Super Bowl Preview : New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl XXXV should be as exciting as watching paint dry. Well, that's if you don't enjoy a good defensive battle which you're sure to get when the Giants and Ravens hit the field Jan. 28.
The Ravens will look to execute a plan to make Kerry Collins beat them, by neutralizing the run. They will also look to throw against a Giants defense that is much better at stuffing the run then they are at stopping the pass. The Giants held their opponents to under 100 yards rushing 13 times during the regular season. Unfortunately for the Ravens, New York's pass defense seems to have stepped up its play, especially Jason Sehorn who played exceptional against Randy Moss in the NFC Championship game. The Giants must look to strike early offensively against Baltimore. The Ravens are an opportunistic team, as shown in playoff wins against both the Titans and Raiders. If the Giants can run against Baltimore, they stand a much better chance of winning the game. The Ravens lost all three regular season games this season in which the opposition gained more than 100 yards rushing. Of course, Tennessee rushed for 126 yards in the divisional playoffs and still lost. Baltimore's defense, led by Pro Bowlers Ray Lewis and Sam Adams, has been ferocious. Look for the dominance to continue.

Super Bowl XXXV Facts

Host city: Tampa Bay
# Times Tampa Bay has hosted Super Bowl: 3
Home Team: NFC Champion
Pre-Game Entertainment: Sting, Styx
National Anthem: Backstreet Boys, Ray Charles
Half-Time Entertainment: Aerosmith and NSYNC
Television/radio coverage: CBS/CBS radio
Super Bowl Player Share: $58,000 for winning team, $34,500 for losing team
Television Audience: 43,618,000 homes for Super Bowl XXXIV

Smells like home cooking

The Giants should remember Tampa Bay fondly. The last time New York went to a Super Bowl was in 1991 when they defeated Buffalo, thanks to Bills' kicker Scott Norwood, 20-19 in Super Bowl XXXV.

Odds Are

When Vegas took a look at Super Bowl XXXV before the season began, they saw the St. Louis Rams squaring off against the Tennessee Titans. The preseason odds pegged St. Louis as 3/1 to win the title and the Titans at 8/1. Where did the two true teams that made it to the big game finish up? The Ravens were 22/1 and the Giants were 75/1. Too bad time machines haven't been invented yet.

Still Controversial

In the "It's time to get over it" department, Buffalo kicker Steve Christie recently sounded off about the quarterback controversy the Bills ran into thanks to coach Wade Phillips' use of Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson. The fact that the kicker went on record about the controversy is a tad unusual, but what's even stranger is the time period he's discussing - last year's playoff game with Tennessee. Christie said that the loss had more to do with a split locker room than a bloop kick and a runback. That information would have been much more pertinent 365 days ago.

The Championship Tally

Oakland entered the conference championships with the most experience at that level. Baltimore had the least experience. Here's the number of times since the merger each team had been in an AFC or NFC Championship game:

Team # of championship games

• Raiders 9 AFC (1991, 1984, 1981, 1978, 1976*, 1976, 1974, 1973, 1971)



• Minnesota 6 NFC (1999, 1988, 1978, 1974, 1973, 1970)



• Giants 2 NFC (1991, 1987)



• Ravens 0

Game was played Dec. 26, 1976.

Giant Advantage

New York's 20-10 victory over Philadelphia vaulted the Giants into the NFC Championship Game and added a little bit of salt into an already raw wound. The win was New York's ninth straight over the Eagles, tying for the longest active winning streak of one team over another with Miami over Cincinnati and New England over San Diego. Not the best company for that kind of misery.

Talkin' Smack

"I think they were scared. I think they wanted Denver to win last week so they didn't have to play us." - Ravens defensive tackle Lional Dalton on the Tennessee Titans' frame of mind during their playoff game. -

GridSpeak

Red-dog, v.
To rush the passer. As in, let's red-dog that QB. An older term that has been replaced by the word blitz, which is a defensive charge by one or more secondary backfield players, usually linebackers, in an effort to tackle the quarterback before he can get a pass off.

Fantasy Fervor

Up Tennessee's Defense

The Titans' defense did everything right against the Baltimore offense sans one mis-read on Shannon Sharpe. They held the Ravens to just six first downs and 134 yards total offense. If your fantasy league includes defenses, bank on this team next year.

