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Shannon Sharpe
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Have you talked to one of your bosses, Ravens vice president of player
personnel Ozzie Newsome, about breaking his record for career receptions for a tight end?
"I told Ozzie that I had a plan. And I won’t lie to you and say that the
record is not important. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, a record doesn’t mean
anything.’ In the back of their mind and deep down it does. I said I want to win. But
in the process of my winning here, I want to be able to break the record. I was up front,
I made no bones about it that the record was important to me. They didn’t have a
problem because they knew I was going to go out there and prepare and never was going to
be selfish."
How does Brian Billick’s personality fit this team?
"I think Brian’s personality probably fits more the players on this team than
probably any other coach’s personality fits their team. Brian loves to talk. Brian is
outgoing. He’ll tell you like it is. He’s brash. Brian has an ego, as do most of
the players on the team. But the bottom line is that Brian believes that whatever he says,
we’re going to go in there and back him up. And we will."
Do the players appreciate Billick’s personality?
"We love that because we show our ego. That’s who we are. I don’t fault
the Giants for taking their approach, but no one can knock us for taking our approach.
This is who we are. We can’t remain calm and quiet and subdued like they are because
then that’s not who we are. We’re the Baltimore Ravens, we’ve taken this
approach all year, even when we were going through the crisis of the five games without
scoring a touchdown. We were still a very confident football team. We still felt that,
given the right circumstances, we could be in this game. And here we are."
Have you asked defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis how many points the offense
needs to score in order to win this game?
"No, I haven’t. But I can assure you I will ask him Friday. And I’m sure
I’ll be surprised at what he says. It was three for Denver, three for Tennessee and
seven for the Raiders. I want to be surprised."
Can RB Jamal Lewis do more for this offense?
"There’s no question. He can become an every-down back. That’s what they
expected. You don’t take a guy with the fifth pick in the entire draft and say,
‘OK we just want you to run the football.’ He can catch the football. He can
block. He can do it all. But right now, he’s not at the level that I would like him
at because I know what he can do. I know this guy’s talent. Now I want him to
transfer that over and be the best he can possibly be. Don’t be satisfied with what
you accomplished this year, but come back and be better."
Have you shown your teammates your Super Bowl rings from your days in Denver?
"No, they’re in my safe deposit box. (WR) Billy Davis showed them his that he
got from Dallas and (ORT) Harry Swayne had his on a couple of times. But you know what,
they realize what’s at stake. They realize that they could never get another
opportunity. The sad thing about this is that no matter how good we play or bad we play,
this team will never, ever be together like it is right now. We know there are some people
that are going to be gone. We understand that. This is a very, very special time for all
of us. We’re going to enjoy the moment, and I tell you what, come Sunday we’re
going to be ready to play. We’re going to leave it all out on the field."
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