| TAMPA, Fla. — Giants CB Jason Sehorn was a sensational
performer in 1997, but he missed the entire 1998 regular season while rehabilitating his
knee after suffering a season-ending knee injury during the preseason. He was fourth on
the team in tackles during the regular season in 2000 and has followed that up with two
interceptions in the playoffs.
So the question that must be asked is whether he has returned to his 1997 form.
"I don’t think the injury is a factor whatsoever," said Giants defensive
coordinator John Fox. "I think Jason is getting better and better with every game.
When he’s been healthy I think he’s been as good a cornerback as there is
playing in the league. We’re thankful he’s back to the form he was in back in
’97."
Ravens TE Shannon Sharpe said, "I think he’s fully recovered."
Asked about his return from injury, Sehorn said, "I don’t think there was a
point where I said I can’t get back, but there was a question of whether or not. If
you can’t walk, you question whether or not you can run. I couldn’t walk for
about two weeks. When your leg is shriveled up like a raisin and you are in bed, actually
on the couch because you can’t walk up the steps to get in your bed, you question
whether or not you can run again. Yeah, it takes a while. There is definitely a barrier to
cross to where you can think about running or think about playing or think about cutting
and starting and stopping and all those things."
Although the Giants aired it out very nicely against the Vikings in the NFC title game,
the New Yorkers are not exactly known as a high-flying, quick-strike offense. That
presents something of a dilemma for them against a Ravens defense that does not give up
many long, sustained drives.
"The thing that they make difficult is that they do a great job of tackling the
football," said Giants offensive coordinator Sean Payton. "They run to the ball
real well and eight-, nine- and 10-play drives against this defense are real difficult.
There’s a turnover along the way or a sack, and against that defense you have that
many more plays. We’ve got to be patient and at the same time when you see them, you
don’t see a lot of those long drives."
Giants DE Michael Strahan was a sack machine in 1997 and 1998, posting 29 sacks in
those two seasons. In 1999, he slumped to a mere 5.5 sacks. He has rebounded nicely this
season, posting 9.5 sacks during the regular season and following that up with a huge
postseason to date.
The difference between this season and last season?
"Last year wasn’t a great season for me," said Strahan. "The
biggest difference between this year and last year is that I’m enjoying this year.
The last three or four years have been pretty good for me. Last year was tough, but
I’m glad I went through everything because I don’t believe I’d be as mature
as I am this year. This season has been great because it has been a redemption year for
me. I have been able to come back and re-establish myself in football as a defensive end.
I just tried to go out and enjoy this season. That was my focus, don’t worry about
the winning and losing and worry about yourself and have fun doing it."
Much has been made of the fact that the Ravens recipe for success against the Giants is
to let the defense win the game and have the offense do just enough to get the job done.
Just about everyone seems to think that Ravens QB Trent Dilfer is supposed to go out on
the field and make sure not to lose the game.
The Giants’ Strahan thinks Dilfer can do a lot more if necessary.
"Trent can win the game," said Strahan. "I think people are deceived by
the fact he doesn’t have the gaudy pass numbers every game because he doesn’t
throw 40 balls. But if they have to win the game that way, they don’t have any choice
but to let Trent play. Trent’s done it before and as players, we cannot fall asleep
and think he can’t do it. We know he can do it, and we have to be on alert. As one of
my teammates said, ‘This game will probably be won by the team whose defense
doesn’t underestimate the other team’s offense.’ "
When asked if he will wear a cast on Sunday because of his arm injury, Giants RB Tiki
Barber said, "I probably will. I have a cast on in practice, and it’s
comforting. It feels comfortable. … I have been able to return punts and do
everything normal. I even carried the ball with my left hand yesterday, so it’s
coming along."
This year’s Super Bowl is a game in which both teams’ offenses are viewed as
the weak links. While he obviously does not go so far as to claim the Giants’ offense
is a stronger unit than the defense, Barber does feel that the offense is better than
people make it out to be.
"It’s weird when you sit back and you listen to everyone say that our offense
is no good," said Barber. "We had a 1000-yard rusher, a 1000-yard receiver and a
quarterback who threw for over 3,600 yards. … How are we a bad offense? You look at
that and wonder what you guys (the media) are looking at. We know what we can do. We
stopped worrying about what people were saying about us a long time ago. And I think that
is when we all came together."
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Brian Billick
|
When Brian Billick was the offensive coordinator of the Vikings in 1998, Minnesota
broke the NFL record for points scored in a season.
