Thursday, January 25, 2001
Ravens' Sharpe is more than talk
In 14 playoff games: 11 wins, 4 TDs, 3 rings
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAMPA, Fla. — Shannon Sharpe and the Super Bowl were made for each other. It's the biggest stage in sports, and Sharpe is comfortable in the spotlight. Some would say he craves it.
He held court at two of the past three Super Bowls as a member of the victorious Denver Broncos. In his first season with the Baltimore Ravens, Sharpe is back.
“I realize you guys have a job to do, and I have a job to do,” he told reporters this week. “I really don't have a problem with it, but sometimes the questions do get a little redundant. But I understand it and try to be as cordial as possible.”
Sharpe is not just talk. He can play and is at his best in the postseason.
He has 47 receptions for 699 yards and four touchdowns in 14 playoff games with the Broncos and Ravens. His team has won 11 of the 14 games, including the last 10 in a row.
This postseason, he has made a game-changing play in each of the Ravens' three playoff victories and has scored two touchdowns. His 96-yard touchdown reception in the AFC Championship Game against Oakland is the longest offensive play in postseason history.
“Shannon, when he first came on the team, reminded me of Mr. Ed the way his mouth moved,” said Ravens defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, no wallflower himself. “It was sort of horse. Then I saw teeth, and I knew it was him.”
In his 11th season, Sharpe, who signed as a free agent, was Baltimore's leading receiver with 67 receptions and 810 yards and five touchdowns.
Giants safety Shaun Williams will be matched up against Sharpe on Sunday.
“You have to stay with him and get pressure on the quarterback,” Williams said. “If you disrupt the quarterback and his rhythm, you disrupt (Sharpe's) routes.”
Sharpe's off-field contributions to the Ravens are just as meaningful. He brought a can-do attitude to the team, which hadn't had a winning season in its first four years.
Sharpe has defended maligned veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer, a Tampa Bay cast-off who took over for struggling Tony Banks during the season.
Sharpe has watched over Ray Lewis and counseled the linebacker through the fallout of his murder trial.
Sharpe also was believed to have been the mediator who headed off potential locker room tensions between the Ravens' record-setting defense and their offense when the team went without scoring a touchdown in five October games.
But because Sharpe is so talkative and quotable, the deeds of the future Hall of Famer could be overlooked.
The quotes, like the big plays, just keep on coming. Sharpe didn't disappoint in his first three meetings with the media at his third Super Bowl.
He was asked about how easily Dilfer sheds tears of joy after victories.
“I wish he'd cry a little less,” Sharpe said. “But he probably wishes I'd talk a little less. Him and (former Rams and current Chiefs coach) Dick Vermeil would get along real good. I don't know who'd cry the most.”
On the collision between the team bus and a police cruiser Monday in Baltimore: “The police car took the L.”
The Ravens defense is the best in the league and carried the team's offense much of the season.
“We're not required to score 28 or 35 points,” Sharpe said. “Our job is to go out there and play well. There's really no pressure on our offense. We get the minimum amount of points and not turn the ball over.”
Sharpe and the Super Bowl's other media darling, Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn, star in a TV commercial for an investment firm. Who has the better portfolio?
“Probably he does,” Sharpe said. “But I'm better looking.”
Sharpe was in the booth next to Lewis on media day.
“If I had felt in any way, shape or form he had been responsible, I would not have defended Ray, and I would not have played for the Ravens,” Sharpe said.
Who are the best players in the NFL?
“If you had to start a team, you'd take that guy (Lewis) on defense. On offense you'd take Marshall Faulk.”
A lot of people have tried to shut Sharpe up since he came into the NFL. Good luck. Only two, his mother and grandmother, have ever been able to do that.
Brother Sterling Sharpe, the former Packers receiver and ESPN commentator, hasn't.
“I'm better looking than (Sterling), too,” Shannon Sharpe said. “I've got more rings. I've got more money. People want to shut me up, but I get out there on the field and they can't, so I guess I get to keep talking.”
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Ravens' Sharpe is more than talk
