First, can you let the know what you’ve been up to since your time n the NFL?
Now I’m coaching my son’s middle school Little League Football team and his NYFL team. It’s something I want to continue doing – I enjoy coaching them and sharing my knowledge with the younger kids and seeing them progress. I want to see how the kids progress all the way through their careers – from 10 years old, to high school and college.
Were there any coaches that helped shape the way you coach today?
Oh yeah. It first started when I was in Little League. I learned how to play quarterback and stay even-keeled – to understand the game of football better. That influenced my coaching style – helped me to show other players show to be better.
In high school and Miami Beach – Coach Sabrisa was my quarterback coach. He was older and smart – he taught me things like how to handoff the ball properly, to sell the run fake … he made me a good quarterback.
At Miami Coach Pagano of course – he was a great coach and was great in the NFL as well. He did a great job of showing me how to study film and put all the pieces together.
And in then NFL?
Of course who wouldn’t want to study under a coach like Marvin Lewis in Baltimore? That was a blessing – all those coaches were blessings. Even Rob Ryan in Oakland – he had such a high spirit and knowledge of the game. There’s a plethora of knowledge in that Ryan family of coaches!
Was the adjustment to the NFL difficult out of college?
It wasn’t as much for me – I was prepared. I had great coaches and teammates and was well-prepared for the NFL. The biggest thing was understanding the speed of the game. Physically it wasn’t that hard as I was a fast guy. But the mental part – things happen so much faster in the NFL. In college there may be one slow play and then one faster play, but in the NFL every play is fast. But once the game slowed down you excel – that’s what happened to me mid-rookie year.
Do you remember the first games against the Steelers – did you prepare differently for those games in Baltimore?
It didn’t feel different to me as a rookie because everything was new to me anyway! As a rookie I was preparing for players that were new to me every week and new formations.
Hines and I were classmates but I never played against him in college. My first Steelers game was against Kordell – I had a great debut. I had an interception and ran Huntley down from behind and forced a fumble that ended up being a touchback. That game gave me confidence at the NFL level.
The rivalry was sick. In ’98 the Ravens were in one of their first years in Baltimore. Then the people in Baltimore were either Steelers or Redskins fans, with some older Colts fans there too. It was tough at first. I never got to play at Memorial Stadium but from what I hear about how bad that field was I should be thankful I didn’t!
Any fun matchups stand out from those games?
Man it was all fun. They were always a challenge. Hines – each play he was there trying to knock your head off and decleat someone. If he wasn’t getting the ball he was trying to blindside you – you had to keep your head on a swivel. Plaxico liked to push you around to and get the deep ball. They were a tough tandem to play against.
The toughest tandem in the NFL then though was Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith.
Underrated?
Definitely. They were the best tandem in the NFL then and definitely underrated. McCardell caught every ball thrown to him and Jimmy ran every route at the same speed so you never knew what he was going to do. Most receivers slow down in their breaks you can read them. But Jimmy ran everything at the same speed – he was impossible too read.
Any funny memories stand out to you over your playing career?
Not sure if its really funny – this was a blame game thing when we played the Colts!
I had the deep outside zone and Rod Woodson was inside deep zone. I’m looking over during the play and all of the sudden I see Marshall Faulk sprinting deep into the side zone. Rod was supposed to be there but I see the ball in the air and run over there. I don’t know where Rod is, Faulk catches it for a touchdown and I end up on the ground with Rod standing over me. He’s shaking his head like it was my fault. I was like, “That was your zone!” And all the fans saw that and thought it was supposed to be me!
Any others stand out?
Tony Siragusa – bless his soul – he and many of the guys would pull one-of-a-kind pranks on each other. Guys would put teammates phone numbers on billboards saying “For a good time call…” Guys would be getting all these phone calls and were asking why they were getting them! That, putting itching powder in people’s socks – they were doing pranks all the time!
You get involved in those?
I never wanted to be a victim so I never got involved and pulled any pranks! I stayed in my lane!
What do you think of the Steelers – Ravens rivalry today? Has it changed much especially as the NFL itself has gotten less physical?
I wouldn’t say the rivalry has changed. You still have die-hard fans on both sides. The rivalry is the same – they battle each other every game and each team gets the best of the other at times. That’s good for ticket sales. So nothing really changes with the rivalry.
It’s harder for me to talk about what the rivalry is like on the field now since I’m not involved. I think it’s the same. There are different players and it’s a different experience. It’s not smash mouth football any more. Teams now are throwing 50-to-60 times a game. I think I would love it now.
When I played it was a big running back league. The Steelers had Bettis, there was Eddie George, Corey Dillon, Fred Taylor … we had Jamal Lewis who was big wasn’t even as big as most of those guys. Now, it’s a passing game and about protecting quarterbacks and wide receivers.
As a coach and former player, what advice would you give guys entering the NFL today?
My mindset is that you need to believe in what you can do once you get to the NFL – to believe in your goals and what you can do for the team.
You need to take things seriously and don’t burn any bridges. You never know where a coach may end up – he can get fired and be on the next team you end up on. You don’t want him talking bad about you.
That – and take care of your money. The NFL after all means not for long!