Forgotten Banks Can Only Wonder

Tony Banks’ season of great promise ended exactly where he hoped, at the Super Bowl.

How he got there is another story.

He would have preferred to talk about playing quarterback in his first NFL championship. But those questions were directed at Trent Dilfer, who replaced him in midseason.

“This is my first time being in the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl, and I never envisioned being here and not being at the helm,” Banks said. “You can’t help but wonder . . . a throw here, a throw there, and I’m in Trent’s shoes.”

There was no mistaking which quarterback was “in” and which was “out” at interview sessions.

Dilfer sat on an elevated stage surrounded by cameras, microphones and reporters. Banks was slumped in a chair at one of the dozens of ground-level tables reserved for the “other” guys.

Banks started the final 10 games for the Ravens last year, winning six times after displacing an ineffective Stoney Case. He signed a four-year contract in February and was placed in control of Coach Brian Billick’s potentially high-powered offense.

Banks led the Ravens to a 5-1 start, including a rousing 39-36 comeback win over Jacksonville in the second week. But after a run of ineffective performances, he was replaced by Dilfer in the second half of the Oct. 22 game against Tennessee--the fourth of five consecutive games in which Baltimore failed to score a touchdown.

“My last throw as a starter, I threw a pick in the end zone. It was a throw I can make with my eyes closed,” Banks said softly this week. “I just rushed it.”

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Sitting at a table during team interviews, Ron Dayne seemed out of place.

Here was a Heisman Trophy winner, college football’s all-time leading rusher and the New York Giants’ first-round draft pick, talking with all of five reporters.

No crowd. One cameraman.

And this was Super Bowl week.

Dayne was readily accessible, which says a lot.

No one is expecting him to play a big role against the Baltimore Ravens. The halfback, who gained 770 yards and scored five touchdowns in his rookie season, has struggled down the stretch.

“It’s been a long season,” the pudgy 22-year-old said. “I really didn’t expect too much. I just wanted to come in and learn the game and just get better. Anything else I did was a plus.”

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Sam Gash, Rod Woodson, Harry Swayne, Robert Bailey, Shannon Sharpe, Ben Coates and Billy Davis are the Ravens who have experience with Super Bowl week.

Each has shown up in at least one of the last five Super Bowls as a member of another team. Most have won. Some played central roles in helping their teams get to this stage, while others played without glory and a few--such as Gash and Woodson--had injuries that defined their experience.

Woodson, a 14th-year safety, appeared in Super Bowl XXX with the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Dallas Cowboys. But he played sparingly after being injured early in the season.

“I really get to play this time,” Woodson said. “I know I’m in all the defensive packages. The only time I’m off the field is when my defense is off the field.”

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The Giants had a special visitor for their final Super Bowl practice--Jeff Hostetler, who quarterbacked them to the title when the Super Bowl was played in Tampa 10 years ago.

Hostetler threw passes to the receivers and running backs while the team was loosening up for its two-hour workout at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ training complex.

“That was great,” Coach Jim Fassel said of Hostetler. “That was the highlight. It was good to see him back out here. The last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, he was right here with them.”