NFL 2000-2001 PLAYOFFS DIARY:
THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL XXXV

Updated: 1/15/01
By Rice

    Who Let The Dogs In?

    So read the headlines on ESPN.com when I surfed on by this morning, amongst others such as "Super Surprises" and "They Know the Way to Tampa Bay". They even posted the preseason odds on favorites to win the Super Bowl just to show what a longshot it was for these two teams to get this far. Baltimore was a 22/1 odds while the N.Y. Giants was a whopping 75/1 odds!

    For your information, The Rams were at 3/1, Redskins 7/2, Bucs 7/1, and the Titans 8/1. Of those, St. Louis barely made the playoffs, then choked against the Saints in the first round. Same w/ the Tampa Bay. Tennessee got knocked out after their bye week by the eventual AFC champs Ravens, while The Redskins didn't even make the bloody playoffs, thanks to meddling owner Daniel Snyder.

Giants receivers had a field  day against the Viking D.

    So now, we have the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants going to the big game. I can confidently say I bet no one predicted this matchup, especially the Giants, unless you were a die hard fan of either club.

    I think the Vikings' demise was their cockiness. All week long, sports casters and experts were raving about Randy Moss. Even Randy Moss was raving about Randy Moss, saying stuff like, "Don't let 84 get going." Daunte Culpepper was spotlighted as a poor black kid born in prison that worked his way to success. All this media hype got in the way of their training, and they thought disposing of the lowly Giants was going to be a piece of cake. Ahem... can we say, 41-0, New York?

The Ravens' dominant D forces an INT.

    Baltimore on the other hand earned their trip. Big time. If there are any other skeptics out there that don't believe in the phrase, "Defense Wins Championships", all you have to do is look at the Ravens. Their offense consists of a Tampa Bay reject QB, an aging Tight End as their leading receiver, and a rookie running back. Their defense on the other hand was a two headed monster anchored by Ray Lewis, the best MLB since Junior Seau. Shutting down Oakland's #1 ranked running game and smash mouth offense was no easy task. Even MVP candidate Rich Gannon, who was knocked out early, said he didn't think he could've been a factor if he was playing anyways. That's how good the Ravens are. Congrats you guys, the trip to Tampa was hard fought and is well deserved.

    Okay, let me get back to the Giants. I'm still not going to give these guys the credit they think they've earned. Their entire season was something of a fluke. The NFC East is a joke, so they clinch #1 and a bye round. Philly comes off a tough win over a tough TB team, is worn down, and thus disposed of easily on the road against NY. Then the Vikings' plight was what I described above, an over-cockiness that contributed to their demise.

Gannon was knocked out  early, but even he admitted  he wouldn't have helped.

    I watched most of the NFC championship game, and nothing I saw from the Giants impressed me. The Vikings were playing a zone defense so soft in the secondary, even I could've thrown for 300 yards against that. On offense, they thought they were going to have it easy, so they played like it was a school yard game, lobbing passes to Moss who in turn looked totally disinterested. They didn't even bother trying to get Robert Smith going, who would've had a big game if they consistently handed him the rock. He gained 44 yards on only 7 carries! Ugh, their entire team was in shambles, and worst of all, they had this "oh well" attitude. Cris Carter must be fuming right now.

    So this is where we're at. Two consecutive years of surprise, fluke-ish Super Bowl contestants. I sort of missed the days when we could've counted on Green Bay, San Francisco and Dallas to duke it out in the championship games. Same goes for the AFC, back when Buffalo was a force, then Denver in John Elway's last few glory years. Those games were crisp, fast, and exciting. Oh well. I'll still watch SB XXXV, just because I love football, and I'll always support the game, if not the teams.

Super Bowl XXXV will be won by the Baltimore Ravens' best defense in NFL history