| | | | | | | | Thursday, January 10, 2002
MNF Past, Present and Future: Week 17
By George Hill and Malibu Kelly Hayes
Special to ABC Sports Online
Monday Night Football's spotting and statistical gurus, George Hill and Malibu Kelly Hayes, view the game from a unique perspective. The two share it each week on ABC Sports Online, giving an in-depth preview of the upcoming MNF game by looking at the matchup from the past, present and the future. Here is the latest installment, leading up to Monday's game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Baltimore Ravens (ABC, 9 p.m. ET).
The Past: A look at some past performances on MNF by this week's teams.
The Present: A look at several of this week's key performers.
The Future: Chat with George and Kelly on Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Click here to send in a question.
Monday Night Past
This week Monday Night Football returns to Baltimore for the first time in 23 years. MNF's last trip to Baltimore occurred in Week 10 of the 1978 season, when the Baltimore Colts defeated the Washington Redskins 21-17.
However, for this Monday Night Past feature, we look back at a matchup that took place on Oct. 2, 1995, which turned out to be the Cleveland Browns -- now Baltimore Ravens, final home game on MNF, when the Browns hosted the Buffalo Bills.
|  | | Jim Kelly worked the no-huddle against the Browns in Cleveland's final MNF home game. |
Although it was not a 23-year gap between Monday Night games, when the Cleveland Browns hosted the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 of the 1995 season, it was the Browns' first appearance on the primetime show in two seasons.
The Browns were a staple of Monday Night Football during the '80s, making 11 appearances during that decade, but now were making just their fourth MNF showing in the '90s. (They would appear on MNF one more time in 1995, at Pittsburgh on Nov. 13).
Bill Belichick's Browns were eager to show that they belonged on Monday Night, as was their starting quarterback, Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde was starting a Monday Night game for the first time in his nine-year career. Vinny's play had earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors in September, and was the primary reason for the Browns' 3-1 record.
But Buffalo also had a quarterback it was eager to showcase in Jim Kelly. Head coach Marv Levy, who had installed a conventional offense to start the season, had returned the no-huddle offense at the urging of Kelly.
With Kelly at the controls, along with Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed, the Bills played like the team that went to four straight Super Bowls. The offense racked up 406 total yards. Kelly passed for 256 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard strike to Reed in the fourth quarter.
For the Browns, it was a series of miscues and mistakes. Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander each dropped would-be TD passes in the first half. In fact, the only Browns touchdown scored that night came on a 69-yard punt return by Alexander. Matt Stover kept Cleveland in the game by kicking four field goals, the last from 33 yards to tie the score at 19-19 with 3:49 to go.
Taking over at their own 25-yard line with 3:38 remaining, Kelly marched the Bills inside the Browns 20-yard line to set up the winning field goal attempt. As Steve Christie was in the process of missing a 33-yard field goal with just five seconds left, the Browns were signaling for a timeout in an attempt to ice the kicker. Ironically, the game was tied because Christie had missed the PAT after Reed's fourth-quarter touchdown. Given a reprieve because of the Browns' timeout, Christie proceeded to nail the game winner and give the Bills a 22-19 victory.
As the stunned 76,000 fans filed out of Cleveland Stadium in disbelief, they did not realize that this was going to be the Browns' final Monday Night appearance of the '90s. The shock of that loss was mild compared to the reaction of the fans a few weeks later, when Art Modell announced that he was moving the city's beloved team to Baltimore at the end of the season. The fan outrage was so intense that Modell did not attend the Browns' last three games at Cleveland Stadium.
Monday Night Present
|  | | Grbac |
RAVENS QB ELVIS GRBAC
Last week in these player notes we stated that Elvis is alive and will remain the Baltimore Ravens' starting quarterback as deemed by head coach Brian Billick. Well, he may still be alive, but his performance last Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did nothing to dissuade those Raven fans who feel that maybe they have the wrong guy starting for them.
The loss to Tampa Bay left Grbac's record as Ravens starter at 7-6 -- not an impressive figure for a high priced free agent who came to a defending Super Bowl champion with the avowed goal of taking them to another level. Grbac's problem this season has been inconsistency. He can be very good, threading the needle over the middle to Shannon Sharpe or gunning the deep ball to Qadry Ismail, running Billick's offense with aplomb.
But he can frequently stink up the joint as well.
Against the Bucs, Grbac showed his propensity for the latter. As he has so often this season, he was careless with his passes and threw a pair of picks at critical junctures in the contest. His second errant toss gave him 18 interceptions on the season. There is a distinct correlation between Elvis's interception rate and the Ravens' won-lost record. Consider that in the seven games Elvis has won for the Ravens he has thrown just four interceptions. But in his six losses, Elvis has thrown a staggering 14 picks.
