Remember that Baltimore Ravens squad back in 2000? One of the most feared defenses in the history of the NFL, one of the best teams, period. They won the Super Bowl handedly over the Giants 34-7. But I’m not here to talk about what they did that season, I’m here to talk about what happened in the offseason after that amazing run.
The leader of this squad was probably Ray Lewis, but usually the quarterback is the leader of the team in Super Bowls, isn’t he? Well, that is the case, unless you have Trent Dilfer as your quarterback.
The NFL journeyman sat out the first half of the season before taking over starting duties from Tony Banks, when Banks had a streak of 4 consecutive games with zero touchdown passes. He had an OK season, nothing too special, but he won the fucking SUPER BOWL! The whole reason you play in the NFL. He threw for 153 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The key is he didn’t make mistakes, and he let his defense do the rest. Clearly, he was good enough.
Then we get into the offseason: the Ravens are partying, Dilfer’s doing interviews, the city of Baltimore loves this team and is ready to run it back. They’re even at the ESPY’S, nominated for team of the year. Dilfer is there, wearing his best suit and goatee, when he gets the call that the team is not going to sign him and he’ll become a free agent. What??? The guy just won a Super Bowl for his team, and now you’re going to look elsewhere. Holy shit, right? I mean that has never happened in the history of the NFL. Sure, he wasn’t great, but he got the job done, wouldn’t you try it again at least for one year? It’s not like the Carson Wentz-Nick Foles thing where the star quarterback got hurt. No, Dilfer took the job away from Banks and kept it, he didn’t have a super star quarterback waiting to take his job back. Even the Eagles gave Foles another year after that historic run, but the Ravens decided to look into free agency.
So, you figure they bring in someone who is really great, someone who will for sure elevate their team, but they bring in Elvis Grbac?? Grbac was coming off a pro bowl season with the Chiefs, but was it really an upgrade from Dilfer, eh maybe a little, but not enough for me to replace my Super Bowl winning QB. Grbac would go onto lead the Ravens to the playoffs before a loss, but he’ll be back next year and they’ll go even further with him, right? Wrong again, Grbac retires out of nowhere before the next season, the Ravens dismantle the team and go into some losing seasons.
This is one of those big what-ifs of football. Do the Ravens keep that chemistry going into the next season and win it all the next year if they keep Dilfer. Did he play a large role on the chemistry of the team? Or would it have been the same result no matter who was behind center? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty sure it may be the only time we ever see a team get rid of the QB who won them the Super Bowl during that offseason. A truly weird moment in Sports.
Here’s a little video breaking it down:
Tek's Table 
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