Monday, January 29, 2001
This game was won in locker room
TAMPA, Fla. — Kerry Collins looked like a condemned man from the very first play, an incomplete pass he short-armed. He worked too quickly, as if someone were chasing him, even in the huddle. It looked like all he wanted to do was run.
The final exam for the Baltimore Ravens' blood-lust defenders came here Sunday night. They aced it. You could see their greatness in Collins' face. And in his feet, which were happier than a two-beer drunk. When did Collins first hear the Baltimore footsteps? In the locker room? You wonder.
The Ravens brutalized the Giants. They beat them up, they knocked them down. For all the gaudy excess that surrounded this Super Bowl, the game itself would be a fight. The Ravens brought their brass knuckles and billy clubs. By the end of their 34-7 win in Super Bowl XXXV, you didn't want to award the Ravens the Lombardi Trophy until after the paramedics had been called.
Collins threw off his front foot. He threw falling down. He threw four interceptions in the first three quarters, after throwing only 13 all season. He played like he'd heard the Ravens' footsteps coming out of the locker room. Maybe he did.
To win, the Giants needed a big game from Collins, considered a better passer than the Ravens' QB Trent Dilfer. Instead, the Ravens made Collins look like Dilfer. They Dilfer-ized him.
Giants were terrified
& The Giants tried the shotgun on first down. They went without a huddle. Nothing worked. When Collins threw to the outside, the gains were irrelevant. When he threw across the middle, his receivers got creamed.
The Ravens' defense is so good, it puts pressure on the other team's defenders, who know that if they blow one coverage or miss one tackle, the game could be over. Do you think Baltimore's notorious “D” got into Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn's head?
The one decent drive the Giants had, Collins got them to the Baltimore 29 in the second quarter. Then he remembered whom he was playing against and threw into double coverage at the goal line. Baltimore's Chris McAlister made the interception.
A 10-point halftime lead for the Ravens was nine toes in the grave for the Giants. Collins' two interceptions in the third quarter were thrown perfectly to the Ravens. Cornerback Duane Starks returned the second 49 yards for a touchdown. That put the Ravens ahead 17-0 and got the country thinking about Survivor II.
Lewis earned it
But not before Ray Lewis had his day. The Ravens' middle linebacker was in his familiar spot, which was everywhere. The Giants couldn't block him when they ran, they couldn't trick him when they threw.
In the first half, Lewis tipped two passes; one caused an interception. He had two more in his hands but couldn't hold on. He was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Lewis is a superstar for the times: warrior, preener, street-fightin' man. All attitude, all the time. It would have been good if he hadn't grabbed his crotch on national TV, during player introductions. But maybe that's just me.
Ray Lewis is the Ravens' violent, talented heart. He is the best player on the best defense that ever played. Football doesn't choose its winners; they earn it.
As for the Giants, they got crushed.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at (513) 768-8454.
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DAUGHERTY: This game was won in locker room