Giant Owner Mara, 84, and Ravens' Modell, 75, See Their Teams Reach Super Bowl

By ROBYN NORWOOD

Jan. 15, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND —

Fade to black.

Hang up the spikes and put the skulls in storage.

The Oakland Raiders are not going to the Super Bowl after the Baltimore Raven defense put on a display of toughness in the AFC championship game Sunday that was far more than a weekend costume act.

The Ravens knocked Raider quarterback Rich Gannon out of the game with a shoulder injury, then thwarted him when he tried to come back.

They took on the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense and held it to only 24 yards.

And almost every time the Raiders mounted a serious threat in Baltimore’s 16-3 victory, the Ravens simply took the ball away, five times in all.

By the fourth quarter, the only person who didn’t know the Ravens were going to the Super Bowl must have been the pilot of the plane that pulled a banner over Network Associates Coliseum: “Victory party tonight at Ricky’s.”

What the Ravens did Sunday in front of a black-clad crowd of 62,784 ended Al Davis’ hopes or reaching another Super Bowl at 71.

But it gave another NFL mover and shaker--put the emphasis on mover--his first at 75.

Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in 1996, and now the Ravens have reached the Super Bowl in their fifth season in their new city.

It was going to require a championship run for this Baltimore defense to take its place among the best in NFL history.

Now that will be decided Jan. 28 in Tampa, Fla., when the Ravens and the New York Giants meet in Super Bowl XXXV.

Exactly how good are the Ravens?

“Pretty damn good,” Raider Coach Jon Gruden said.

“Absolutely, they are up there with the Fearsome Foursome and the Steel Curtain. After 19 games, to only yield 178 points, and to sustain that level of play for 19 football games, I’m going to be very complimentary.”

The defense did the heavy lifting, with linebacker Ray Lewis seemingly on top of every play and cornerback Duane Starks intercepting two passes.

The Raiders were so rattled--Gannon most of all--that all the Ravens needed to top the Raiders’ single field goal was tight end Shannon Sharpe’s 96-yard touchdown pass play in the second quarter, the longest in NFL playoff history.

Baltimore was backed up on a third and 18 from its own four when Trent Dilfer found Sharpe on a quick slant.

But Raider safety Marquez Pope missed a tackle and Sharpe broke free.

“Off to the races,” Sharpe said.

Dilfer, one of the more maligned quarterbacks to take a team to the Super Bowl, just slung the ball at Sharpe, and it turned into a touchdown.

“We were just trying to get out of a hole, third and 18. When they blitzed, we welcomed it,” said Dilfer, who completed nine of 18 passes for 190 yards, the bulk of them on that play.

“They blitzed us and brought Marquez on Shannon. I love Marquez. I played college football with him [at Fresno State]. But I love any safety on Shannon Sharpe.”

Sharpe landed the crushing blow for the second time of the playoffs after defeating his former Denver Bronco team with a fluke 58-yard touchdown pass play in the wild-card round.

This time he silenced the Raider fans.

“The Black Hole,” Sharpe said. “We scored that touchdown and covered up the hole.”

The fans still had a little fight.

“Yeah, they threw beer on me,” Sharpe said. “I didn’t like that. I don’t drink.”

The Raiders were partly their own undoing.

Gannon threw an interception in the first quarter when Robert Bailey picked off a pass meant for Tim Brown, and the Raiders dodged the Ravens’ first bullet when Matt Stover missed a 36-yard field goal--only his fourth miss in 41 attempts this season.

Sharpe scored, but then Gannon was injured in the second quarter when 340-pound Raven defensive tackle Tony Siragusa flopped on him.

“I got a hand up and tipped the ball and then I was falling. I had to fall somewhere, so I might as well fall on him,” Siragusa said.

“Unfortunately he got hurt. I didn’t want to hurt him, I just wanted to shake him up. I was glad he was out. I didn’t have to chase him around.”

Gannon went into the locker room, bringing on backup Bobby Hoying, who had attempted only two passes this season.

Like Gannon, he threw two interceptions, one by Starks that gave the Ravens the ball at the Oakland 20, setting up a 31-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

Gannon was given a numbing shot for his injury--alternately described as a bruised or separated shoulder and collarbone injury--and returned to the game in the third quarter, but was never the same.

He finished 11 of 21 for 80 yards.

“We felt we had to get a message to the quarterback that made it clear that if you’re going to run around, there’s a price,” Baltimore Coach Brian Billick said.

Hoying was eight of 16 for 107 yards, with Gannon returning only to be hurt again.

“It is a very good defense, very physical,” Gannon said. “We were not able to hold onto the football very well at all. It was just very frustrating.”

Gruden brought Gannon back, but quickly saw he wasn’t himself.

“It was a 10-0 game. We wanted Rich Gannon. I wanted Rich Gannon. I don’t regret it. Obviously he wasn’t the same after he got hurt, but I won’t second-guess myself. I’ll let somebody else do that.”

The Raiders’ only points came on a 24-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski in the third quarter, but even that was a triumph of the Raven defense.

Oakland had a first down at the 12, but failed to score on six consecutive plays, with Randy Jordan dropping a pass from Gannon at the goal line on the final play before the field goal.

The Raiders almost scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a pass from Hoying to Andre Rison, but it was called back because Rison pushed off the defender, drawing an offensive pass interference penalty.

The opportunity was set up by Hoying’s 31-yard pass to Terry Kirby to the Baltimore 15. Though at first it was ruled Kirby fumbled and Baltimore recovered, Oakland challenged the play and the ruling was reversed on replay.

It all went for nothing when Hoying’s third-down pass to James Jett was intercepted by Jamie Sharper.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re up three, seven or 10. We want to come out and dominate, dismember and make you quit,” Siragusa said.

The Raiders didn’t exactly quit, they were just beaten.

Now Brown, a 13-year veteran, won’t play in the Super Bowl for the 13th time.

“It’s always tough to watch it. No doubt about it,” said Brown, who wasn’t sure he would. “I’ll see when the time comes.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Longest Yards

The longest plays from scrimmage in NFL postseason:

96: Shannon Sharpe pass from Trent Dilfer (Ravens)

Baltimore 16, Oakland 3--Jan. 14, 2001

94: Alvin Harper pass from Troy Aikman (Cowboys)

Dallas 35, Green Bay 9--Jan. 8, 1995