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Stopping Sharpe
Giants look for a way to stymie the Ravens' star
Posted: Wednesday January 24, 2001 10:31 AM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Not to get too much into this football stuff so early in the week -- I mean, the actual game's not until Sunday, and there's lots of just barely football-related nonsense to be unearthed between now and then -- but there are a couple clear themes for Super Bowl XXXV already emerging.
Not Ray Lewis and Kerry Collins, for crying out loud. We're talking football. The game.
Like, for instance, how the New York Giants figure to score against the Baltimore Ravens. Or, on the flip side, how the New York defense plans on keeping Shannon Sharpe from doing stuff that Shannon Sharpe always seems to do.
"He's definitely a key guy who comes up big in big games," says Giants linebacker Mike Barrow. "He's kind of forced that personality on that team. That's just the confidence he has."
Sharpe, in fact, is one of the few weapons that the often-struggling Baltimore offense can bank on. He is a football opportunist who has found his opportunities in each of the Ravens' three playoff games. A bouncing pass against Denver turned into a 58-yard touchdown reception. A 56-yard pass against Tennessee set up another touchdown.
And last week, in Oakland, he caught about a 10-yard slant and turned it into a 96-yard touchdown that doomed the Raiders.
"Just let me get my one big play," the always vocal Sharpe says, "and I'll get out of your hair."
Barrow is expected to shadow Sharpe for much of Sunday's game, and if the Giants are smart, Barrow probably won't be the only one. Still, Sharpe has a way of getting his way. He's as hard to stop as he is to shut up.
"I don't like to talk trash," he says, "but when they start, I have to finish it. I have to uphold my name."
"They make a mistake in coverage, they make a mistake in tackling," Sharpe says, "and I try to make them pay. That's all I do."
On to the Super Bowl Day at a Glance and this question. Art Modell: Hero or heel?
The answer: Depends, we guess, on where you're from.
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Ray Lewis, Ray Lewis, Ray Lewis
Good job by the Baltimore 'backer of fending off the media hounds Tuesday. Ready for another round? And one more after that?
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Art Modell
Says the people in Cleveland and the bilked Browns fans ought to leave him alone already. "I think the constant vilification is wearing thin with a lot of people," says the Ravens' owner.
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Tony Siragusa
He's funny, if you're really starving for a laugh, but the Ravens' mouthy lineman crosses over the line of political correctness from time to time. And what's funny to some is an insult to others.
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Flag --
The media:
Too many cooks, they say. ... And, heck, we're not even the ones that are making this thing. We're just bringing it to the table.
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Flattery --
Shannon Sharpe:
Here's a loudmouth who is a natural loudmouth who knows exactly what he's saying every time he utters a syllable.
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Flattery --
Trent Dilfer:
Handling his return to Tampa -- not the site of his most famous work -- with grace, humility and a good dose of humor.
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Flattery --
CBS:
Back in the big game for the first time in nine years, the folks at the network look like they have some special stuff planned for Sunday. Trent Dilfer as Keanu Reeves?
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Our call: The Ravens get ripped for their offense, but the two best offensive skill players in Sunday's game may be Jamal Lewis and Shannon Sharpe.
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Jason Sehorn does smile too much to look tough. But don't throw at him.
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Prediction: CBS, with its funky Matrix-like tools, will put on a good one.
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"You can't bring paper plates to the party."
-- Giants' linebacker Mike Barrow on stopping the Ravens
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Say the defenses cancel each other out. Which they probably don't, but it may be close enough. Say that side of the ball is even. Which offense do you like better? Are the Ravens that bad? Are the Giants as good as they showed against the hapless Vikings? Think about it that way, and you start to lean toward the Ravens.
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