Up Barry Sanders, Detroit
It's a longshot, but Matt Millen, who should be the Detroit Lions' president and general manager by the time this is printed, has stated that he will attempt to coax Barry Sanders out of retirement. Stay tuned.

Down Al Del Greco, Tennessee
It's not good for a kicker to have control problems against a division rival. Del Greco might be a scapegoat for the Tennessee faithful.

Up Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota
He's graced this area before, but it was unimaginable in the beginning of the year to think that Culpepper would have reached such lofty heights.

45 The Ravens' offense has gained just 374 yards in two playoff games, but the team has scored 45 points. The offense was outscored 14-10 by the defense and special teams vs. Tennessee.

Franchise Factoids

Daunte Culpepper set three team playoff records against New Orleans in his first postseason appearance. Minnesota's second-year slinger now holds the team's highest passer rating (120.7), longest run by a quarterback (30 yards) and most touchdowns over 50 yards (two). New Orleans played in the NFC divisional playoff game with Minnesota exactly one year and one day after the firings of coach Mike Ditka and his staff. In addition to their 10 divisional games next year, the Tennessee Titans will host the Dolphins, Bucs and Packers, and travel to Minnesota, Detroit and Oakland. Miami's 27-0 loss at Oakland was the first time in the 35-year history of the Dolphins that they were shutout in postseason play. Where have you gone Dan Marino?

It hurts to be so good

Winning in the NFL inevitably leads to a tougher schedule which makes the road to the playoffs that much more difficult. Here were the top 10 teams with the highest strength of schedule heading into 2000. The teams in bold made the playoffs:
Team -- Opponents' 1999 Pct.Buffalo Bills .586Miami Dolphins .570Indianapolis Colts .563New York Jets .559Minnesota Vikings *.555New England Patriots .539Seattle Seahawks .539Green Bay Packers .535Kansas City Chiefs .535Tampa Bay Buccaneers .531 Minnesota played New York in the NFC Championship Game Jan. 14.

Pro Bowlers

NFC Offense

Wide Receiver:
Randy Moss -- Minnesota
Isaac Bruce -- St. Louis

Tackles:
Orlando Pace -- St. Louis
William Roaf -- New Orleans

Guards:
Larry Allen -- Dallas
Randall McDaniel -- Tampa Bay

Center: Jeff Christy -- Tampa Bay

Tight End: Chad Lewis -- Philadelphia

Quarterback: Daunte Culpepper -- Minnesota

Running Back: Marshall Faulk -- St. Louis

Fullback: Mike Alstott -- Tampa Bay

NFC Defense

Ends:
Hugh Douglas -- Philadelphia
Joe Johnson -- New Orleans

Linemen:
La'Roi Glover -- New Orleans
Warren Sapp -- Tampa Bay

Linebackers:
Jessie Armstead -- NY Giants
Derrick Brooks -- Tampa Bay
Stephen Boyd -- Detroit

Cornerbacks: Champ Bailey -- Washington
Troy Vincent -- Philadelphia

Strong Safety: John Lynch -- Tampa Bay
Free Safety: Darren Sharper -- Green Bay

AFC Offense

Wide Receiver: Marvin Harrison -- Indianapolis
Eric Moulds -- Buffalo

Tackles:
Tony Boselli -- Jacksonville
Jonathan Ogden -- Baltimore

Guards:
Ruben Brown -- Buffalo
Bruce Matthews -- Tennessee

Center: Kevin Mawae -- NY Jets

Tight End: Tony Gonzalez -- Kansas City

Quarterback: Rich Gannon -- Oakland

Running Back: Edgerrin James -- Indianapolis

Fullback: Richie Anderson -- NY Jets

AFC Defense

Ends:
Jason Taylor -- Miami
Trace Armstrong -- Miami

Linemen:
Trevor Pryce -- Denver
Sam Adams -- Baltimore

Linebackers:
Junior Seau -- San Diego
Mo Lewis -- NY Jets
Ray Lewis -- Baltimore

Cornerbacks:
Sam Madison -- Miami
Samari Rolle -- Tennessee

Strong Safety: Blaine Bishop -- Tennessee

Free Safety: Rod Woodson -- Baltimore

This review courtesy of Athlon Sports.