Remembering Trent Dilfer

Last night, I posted about my displeasure regarding NFL.com's JJ Territo's blasphemous statement that Ray Lewis is the most overrated player in Ravens' history. But Lewis is not the only player on his overrated list that received a bad rap. He also listed former Ravens' quarterback and Super Bowl champion Trent Dilfer as one of his most overrated Ravens' players of all time. However, I believe Trent Dilfer is, in fact, one of the more underrated Ravens of all-time and deserves a little more credit for the role he played during their 2000 championship season.

First off, I think it is preposterous to believe that Trent Dilfer is considered anywhere near "overrated", mainly because I have never heard his name mentioned among the better quarterbacks in NFL history as his career was mired in mediocrity for the most part. In his one-year stint with the Ravens, however, Dilfer was an integral piece of the championship formula. Dilfer began the season as the Ravens' #2 quarterback behind starter Tony Banks, but was given the keys to the offense following a two-game losing streak and a four-game touchdown drought. Dilfer lost his first game as the Ravens' starter, but would not lose again for the remainder of the season. While his stats that season were less than impressive (59.3% completion rate, 1502 yds, 12 TDS, 11 INTs), Dilfer was a great game manager for the Ravens and rarely made costly mistakes. He proved that there is a lot more to quarterbacking than the numbers you see on paper. He was fully aware that his team was led by one of the greatest defenses the game has ever seen, and he fulfilled his role as the game manager who kept costly mistakes to a minimum. If any Ravens' fans still have their doubts about what Trent Dilfer meant to that team, just remember the disaster that was the 2001 season with Elvis Grbac at the helm.