This season, Billick was the head coach of a Ravens team that broke the NFL record for
fewest points allowed in a 16-game season.
So is Billick an offensive guru? A defensive guru?
Perhaps the answer is that he knows how to bring a group of players together.
"I had just followed his previous coaching with the Vikings when we played against
them," said Ravens QB Trent Dilfer. "I think he’s a phenomenal football
coach. The thing that stands out to me that he did better than anything else is he saw the
value in chemistry. He saw that he had brought in a bunch of free agents, guys that had
one-year contracts, guys that were on the previous Ravens teams before he got here,
drafted guys – it was a hodge podge of players that didn’t really know each
other that well. The genius behind his coaching job this year has been that his focus has
been far more on developing the chemistry of the team than developing better plays. It
always comes back to chemistry, to unity, to things which, as I play the game longer, I
think are far greater than skill or schemes."
For everyone out there who thinks a team should go out and pump a ton of money into
offensive players in this era of the salary cap, here is some food for thought.
When asked if it is easier to build a team on defense, Billick said, "It’s
probably cheaper. By that I mean the cap and manipulating the cap because of the high
profile players on offense and what a running back, receiver, quarterback or a
high-profile lineman might cost you. One could make a case for that if you had to start
from scratch. For us, there were clearly a lot of resources and a lot of our assets were
spent on defense when I got here. That clearly was the place to focus on and build that up
as strong as we could, and then hopefully catch the offense up as well."
Ravens CB Rod Woodson has done a lot in his 14 NFL seasons.
He has been named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team. He is an
eight-time Pro Bowler who was the first player in NFL history to be named to the Pro Bowl
as a cornerback, kick returner and safety.
So on paper, it would seem to make sense that this longtime standout might want to
retire from the game on top of the world if the Ravens win the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Woodson does not sound like he is reading that paper.
"No, no, no, not yet, not yet," said Woodson. "My body still feels good.
Brian Billick has done a wonderful job with this football team keeping it fresh on and off
the field. I never put a timetable on myself, but I know I’m going to play a couple
of more years, if anything. Win or lose after this game I’m going to still
play."
For those of you who believe in fate or destiny, you’re sure to enjoy the story of
how DT Sam Adams ended up joining the Ravens via free-agency last April.
"I was at the airport, and my bags were on the way to Green Bay," said Adams.
"I thank God I did not go that route. Green Bay is a wonderful organization and I
would have had a great time going there, but I made the right decision. I got a call at
the airport. I had already checked in and my bags were on their way. I got that call, and
we closed the deal."
How tough is it for season ticket holders to get a ticket to the Super Bowl? Consider
this: Ravens owner Art Modell holds 67 Giants season tickets. None of them were winners in
the Giants lottery for Super Bowl tickets.
"I have 67 season tickets, and I demanded a recount," said Modell. "So
they sent me two chads."
If you’re wondering why Modell has so many season tickets to another team, here is
the answer:
"I saw my first football game, Giants against the old Brooklyn Dodgers, in
1934," said Modell. "I was nine years of age. I fell in love with the game, and
I’ve been a fan ever since. I was a season ticket holder in the Polo Grounds. I went
into the air corps, came out, bought some more season tickets. The team moved to Yankee
Stadium, then to Giants Stadium. I still to this day have 67 season tickets to the Giants
games. I bought my first Giants tickets in 1945 and kept adding over the years. I keep
them for our family, friends, former associations. And if Well (Wellington Mara, the
Giants’ president and co-chief executive officer) needs some help, I give them back
to him."
In what is expected to be a huge defensive struggle, there would seem to be a
reasonable chance that the game could come down to a game-winning kick late in the game.
"If it comes to that situation, I am prepared for whatever may be needed,"
said Giants PK Brad Daluiso. "That’s part of our job."
No surprise about that answer. It’s what every kicker who has ever been presented
with that scenario says.
But when asked if he would prefer a game-winning kick at the end of the game, Daluiso
had an interesting answer that momentarily strayed from the placekicker handbook before
clicking back into the placekicker handbook’s usual mantra.
"I secretly harbor a hope that it’s 45-0," Daluiso said. "…
Anyone who hopes it comes down to a kick is lying because that means you also have a
chance of losing. If there’s a chance that we are not losing at the end of the game,
that’s what I want. If it comes down to a kick, I’ll be ready and I’m
prepared for that."
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