A Challenge Flag For Dilfer

Since Super Bowl XXXV, I’ve maintained that, that magical season will forever remain the pinnacle of fan jubilation in Baltimore Ravens history. Just as the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Colts and the New York Giants helped to put Baltimore on the NFL map as opposed to a pitstop between Philadelphia and DC, Super Bowl XXXV returned Baltimore to the NFL map.

For years our community struggled with the disgrace of the Colts’ middle-of-the-night exodus. Twelve NFL seasons had come and gone. Efforts to land an expansion team, shot down in flames. Paul Tagliabue advised the City of Baltimore to build a museum instead of a stadium. Years of televised Washington Redskins games jammed down our collective throat. All of it came to an end thanks to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens – the Bullies of Baltimore.

Our city was represented by the NFL Champions!

Those 53 players who earned rings, participated in the glorious parade and one-by-one hoisted The Lombardi Trophy, will forever be connected. They are woven together into the fabric of a red-letter day in Baltimore. For the rest of their days those players will share a bond, connected by the glory of a world championship. And like the façade that gracefully adorned old Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street once reminded us, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

If anything, time amplifies the glory. In retrospect, we oftentimes gloss over the struggles, the adversity, the twists and turns of the journey that challenged the achievement of the ultimate goal. We forget how inept Trent Dilfer was at times. A generational defense helped to sweep away the offensive futility from our respective memory banks and shine a spotlight on all that was good. Many believed that the SB XXXV team could do it again if only given the chance. Brian Billick and Ozzie Newsome knew otherwise. To ask a defense to line up and duplicate the accomplishments of the 2000 season and expect the same results would be naïve.

Former #Ravens SB winning QB Trent Dilfer is unimpressed by this generation of quarterbacks (via Bullies of Baltimore)

“The modern day game doesn’t impress me. I love Tom Brady, I love Aaron Rodgers. I love these guys, it’s not impressive.”pic.twitter.com/QEJChUzt8l

— JPA (@jasrifootball) February 6, 2023

During ESPN’s presentation of the Bullies of Baltimore this past Sunday night, Dilfer dismissed the accomplishments of the modern day quarterback because the rules have changed in favor of the offense.

Trent Dilfer: “Modern day game doesn’t impress me. It’s super easy when you don’t get hit as a QB.”

Trent Dilfer in a clean pocket:pic.twitter.com/FAoYoKBgEX

— GOWIE (@DaKidGowie) February 6, 2023

To Dilfer’s point, today’s quarterbacks will never face the likes of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens because that style of play, as Brian Billick reminded us, has been legislated out of the game. And while it stands to reason that the statistical accomplishments of players like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t be the same if amendments to the game’s rules didn’t favor passing offenses, to undermine said accomplishments isn’t fair. You can only play against the team that lines up against you and by the rules governing the game.

Besides, I’m quite sure either Brady or Rodgers would have adapted to defenses better than Dilfer did. Comparatively speaking, from 2000 through 2007, Dilfer was 642 of 1,134 for 7,549 yards to go with 43 TD’s and 49 INT’s adding up to a passer rating of 71.6. Brady’s stat line for the same period was 2,294 of 3,642 for 26,370 yards, 197 TD’s and 86 INT’s, equating to a passer rating of 92.9.

Impressed yet Trent?

I ran the numbers yrs ago, but Trent turned the ball over (INTS & fumbles) more per pass attempt than Grbac, Blake, Redmond and a few others that followed him. The “protect the fumble” thing is a myth. What he had was a once in a lifetime defense that erased any mistakes!

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) February 7, 2023

Back to the Bullies

Overall I thought that ESPN did a great job, but for my tastes they left a little out. I would have liked to have heard more from Matt Stover, Peter Boulware, Brandon Stokley and others. But I guess you can only do so much in a two-hour show. It did however spark debate about Chris McAlister who was largely ignored during the 30 for 30 presentation.

Since ESPN ain’t showing you no love. I damn sure will

C MAC😈🐐 pic.twitter.com/OvECgtyUZQ

— RavensFlock20 (@Bateman_Szn7) February 6, 2023

I had the opportunity to speak with Kelly Gregg a few years ago as the featured guest on a podcast. I asked Kelly who was the best player he played with on those celebrated Ravens defenses. Here’s what he shared:

“[Earlier] you mentioned Chris McAlister. He’s a guy who could roam the streets at night and show up and shut down a bunch of guys. I always thought that Chris McAlister would be like Rod Woodson. Play corner all those years and then go to safety. [But] maybe the night life caught up with him. I always thought that Chris could do anything. [He] was that guy from an athletic standpoint who just got a little too wild there in the night life.”

Kelly went on to hint that if things didn’t come so easy for McAlister coupled with having the top-end cornerback money he earned to finance his extra-curricular activities, AND took the game a bit more seriously, there’s no telling what he could have become.

We’ve heard other stories about McAlister, one of which claimed he embarrassed the team while on the road against the Dolphins in 2008, walking through the lobby of the team’s hotel with a couple of questionable lady guests, while other Ravens dignitaries were in attendance. McAlister was benched the next day, during the team’s Week 6 game against the Dolphins, and was inactive for the next three games before being parked on injured reserve. McAlister never played another down for the Ravens and his career lasted just three more games the following season in New Orleans.

Some have criticized the Ravens for not giving McAlister his due. Perhaps the Ravens deserve credit for keeping a tight lid on the events that led to McAlister’s dismissal, events that had to have been egregious for the team to dismiss All-Pro talents during a season that ended in the AFC Championship Game.

All that said, everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe Chris already got his. But if not, hopefully his time will come, but it’s unlikely to end with a Ring of Honor plaque upon the façade at M&T Bank Stadium.