TAMPA – Jason Sehorn was alone on the island last night and he was not a survivor.
Trent Dilfer couldn’t do much in Super Bowl XXXV, but when he did something, in the first half, it usually came against Sehorn. The Giants and Ravens were scoreless midway through the first half, but the Ravens were winning the battle of special teams field position, due in large part to the amazing pinpoint punting of Kyle Richardson. It was a 34-7 Super letdown for the Giants as the Ravens manhandled them.
After the Ravens got the ball on the Giants’ 41 in the scoreless game, they picked up three yards on a run play and then came the backbreaker. Dilfer fired a pass to Brandon Stokley, who ran past Sehorn, who was giving the inside move to Stokley. Stokley took the inside on a stutter-step move and took off, catching the pass in stride for the touchdown. Cornerbacks call their position the island because they are so in the open to criticism.
As Sehorn trailed Stokley into the end zone he gave safety Shaun Williams a look like: Where were you? The 38-yard reception for Stokley was the longest of his career.
Said Sehorn afterward of the mixup, being a good teammate. “I had him, too.”
Sehorn also appeared to have trouble several times keeping his footing. Later he said, “For three particular plays I was a bit out of sorts and didn’t expect some of the things that were thrown my way. I’ve played games much worse than this.” Sehorn said it was a bad night for the defense because it couldn’t create turnovers that would have made life a lot easier for the offense that struggled so mightily behind Kerry Collins, who threw four interceptions, tying a Super Bowl record.
“We didn’t take the ball away one time,” Sehorn said. “We didn’t make any big plays. We were just status quo. We didn’t do anything to win the game.”
Sehorn struggled the entire half as the Ravens continuously went after him. Only Collins had a worst half. Early in the second half, Sehorn also gave up a third-quarter first down.
Sehorn has been the football darling of the New York area because of his good looks, great personality and his upcoming marriage to TV star Angie Harmon.
Last night, however, it all turned to dust in Tampa for Sehorn and the Giants.