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Twenty years ago, Trent Dilfer and the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV. Honestly, Dilfer was possibly the worst quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl, and the Ravens were led by a dominant defense. So it was no big surprise after the season when the Ravens let Dilfer run in free throws and signed Elvis Grbac to replace him.
But the move turns out to be a flop: Grbac had the worst season of his career and was cut short by the Ravens after one year. And all those years later, Dilfer is still bitter about it, saying his fight during the Super Bowl season was the result of an injury, and the Ravens showed no appreciation for putting his body at stake for the team. .
“You know, I’ve been through a lot in my life and I’m not trying to be bitter,” Dilfer told ESPN. ‘I would say it’s one I’m still harboring a bit of bitterness for because of the reason. It was judged so poorly on their behalf. They knew I was hurt. ”
Dilfer said Grbac did not have the toughness the Ravens needed, and Brian Billick, then coach, should have realized Grbac was wrong for the team.
“I’ll take a chance on Elvis because it does not bother me at all,” Dilfer said. “The core value of the team was toughness. And Brian did not realize it. It was not their coaching. It was not their talent evaluation. It was not all the things they think it was. The core value of that team was mental and physical toughness, and that’s who I am and that’s the opposite of who Elvis is. They restore their identity light years again by making it wrong. ”
The Ravens took a step back from there and missed the playoffs four of the next six years and never got back on track until John Harbaugh replaced Billick in 2008. Retaining Dilfer, setting up a young quarterback and using the cap space they spent on Grbac’s big contract at other positions would have been a wiser way. It is understandable that Dilfer is still bitter about it.