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Thursday, January 17, 2002

By the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It was four days before the big game, but the trash talking that had preceded Steelers-Ravens I and II had been surprisingly nonexistent. Surely that would change with the scheduled conference call between the national media and Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe yesterday.

He had called Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress "Plexiglas," so what moniker did he have in store for the returning Jerome Bettis -- "the Bust"? Would Sharpe suggest that comparing NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Kendrell Bell to Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was like comparing "Not Another Teen Movie" to "Gladiator"?

Reporters were looking for rubbish-tainted rhetoric, and history showed Sharpe was just the player to layeth the smacketh downeth.

But Baltimore's big mouth had a different idea.

Q: How are you?

A: I was doing good.

Q: Why aren't you doing good now?

A: Because I have to talk to you all.

Q: We thought you liked doing that kind of thing?

A: You're grossly mistaken. My public relations staff prepared a little memo with the more political correct things to say. So, if you ask me a couple of questions, the answer might not be indicative of what I probably would normally say, but this is the correct thing to say.

Q: Your coach said that you're playing the media for chumps with all of this trash talk -- is that right?

A: You all are playing us?

Q: No, that you guys are playing [the media].

A: Well. ... I think the Steelers are a very good team. They have a lot of good players. They have a very good coach and they have a head coach that yells a lot, unlike ours. ... No. I don't buy into that. The thing is, now you don't need any added incentives. You just go out there and play and the team that plays the best will win the game.

Q: Is there a dislike for each team from each side?

A: Yeah. ... Jerome Bettis is big and fast, he's hard to tackle. Chris ... Fu ...amala ... Ma'afala is just as big, but not quite as fast. And Famous Amos is very fast, just not as big as those guys. Our defense has their work cut out for them.

Q: How about that hard-hitting Lee Flowers?

A: That's my homeboy. I don't have anything but love for Lee.

Q: What about Earl Holmes, he's the weak link according to you, right?

A: Oh, man. We're the defending champs, but our record is not as good as theirs. Our defense didn't put up the numbers that theirs did, so, statistically, their defense is better than ours.

Q: So how are you going to win here Sunday?

A: I don't know. I don't know if we really have a chance, but we're going to show up just in case.

Q: Does Bettis mean much to them -- they beat you without him, but does he mean much to them?

A: Well, Kordell [Stewart] is a gamebreaker and he's played well against us this year. He reminds me of a guy that I played with Denver. And no not Bubby Brister -- [John] Elway.

Q: How much better is your offense, specifically your run game, with Terry Allen being the guy back there now?

A: It's not the Steelers' run game, but it's OK. We'll trade you Terry Allen for Jerome Bettis, head-up, right now.

Q: How would Terry Allen feel about that?

A: We're trying to win the game -- I don't care about Terry's feelings right now. I'm trying to make a trade with you all.

Q: Can you run consistently and beat the Steelers?

A: Let me look at my sheet real quick. ... They don't have that question and answer on here so ... Yes, we'll be there Sunday. We're really, really hoping to win. It's going to be a difficult task because the Steelers are the best team in the AFC -- how about that? Can we run consistently and beat the Steelers? Statistically, the Steelers have the best defense. ... No. ...So, if I'm going by my sheet, we don't have a very good chance of running the football and we have even less of a chance of beating the Steelers. I don't know, we might not even show up.

Q: What does your sheet say about how Elvis Grbac has responded to your little pep talks slash criticism?

A: The past two weeks, Elvis has played exceptionally well. I'm very pleased with the transition he's made into the Trent Dilfer-style quarterback.

Q: Is that off of the sheet?

A: That's right off of the sheet.

Q: How do you feel?

A: How do I feel? Let me see ... Shannon Sharpe should feel very good because his pep talk to Elvis really helped out a lot.

Q: Does your sheet say anything about Plexiglas -- Plaxico?

A: Mr. Burress played exceptionally well that Sunday night against the Ravens. He's a force to be reckoned with. I sincerely apologize for calling him Plexiglas.

Q: Who wrote this sheet for you?

A: Shaka Arnold, Marisol McCracken, and Kevin Byrd had a little insight in this, but not much. But those two that I mentioned first had a lot to do with it.

Q: How do you think Elvis Grbac feels about being lauded a "Trent Dilfer-style" quarterback?

A: He should feel very proud to be called a Trent Dilfer-style quarterback because Trent has a Super Bowl ring.

Q: Do you have money in the locker room pool for who gets knocked out of the game first, Hines Ward or Burress?

A: No, we're not allowed to gamble.

Q: Is that a denial that there is such a pool or a bounty?

A: We here with the Ravens do not condone such actions.

Q: Who started up the pool?

A: I like Pittsburgh's fans. I think Pittsburgh fans are louder than ours and they have cooler towels.

Q: Do you like being an underdog by six?

A: Yeah. It's not like they're giving us six points. If they gave us the six points then I would like to be an underdog by 13. We're not allowed to bet, but say I didn't play football, I would probably take the Ravens and their six. But since I play and I can't bet, I think I would take the Steelers heads-up.

Q: Does Pittsburgh seem like a second home -- you've hardly ever lost here right?

A: Hold on, let me check the sheet. Considering that Shannon Sharpe has won more consecutive playoff games than any other player in history -- one of those games did take place in Pittsburgh -- so he should feel very, very comfortable playing in Heinz Field.

Q: What does your sheet say about the film, "Dude, Where's My Car?"

A: The Steelers have no such linebackers -- their linebackers are very, very good. I'll trade Brad Jackson, Edgerton Hartwell and Shannon Taylor for Jason Gildon and Kendrell Bell -- heads-up. And we'll throw in all of the buns since you all play at Heinz Field. All the buns for one year.

Q: Who do you expect to cover you mostly on Sunday?

A: Flowers? [Earl] Holmes? Maybe a combination. The thing that you like about the Steelers is they're not going to jump their entire defense and try to stop one person. They run their defense and, if they have a call, they go with the call. If not, they move right along. They're not trying to stop a particular individual. They just try to run their defense and they feel that their talent is better than yours and that they'll win.

Q: What are your impressions of Gildon and Kendrell Bell?

A: Good. You look at Gildon, he's in the Pro Bowl. Bell is the first alternate for the inside going to the Pro Bowl. There's no question about it. They might be a younger version of what we are.

Q: What is it like to play for Coach Billick?

A: I can get off the sheet now because you're talking about Billick. Everybody says that he's a player's coach. Brian is not only a player's coach, but he's a coach that understands that more isn't necessarily better. Not very many coaches are going to take a team down into a playoff game, especially when the flight is only two hours away, two days early, on a Friday in Miami, no curfew and stay in a beach resort. He definitely isn't going to let his players go jet skiing, go walking on the beach because he's worried about your mindset and focus. Brian will say, "Hey, we're going down early because it's going to be warmer so get used to the climate and the atmosphere and come Sunday let's just go out there and play."

Q: Don't you want to come to Pittsburgh early?

A: Do you guys have a beach?

Q: You could go bowling with Bettis on Friday?

A: Jerome didn't invite me to the tournament.

Q: What is the highest you have ever bowled?

A: I can beat Jerome in that -- you tell him that.