDaniel saw fewer and fewer passes thrown his way.

“Terry McDaniel is one of the best cover guys in the league,” San Diego Coach Bobby Ross said. “He is physical, tough and very strong.”

The Raiders like to have McDaniel cover the other team’s top receiver. This year, he has shut down such stars as Buffalo’s Andre Reed, Dallas’ Michael Irvin and Miami’s Mark Clayton. McDaniel is so valuable to the Raiders that he even was called upon to cover a hot running back, as he did in the second half with San Diego’s Ronnie Harmon.

A possible reason for McDaniel’s rise as a cornerback this season could be the birth of his daughter, Shayla, 10 months ago.

“She’s definitely a daddy’s girl,” said McDaniel’s wife, Janna, who met Terry in college at Tennessee. “He tells her before games that he will do something special for her and does.”

McDaniel dedicated his two interceptions against Denver to his daughter and told her he would do something for her before the Raiders played Kansas City two weeks ago. Then he grabbed a fumble out of the air and returned it 40 yards.

“I think that having (Shayla) changed me a lot,” said McDaniel, who has been married four years. “It feels good to know that they are at the games. My wife brings her and she just cheers and sleeps during all the home games.”

Having a new addition to the family has also helped McDaniel forget some of the frustration of this season.

“We’ve had a rough season in that everything we had planned at the beginning did not happen,” he said. “But one break for me has been spending time with my family away from football.”

Despite the big plays he has made this season, McDaniel still gets teased by his teammates for coming up short. In the three breakaway runs he has had after turnovers, an opposing quarterback’s tackle has kept McDaniel from the end zone.

Worse, teammate Eddie Anderson completed a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown against Miami on Monday night by avoiding a weak tackling effort by the Dolphins’ Dan Marino.

“Yes, everybody gets on me about that, but I’m probably madder than anyone for not scoring,” McDaniel said. “But, if a quarterback tackles me every time, that means I’m doing all right.”

That could also mean a trip to the Pro Bowl in February.