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Trent Dilfer
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TAMPA, Fla. — It is picture day early in Super Bowl week. Ravens starting
QB Trent Dilfer is walking off of the field with backup QBs Tony Banks and Chris Redman
after the picture has been taken. This is the home field of Dilfer’s former team, the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A team he once thought he would lead to Super Bowl glory only to
eventually be told he was not good enough, his services were no longer needed, have a nice
life.
Now Dilfer has returned as the triumphant … hero? Well, not exactly hero. The
Ravens are built on defense, so Dilfer can hardly be called a star. Certainly not a hero.
But it is a triumphant return nonetheless. Hey, Tampa, look at Trent Dilfer now. Trent
Dilfer — Super Bowl quarterback. For someone else’s team.
As the irony of this tale washed across Dilfer like waves on a vacation beach, he said
to Banks and Redman, "You know what, guys, I’m going to take this in for a
second."
Then Dilfer was alone with his thoughts. Amazing thoughts.
Thoughts that … well … thoughts that can’t truly be appreciated without
understanding his entire journey. So let’s start at the very beginning before getting
to those thoughts at the end of a remarkable transformation.
Early success
Dilfer was the Buccaneers’ first-round draft choice in 1994. And not just any
first-round draft choice. A very early first-round draft choice. The sixth selection
overall in that year’s draft.
When a quarterback is taken that early, not much is expected.
Yeah, right.
When a quarterback is taken that early, he is expected to become a star. He is expected
to lead glorious come-from-behind victories. He is supposed to appear on TV commercials.
He is supposed to make children clamor for his autograph. He is supposed to become an
icon.
After three forgettable seasons as a pro, the light bulb went on for Dilfer. He threw
21 touchdown passes against only 11 interceptions. He became the first Tampa Bay
quarterback to ever be named to the Pro Bowl. He was especially impressive on third-down
passing situations. He stood ready to live the quarterback’s dream.
The following season his play slipped, but he still had a highly respectable 21-15
TD-to-interception ratio.
Then came the crash of 1999.
Crash landing
Opening day 1999. The Buccaneers vs. the Giants. A time for optimism. The Buccaneers
had won four of their final five games the season before. Plus, everyone is undefeated
heading into opening day. Everyone can dream of "the big season."
Then the games begin and reality sets in for much of the league. For Dilfer, the dream
turned into a nightmare vs. the Giants. "The big season" turned into "the
big disaster."
Dilfer had one of the worst games of his career. He had one fumble returned for a
touchdown and tossed three interceptions in a 17-13 loss. His passer rating for the day
was a miniscule 37.0. If your passer rating gets any lower than that, you need a shovel to
find it.
"I try to throw that one away quick," said Dilfer. "That was as bad a 10
minutes of football as I’ve played in my life. I can’t explain it. Obviously, it
had a huge impact here in Tampa in a negative way. The sick thing is that I played really
well in the first half. And to come out in the second half, to play that bad, to lose the
game obviously hurt, especially on opening day with such high expectations."
The Buccaneers lurched and wheezed through the first seven games of the season, winning
three and losing four. Then the team caught fire. Dilfer and the Buccaneers went 4-0 in
November for the first time in team history. His passer rating was 75.8 — not
memorable, not terrible — when disaster struck in that fourth win of November. Dilfer
suffered a fractured right clavicle that day vs. the Seahawks when he was sacked by
then-Seattle DE Phillip Daniels.
Season over.
Dilfer was out. Rookie Shaun King was in.
Had King displayed his inexperience and fallen on his face, maybe things would have
been different for Dilfer. Instead, King (unburdened by high expectations because of his
youth) and the Buccaneers soared. One man’s good fortune is another man’s bad
luck. As King and the team rose to new heights, Dilfer crash-landed in the court of public
opinion.
Guilty of not living up to expectations. Guilty of not becoming a superstar. Guilty of
not becoming an icon.
Dilfer’s sentence was a one-way ticket out of town. And don’t come back. No
one could have known that he would indeed come back — as the quarterback of another
team in the Super Bowl no less. All the locals knew at the time was that they were glad to
be rid of the disappointing Dilfer.
"Shaun got hot and won four of the final five games of the season," said
Buccaneers TE Dave Moore. "It seemed like the fans and the media couldn’t run
(Trent) out of town fast enough."
Everyone could see the handwriting on the wall. It must have looked like ugly,
disrespectful graffiti to Dilfer. He could see it. The public could see it. His teammates
could see it. Finally, the organization made it official. Dilfer was not part of their
plans for the 2000 season. A 2000 season the Dilfer-less Buccaneers would enter as many
so-called experts' choice to go to the Super Bowl.
"I knew it was coming, and I think most people (did)," said Dilfer.
"That day wasn’t as significant as the events leading up to it. It’s
something that was painful. I did not want to leave. I went back and forth because I knew
it was best for me to leave, but I didn’t want to leave because of the friendships,
both in and out of football, and the city, which we really embraced. Knowing that you had
worked so hard in taking (a losing) franchise … and building it into a playoff team,
I didn’t want to leave that and not experience the fruits of it. It was difficult and
emotional. But as Cass (his wife) and I talked about it, prayed about it and spent time
(mulling) it over, we began to understand sometimes the hardest things in life are the
best things."
Redemption
Dilfer signed with the Ravens in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. The
Ravens were an up-and-coming team with fantastic talent on the defensive side of the ball,
much as was the case with the Buccaneers.
Also like the Buccaneers, the Ravens did not have a future Hall of Famer at
quarterback. If Dilfer harbored any illusions of showing the Buccaneers that they had made
a mistake in sending him packing, there was just one problem.
You can’t get the last laugh sitting on the bench, which is where Dilfer found
himself to start the season.
