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 Tony Siragusa and the Ravens' defense are aware of all of Oakland's offensive weapons.
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Ravens defensive end Rob Burnett has something special planned for Rich Gannon.
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 Baltimore Ravens News Conference.
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Brian Billick and the Ravens look to maintain their bravado attitude.
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Saturday, January 13
Ravens' defense has achieved nickname status
By Mark Cannizzaro
Special to ESPN.com
Should the Baltimore Ravens overcome the Raiders and the Black Hole at the
Oakland Coliseum in Sunday's AFC championship game, their defense will have
to be given a nickname by sometime in the middle of Super Bowl hype week.
|  | | Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa would be the perfect lead dancer for a Super Bowl video. |
The Ravens' record-breaking defense is too good not to have a nickname
already.
In fact, the Ravens are too cocky to have not formulated some sort of
nickname for their vaunted defense and perhaps even some sort of Super Bowl
rap video to go along with it -- with behemoth defensive tackle Tony Siragusa the lead dancer.
Over the years, nickname defenses have dominated NFL postseasons. There was
Dallas' "Doomsday" defense, Minnesota's "Purple People Eaters,"
Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" and Miami's "No Name" defense.
The Ravens' defense needs a nickname.
As it is, they've been crying about "no respect" throughout this season and
particularly the playoffs.
The fact that they enter the conference title game in Oakland as a six-point underdog and that the Raiders have been listed by Vegas oddsmakers as 4-5 favorites among the four remaining NFL playoff teams to advance to the
Super Bowl will only add gasoline to the brushfire.
The Ravens are 14-4 and are in the midst of an NFL-best nine-game winning
streak. So what, they say, if they beat the Titans last week in Tennessee by
making only six first downs and gaining 134 yards on offense?
They're not apologizing for the lack of style points.
"What you saw (in Tennessee), this is who we are," Ravens coach Brian
Billick said. "It's good enough to get us into the championship game."
What the Ravens showed against Tennessee was much the same as what they
showed in their regular-season finale against the Jets. Despite being
out-gained by a ton of yards, the opportunistic Baltimore defense overcame
the failed offense to win convincingly.
That's why the Ravens beat the 1986 Chicago Bears' record for fewest points
allowed in a 16-game season (165, 22 fewer than that terrific '86 Chicago
team).
The Ravens are an odd bunch in that their best player, linebacker Ray Lewis, is better known for being accused for double murder during last year's Super
Bowl than for being perhaps the finest defensive player in the game. Lewis was named
the NFL Defensive Player of the Year this season.
Their coach, Billick, came to Baltimore known as an offensive guru, having
helped the Vikings score an NFL-record 556 points in 1998 when he was their
offensive coordinator. Yet, Billick's Ravens team is obviously known for its
defensive prowess.
Then there's the Ravens' starting quarterback, Trent Dilfer, who was first ridiculed and then run out of Tampa. Seen as a mistake-prone quarterback who could never lead his team to the Super Bowl, Dilfer hasn't been spectacular statistically, but he is a win away from being a Super Bowl quarterback, which is always a defining moment.
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We have the greatest defense that ever lived, in my opinion. ” |
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— Trent Dilfer, Ravens quarterback |
These 14-4 Ravens are the same team that went five games in October without
scoring a single touchdown. They're the same team that allowed Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde to throw for a career-high 481 yards in the regular-season finale yet still won. Testaverde, by the way, also owns the Ravens' record for most passing yards in a game.
"Nothing surprises me with how we win," Billick said.
How the Ravens win is on defense.
After being ranked last in the NFL in defense just four years ago, the
Ravens shut out four opponents this season, tying the 1976 Steelers. In their last 15 games, including two playoff victories, the Ravens have allowed an average of 8.2 points.
"We have the greatest defense that ever lived, in my opinion," Dilfer said.
The Ravens' defensive transformation began with the hiring of defensive
coordinator Marvin Lewis, who's likely to be a head coach by next season.
It continued with the use of first-round draft picks on Lewis in 1996, fellow linebacker Peter Boulware in '97, cornerbacks Duane Starks in '98 and Chris McAlister in '99. Added to that were second-round picks such as linebacker Jamie Sharper in '97 and safety Kim Herring in '97. Defensive linemen Siragusa and Michael McCrary came in as free agents in 1997. Rod Woodson signed in '98, and Sam Adams arrived this past offseason.
"We care about each other; we see each other like family," Siragusa said.
"We're pretty good," Billick said. "We're good enough to be where we are
right now. We're never going to make an apology for that. Ever. And we feel
good about that, and we'll win any way we can.
"Our guys believe in it. They believe in themselves. It comes down to
character and chemistry. ... That's what we have, and that supersedes
everything."
Will Gannon have Ravens on the run?
