The MVP, missed opportunities, bright futures, and Mr. & Mrs. Goose

The MVP, missed opportunities, bright futures, and Mr. & Mrs. Goose

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After a week of being utterly engulfed by the national spotlight, I guess it's fitting that Ray Lewis was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV. Who else could it have been? I mean, every time you turned on the TV this past week, some reporter was asking the talented linebacker another ridiculous question about last year's Super Bowl double-murder "incident," another question everybody knew he wouldn't answer. Lewis' picture was tattooed across every newspaper and Web site nationwide. He was portrayed by some as a tortured soul who was wrongly targeted by Atlanta police last year, and he was presented by others as a common, coldhearted thug who should be in orange overalls and a pair of K-Mart flip-flops rather than his Baltimore uniform and Adidas cleats. But in every scenario, he was highlighted as the focal point of the Super Bowl, the one guy on either team whose presence would be most felt on the field, and you kind of got the idea that even if he only managed to register one measly tackle Sunday night, Ray Lewis still would have won the MVP hardware. 

But the Baltimore linebacker showed up in a big way last night, totaling five tackles and a handful of pass deflections, one of which fellow linebacker Jamie Sharper turned into an interception. On another night when another dominating defensive performance led to another gigantic Baltimore win, Ray Lewis once again triggered the defense's success. But there was another Lewis on the field who perhaps was overlooked in the MVP voting because of the brilliance of Ray's star: Jermaine Lewis. Think back to the third quarter, when the Ravens scored what appeared to be a game-ending touchdown on a Duane Starks interception return. At 17-0, lights out, party's over, right? Well maybe not, as Ron Dixon returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for the Giants' first points of the game, running the score to 17-7. But just when the New York sideline began to show signs of life, Baltimore WR Jermaine Lewis pulled off a nifty trick of his own, returning the next kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown. All that momentum that had surged through the Giants after Dixon's return, all the excitement, the hope, the confidence, it all leaked back out onto the field the second Jermaine Lewis crossed the goal line. The timeliness of that return, and the debilitating effect it had on New York, earned Lewis -- the wide receiver, not the linebacker -- my Super Bowl MVP.

Haunting mistakes

You'll no doubt hear all offseason that the Ravens were in command of this game from start to finish, completely dominating an overmatched Giants team with a combination of intense individual defensive performances and a controlled offensive attack that wore out the competition. Don't believe that crap. First, while the Ravens tallied more total yards and first downs than the Giants, the disparities in the numbers (244 yards and 13 first downs to 152 yards and 11 first downs) don't suggest that the Giants were brutally outplayed. In fact, both teams were useless on third down (3-16 for the Ravens, 2-14 for the Giants) while New York actually ran the ball more effectively than Baltimore -- 4.1 yards/carry to 3.4 yards/carry. No, the Giants didn't lose the numbers game. Instead, Kerry Collins & Co. lost the mistakes game, quite often the most important contest in football. New York went into halftime down 10-0, a terrible deficit to face when the Baltimore Ravens are lining up on the opposite side of the ball. But the G-Men could easily have been tied at the half had they avoided two major mistakes. First, Giants LB Jesse Armstead intercepted an errant Trent Dilfer screen pass and returned it 43 yards for an apparent touchdown. Nope, scratch that. A defensive holding call against tackle Keith Hamilton nullified the play and kept New York off the scoreboard. Then, with time winding down in the first half and the Giants finally reaching field goal range, Collins, trying to force a pass to Ike Hilliard between tight double coverage, threw an interception on the goal line, a play that not only ended a promising drive but also wiped an easy three points off the board. Erase those two costly mistakes and this game has an entirely different flavor in the second half.

What lies ahead?

Baltimore's Marvin Lewis and New York's John Fox, the defensive coordinators for their respective teams, have been named as possible head coaching prospects for the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. Of course, Buffalo and Cleveland couldn't actually interview either candidate until after the Super Bowl, but both Fox and Lewis have reportedly expressed interest in the openings. Judging by the outcome of the game, I've got to think Lewis has leap-frogged over Fox on each team's list, although running a defense that features guys like Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, Sam Adams and Rod Woodson isn't exactly what I'd consider a tough job. Try taking the Browns to the Super Bowl, Mr. Lewis. Now there's a challenge.


Painting an ugly picture

After the game, Baltimore defensive lineman Tony Siragusa told reporters he was going home to eat for a week straight because he'd "kind of been on a diet the past couple of days." Siragusa, who pushes 330 pounds on a generous scale, also announced that his wife was pregnant with the couple's third child. I'm still trying to figure out how Mrs. Siragusa, a cute little blond who maybe pushes 430 pounds with her husband on her back, has survived what must be a lopsided sex life. The physics just don't add up... .


QuickQuote:

"In the biggest game of the year, on the biggest stage there is, I sucked. It's as simple as that... . It's the most disappointing loss I've ever been involved with."

-- Giants QB Kerry Collins on his four-interception,
no-touchdown performance in Super Bowl XXXV

 
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