Driving on Saturday to a family July 4 get-together, I was listening to Sirius NFL Radio for more information about the then-fresh news that former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair had been found dead.
(And since Mrs. Florio and Florio Jr. had left earlier, I was able to actually keep the dial on Channel 124 for more than 25 seconds.)
At one point, co-host Howard Balzer talked about the thrilling finish to Super Bowl XXXIV, which culminated in a seven-point win by the Rams over McNair’s Titans. Balzer, whose coverage of the league focuses at times on the team that plays in his home market of St. Louis, was intimately familiar with the closing seconds of the game.
And we learned something interesting about defensive end Kevin Carter’s role in the final drive that ended just short of a potentially game-tying touchdown by the Titans.
For years, we’ve seen images of Rams coach Dick Vermeil, who couldn’t comprehend that Carter was tapping out with the game on the line. So we assumed that Carter left the game because he was too tired, and we’d pointed it out often.
As it turns out, Carter wasn’t the only Rams defender who left the game after its penultimate play. Balzer said that both Carter and defensive tackle D’Marco Farr exited the field, and for good reason. They were gassed after chasing McNair, who scrambled and ducked and dodged and twirled before finding receiver Kevin Dyson inside the Rams’ ten yard line.
Also, even though both Carter and Farr left the game, the fact that the Titans called a time out to stop the clock gave both of them a chance to recover -- and Balzer said both were on the field for the play that came up a yard short of the end zone.
So we’re sorry, Kevin, for assuming that you were lazy.