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| Gannon |
The Ravens face a difficult challenge Sunday in trying to contain the Raiders' scrambling quarterback, Rich Gannon.
Here's a look at how their defense fared against some other scrambling
quarterbacks on their schedule this season.
In two games against Jacksonville's Mark Brunell, Baltimore held him to a
total of 35 rushing yards on 10 carries for a 3.5-yard average. In three
games against Tennessee's Steve McNair, Baltimore limited him to 98 yards on 16 carries for a 6.1-yard average. And in one game against Pittsburgh's Kordell
Stewart, Baltimore held him to 31 yards on nine carries for a 3.4-yard average.
A super stat for Baltimore
There have been 16 NFL teams that have scored at least twice as many points
as they have yielded and the last five -- the 1999 Rams (536-242), 1996
Packers (456-211), 1991 Redskins (485-224), 1985 Bears (456-198) and 1984
49ers (475-227) have won the Super Bowl.
The Ravens scored 333 points this season and allowed 165. Perhaps a good
omen?
Hampton: Let's see longevity from Ravens' D
There are some who still aren't completely sold on the Ravens' defense. One
of them is former Bears defensive end Dan Hampton, who told a suburban
Chicago newspaper that he wants to see longevity out of the Baltimore defense
before it's compared to the Bears of the 1980s.
"For five years we dominated the NFL, and for five years we set records,"
Hampton said. "They broke one of our records. Not the (team) sack record (72)
of 1984, and the total yards allowed in '84. For me to scream protest gets a
little old. I think they're trying to come to the party a little bit early.
"We did it for five years; they've done it for one. Let's (see them) do it
for five years, that's all I'm saying. Forget about playing Cincinnati twice,
Cleveland twice, forget all the little hamsters they had to run over. But
there's no asterisks, so congratulations to them."
Expect a Tuna return to coaching
Despite his attempts to quell the thoughts, don't be at all surprised to see
Bill Parcells coaching somewhere within a year or two.
Parcells, who's leaving his post as the Jets' director of football
operations at the end of this month after coaching for three seasons and
acting as a GM type for one, insisted that "right now" and "at this time"
it's not his intention to coach again.
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| Parcells |
Don't believe it's over for Parcells, who'll undoubtedly be offered a lot of
money to take over some franchise before long.
Parcells himself conceded this week that he's not sure he's gotten coaching
out of his system or that he'll be able to find a substitute for it.
"I think John Madden had it right," Parcells said. "Unless you find
something to replace it, then there's a chance that you'll go back. Now,
John Madden has gone to the top in two professions, one in football and one
in television.
"Joe Gibbs has gone to the top in two professions, one in football and one
in race cars. Those two gentlemen obviously found something to replace
football.
"But it's a little bit like a narcotic; it's hard to get it out of
your system sometimes. I've been at it a very, very long time and I
think I could ... I think there's a good chance I can get it out of my
system."
Madden, the analyst for Fox who's been through the withdrawal before, said,
"If Bill doesn't find something that fills that void, he'll be back coaching.
If you don't find something, then you go back to what you know, and he does it
(coaching) pretty well. If he doesn't find something else -- I can't speak for
him -- but I would guess he'd go back (to coaching).
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If I ever come back, I would make better decisions in the
future, but it would only be as a coach. I've said before, that's all I am. A
coach. ” |
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— Bill Parcells, ex-Jets coach and general manager |
"Had I not found broadcasting, which filled the void for me, I would have
gone back to coaching. I know what Bill was saying because had I not found that I loved broadcasting, I'd have gone back to coaching because I couldn't live without it."
Parcells called coaches like "junkies," adding, "There is only one way you
can get that one incredible feeling of satisfaction that you can't get
anywhere else in sports. You coach. That's the action. Being a general
manager didn't do it for me. Old coaches want to coach, and if I ever go back
to the NFL again, it will be to coach.
"But right now, I have no intention of ever coaching again."
Then he added, "If I ever come back, I would make better decisions in the
future, but it would only be as a coach. I've said before, that's all I am. A
coach."
Let the office pools commence on which sideline he'll land next.
The irony of Wade Phillips' firing
In the "Isn't it ironic, don't you think?" department, how about Wade
Phillips being sacked this week by the Bills for the very reason he unfairly
fired long-time special teams assistant Bruce DeHaven a year ago as a
scapegoat for the "Music City Miracle" play?
It only seemed fitting that Phillips would lose his job because he refused
to fire Ronnie Jones, the special teams coach he hired to replace DeHaven,
despite the fact that Buffalo's special teams were so atrocious this season
they cost the team a playoff berth.
"Buffalo's special teams record was among the worst in the National Football
League last season," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said. "I felt we needed a
change and that my request was reasonable. I did not want to release Wade,
but his refusal left me with no option."
Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post is a regular contributor to ESPN.com
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