Friday, January 26, 2001
Super Bowl notebook
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAMPA, Fla. — Ravens defensive end Rob Burnett recalled his favorite hit of the season. The victim was Akili Smith, the Bengals' quarterback, in Cincinnati's game at Baltimore in September. It was one of Burnett's career-high 10.5 sacks.
“The one that knocked Akili Smith out this year, that was pretty sweet,” Burnett said. “It was just an inside stunt. He wasn't looking at me. And he took a five-step drop and stopped. I caught him right in the chest, and he went right to sleep. They had to come and get him. I felt the wind go out them. And when I got up, he was just kind of curled up. The ball got stuck in him.”
PRACTICE: Baseball legend Henry Aaron, a Ravens fan, was a guest at Baltimore's practice Thursday. Aaron, a longtime Browns' fan who used to watch games in disguise from the Cleveland Stadium Dog Pound, developed a fondness for owner Art Modell's team because the Browns were the first NFL team to have prominent African-American players.
• Safety Kim Herring showed no ill effects after practicing Wednesday and Thursday on the high ankle sprain that forced him to miss the last two playoff games.
• At New York's practice, starting guard Luke Petitgout practiced again after having his ankle rolled on Wednesday. Coach Jim Fassel said Petitgout was fine.
• Running back Tiki Barber, who broke his arm Dec.17, practiced and wore only a titanium outside shield on his arm.
• Both teams will practice again today and have walk-throughs Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.
DA COACH: Mike Ditka was head coach of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl champion team in 1986 that featured one of the best defenses in NFL history.
“Who plays the best defense Sunday will win the football game. I don't think there's any question about it,” he said. “You take a team like Baltimore, which can go 21 quarters and not score a touchdown and still get to the Super Bowl — they've overcome a lot of adversity. They are a team that has proven they can hang together and not point fingers.
“New York, on the other hand, the same thing, they went through a period in the middle of the season where they played Detroit and St. Louis and really played poorly. They looked like they were soft, but they went back into attack mode. ...
“You have the two best teams here.”
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Super Bowl notebook