This week he may be called upon to lead the Ravens to victory in a very important game. If the Seattle Seahawks defeat the Kansas City Chiefs behind Trent Dilfer -- who last year led the Ravens to 11 straight wins including the Super Bowl before his release -- then Grbac will be in a pressure-packed, must-win situation. It would be the ultimate irony for Dilfer to lead Seattle to the playoffs while Elvis leads the Ravens out.
|  | | Lewis |
RAVENS LB RAY LEWIS
What a long strange trip it's been. That best sums up the last two years of Ray Lewis's amazing NFL career. Start with the well-documented but still unclear events in Atlanta following the 2000 Super Bowl in which two men were murdered and Ray was charged. Then came the trial and the dismissal of all charges.
Next, Lewis led the dominating Baltimore Ravens defense to what was perhaps the most awe-inspiring season ever seen in the NFL. The unit literally willed the team to the Super Bowl despite the lack of any offensive firepower. Lewis was recognized as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year and was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXV.
How could he top last season? Well, incredibly, as anyone who saw his performance on Saturday night at Tampa Bay knows, Lewis has again earned his status as the NFL's top defensive player. He was everywhere, stopping the running game before it started, clogging passing lanes and making big plays.
The Ravens may have lost but it was certainly not Lewis' fault.
As a team, the Ravens rank fourth in the NFL in total defense, allowing 284 yards per contest. They are second in the AFC to division rival Pittsburgh. There is no question that they have not been as dominating as they were during their Super Bowl season but still, with a consistent offensive attack the Ravens would be a shoo-in for the playoffs.
This week is another chance to see the best middle linebacker in football. If the Seahawks and Jets both win, making this a make-or-break game for Baltimore, look for Ray Lewis to make the play that puts the Ravens in the playoffs.
|  | | Moss |
VIKINGS WR RANDY MOSS
Eighty receptions, 1,233 yards, 10 touchdown receptions. For most any receiver in the NFL that kind of season would lead to a contract renegotiation. But for Randy Moss, those numbers have been a disappointment after an off-season that saw him walk away with a contract for $75 million of Viking owner Red McCombs' cash. Combine Moss's good but not all-league numbers with the 5-10 record of the diminished Vikings and you have a recipe for talk-show smack. Unfortunately, Moss seems to like fueling that by making audacious and somewhat ill-advised statements.
His recent assertions that he occasionally takes plays off may not have been news to those who watch the ex-Marshall star on a regular basis, but they confirmed the thoughts of many that Moss is the poster child for the spoiled athlete circa 2002.
To be fair, this has been a devastating season for the Vikings. Offensively, they released Todd Steussie in a cap move, had Robert Smith walk away from the game and then lost Korey Stringer in the worst possible circumstances. All have contributed to the demise of both the Vikings and head coach Dennis Green. Moss' antics - the taunting, the frequent flare-ups, etc. -- did not help matters much.
Monday Night Future
The year 2000 was a dream season for the Baltimore Ravens, as they took a wild card playoff slot and rode it to a Super Bowl title. This year they have tossed and turned to a 9-6 record, and if they make the playoffs, they will again take the wild card route. However, if the Jets and Seahawks both win on Sunday, Baltimore will need a victory Monday night for their season to continue.
For the Vikings, this season has been a nightmare, one that could rival anything taking place on Elm Street. Minnesota began the season in a quagmire from which they were unable to extract themselves. The Vikings have lost seven of their last nine games, including giving the Detroit Lions their only victory of the season. Dennis Green's agreement to a buyout on Friday is the most recent and perhaps lowest of the team's lows this year.
On Monday night, with the temperature expected to be below freezing at game time, both teams will need to be able to run the ball. The Vikings rushed for a season-high 199 yards last week against the Packers, but Michael Bennett's sore heel may limit his playing time. That is not good news for Spergon Wynn, who is expected to start at quarterback for the Vikes, and could use the threat of the run to slow down the fierce Ravens' pass rush.
Baltimore, on the other hand, is eager to have leading rusher Jason Brookins back after missing the last four weeks with a broken foot. With Terry Allen and Moe Williams already running well, this will be a huge boost for the Ravens.
We hope the cards fall right on Sunday with the Jets and Seahawks winning so Minnesota will have a chance to play spoilers to the Ravens' season. Then we can see which of the Vikings want to show up to play, especially since offensive line coach Mike Tice will lead the team and not Green.
However, when the postseason begins next week, the playoffs will start without the Vikings, and the dream of a Super Bowl repeat will continue for the Ravens. On Monday, we look for Baltimore to get their second shutout of the season, 23-0.
MNF Past, Present and Future with George Hill and Malibu Kelly Hayes appears each Friday at ABC Sports Online.
| | |
| | | | |
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2001 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
| |
| 
|