Tony Banks was the starting quarterback. Dilfer was the backup. Unlike his days with
the Buccaneers, there were no grand expectations for Dilfer. There wasn't any opportunity,
either. At least not right away.
Dilfer sat. Dilfer waited. Then Dilfer got his big break.
The Ravens' offense hit a horrendous scoring drought. Next thing you knew, Dilfer was
the starter. The Ravens didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard like something out of
a pinball arcade with Dilfer in charge, but things did get better. More importantly, the
wins started to roll in like money at a hot craps table. Dilfer kept rolling sevens. The
Ravens kept winning.
Baltimore is 10-1 since Dilfer became its starter this season. This hot streak is not
all because of Dilfer. It isn’t mostly because of Dilfer. It is mostly because of a
dominating defense, but Dilfer has done just enough for the team to win.
He is the first to say that he is not the prettiest quarterback in the land, but
sometimes beauty is more than skin-deep.
"He doesn’t have all the physical tools. He’ll tell you that," said
Ravens TE Shannon Sharpe. "But what he does have is an understanding and a knowledge
of the game, and he’s willing to pay the price. That’s all you can ask for in a
quarterback."
Dilfer said, "Everybody that plays in this league leaves a mark. Obviously some
— the Brett Favres, the Reggie Whites, the Roger Staubachs, the Terry Bradshaws
— leave giant marks that people remember forever. And then other guys leave marks
that are more unidentified. The mark I wanted to leave was with my teammates, being a guy
that they knew they could look in the eyes each week and know they were going to get
everything I had. It’s not always going to turn out the way you want it to, but they
knew the will, the desire and the effort was always there."
Buccaneers OT Jerry Wunsch said, "The guy was always and will always be a fighter.
He will do anything to win a football game."
Anything but post glitzy numbers.
Ironically, Dilfer’s passer rating in this season of redemption was 76.6 during
the regular season. His passer rating in his final season with the Buccaneers when he got
run out of town was a very similar 75.8. Obviously, Dilfer’s magic carpet ride to the
Super Bowl is not about statistics. It is about results.
When asked about Dilfer, Giants LB Jessie Armstead said as Super Sunday neared,
"If you are looking for stats, then you need to get one of those quarterbacks that
threw the ball for 4,000 yards. I think they are sitting at home."
Dilfer said, "The stats don’t matter to me. The only stat that matters to me
is winning."
Ravens LB Ray Lewis said, "Our goal is to win the Super Bowl. He was good enough
to get us here."
He was good enough. Maybe that should be Dilfer’s nickname.
After Dilfer completed a nondescript 9-of-18 passes for 190 yards against the Raiders
in Baltimore’s 16-3 AFC title game win over the Raiders, Oakland CB Charles Woodson
said, "He’s not a great quarterback, but he did enough to win the game."
Dilfer is like the blue-collar father of five who works two jobs to put food on the
table and keep the bank from foreclosing on the mortgage. Maybe Hollywood doesn’t
make movies about such a man, but there is something honorable about such lunch-bucket
effort without fanfare. So it is with Dilfer.
"Not all quarterbacks can carry a team all the time," said Ravens DE Michael
McCrary. "That’s just the way it turns out sometimes. Trent has ball control.
He’s not going to make a lot of mistakes in there. He’s not going to throw a lot
of interceptions. We don’t mind that our offense doesn’t score a lot of points
as long as they score enough to win. They keep us off the field. They don’t go
three-and-out. They run the ball down the field, and they take a lot of time off the clock
and give our defense a rest. That also keeps opponents in bad field position, which is the
key to a lot of the success that we’ve had. Trent’s done well, and we’re in
the Super Bowl."
If Tampa Bay fans want to view Dilfer’s triumphant return to their city as him
returning to the scene of his crime, they’d better watch out for one of his
teammates.
"I think Trent should start picking out names of Tampa Bay people who have told
him he couldn’t play and sort of give them the finger," said Ravens DT Tony
Siragusa. "He wouldn’t do that, but if he points them out to me, I would. Trent
Dilfer is in the Super Bowl. If you want to call him a horrible quarterback or say he
can’t score any points, I think he’s laughing at all of your articles right now,
to tell you the truth."
Dilfer is not bitter about the way things worked out in the end with the Buccaneers. He
is not angry about how badly things turned out. In fact, he seems to embrace those
difficult times as part of his recipe for success this season.
"I think the greatest lesson I’ve learned in life is that you can’t go
running from adversity," said Dilfer. "You have to let it hit you straight in
the face.
"I’m very thankful for my six years in Tampa. I would not trade one
experience I had there because it made me the man you see today."
Giants LB Mike Barrow said, "The measure of a man is how many times he can get up
after he falls down. He came in this league a first-round pick, all of the accolades,
silver spoon in his mouth, and then he went through the wilderness experience. Anytime you
go through trials and tribulations, it matures you as a person. … He went through it,
and now he’s back on top, and I think he’s a better person for all he’s
done. He’s 10-1 as a starter. He’s played well and is doing what it takes to
help his team win."
Back to the start of our story
Picture day at this year’s Super Bowl. Dilfer walking off the field of the team he
once played for and, in the end, failed for. Dilfer stopping and telling Banks and Redman
to go off without him, saying, "You know what, guys, I’m going to take this in
for a second." Dilfer alone with his thoughts. Amazing thoughts.
"Then I sat there at about the 30-yard line and looked around," said Dilfer.
"In about two or three minutes, it was like one of those movies where you have those
flashbacks of all the different memories, most of them good. Looking up and seeing where
my family used to sit and close friends. I was at the endzone where I used to have the
kids that I paid to have go to the games; there was a little sign there. Kind of looked
around and for the first time I thought, ‘Wow, this is kind of cool.’ "
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