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Post-fight analysis Coaches differ on the impact of pregame trash talk
Posted: Friday January 29, 1999 11:56 PM
MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- The Broncos spent about a little more than an hour on the field Friday as the countdown to Sunday's Super Bowl continues to wind down. Before the game has even started, though, Denver's Shannon Sharpe and Atlanta's Ray Buchanan already have engaged in one battle -- a verbal sparring match. On Friday, their coaches weighed in with some post-fight analysis. "Shannon Sharpe isn't giving any guarantees," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "The only thing I told Shannon was if anybody attacked him personally, he could come back with some pretty good quotes. "So when I saw him he said, 'Coach, he said I was ugly. I had to come back at him.' So I don't know what to say." Atlanta coach Dan Reeves, whose team already is a seven-point underdog, doesn't want to give the Broncos an added spark.
"When you are an underdog and you are going against a team that is the defending world champions, I've always had the theory of the less you say, the less you have to take back," Reeves said. "I would rather our players say things and not predict anything, just go out and play the game and let the game speak for itself." Shanahan, on the other hand, is quite used to Sharpe and his outspoken nature. In fact, the Bronco coach said Sharpe has quite a habit of getting under his opponents' skin. "Shannon Sharpe came up to me when we were playing Kansas City, and to that point we had been keeping things pretty low-key," Shanahan said. "He came to me and said 'Coach, I'm really convinced with all of the talk is going on that I can get at least two or three personal fouls in the game because people won't be able to keep their poise. And he did. He got three personal fouls.
"You know, Shannon Sharpe is a pretty sharp cookie. He can get under people's skin." The normally tolerant Shanahan was not pleased earlier this month when Sharpe called Dan Marino a "loser." Shanahan wasn't the only one. Sharpe's grandmother called to complain and he later apologized. Today's Obscure Statistic: Red zone offense? Denver's four touchdowns in last season's Super Bowl were all 1-yard runs. A sign the Super Bowl is Getting Out of Hand: There are more than 200 different ways to wager on the game, including predicting which team will kick the most field goals. Quote of the Day: "If you take Shannon Sharpe out of the equation, we have been very quiet. Now if we didn't have Shannon Sharpe, there would be everybody in this room complaining about there was nothing exciting to write about or talk about." -- Broncos coach Mike Shanahan on trash-talking that's highlighted Super Bowl week.
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